Carroll County Md Law Enforcement

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jski

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Sep 25, 2016
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Marriotsville MD
Carroll county law is apparently being removed from Broadcastify live feed and so I am back to my old scanner. When Carroll went P25, I experimented with a few antennas, and the one that worked the best was the spectrum mini window,( I read about it on here), but it is still far from ideal. I am in the far southeast corner of Carroll. I have been told I am in a lousy spot. Any suggestions? And to the person that was providing the feed, Thank you ! It was great while it lasted , especially having Law separate from EMS!
 

jski

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Marriotsville MD
more info... I am in marriottsville ( carroll county side) surrounded by tall trees, reception is rough, I have one window where I get a little better quality reception with the spectrum mini taped to the window pointing towards Eldersburg.. it will be ok for a bit then go bad and requires frequent repositioning, are there any Carroll listeners here , maybe even in my area that are getting good clear sound and if so how are you doing it?
 

ka3jjz

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Do you live in a condo or apartment? If you could put a yagi pointed at one of the towers outside and high (knowing that you're not going to get around the issue with the trees) you might have a better shot at getting a more reliable signal. Even putting a yagi (which at 800 is quite tiny) in your attic might be an improvement

Mike
 

jski

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Marriotsville MD
thank you for the response, I have been looking online at antennas again, my radio shack 800 on the scanner performs better moving around the county in the car, but is lousy in my house and in my yard for that matter, I have a discone and have also been trying an old magnetic roof mount, but still the mini window works a little better than these, all things I got before being spoiled by broadcastify on tablet and cell phone. I am not well versed in all things scanner so could you recommend a small yagi?
 

jski

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Sep 25, 2016
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Marriotsville MD
Not sure I am posting properly, maybe this should be under antennas and not the feed or agencies I am trying to hear? forgive me, new to this.
I can't put one in the attic at this time, have done some more reading the last few days and understand buying an antenna is a complete gamble, it might work, it might not... I'll risk it. My past antenna purchases were before P25 and I will confess here I was never able to master the discone! So I want to ask you all again, are the antennas I listed here worth a shot? waste of money? The terrawave is 50 in. long. they have a smaller at 30 in. The others are smaller yet. Would any of you purchase one of these or something different entirely? Can a good choice of a small but powerful antenna even be made in this price range? (under a $100). If you were in my spot, what would you spend your money on to increase the odds first purchase has some success even if limited by terrain?
 

ka3jjz

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I don't have or need either of these so I can't comment - perhaps someone else? Mike
 

jski

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Sep 25, 2016
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Marriotsville MD
so good and so bad

While waiting for Terrawave to arrive, I went the paperclip route, strong signal, lots of audio breaks. Antenna arrived Friday, spent a lot of weekend looking for perfect spot. Terrawave is nice improvement. Voice quality and even volume is better., though still have issues . I have tried inside and outside and there are some curiosities. When I start to get Carroll Sheriff good and clear , MSP G suffers and vice versa, same with Detention Center and Westminster City. Detention Center is great outside but Westminster City is better inside. *** is this normal ? *** All are on same system / dispatch. If all on same system, I can't figure out why so good and so bad at the same time. Listening and positioning still troublesome, but I'll keep trying. Best reception is still same NW corner , but now below and away from window. This antenna does not work well in front of same window, maybe that means something? Also it's better slightly off direction of tower. My goal is just to hear my hometown Carroll stuff . Any input or insight appreciated.
 
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