UHF, can anyone help me here?

Whatcha trying to scan/receive?  UHF is a big range.

Quoted: Whatcha trying to scan/receive?  UHF is a big range.

+1


Plus what is "affordable" for you?  To some, $40 is affordable, to others it's $500.

Quoted: Whatcha trying to scan/receive?

+

is what your trying to capture analog FM?
and/or digital e.g. P25?
and/or with a trunking protocol?

ar-jedi

Or UHF milair (225-400)?  


We could go on, and we might  

Quoted: Or UHF milair (225-400)?   We could go on, and we might

Maybe it could be something as simple as trying to catch the Walli-World freq's?

Anywhere from $10-$500.  If you are just looking to listen to a few police or biz band freqs in the 450-470 range, you can get a 20 channel scanner on ebay for not much at all.

Quoted: Quoted: Or UHF milair (225-400)?   We could go on, and we might   Maybe it could be something as simple as trying to catch the Walli-World freq's?

A lot of places that would be a VHF radio    Yes, I have them in my radios, always wanted to mess with them but we know that's against the rules  

Quoted: A lot of places that would be a VHF radio    Yes, I have them in my radios, always wanted to mess with them but we know that's against the rules

I had a neighbor that liked to scan the local McDonalds, Dairy Queen, and Taco Bell drive thru windows...


I have to admit, that Im just not that cool.

Quoted: Anywhere from $10-$13,500

group buy?  

www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/0095.html


ar-jedi

Quoted: Quoted: Anywhere from $10-$13,500 group buy?   www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/0095.html ar-jedi www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/0095lrg.jpg www.universal-radio.com/catalog/widerxvr/R9500vlrg.jpg

A little rich for my blood, but very cool none-the-less.

Wow, now that is an elite rig AR-JEDI!  Thank you gentlemen for your input.  I should narrow the issue.  I am looking for poor man's affordable, CHINA made type stuff, just enuff to last until I get rich (5-7 years).  :)  Also, when I say UHF I mean 300MHz to 900MHz, and if possible up to 3GHz.

p.s.
AR-Jedi thanks for your 101 compilation (among the best on the net).

Quoted: Quoted: A lot of places that would be a VHF radio    Yes, I have them in my radios, always wanted to mess with them but we know that's against the rules   I had a neighbor that liked to scan the local McDonalds, Dairy Queen, and Taco Bell drive thru windows... I have to admit, that Im just not that cool.

The drive-thrus in Salinas, CA, all used VHF, somewhere around 57 MHz, as I recall.  We used to practice DF on them from East Ft. Ord.

Quoted: The drive-thrus in Salinas, CA, all used VHF, somewhere around 57 MHz, as I recall.  We used to practice DF on them from East Ft. Ord.

Quoted: I should narrow the issue.  I am looking for poor man's affordable, CHINA made type stuff, just enuff to last until I get rich (5-7 years).  :)  Also, when I say UHF I mean 300MHz to 900MHz, and if possible up to 3GHz.

Can you give us some real details?  

MilAIr?  SSB?   Trunking?  P25?  

Quoted: Quoted: I should narrow the issue.  I am looking for poor man's affordable, CHINA made type stuff, just enuff to last until I get rich (5-7 years).  :)  Also, when I say UHF I mean 300MHz to 900MHz, and if possible up to 3GHz. Can you give us some real details?   MilAIr?  SSB?   Trunking?  P25?

No trunking and no ssb, just one that can scan the band, but to a high degree of sensitivity

There are dead spots in your range where most scanners can't or won't go.  Looking at the specs of any scanner will tell you quickly if its RX range includes what you need.

As to sensitivity, that's more a question of your antenna system than the radio.  A bad radio with a great antenna will usually receive at least adequately, even if it's a pain in the ass to set up; a great radio with a bad antenna will usually receive poorly no matter how smart the radio is.

We're also not sure what your price point is.

Radio Shack sells good <$250 scanners.  Be careful that you're looking at a real scanner and not a NASCAR POS scanner.  Read the reviews online, but if it's under $130, or the antenna isn't at least as long as the radio's body, it's probably a POS.

If it doesn't have a numeric keypad somewhere, it's almost certainly a POS, and it'll be hard to program and hard to tune.  Better scanners will also support alphanumeric tags and numerous banks and such.

Of course, you can always get aftermarket antennas, including some decent ones that Radio Shack has on its shelves, but those NASCAR scanners are pretty definitively POS's no matter what antenna you use.

