hi radio guys !

[vampyre32]

hi lovely people, complete newbie and asking just for a little advice on handhelds and aerials, ok so i started off with a handheld radio shack proscan something or other with a gazillion buttons and loads of white noise which unfortunately was the 'run before you can walk' thing, so after a load of research i then brought a uniden ezi33xlt and an upgraded watson multi band antenna, it works great !, very easy to get started with and super to get into the hobby, my question is (being on a budget) would the Skyscan Mobile Desktop All Round Radio Scanner aerial be suitable to use at home with my uniden ? link to aerial here : https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Skyscan-Mobi ... 2211420408
or would this be of no use ?, already looking at the uniden base stations so upgrades are on the cards !! many thanks in advance

[Throbber]

Hey Vampyre,
If your going to be in the house most of the time, i would go for an external type antenna, maybe stick it your loft, as many will say height is king, the higher the better. I've used a Sigma Scan King SE1500 for many years now and really can't fault it, it'll cost you around £40 and about say £20 for coax, again go for the best coax you can (R213).

Theres quite a few obnoxious peeps on here that'll argue with me but i think it just a case of not understanding that on a budget means SKINT and need to keep costs down but hey ho, this is my veiw.

If you going to get out and about i believe that with a Watson you can't go wrong really, it can be a bit of mind blowing hobby, take yer time and enjoy it dude

[m0lsx]

If you are on a budget go for a discone. These will be a broadband antenna. That is something that performs well across a wide area of spectrum.
The vertical antenna suggested is an unknown specification. Unlike an amateur radio dual band antenna which must work on two frequencies. The Sigma suggested may not work properly on any frequency, as it's not designed to work on any specific band. So will just be a length of wire inside a tube & thus be resonant on any frequency.
I have just discovered the Hustler DCX, a friend said his is truly a broadband antenna & works on TX on 2, 446 & 70cm for him. So this sounds like a proper discone & it only costs about £40.
If using an outdoor antenna you then need to budget for mounting the antenna & feeding it with coax. The coax needs to be good quality & will cost £1.50 & up per meter. So the budget for mounting & feeding the antenna will be £100 plus.
And not everyone can mount an antenna outdoors, can you?
For an indoor antenna look at the nomad from Spectrum, £20 buys you a plug & play antenna, that can hang in a window, a corner, the loft, or even outdoors on guttering. Or any where else the fitted coax will reach.