Hello everyone! I've been stalking the forums for the past few months, and finally decided to make my first post. Like the title says, I'm a complete newbie to the entire "radio" scene. I apologize if I mess any terms up.
I've enjoyed listening to feeds on RR (now Broadcastify) and on LiveATC for a few years, and I finally received a Uniden BC125AT for Christmas. Long story short, I shelved it because I couldn't pick up anything.
Between then and now, I picked up a telescoping antenna from Radio Shack. I'm now located near my local airport (KMLB- Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida) and I can now hear communications from there. Though I'm closer to the airport than beforehand, it seems I'm only able to get the best quality if I sit in a window. Obviously, radio doesn't travel well through walls/houses/etc.. Is there any way I'd be able to fix this? Would buying another antenna help out? I'm not entirely too sure what I can do to remedy this.
Another thing is that I'm not too clear on the laws regarding using scanners in cars. Is it illegal to use a scanner while riding around? I'd like to be able to bring it around in the future (if legal), to say, another airport. What can I do and what can't I do?
Last thing- I've looked around the frequency database, and it seems a lot of agencies (police, fire, etc.) around have gone digital and/or trunked, and even 'encrypted'. I'd also love to listen to operations at the port, Cape Canaveral/ Kennedy Space Center, and whatever else is in the area, but I'm sure they've all gone digital and/or possibly encrypted.Does that mean my BC125AT is only able to listen to civil air traffic in my area? If so, should I consider upgrading sometime in the future?
Thank you all in advance. Hope to learn and build on this new hobby of mine!
I've enjoyed listening to feeds on RR (now Broadcastify) and on LiveATC for a few years, and I finally received a Uniden BC125AT for Christmas. Long story short, I shelved it because I couldn't pick up anything.
Between then and now, I picked up a telescoping antenna from Radio Shack. I'm now located near my local airport (KMLB- Melbourne, Brevard County, Florida) and I can now hear communications from there. Though I'm closer to the airport than beforehand, it seems I'm only able to get the best quality if I sit in a window. Obviously, radio doesn't travel well through walls/houses/etc.. Is there any way I'd be able to fix this? Would buying another antenna help out? I'm not entirely too sure what I can do to remedy this.
Another thing is that I'm not too clear on the laws regarding using scanners in cars. Is it illegal to use a scanner while riding around? I'd like to be able to bring it around in the future (if legal), to say, another airport. What can I do and what can't I do?
Last thing- I've looked around the frequency database, and it seems a lot of agencies (police, fire, etc.) around have gone digital and/or trunked, and even 'encrypted'. I'd also love to listen to operations at the port, Cape Canaveral/ Kennedy Space Center, and whatever else is in the area, but I'm sure they've all gone digital and/or possibly encrypted.Does that mean my BC125AT is only able to listen to civil air traffic in my area? If so, should I consider upgrading sometime in the future?
Thank you all in advance. Hope to learn and build on this new hobby of mine!