Close Call

[smp928s]

What everyone's opinion on the Close Call feature? I have read Unidens take on it and how it works and what makes it work but as far as "field testing" goes, what is everyone's experiences with it. For example I get hits from across the small city I live in on my 996t and not in situations such as a fast food drive thru even when I am 10 feet away. I realize there is alot of variables such as output wattages etc.

 

[LedZeppelin]

I've never gotten a hit on my close call on the rare occasions that I've used it.

 

[ray smith]

Cc

What kind of Ant you guys using? My 996 and 396 cc work just great. Driving down the freeway it goes crazy!!!!! within about 1/4 of xmiters. Same with in near a xmiter site.
Great at airports to!

 

[Mick]

Hello. It's the most fun feature in a scanner for me in over 30 years! I've found businesses using police freqs. that I would never have searched for in an upper and lower limit frq. search. It's tremendous to capture and hear and see the frq. of a close by user! I highly recommend getting a scanner with it.

 

[mtindor]

Hello. It's the most fun feature in a scanner for me in over 30 years! I've found businesses using police freqs. that I would never have searched for in an upper and lower limit frq. search. It's tremendous to capture and hear and see the frq. of a close by user! I highly recommend getting a scanner with it.

You guys must live in metro areas.... try that out in podunkville and it gets pretty boring pretty quick. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm in town though.

Mike

 

[rockag41]

I have used my on many occasions and get hits all he time. Mostly businesses and drive thrus. I also get multiple silent hits around certian freqs. I not sure what these are. Over all, I would say it is a great feature.

 

[rdale]

You guys must live in metro areas.... try that out in podunkville and it gets pretty boring pretty quick.

It only makes sense that if you are in an area that wouldn't have many transmitters - CC isn't going to do much for you...

 

[cubn]

I use CloseCall all the time when I go to sporting events and it works very well. Even if you can't listen to the scanner, just put the scanner in CloseCall AutoStore mode and slip the scanner in your pocket and see what was found active at a later time. I do this a lot when I go into stores and want to be discrete.

One thing I've noticed is that sometimes I miss getting a CloseCall hit because the freq used was one that I had locked-out in my Custom Search range. On the 396T, CloseCall even found a low-power 189 MHz Telex intercom system used at a local sporting venue (because I had the VHF TV broadcast screen turned off). I haven't had any CloseCall hits from the Porta Phone or CoachComm systems used by many high school football coaching staffs however.

All-in-all I'm very impressed with CloseCall. By using CloseCall, scanning the itinerant freqs, and doing custom searches, I can almost always locate the frequencies being used at stores or arenas.

 

[mbird97x]

Just for fun, try it next time you're in a Wal-Mart store. It will pick up the freq's they are using for store ops comms and such. Not that is fast breaking news or anything, but it does make the feature useable.

 

[ampulman]

Previously, I had asked a question as to how close call worked, i.e., whether it 'scanned' the selected ranges, or just responded to a low-power RF signal.

Upman responded that it was the latter, and that the difference in response time to more or less ranges would be insignificant.

Well, recently I put it to the test. While in J.C. Penney, I was monitoring my local trunked PD system with close call on. My wife had asked the clerk to have some merchandise brought out on the floor. The clerk picked up her radio, keyed the mike, and I instantly heard her in my earphone (I was watching her from a short distance).

Hmmm, I'll have to try that the next time I'm tooling down the Interstate.

AM

 

[XTS3000]

I use close call auto search and store when going into retail stores. Works well. Don't expect to pick up signals from Ht's from great distances.

Lets compare the 396 CC feature to the Optoelectronics Scout & Digial Scout. I've had both Optos untill I purchased the 396T. The 396T picks up signals 3-5 times the distance of either the analog Scout OR Digital Scout. Needless to say, both Scouts went to eBay (and fetched a decent price too!)

If you put a pre-selector on the 396T, you can pick up a 5 watt HT 3+ blocks away with no problem what-so-ever. However a tunable pre-selector can costs more than the 396T......

 

[JnglMassiv]

I like it during roadtrips, especially when I don't have the local public safety programmed. I put it on CC only and listen for FRS radios or, better, truckers on their CBs. It's silent 99.9998% of the time but the hits are fun.

 

[Wayne]

I use CloseCall all the time when I go to sporting events and it works very well. Even if you can't listen to the scanner, just put the scanner in CloseCall AutoStore mode and slip the scanner in your pocket and see what was found active at a later time. I do this a lot when I go into stores and want to be discrete.

