249 - HOA, Apartment, and Rental Antenna Solutions

Can’t put up an antenna due to restrictions? Do you rent, hate heights, or have Homeowner’s Associations that have rules you need to follow? Today's podcast is dedicated to all of those who have antenna restrictions. For those of us who have free access to what we put on our homes, we can forget at how difficult this hobby can be for those who can’t have outdoor antennas. Here are some creative antenna solutions for those who can’t attach antennas to their homes, rentals, or live in apartments. What You Need to Know Before thinking about adding antennas, we need to ask ourselves a few questions. Do we have adequate reception now with our stock antennas? If you go outside your home or apartment, does reception noticeably improve? Are we satisfied listening to what we can hear now, or do we need to pull in more range that only a better antenna can accomplish? Conventional scanning can have more challenges than monitoring trunk systems. Conventional frequencies are typically repeated and can be in the VHF UHF range. These frequencies typically work well with penetrating buildings and getting indoors. Simplex may be nearly impossible to receive well without an antenna with gain. Here are some ideas to improve your reception without adding antennas:If your radio is located in an interior corner of the house or apartment moving it closer to a window Another option is to relocate the radio from an interior wall to an exterior wall One of the easiest ways to stealth an antenna is to use attic or dead space, if you have access to them. You can try hiding antennas behind curtains or other interior designs. Mag Mount antennas can be attached to A/C units, the top of refrigerators, or anything else that has a metallic base. Bringing coax from outdoors to indoors without drilling can be a challenge. There are simple solutions for that as well. ==================================== 🔗 Links from this week's podcast (Some of these links may be affiliate links) ==================================== DPD Productions: https://dpdproductions.com Whistler Antennas: https://whistlergroup.com/collections/scanner-accessories?aff=6 Comet CTC 50M: https://amzn.to/3Bp1go4 Fiberglass Telescoping Antenna Masts: https://amzn.to/3xxV3Fp ==================================== 🎙 Join our new Scanner Radio Community ==================================== Join our FREE Discord server and connect with other Scanner Radio Users! By using Discord, a free, multi-platform community portal, you can now be part of the Scanner Radio Discussion! Chat real time, share photos, ask questions, and give feedback to other's in chat. 🔗 https://www.scannerschool.com/discord ==================================== 🎓 Check out our online courses ==================================== Our free Software Defined Radio course will have you up and running with a SDR in a weekend. Upgrade to our Advanced Course, and learn how to setup SDR Software like a pro. 🔗 https://www.courses.scannerschool.com ==================================== ⚠️ I want to answer your questions ==================================== I am always looking to answer your scanner radio question. If you have a question you'd like answered, please leave me a voicemail with your question: 📞 516-308-2885 🔗 https://www.scannerschool.com/ask ==================================== 🏆 Thank you Patreon Supporters ==================================== Thank you to all monthly Patreon Supporters. Supporting the podcast can be done for as little as $1 per month. Supporters at the $3 and $5 level will receive the podcast without the middle commercial break. Supporters at the $5 level not only receive the podcast early, but they also get access to discount codes, monthly zoom meetings, and Squelchy sticker packs. 🔗 Join our Patreon program at https://www.scannerschool.com/patreon ==================================== 🎥 Subscribe to our growing YouTube Channel ==================================== We are live once a month on YouTube to answer your questions. 2022 will be the year of Video for Scanner School Be ready for the upcoming videos by subscribing now to our YouTube channel 🔗 https://www.scannerschool.com/youtube ==================================== ➡️ Follow Scanner School on Social Media ==================================== ▶︎ Twitter - https://www.scannerschool.com/twitter ▶︎ Facebook Page - https://www.scannerschool.com/facebook ▶︎ Facebook Community - https://www.scannerschool.com/faceboo... ▶︎ Instagram - https://www.scannerschool.com/instagram ▶︎ TikTok - https://www.scannerschool.com/tiktok ==================================== All session notes with links to the items we talked about can be found on our website at https://www.scannerschool.com/session249 #podcast