New here question about the NSP.

[scannernut09]

Hey on my PRO-163 1000 CH Triple Trunking Mobile/Base Scanner i put in the state patol frequency and i am in clay country, but all i get is the dispatcher and not the officers can someone help me?

[cellphone]

Listening to NSP mobiles is tricky for a couple of reasons.
1. All the communications are simplex. NSP does not use repeaters. You will need to be close to the mobiles before you hear them. You can get lucky if you are close enough to one of the dispatch towers that you can hear the mobile relay frequency to hear the mobiles.
2. 42mhz requires a long antenna for good performance. The optimal antenna length is about 12 feet for a half wave antenna. A more manageable size is a quarter wave antenna of about 6 feet. Next time you see an NSP cruiser, take a look at the 6 foot antenna that is on the back fender of the vehicle. That’s the antenna you need for good 42mhz performance.

If you are using a good external antenna that is spec’d for 42mhz then you can expect to hear mobiles within about 10-15 miles of you. If you are using stock antenna on the back of the scanner, you can expect to hear mobiles that are about 1-2 miles from you.

Hope this helps.

--Joe

[NeFire242]

You should also put the 465.5250MHz PAC R/T freq in too.

[Dak48]

As pointed out, distance to the mobiles is really key, as is the antenna factor. Back in the the late 70s early 80's I had an LED base scanner made by Bearcat, don't even recall the model number now, but I had it hooked up to an outdoor CB antenna and mast.

That setup worked great for low band stuff. I was picking up Bennington VFD on 39.98 (i think) in Lincoln with that antenna. The distance I could pull in on low band just amazed me and on good days of propogation pull in a location that had a Chicago accent and dispatching ambulance units. On the other hand, it wasn't so great for pulling UHF all that well. It would pull it in but with of noise.

I have a RatShack mag mount scanner antenna sitting on a filing cabinet, in a basement, and sometimes I can pull in a trooper on his mobile, but mostly I hear just dispatch on the various towers when I have the NSP bank enabled. It does work well for the EDACS system used in Lancaster county however.

WARNING: thread hijack, sorta... Cellphone, good to see you are still around. You've done a lot of work for Nebraska information, it is *much* appreciated. And what an antenna you must have to listen to Nebraska from Arizona. lol

[scannernut09]

Ya that does help alot thanks!!! I did have an external antenna for my old scanner that was in my truck. Well one day i lost the top part of it. It just came lose and fell in the ditch some were, so now do i have 2 get a whole antenna, or can i just get the top part 4 it?

[elephant101]

Originally Posted by Dak48

As pointed out, distance to the mobiles is really key, as is the antenna factor. Back in the the late 70s early 80's I had an LED base scanner made by Bearcat, don't even recall the model number now, but I had it hooked up to an outdoor CB antenna and mast.

That setup worked great for low band stuff. I was picking up Bennington VFD on 39.98 (i think) in Lincoln with that antenna. The distance I could pull in on low band just amazed me and on good days of propogation pull in a location that had a Chicago accent and dispatching ambulance units. On the other hand, it wasn't so great for pulling UHF all that well. It would pull it in but with of noise.

<snip>

I too, back in the late 70's, used a base CB antenna and hooked it up to my scanner. It was a Regency 210 I bought at Wards at the West Roads (Anyone remember?). Anyway, living in Norfolk at the time, I was able to pull in all the surrounding towns on 39.9 with crystal clarity. I could also hear NSP mobile's as far away as Battle Creek and Stanton. My biggest amazement was how I was able to pull in, though a little staticky, KIH-61 when they were just an experimental station.

It's amazing what a good outdoor antenna will do for ya. Always money well spent.

[Astrak]

Originally Posted by Dak48

WARNING: thread hijack, sorta... Cellphone, good to see you are still around. You've done a lot of work for Nebraska information, it is *much* appreciated. And what an antenna you must have to listen to Nebraska from Arizona. lol

I would imagine he's using a setup sorta like I use to listen in on LPD, it's a built in 2.4GHZ receiver connected to a /\/\ surfboard amplifier with about 1000000 feet of coax, then I just program in livecbradio.com and everything comes in just fine. Oh how I miss the ease of monitoring LPD/LSO/LFR compared to monitoring all the crap around here in Phoenix...thread hijack over.

[SquierStrat]

i bought a mobile (mag mount) antenex antenna specifically tuned to the 42mhz range for about $80, i bought it specifically for the NSP. it is simply amazing when it comes to the NSP. i live in fremont and i can hear all 3 dispatch towers in my troop clearly, and ive picked up troopers as far away as 180th and maple in omaha, with me being well inside fremont city limits.
on to the purpose of this post......

i bought a new car that i am terribly afraid of scratching the paint on, so i absolutely refuse to use my mag mount on it, rendering it completely useless for me. if you are interested, i would be willing to sell it for much less then the $80ish i paid for it....... like i said, it performs AMAZINGLY in the 42mhz range

[SquierStrat]

i bought a mobile (mag mount) antenex antenna specifically tuned to the 42mhz range for about $80, i bought it specifically for the NSP. it is simply amazing when it comes to the NSP. i live in fremont and i can hear all 3 dispatch towers in my troop clearly, and ive picked up troopers as far away as 180th and maple in omaha, with me being well inside fremont city limits.
on to the purpose of this post......

i bought a new car that i am terribly afraid of scratching the paint on, so i absolutely refuse to use my mag mount on it, rendering it completely useless for me. if you are interested, i would be willing to sell it for much less then the $80ish i paid for it....... like i said, it performs AMAZINGLY in the 42mhz range

[IrvingtonVFD43]

On my Pro96, I am able to get Troop HQ and A towers with the RadioShack "Hi Performance" flexible scanner antenna, (its the long black flex antenna) almost full quieting. The mobiles, I have reached out towards I 80/L St, and up towards I 680/Pacific St. But nothing from Troop HQ.

In my car and "lil Wil" CB antenna. I have heard mobiles as far as Kennard, Leshara, and near Waverly from sitting in my car here in Bellevue. Troop HQ, A, towers, full quieting, Troop B-Tekamah tower comes in readable but noisy.

[NeFire242]

Originally Posted by Astrak

Oh how I miss the ease of monitoring LPD/LSO/LFR compared to monitoring all the crap around here in Phoenix...thread hijack over.

Throw this link into WinAmp... Problem Solved.
http://24.223.246.156:8015

[Astrak]

Originally Posted by NeFire242

Throw this link into WinAmp... Problem Solved.
http://24.223.246.156:8015

That address isn't working it just plays but no audio. I usually just listen to livecbradio.com but it's hard to follow conversations because the guy has no delay set on the scanner. I remember way back in the day there was a stream that played on winamp that actually showed the screen of the scanner so you knew what talkgroup you were listening to.

[NeFire242]

Click on the link and it will open the station details on ShoutCast.com from there you can play it.

Don't know who runs that feed or what kind of scanner it is, but I know its not set up correctly for EDACS simply because you can hear the "beeps" at the end of the transmissions.

[Astrak]

Originally Posted by NeFire242

Click on the link and it will open the station details on ShoutCast.com from there you can play it.

Don't know who runs that feed or what kind of scanner it is, but I know its not set up correctly for EDACS simply because you can hear the "beeps" at the end of the transmissions.

Sounds to me like it's working just fine, it follows conversations.