Cherry Hill PD signal observations

[policefreak]

Something very strange I notice with Cherry Hill PD signal on their 800 Mhz EDACS TRS. I can't even get a whisper of any CC or voice channel at my home in Berlin, NJ 2 towns away about 7 miles from a tower. Yet I've heard them clearly in Glassboro in Southampton Burlington County and now I've heard them in Salem County pretty clearly.

[ampulman]

I'm about 1.5 miles (as the crow flies) from Evesham & Kresson Rds. in Voorhees. As soon as I cross Evesham the signal, already weak, drops like a rock.

From my second floor listening post, I can pull them in weakly (lots of static and other noises) using a RS 800 antenna, or 2 home brew jobs (800mhz yagi, or offset loaded dipole.

Lately, it seems to have degraded.

Amp

[Skypilot007]

I haven't noticed much change, their system is weak from a scanner listeners point of view but it was designed for local coverage. It seems to have strong lobes of coverage in certain directions weak lobes in other areas outside Cherry Hill. Even certain areas within the town are weak on my mobile with a motorola external 800MHz antenna. Though I can hear them loud and clear at my home with a quality roof top antenna pointed in that general direction. Camden city's edacs system is much stronger.

[magee31]

I live across from the fire station on cropwell and have an old antenna inside the attic, and have no problems with anything except the CH police, hardly receive a signal at all, years ago when they were on the lower frequencies I had no problems at all.

[policefreak]

Are you near a cell phone tower by any chance?

[W2GLD]

You may wish to check your programming, I listen to them everyday from Kresson & Evesham almost all the way into Blackwood near the Camden County College without any troubles. I am using a Uniden BCD396XT and a GRE PSR-500 with the Radio Shack 800MHz. antenna and the are exactly the same signal results. In fact, they are loud and clear right now at Kresson & Evesham, 5x9...

[ampulman]

As an aside to my post (above), the Public Works TG always comes in 5 x 5.

[magee31]

Theres just a great deal of static and has been for quite a while, never used to have a problem, and dont have any other problems with any of the sites I listen to, voorhees, camden county fire and all the rest of them.

[radioman2001]

A check of their license shows a max power output of 30 watt ERP. Not much of a signal, their license also shows only about a 5mi radius from their transmitter site on Perina Blvd for the mobiles. I suspect that they got frequencies that were drop in, for the area they use. Meaning they are used in other locations by other agencies and they only could get that power level and operating radius. A second license shows power out at 52 watts ERP at 2 locations Mercer st and Perina. I wonder if different departments of the town use different systms

[policefreak]

Could that possibly indicate that the antennas are directional? Did they have to lower their input due to the rebanding and possible co-channel or adjacent channel interference? I wonder if there have been any complaints from emergency services within the township who have used the system?