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Reviews For: Radio Shack Mag-Mount Scanner Antenna

Category: Antennas: VHF/UHF+ Omnidirectional: verticals, mobile, etc

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack Mag-Mount Scanner Antenna
Reviews: 8MSRP: 34.99
Description:
36" long mag-mount antenna, 25-1300 MHz, includes 16-ft coaxial cable with BNC connector. Radio Shack Model 20-032.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102469&cp=&kw=antenna&kwCatId=2032052&parentPage=search
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
0083.9
KF5YOF Rating: 2014-01-24
Good for the price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have only used this antenna for receiving public service frequencies, never for transmitting as some hams seem to have done. It has pretty good reception for my Uniden Homepatrol 1 (yes I use the GPS option too); I can pull in stations from up to 20 miles away which is pretty good for the semi-deaf HP1. I hooked up the antenna analyzer to it, and I get the best SWR reading (1.3:1) at 157.000 Mhz for VHF-High band. I get an SWR of 1.1:1 at 445 Mhz on UHF so maybe it can be used for TX on the 70cm amateur band. For the public service VHF-Low band, I got terrible SWR readings... it was about 27:1 at 40 MHz. I was unable to measure the SWR for 700/800 Mhz but it seemed to pick up my state's 800 MHz system pretty well (Arkansas AWIN).
AF6D Rating: 2013-11-25
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I don't know how anyone could rate this antenna anything less than a three or even compare it to a rubber ducky dummy load. This is a great antenna. I use one with my VX-7 all the time when not in my car.

I own four of them. One sits in the shop as the test antenna; one is on my primary vehicle and blows away an Austin.

Once we had a body search and recovery mission and I was the comm. tech. I was running two VHF commercials and a ham radio, each on one of these. They worked great on RX and TX.

Is it the best mag mount? No. The mag mount could be stronger. Does it RX well? Yes. Use some 100 mile an hour tape (duct tape as we called it in the Army) if you plan on speeding.

With no real scanner antennas available and this really the only choice it does quite well.
KF4HPY Rating: 2007-12-31
A pleasant surprise! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had this scanner mag mount for about 5 years now. I have used it most of the time with my Yaesu FT-817 as a mobile unit; or on a pie pan indoors on vacation.I have worked 6m, 2m and 70cm FM nets with no problems at all. Recently it has been on the XYL's van without coming off. She is never under 70 on the Interstates. Even brushed few limbs. It is a little tall for a Dodge van; but works well with the long cable and BNC connector. This one's a kepper.
KD8FJI Rating: 2007-12-31
I've Seen Better Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this antenna to use with my BCD996T in my vehicle for long distance travel. The wide coverage of 25MHz to 1300MHz makes it great for scanning most things, however coverage of the CB band is scratchy and weak even with the squelch open enough before the noise, so don't expect to get traffic updates from truckers far in advance with this antenna.

I haven't tried this antenna on transmit yet, but I don't really plan to, as this has fallen off of my vehicle 3 times. I mount this on the top center of my vehicle, and it is risky driving with this antenna at speeds over 70mph. High speed and wind is really not a good mix for this product.

If it had a spring at the mount like a CB antenna and some others do, it would probably be just fine, but the design of the antenna just doesn't work as efficiently as it could. Other than that, this antenna is great for a scanner.
KI4JUA Rating: 2006-10-24
For $37, it works fine. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have a Kenwood TH-F6A and was happy enough with it's reception with a duck antenna until I started using it in the car. I bought the RS 20-032 for a quick trip and was pretty happy with the performance. Seemed to receive on the scanner frequencies just fine.

I put it on the back deck of a Toyota Corolla, so it isn't getting a full wind load, and it hasn't fallen off once. I think the top speed was just over 75 mph. I am skeptical that it would stay stuck on on the roof of anything, the base magnet just isn't strong enough for the size of the wire sticking up.

If you're worried about the magnet and don't want to move your antenna from car to car, the glass-mount version (Model 20-011) is the same price and has similar performance according to a guy I spoke with.

It should be made clear that I do plan to get a "real" antenna from Icom or Diamond or the like that is designed for HAM use in the future. This was a quick purchase for a trip and did what I expected for the cost.

Antennas and radios seem to affirm the axiom that you get what you pay for.
KC5KTO Rating: 2006-06-27
Works great! Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I purchased this for my PRO-2026 mobile scanner about ten years ago. Never had a problem. The only thing I've done to it is replace the PL-259 connector with a real BNC connector.

In reality, the antenna's almost a bit too much for the scanner. Because the PRO-2026 is only dual-conversion, I get intermod really easy at certain points around town. On the other hand, I can pick up radio traffic from one of the state parks 70 miles away with very little noise.

No complaints about the strength of the magnet, even at extra-legal speeds. I've had my Caprice up to 135 (yes, the '95 cop cars with the LT1 motors will go that fast) and had absolutely no problem with it moving around on the trunk lid.
N1YXW Rating: 2006-05-07
Great Antenna Time Owned: more than 12 months.
This is a really good antenna. Does not blow off the roof of the car even at 77mph. Have owned these antennas for over 10 yrs. Surprisingly good reception on all frequencies, 46-49mhz, VHF, UHF. Haven't tested on 1.2ghz. A physically mounted antenna is better, but if you don't want to drill a hole in your trunk or roof this is a good alternative and much better than the glass mounted antenna.
AE6OX Rating: 2006-01-30
Not Worth Much Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Bought this as an improvement over the stock rubber-duck antenna for my Radio Shack Pro 97 scanner at home. Unfortunately, it proved to provide worse reception than the stock duckie antenna. Also, the mag mount is not strong enough to prevent fly-off if used mobile at any speed.