Mobile and base scanners usually won't have attached antennas, you go out and get one separately and mount it and cable it up.

For the record, many VHF/UHF amateur radios will have good RX range.  The VX-7R I'm about to sell has excellent RX capability, from AM radio up to the 900's, I believe, with some spots naturally blocked out or unfeasible.  The 2xAA battery case works fine in it for RX, though it's inadequate for TX.

Quoted: There are dead spots in your range where most scanners can't or won't go.  Looking at the specs of any scanner will tell you quickly if its RX range includes what you need. As to sensitivity, that's more a question of your antenna system than the radio.  A bad radio with a great antenna will usually receive at least adequately, even if it's a pain in the ass to set up; a great radio with a bad antenna will usually receive poorly no matter how smart the radio is. We're also not sure what your price point is. Radio Shack sells good <$250 scanners.  Be careful that you're looking at a real scanner and not a NASCAR POS scanner.  Read the reviews online, but if it's under $130, or the antenna isn't at least as long as the radio's body, it's probably a POS. If it doesn't have a numeric keypad somewhere, it's almost certainly a POS, and it'll be hard to program and hard to tune.  Better scanners will also support alphanumeric tags and numerous banks and such. Of course, you can always get aftermarket antennas, including some decent ones that Radio Shack has on its shelves, but those NASCAR scanners are pretty definitively POS's no matter what antenna you use. Mobile and base scanners usually won't have attached antennas, you go out and get one separately and mount it and cable it up. For the record, many VHF/UHF amateur radios will have good RX range.  The VX-7R I'm about to sell has excellent RX capability, from AM radio up to the 900's, I believe, with some spots naturally blocked out or unfeasible.  The 2xAA battery case works fine in it for RX, though it's inadequate for TX.

That is some good information, thanks.  I own a PRO-97 scanner, and it does a very good job.  I also have the PRO-94, also good.  I use those for trunking -- they do an excellent job there.  

I am now looking for something that goes beyond the freqs of those scanners - they go up to 1300MHz.

I don't mind spending 100's of dollars on something new, but I can't get the ones in the $1,000+ range.


Clive

Quoted: No trunking and no ssb, just one that can scan the band, but to a high degree of sensitivity

then...

get an Icom R5 or R20 (hendhelds)
www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/handheld/r5/specifications.aspx
www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/handheld/r20/specifications.aspx

or an Icom R1500 or (mobiles)
www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/mobile/r1500/specifications.aspx
www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/mobile/r2500/specifications.aspx

or an Icom R8500 (tabletop)
www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/tabletop/r8500/specifications.aspx

i doubt you will find better receivers for the frequency range and modes you are interested in.  also, you will want to look at the Yaesu equivalents, such as the VR120D, VR500, and VR5000.

you can buy all the receivers listed above (and more) at places like Gigaparts etc
www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=matrix&catcode=z-rx

e.g., the Icom R5 handheld is currently $184.

ar-jedi

Quoted: Quoted: No trunking and no ssb, just one that can scan the band, but to a high degree of sensitivity then... get an Icom R5 or R20 (hendhelds) www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/handheld/r5/specifications.aspx www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/handheld/r20/specifications.aspx or an Icom R1500 or (mobiles) www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/mobile/r1500/specifications.aspx www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/mobile/r2500/specifications.aspx or an Icom R8500 (tabletop) www.icomamerica.com/en/products/receivers/tabletop/r8500/specifications.aspx i doubt you will find better receivers for the frequency range and modes you are interested in.  also, you will want to look at the Yaesu equivalents, such as the VR120D, VR500, and VR5000. you can buy all the receivers listed above (and more) at places like Gigaparts etc www.gigaparts.com/store.php?action=matrix&catcode=z-rx e.g., the Icom R5 handheld is currently $184. ar-jedi www.icomamerica.com/images/products/large/R5_1.jpg www.icomamerica.com/images/products/large/R2500_1.jpg

Thanks for the help.  I am going to do as you suggest.  That R5 ICOM looks ideal...or maybe I will go for the PC version.  thank you gentlemen for your input.

R5 only goes up to 1300 mhz, R20 goes up to 3300, iirc.

Quoted: R5 only goes up to 1300 mhz, R20 goes up to 3300, iirc.

Yes it does, do you know any that go up to 21GHz?

