460 MHz Interference?

Okay, so I wanted to post this here as it is not related to my specific antenna or a particular frequency. I am getting what appears to be severe attenuation on the 450-512 MHz band. I live in Toms River, NJ and my local EMS is on 460.625 and it comes in with static. The next town over has frequencies in the 453 range, and they barely make it here. I have narrowed it down to the 450 & 460 MHz range severely, and the 500 MHz range is slightly static-y. I have duplicated this scenario with my attic-mounted antenna, a handheld rubber duck, and a base with the stock telescoping antenna. Is there something that could be causing this like block on this frequency range? I live more than 30 miles from any TV transmitters, and more than 5 miles from the nearest FM station- and it is on 91.1. This is recent- as I used to get a control channel on 460.500, which is about 10-15 miles away- and now nothing. Any suggestions?

Have you verified that your scanner hasn't gone deaf in that band?

Multiple scanners with multiple antenna tests in the same house. I can pick up VHF like nobody's business though.

The house/apt/building your in and having reception pretty problems, when was it built? I've been in some houses built pre 1910 which acted like a faraday cage for many bands on the spectrum. The reception problems were being caused by the metal screen in the walls used before plaster board was invented.

I've seen older houses have metal under the roofing shingles. This would cause problems for attic antennas installations.

It is a house built in 1979.

460.625

I can tell you for certain the transmitter is working fine.

I hear it every day on my /\/\ mobile and scanners at home.

I am some 50-60 miles away. Keep looking for the problem.

Possibly another signal in another band has come on the air and is desensing your receiver.
I would not think it would do it on all receivers though.
Look for something common to all the radios you have tried.

XTS3000 said:

The house/apt/building your in and having reception pretty problems, when was it built? I've been in some houses built pre 1910 which acted like a faraday cage for many bands on the spectrum. The reception problems were being caused by the metal screen in the walls used before plaster board was invented.

I've seen older houses have metal under the roofing shingles. This would cause problems for attic antennas installations.

Click to expand...

Ha! My apartment is old and covered with Stucco. The Stucco is applied very thick to a wire mesh or lath. It makes a very nice faraday cage inside here. Lucky for me, I live on the top floor and they allowed me roof access with my own key and all so I have several antennas up there.
Had I not been able to do that, I doubt I'd still be into radio as balcony and window frame antennas did not work very well. The windows and balcony are on the wrong side of the building for almost everything that interested me.
I know have several verticals, a few yagi's for different bands with rotors and a HF loop also on a rotor and then some random wires but the wires pickup too much noise from other apartments as the roof is not on a wire mesh. It's just a standard rubber membrane TPO roof applied to plywood so GPS signals pass through it into my place but it offers no shielding like the walls do.
It's a challenge here that's for sure!
Then I'm surrounded by hospitals loaded with VHF high power paging transmitters.

Have you tried taking a portable scanner and walking away from your house and seeing if the problem goes away. Perhaps an electronic device of some sorts inside your house or your neighbors house is causing this. To test your own house use a battery powered radio then go to your electric panel and start shutting off breakers one at a time and you may get lucky and narrow it down to one of your in house circuits. Hopefully its not coming from one of your neighbors. Happy hunting.

Do you have access to a spectrum analyzer? Maybe even a consumer radio with some type of band scope?

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