[Scan-DC] Is a Snoop antenna any good?

[Alan Henney]

Blast Magazine

May 11, 2009 Monday 1:29 AM EST

Is a Snoop antenna any good?

BYLINE: John M. Guilfoil

LENGTH: 370 words

May 11, 2009 (PRrag delivered by Newstex) --

The police scanner is still one of the most versatile tools in the
journalists arsenal, sometimes right up there with the No. 8030 Gregg
Ruled spiral reporters notebook and a pencil (pens are unreliable when
its -10 degrees or if its raining).

Spot news photographers are famous for their scanners. I once rode
along with a photog who had five scanners going in his car at once.
Personally, whether Im on the road or in the office, the scanner is
usually clacking and beeping away with potential news from around
Boston or the surrounding towns.

The antennas that come with scanners arent exactly professional grade,
but they get the job done ¦ mostly.

But there exists a whole, eager, dedicated group of hobbyists in the
field of scanning. Some of them build their own antennas, and others
buy any of a variety of commercially available ones.

Lately, theres been buzz about a so-called œSnoop antenna, which is
essentially wire inside a PVC pipe. Its popular on eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY)
and some other online retailers especially.

So I bought one.

Here is some technical jargon:

The antenna claims to be tuned to 30 - 1200 MHz, but the lower bands,
30-200 MHz come in very poorly compared to the higher end of the
spectrum, 450-900 MHz.

The majority of police and fire departments around Boston use
450-490ish MHz, but many still operate on the lower band, 150-162 MHz,
and some towns even operate on the 25-50 MHz band.

Technical jargon over.

The Snoop antenna picks up the 400 MHz frequencies very well in my
tests, pulling transmissions from Brighton to as far north as Andover,
as far west as Framingham, and all the way south to Plymouth. Plymouth
and Andover are well more than 20 miles away, but Framingham is much
closer, and I believe the reason Im not picking up many more is
because more departments in MetroWest use the lower frequencies that
the Snoop isnt picking up.

Im not an expert, and I dont have sophisticated, expensive equipment
to compare it to, but if you want one guys advice: The Snoop picks up
frequencies from farther away and works well on higher frequencies.
Overall, it does work better than a stock antenna, but dont expect
miracles.