Quoted: Quoted: R5 only goes up to 1300 mhz, R20 goes up to 3300, iirc. Yes it does, do you know any that go up to 21GHz?

first off, what happened to "i want a low cost UHF receiver" ???  seriously.

there is not much for you to hear above approximately 2.5GHz.  these microwave frequencies are used for a number of purposes, but attenuation due to building structure and even rain is significant.  building a receiver above 3GHz gets prohibitively expensive.  of course, you can find them, but a decent setup with a noise figure that isn't going to drown out any weak signal is going to be a lot of coin.  standard issue MMIC's don't do well up above 3GHz, so you need a GaAs frontend.

moreover, feedline loss above 2Ghz makes using an external antenna just short of impossible.  the normal way to do this is have a low noise preamp (and optionally a downconverter) located right at the antenna base -- with phantom power (e.g., +12Vdc) on the coax.  this is how a residential "small dish" satellite TV system (like Dish or DirectTV) works.  the LNB (low noise block, including the downconverter) is located at the dish, in fact it's up on the arm right at the focal point of the dish.

in summary, if you tell us what exactly you are looking for we can help.  but above 3GHz there is nothing "cheap, made in China" like you stated in an earlier post.  you are either pulling our collective leg now, or for some reason (SF paranoia?) you feel the need to spoon feed us your actual needs in tiny morsels.  

ar-jedi

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: R5 only goes up to 1300 mhz, R20 goes up to 3300, iirc. Yes it does, do you know any that go up to 21GHz? first off, what happened to "i want a low cost UHF receiver" ???  seriously. there is not much for you to hear above approximately 2.5GHz.  these microwave frequencies are used for a number of purposes, but attenuation due to building structure and even rain is significant.  building a receiver above 3GHz gets prohibitively expensive.  of course, you can find them, but a decent setup with a noise figure that isn't going to drown out any weak signal is going to be a lot of coin.  standard issue MMIC's don't do well up above 3GHz, so you need a GaAs frontend. moreover, feedline loss above 2Ghz makes using an external antenna just short of impossible.  the normal way to do this is have a low noise preamp (and optionally a downconverter) located right at the antenna base -- with phantom power (e.g., +12Vdc) on the coax.  this is how a residential "small dish" satellite TV system (like Dish or DirectTV) works.  the LNB (low noise block, including the downconverter) is located at the dish, in fact it's up on the arm right at the focal point of the dish. in summary, if you tell us what exactly you are looking for we can help.  but above 3GHz there is nothing "cheap, made in China" like you stated in an earlier post.  you are either pulling our collective leg now, or for some reason (SF paranoia?) you feel the need to spoon feed us your actual needs in tiny morsels.   ar-jedi

If there was one MADE IN CHINA, I thought you might know of one, bc I hadn't found one.  However, I heard there were some pretty decent radios coming out of that country that may not be built to last but could do the job for a lot less money.

I am not pulling your leg, I am just learning more in this discussion.  As I do so, I have more questions.  

I would like a scanner to be as wide ranging as feasibly possible or cover as many freqs as I can afford above the 1300MHz and below the 26.000MHz which the scanners I have cover.

What is the SF in (SF paranoia)?

Specifically, I want instruments that aid in the sweeps necessary to guard against interlopers (non gov).

Quoted: Specifically, I want instruments that aid in the sweeps necessary to guard against interlopers (non gov).

you can't do this effectively with a generic scanner.  
get a spectrum analyzer from Agilent or Anritsu.

see
ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=608395

ar-jedi

Quoted: get a spectrum analyzer from Agilent or Anritsu. see ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=10&f=17&t=608395 ar-jedi

Thank you for the link and info.  Could you render an opinion as to this device?CPM-700

Quoted: Thank you for the link and info.  Could you render an opinion as to this device?CPM-700

it is the Airsoft of the TSCM world.

from that same site, here is some "ok" info on what you need -- although the author takes some liberties...
www.tscm.com/tmdespect.html

ar-jedi

Quoted:... What is the SF in (SF paranoia)?

In this case, it stands for Survival Forum, which is where the Ham Radio Forum originated.

Specifically, I want instruments that aid in the sweeps necessary to guard against interlopers (non gov).

Being that you're concerned about NON-.gov interlopers, I guess that's not standard-issue SF   paranoia...

Being that you're concerned about NON-.gov interlopers, I guess that's not standard-issue SF   paranoia...

Haha, ..well I am just interested in the ones I could actually defend from.