I have only had my 396 a few days and am still learning all it's capabilities. I currently have it set to close call mode using autostore. My question is HOW EXACTLY do you retrieve the CC hits? The manual explains the scanner creates a system and group when auto store is enabled but it does not tell you how to view the frequencies!

Wayne

 

[mtindor]

It only makes sense that if you are in an area that wouldn't have many transmitters - CC isn't going to do much for you...

That goes without saying... but you said it anyway. I'm aware that the more transmitters in a given proximity, the greater the likelihood of hearing one.

Mike

 

[Universaldecoder]

I use to have an Opto Scout, and from experience....having the right antenna makes a world of difference.

If you know a ham with an antenna tuner....ask him if you can see it in action.

 

[UPMan]

Actually, it is more complicated than that. Fewer transmitters in your area will make it more likely to get a CC hit from a particular source from farther away (since the noise floor is lower, the source signal would not have to be as strong to "break through" the 15-18db figure needed to capture the hit).

For example, when I go to Grandbury (rural community SW of the DFW area), I start getting PD hits on Close Call well outside the city limits. I almost never get PD hits in DFW unless I'm right next to the car when the officer keys up.

 

[hankv]

I have only had my 396 a few days and am still learning all it's capabilities. I currently have it set to close call mode using autostore. My question is HOW EXACTLY do you retrieve the CC hits? The manual explains the scanner creates a system and group when auto store is enabled but it does not tell you how to view the frequencies!

Wayne

If you use UASD you can dump it to your system database. The other types of software probably let you do it too.

 

[cubn]

Viewing frequencies found by CloseCall AutoStore

I have only had my 396 a few days and am still learning all it's capabilities. I currently have it set to close call mode using autostore. My question is HOW EXACTLY do you retrieve the CC hits? The manual explains the scanner creates a system and group when auto store is enabled but it does not tell you how to view the frequencies!

Wayne

(I’m explaining this from memory so forgive me if I forget a step)

The frequencies are stored in the CloseCall system in the “Found Channels” group. You can view the found frequencies in the same way you would any other system/group. Scroll and select the CloseCall system and then go to “Edit Group”. Select the “Found Channels” group and then select “Edit Channel”. Now you can scroll through and see what was found during CloseCall Autostore.

If you want to save this data for future reference, you can rename the group to something to remind you where you ran CloseCall AutoSearch such as “WALMART” or “STADIUM”. Otherwise, the next time you do a CloseCall autostore, it’ll add the new freqs found to the current freqs in the “Found Channels” group and you won’t know if the freqs found are from the current or previous CloseCall AutoStore session. If the “Found Channels” group is not present or if the CloseCall system is not present in the scanner the next time you run CloseCall AutoStore it's ok, this system and group will be created automatically by the scanner.

 

[tn_jason]

Using the Radio Shack 800 MHz Antenna on my Uniden made PRO-84, I've had a ton of hits driving around the Nashville area - warehouses, police, fire, drive thrus, etc. It's one of the reasons I ordered a BR330T.

 

[Lodis]

I use close call auto search and store when going into retail stores. Works well. Don't expect to pick up signals from Ht's from great distances.

Lets compare the 396 CC feature to the Optoelectronics Scout & Digial Scout. I've had both Optos untill I purchased the 396T. The 396T picks up signals 3-5 times the distance of either the analog Scout OR Digital Scout. Needless to say, both Scouts went to eBay (and fetched a decent price too!)

If you put a pre-selector on the 396T, you can pick up a 5 watt HT 3+ blocks away with no problem what-so-ever. However a tunable pre-selector can costs more than the 396T......

I find it extremely hard to believe that your 396 CC picks up signals 3-5 times the distance of the Optoelectronic / Digital Scout especially when you consider the Optoelectronic Scout is built specifically for the single purpose of frequency counting as opposed to the many different functions of the 396.

I have a 396 as well as an Optoelectronics Scout Model 40 and am yet to test the difference between sensitivity / detection etc but the Scout will always have its uses and sometimes I use both. I have the Scout collecting new frequencies and my 396 on CC allowing me to listen to transmissions.

It goes without saying that the performance of both frequency counters depends on background RF, power of transmitter, type of aerial etc. Sometimes I use the Optoelectronics N100 FM Broadcast filter and this seems to improve hits.