Improving the reception of your radio shack police scanner in your car can significantly enhance your monitoring experience. Many enthusiasts start with handheld scanners and stock antennas, often called “rubber duck” antennas, which provide basic functionality. Upgrading to a mobile unit offers advantages, but antenna placement becomes crucial for optimal performance.
For those transitioning from handheld scanners with rubber duck antennas to mobile units in their vehicles, replicating or improving that reception level is a common goal. A key consideration is that placing your scanner’s antenna low within the car, near the firewall, can obstruct signals. Even a simple modification like using a BNC extension cable to position a rubber duck antenna closer to the car windows can yield noticeable improvements.
Exploring dedicated mobile antennas, such as Bingfu antennas or similar vehicle-mounted options, presents a more robust solution. Alternatively, a practical and easily removable setup involves utilizing an RS800 antenna with a few feet of coaxial cable and a BNC adapter. This can be suction-cupped to a rear passenger window – a particularly effective spot in many two-door vehicles where the window is fixed. This approach allows for a quick, convenient, and consistently available antenna solution by simply connecting the coaxial cable to your handheld scanner placed in the passenger seat. This type of window-mounted configuration elevates the antenna, providing a clearer path for radio waves and demonstrably better reception compared to interior, low-mounted antennas. Even with a modest setup like this, anecdotal evidence suggests surprisingly capable reception, even picking up signals from distant sources, highlighting the benefit of improved antenna placement.
