I was recently thinking about getting a police scanner. I never listen to the radio, so i was thinking, if i feel like listening to something other than my i pod, I could listen to this. My question is if i could disconnect the raadio antenna wire from my head unit and connect it up to the police scanner and have it find the signals through that. Does anyone know if I could do this instead of buying the little portable antennas?

 

No. Scanner antennas are a tuned length, like a CB antenna. Also, the wire is all wrong.

 

I think cars with those giant antennas look ridiculous.



Try one of these low profile ones https://www.scannermaster.com/Antennas_s/2.htm

 

Yea i know that they have those little short ones, but i was just trying to see if i could set this system up without visibly seeing that extra antenna

 

The one I used was about a foot long and black. It was a through the glass two piece one too. Easy to set up. Not really something you noticed unless you were a truck driver.....

 

I want a four foot whip antenna for my radio, with a little flag at the top so I look like I'm driving around in a huge r/c car!

 

The new ones use higher frequencies than old radio systems. Higher frequencies require shorter antennae. The new cop cars have little stubby things on the trunk vs. long whips for a reason. The real problem might be finding out the right kind, code, and series of frequencies and modulations they use at your local system. Then being able to afford a radio that can pull in the signal. Unless you live in a small town with a small budget, the radios are probably digital or about to be changed to digital.

 

I do live in a small town, I'll have to look into that a little more. I believe my dad has a scanner setup now that i think of it, ill have to use him as a reference.

 

I know here in australia they went to digital then came back... the range and reception issues became more of a saftey risk then the advantages of it being secret squirel comms.. They still use the digital for secret comms but also use the analog for normal comms.