Close Call Question

[scanny_man]

I live in missouri and traveled to florida this past christmas...now i have a BC92xlt and it has the close call feature where it searches for nearby transmissions. Ok. Now i was in st petersburg/tampa and there where police sirens non stop...my scanner didn't pick up anything...i searched through every frequency i had including ones where you punch in the two sets that you want to search between and still nothing..no police no fire no ambulance not evan HAM...can someone please tell me why this happened...Thanks

 

[hankv]

I live in missouri and traveled to florida this past christmas...now i have a BC92xlt and it has the close call feature where it searches for nearby transmissions. Ok. Now i was in st petersburg/tampa and there where police sirens non stop...my scanner didn't pick up anything...i searched through every frequency i had including ones where you punch in the two sets that you want to search between and still nothing..no police no fire no ambulance not evan HAM...can someone please tell me why this happened...Thanks

The "close call" should really be renamed VERY CLOSE call. I don't know the exact range, but 150-200 feet or less?

 

[scanny_man]

wow i didn't know that...guess thats why i heard nothing well thank you...oh by the way do you have a close call feature?

 

[Dubbin]

By the time you hear the sirens the call has already gone out

 

[scanny_man]

true but when you have your scanner running constantly and dont hear anything then thats a problem...also depends on what the call is...there might have been high speed pursuits just a few blocks away and they would keep reporting to dispatch.

 

[hankv]

wow i didn't know that...guess thats why i heard nothing well thank you...oh by the way do you have a close call feature?

I have the Close Call feature but have never used it. I usually use the RR DB to pre-program when I travel.

 

[e63]

Close Call Feature

My first experience with Close Call was with Radio Shack Pro 83. It all depends on the strength of the signal being received. I have been in downtown areas a few blocks away from police and fire dispatch and catch their transmissions. Catching handhelds again depends on signal strength. FRS is less than a 1/2 watt. Of course a 5 Watt handheld can be detect further away. If this Close Call system was more sensitive it would become harder to discriminate the different signals in your immediate area. I find that Close Call works great on my 246T and 396T. I use the 396T in Close Call mode while scanning my regular targets and storing the catches. I find it very effective catching security folks in shopping malls or find frequencies train crew are using while switching.

 

[scanny_man]

so you use close call and can pick up mall security

 

[e63]

Sure, among other targets. The old way to find target was to use search mode. When you know where to look UHF, VHF High or Low or assign frequency group to user type you can narrow the search limits. Searching usually takes more time. However, Close Call requires being close to the target.

 

[scanny_man]

ahh i see...well i have the search mode too where you put in the frequencies that you wanna search between like 450.000-459.000...and on close call i do have that option of UHF,VHF,HIGH, and LOW......but i haven't got to know what those things mean i just see them there and pass by

 

[e63]

Close Call

A good source for frequency info can be found in any old Police Call. In the section titled Consolidated Frequency List you will find a detailed listing starting at 25.02 mhz to 805.750 mhz which will tell you how groups of frequencies are assigned to different service users i.e. public safety, railroads, taxis, business etc. This will help you see the big picture. This listing is for refernce only.

 

[scanny_man]

ok i'll check it out