antenna amplifier for scanner would it do any good?

Answer 1

Unless your scanner covers a very limited frequency range, or you want to focus only on a limited frequency range, an amplifier would give little benefit.

The massive amount of frequency coverage of a typical scanner means it's virtually impossible to build an amplifier which will reliably cover all those frequencies. So all one can do instead with an amplifier would be to purchase one to cover a limited range of frequencies, say in an area the listener is most interested in (the aircraft frequencies, for example).

However, your best bet would be to focus on the best possible antenna, or antennas, for the job. Many advanced scanner listeners even go so far as to have multiple antennas, each tuned to a different set of frequencies (one for air, another for police, and so on).

The next step would be to get those antennas as high into the air as possible, with sufficient grounding to reduce noise. At this point, you may find an amplifier is simply not needed for the task at hand.

Note: On a side note, one of the biggest problems with an amplifier is that it amplifies everything, including unwanted noise. Better antennas mounted high, on the other hand, will improve the strength of your reception, while good grounding reduces noise.

Answer 2

Depends.

If you live in the city, and have lots of interference, and amplifier will amplify the interference to, and actually make it worse. There are ways around some of this, but it is more complex.

If you live in an out-lying area, and are trying to listen to a city lets say 30 miles away, then an amplifier will help, but there is a better choice. In this instance I would get a directional scanner antenna, and point it to the city you want to hear. These are available on Ebay. They are sometimes just TV antennas, turned 90 degrees to be vertically polarized. Feed it with a good quality coax, like Belden 9913.

If you live in an out-lying area, but want to listen out farther all around you, then an amplifier will help some. Your best bet is to get a wide range outside scanner antenna (try a Discone), and get it mounted as high as possible, and un-obstructed. Use heavier coax to feed the antenna, like Belden 9913.

The coax is extremely important, as it's length increases (say over 25'), and as the frequency increases (say over 100 MHz). 100' of RG-58 coax loses 5 dB at 150 MHz. That means you are losing almost half of your signal. At 850 MHz, the loss is 15 dB. Every 6 dB means you are losing 1/2 of the signal, so at 15 dB loss, you are getting less than 20% through the other end.

You can use a TV style amplifier on a scanner. Typically TV amplifiers work from 50 to 900 MHz, which is usually good enough for most scanner listeners. TV amplifiers are set to 75 ohms impeadance, but this isn't significant for your use. You could actually feed your scanner using a high quality 75 ohm coax. To work best, the amplifier should be mounted at the antenna.

Answer 3

Yes,a drastic improvement.