Comet DS-150S Discone Antenna Mounting and Testing

[@cnick6]

Hank, if you're planning to use the discone antenna for any scanning especially in the public safety frequency ranges (770 Mhz to 870 Mhz) then I'd recommend upgrading your coax to at least LMR400 even if it's a short run. It's a worthy upgrade for the gain difference you'll get in the higher frequencies. Also, since discone antennas aren't designed for gain you can help this by raising its height. A cheap way is to buy a 10ft piece of EMT conduit at any major hardware store. You can prime and paint it any color if you wish to make it stealthy. The extra 10ft may not seem like much but can make a substantial difference in Tx and Rx performance.

[@survivalcomms]

Looks great ! Thanks for sharing . I ran a sweep of my discone with a sitemaster years ago for laughs and outside of a few minor bumps you would have thought it was a dummy load. They are a great antenna . We had a bunch of STI-CO discones as part of a project I was on and there was no measureable perfomance increase between those ($$$$$) and the amateur variants. I look forward to watching it work with your spectrum analyzer.

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks. I am checking things out on the SpecAn now.

[@survivalcomms]

sweet !

[@QtmMtrlzr]

Nice video! I just picked up a Tram 1410 Discone to use with my SDR for various experiments (op25, dump1090) and am impressed with it's performance. Funny you also have the ID-880H, I have one mounted in my Jeep as a mobile unit on a COmet CA24SR antenna.

[@Commsprepper]

I need to reprogram the ID-880H. Perhaps this weekend.

[@QtmMtrlzr]

Chirp sure makes it easy to copy configs between radios. I didn't find much value in the Icom cloning software. Have you done a video on DSTAR yet?

[@samuelsmith6573]

Your wife must be someone awesome - she even helps you put up antennas! Man O' Man! You must treat her right! Thanks for all your videos brother! Well done!

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks for the channel support.

[@jwfox54]

KZbin recommended this video 7 years later. How did the discone hold up? A 7 year later follow up video would be great. Also, I like the antenna mast. Did you ever add an extension?

[@735Secure]

The Discone under ideal conditions should give you a spherical beam pattern. As an only antenna it's fine but it's a compromise. You'll need the Discone for a scanner (SHTF) but the 2 meter antenna will give you better take off angle and as you know can reach out further. I use my Discone side by side on two different rigs and there is a world of difference. I suggest using your Discone in your WVA property.

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks. My plan is to setup a second Discone at the retreat.

[@egenestarr1986]

question i live southwest WV, near mountains but i am in a mountain at the draw portion, my house sets in a 1 acre opening but above it surrounded by 3 sides is mountain then 4th side mountain about 1500 feet from me. I have a discone with LMR400, 50 foot, 22 feet in air not in center of property but one side which would be near woodline, it hasnt received anything at all in my county ever with anys etting you can fathom, software is updated, and verified, freqqs downloaded from radioreference, and zero reception with a brand new SDS200 bearcat radio scanner - am i going to have to raise the antenna to 100 feet in air or something?

[@GodspeedAdam]

excellent. I grabbed myself the same antenna. I do have one question, how did u ground it?

[@Commsprepper]

The antenna is grounding via the mounting pipe. If the pipe you are connecting it to is ground then you are good to go.

[@TerryMcKean]

I've always been intrigued by those discones but never had one. Is that upper vertical section with the loading coil adjustable with Allen screws top and bottom of the coil form to fine-tune the SWR?

[@Commsprepper]

It's adjusted for the 6m band. If you don't use 6m you can leave it off.

[@TerryMcKean]

Understood... thank you and 73.

[@Nodularguy1]

Ordered one the other day. Can't wait to get it. Also fix the title of the video (Coment). Thanks for the great videos Hank !

[@Commsprepper]

Jeff thanks for letting me know about the typo.

[@lenny0272]

WOW very cool. I want one

[@jwsolarusa]

Very nice antenna my friend. Thanks for sharing and God bless. Cheers

[@brucewayne-cave]

Thank you for this information Hank. Does using 50' or 100' of coax greatly affect SWR?

[@Commsprepper]

Not really but the longer the run the more loss you will have. You want your cable run as short as possible.

[@brucewayne-cave]

Commsprepper I see. What is the longest coax that you would feel comfortable running; on say a 100w radio?

[@Commsprepper]

Depends on what frequencies you are operating and how much loss you are willing accept. Check out this chart. www.w4rp.com/ref/coax.html

[@brucewayne-cave]

Commsprepper Nice charts, thanks. I think I am looking at a 100'~ installation. This antenna is on my wish list for sure.

