Jerry,
It sounds like your ground system is shorting out your mast and antenna's. Myself, I wouldn't worry about grounding it. But that is up to you. I have the BCD325P2 and I work in Malvern. I pick up East Central no problem, but of course nothing for West.
You have to consider, that most 700-800 MHZ radio's transmit at extremely low power 5 to 10 watts at the most. Plus, Chester County has a lot of low spots. They had that problem with the LTR System from EF Johnson. It was so bad that they had to re-broadcast the transmissions on a VHF frequency so the Police and Fire could receive Dispatch.
The only way that these systems work is thru repeaters. But, If they don't have the power turned up for the repeater, you will not receive them. Plus, it's like Bucks County. They don't really want people from other counties receiving their broadcasts. They will tell you we are not encrypting (Except for certain channels) but the wattage is so low, good luck in receiving it. For me to receive both Bucks and Chester I would have to have 2 different scanners and 2 directional antenna's.
I have a 50 foot tower because I am an Amateur Radio Operator. But as long as I can pick up Montgomery County from where I live, that is sufficient to me. I hate to say it, but Motorola and all these other 800 MHZ manufacturer's have sold the police agencies nothing more than a piece of crap! They can't copy dispatch and they can't copy car to car. So what is the benefit? They were better using the old VHF and UHF frequencies that they had. The power was higher and communication was much more reliable.
You might want to get a Ham to come and take a good look at your grounding situation. He may be able to see where the problem is. Mark Griffin, KB3Z
It sounds like your ground system is shorting out your mast and antenna's. Myself, I wouldn't worry about grounding it. But that is up to you. I have the BCD325P2 and I work in Malvern. I pick up East Central no problem, but of course nothing for West.
You have to consider, that most 700-800 MHZ radio's transmit at extremely low power 5 to 10 watts at the most. Plus, Chester County has a lot of low spots. They had that problem with the LTR System from EF Johnson. It was so bad that they had to re-broadcast the transmissions on a VHF frequency so the Police and Fire could receive Dispatch.
The only way that these systems work is thru repeaters. But, If they don't have the power turned up for the repeater, you will not receive them. Plus, it's like Bucks County. They don't really want people from other counties receiving their broadcasts. They will tell you we are not encrypting (Except for certain channels) but the wattage is so low, good luck in receiving it. For me to receive both Bucks and Chester I would have to have 2 different scanners and 2 directional antenna's.
I have a 50 foot tower because I am an Amateur Radio Operator. But as long as I can pick up Montgomery County from where I live, that is sufficient to me. I hate to say it, but Motorola and all these other 800 MHZ manufacturer's have sold the police agencies nothing more than a piece of crap! They can't copy dispatch and they can't copy car to car. So what is the benefit? They were better using the old VHF and UHF frequencies that they had. The power was higher and communication was much more reliable.
You might want to get a Ham to come and take a good look at your grounding situation. He may be able to see where the problem is. Mark Griffin, KB3Z
