poor signal - antenna recommendation

Hey guys, I have a BCD996XT and have been scanning my local police for a month now. They use a Motorola Type II Smartzone system type and a APCO-25 Common air interface system voice. For the most part they come in crystal clear but there has been a few very frustrating times where the signal gets poor and I cant hear any radio transmissions and there was one instance where there was a robbery and they were talking non stop...it went silent with the ocassional transmission for a few seconds then nothing...this lasted half an hour then all of the sudden I could here them all again. I know that my scanner antenna wasnt picking up any signals while they were being transmitted so im asking if this is indeed because of my original antenna. Will spending money on a higher quality antenna fix this issue? Please help

If you are currently on the very fringe of getting this system with the original antenna then maybe you could improve it some. If it normally comes in with a good signal then there is something else going on.

I have moderately improved my coverage by using either a radio shack 800mz antenna .... about $20 and you will need to get a BNC elbow on the 996.
The other inexpensive methods that worked well were the small 800mz window antenna sold by scanmaster or just getting a BNC adaptor and using a standard HDTV antenna placing it near a window. These are tuned to receive 800mz and I have had good results with a rabbit ears (ears lowered) adjustable model that is passive (no power). This also enables me to adjust it so it is directional to the signal I'm trying to get.

Just some ideas that have improved my 996 and other scanner from the standard antenna.

If you normally get a strong signal then there could be another explanation than antenna.

BCD536HP/HP2/996XT/PSR800/396XT/996T

A no cost effort would be to lower the antenna. The standard antenna is meant to be all band. You are trying to get something probably 700-800mz.

Lowering the antenna to about as low as it goes will help.

BCD536HP/HP2/996XT/PSR800/396XT/996T

Sorry I should of specified, the frequencies im getting are in the 100-200 Mhz range...precisely 142.000 Mhz

adymoe said:

Sorry I should of specified, the frequencies im getting are in the 100-200 Mhz range...precisely 142.000 Mhz

Click to expand...

Still, if you are using the antenna it came with, you can improve. First & foremost - an antenna outside can make a huge difference! If that's not possible & based on your range... Rat Shack makes a decent telescoping whip with a center load coil for 15$. You'll need an elbow... You could spend around 40 for a nice Comet or Diamond also...

Did they encrypt their traffic? The 996XT can be programed to mute on encryption. BTW, 142.000 isn't a frequency used by police so I don't know what you've been receiving.

I am unaware of any Motorola Smartzone systems operating on The old VHF high. 142 mz would fall into a federal govt or amateur band. No police. ???? Not in the USA anyway.

BCD536HP/HP2/996XT/PSR800/396XT/996T

Since the OP is in Canada, comments about USA allocations are irrelevant. Police and public safety certainly are on 142 mhz.

Since Bell Fleetnet is a VHF trunking system, I have to ask, do you have the system programmed correctly with all control channels and custom band plans as necessary?

Sounds like a programming error if you lose reception for a half hour then all of a sudden its back up.

Yes im in canada. My local police do use 142.9500 mhz but others nearby use 800 mhz. They are not encrypted so thats out of the question. It could be a programming error but i manually programmed it following instructions from RR.

Antenna is everything. The stock antennas are wideband and don't perform well on certain bands. The first thing I do with a scanner is replace the stock antenna.

An amateur dual band antenna would be an improvement over the stock antenna. Amateur 2 meter is 144-148 MHz. and you want to cover 142 MHz, not too far off, and you will still be able to receive the 800 as well.

The Diamond RH77CA makes an excellent scanner antenna but will require a right angle adapter..

Thanks W8RMH. I figured having a stock antenna indoors would cause trouble...I just couldn't figure out why I could only hear the dispatcher talking hit and miss on certain ocassions maybe when weather is bad or something. I really hope a new antenna outdoors will solve this issue and allow me to no longer worry about missing valuable radio transmissions. The one you posted there is good for my Mhz range?