[@cnick6]

Use LMR400 if you're going for 100ft of coax.

[@joeprete7424]

+Commsprepper I have the Radio Shack Discone, and most of the rods broke off. What brand is yours? Is it holding up okay?

[@TRprepper]

Looks like a winner! Could you use one of those with a handheld radio? I have adapters for mine to hook up coax cable.

[@Commsprepper]

TR - Sure can! It will work fine with an HT. Hank

[@brucel399]

Commsprepper do you still have this antenna in the air and how has it held up over the time? Bruce KC0AQU

[@JeffreyNColeman]

A question: If I am not interested in using the DS-150S on 6 meters, do I need to attach the whip on top? The whip appears to be active only on 6 meters, and since I plan to listen/transmit only on 2 meters and above, I wonder if I can leave it off.

[@Commsprepper]

Not sure but I think you are right - that the whip part is for the 6m.

[@JeffreyNColeman]

Commsprepper Thanks! Just ordered the Comet discone and will install it as soon as it arrives. In addition to scanning, I will also use the discone as my amateur radio antenna for 2m and 70cm and I very much appreciate your videos.

[@haraldhotelbravofliegerfan1909]

good evening. In sequence 1:12, how seal against moisture the Discone antenna outdoor? With silicon spray? best wishs Harald CH

[@Commsprepper]

It comes with tape. Do not use sprays. You can by weather proofing tape.

[@LoriMarino]

It sure would help if the SWR was high and you showed what can be done to adjust it.

[@Commsprepper]

Depends on the antenna type. Most amateur radio antennas come with "tuning or adjusting" instructions to get the lowest (best VSWR). the basics are adding or removing length to the antenna elements.

[@rmccombs66]

Where did get the gain figure from. Did ones have unity gain. dBi isn't real anyway it's gain compared to a theoretical isotropic radiator.

[@Commsprepper]

Got from the package.

[@rommelpangilinan829]

nice,thanks

[@tikibar4me]

Nice video...thanks!

[@Commsprepper]

thanks.

[@daniel51404]

What coax do you need? Where can I buy this antenna?

[@Commsprepper]

RG214/Amazon

[@buzzsah]

Good SWR If I didn't just put up a diamond I'd order it. I may order it anyway as a receive antenna and backup 2m 70cm

[@Commsprepper]

I got it for the spectrum analyzer. I'm less concerned about the 2m/70cm operations.

[@hartleyhomesteadmichigan6041]

Nice antenna!

[@Commsprepper]

Thanks!

[@Keith_WB2VUO]

Past experience with discones have shown the SWR to be great, but performance to be lacking. A local ham, over the Niagara River from me, in Canada, can hit a Buffalo repeater on his HT easily with the stock dual-band rubber duck, but is too noisy to understand when he connects the same radio to the discone. Also, the SWR on 6 meters and 1.3 meters is under 2:1, but he can't hear us on 52.525 or 223.5 with the discone. I have no good explanation. He has a Ringo on those bands, and he's solid on either band when using the single band antennas. Based on this, plus reports from other amateurs around WNY and Ontario, the discone is marginal at best. de WB2VUO here near Buffalo

[@gentryrailroadvideography2990]

Can you do this to a handheld scanner?

[@Commsprepper]

Yes this antenna can be connected to a scanner.

[@TotemPoleOfCare]

How does this antenna work for 220 MHz?

[@Commsprepper]

Can't say - I don't have a 220 rig.

[@paimg0uut]

what model is it ? vy 73

[@Commsprepper]

Model is in the title of the video.

[@Neeko_110]

Shorten the stinger up about 1/8 + of an inch and should center the swr freq out.....

[@Commsprepper]

Stringer?

[@Neeko_110]

The center vertical radiator

[@Commsprepper]

The center vertical is for the 6m band. timing it would not affect the 70cm or 2m bands (per the manual).

[@ronwade2206]

Discones are a broadband reciever solution that rarely provides satisfactory performance on transmit.

[@Crosbie85]

that must suck with all the trees around

[@Commsprepper]

Not really - the antenna works well.

[@anthonygallo3576]

Its amazing , how many radio geeks lack common sense. The make and model of the antenna early on would have been helpful

[@Commsprepper]

Amazing how many retards leave stupid comments on youtube. It's not like the make and model is in the video title.

[@kishascape]

The diamond is better.

[@anthonygallo3576]

Sorry, I'm a safety guy. The base of the ladder should be at least 1/4 the length of the ladder away from the wall , hence, a 12' ladder should have the bottom at least 4' from the house. Your an accident waiting to happen and I'm only 1 min into the video

[@Commsprepper]

find another channel to troll please.