Noob, Uniden BC355N, Reception

[634bmf01]

I'm new to the field of amatuer/ham radio and all that, and I just bought a Uniden BC355N to get me started. The problem is that I live in a residence hall in college in a cinderblock room with a lot of large buildings nearby. I tune to different frequencies, and only the weather radio frequencies are coming in clear. Otherwise, I get static, or weird beeping noises. Any solutions?

 

[N9JCQ]

I would bet you are picking up all the PCs, Routers, etc within your hall. This is commonly known as "RFI" or "Radio Frequency Interference." The beeping, static, hums etc are all the noises generated by electronics equipment nearby.

 

[634bmf01]

I would bet you are picking up all the PCs, Routers, etc within your hall. This is commonly known as "RFI" or "Radio Frequency Interference." The beeping, static, hums etc are all the noises generated by electronics equipment nearby.

That makes sense. We have lots of routers, video game consoles, PCs, laptops, and other stuff in mg residence hall, and routers in every room. Anything I can do about this?

Have you looked at the database for your area, to see what there is to listen to?

Anything with a D in the modem column cannot not be monitored by that model. If there are any analog trunked systems, you could scan the voice channels, but not follow the conversation if it moves.

Bummer. It says 800 mHz on the scanner. Well, I can save up my money for a digital one, I suppose.

 

[krokus]

Have you looked at the database for your area, to see what there is to listen to?

Anything with a D in the modem column cannot not be monitored by that model. If there are any analog trunked systems, you could scan the voice channels, but not follow the conversation if it moves.

 

[krokus]

Bummer. It says 800 mHz on the scanner. Well, I can save up my money for a digital one, I suppose.

There is a little bit of analog 800MHz, mostly the Interoperability freqs. There might be a few analog trunked systems left, but probably not for long.

If you are looking at a stationary monitoring post, buy a couple RTL-SDR devices, and use them with a computer. Thy give you a lot of options, based on the software you use.

 

[634bmf01]

Any names you recommend?

 

[tvengr]

What do you want to monitor? It would help to have the county and state of your college.

 

[634bmf01]

What do you want to monitor? It would help to have the county and state of your college.

Right now, I am at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, KS, Douglas County.

 

[tvengr]

Let me check and I will find things in your area you can monitor with your scanner.

 

[krokus]

Any names you recommend?

On the cheap side of things:

Amazon.com

A little more money, but a better build quality:

Amazon.com

 

[tvengr]

Here is the list for Douglas County. Douglas County, Kansas (KS) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference (radioreference.com) You can use anything with a Mode of FM or FMN on your scanner. A lot of the activity may now be on the KSICS statewide system which is digital. The database says that all KU operations are on KSICS, If you don't want to go with the dongles listed above, the least expensive scanners would be the Whistler WS1040 handheld and WS1065 base/mobile. You would also need to purchase programming software. I use Butel ARC500 Basic. Next are the Uniden BCD325P2 handheld and BCD996P2 base/mobile. You can use FreeSCAN, which is free programming software. Those Uniden scanners are also capable of P25 Phase 2 which is used by a lot of systems. They are also capable of DMR and NXDN with paid upgrades. The WS1040 and WS1065 are capable of P25 Phase 1 only and cannot be upgraded to DMR or NXDN. The KSICS system is Phase 2 capable, but all of the talkgroups are currently operating as Phase 1. That could change in the future. If you should go with a scanner, I can help with the programming. I thought Lawrence KS was wiped out in the 1983 TV movie "The Day After."

 

[krokus]

I thought Lawrence KS was wiped out in the 1983 TV movie "The Day After."

They have rebuilt. No one needs a furnace in their house, and the root vegetables are huge.

 

[634bmf01]

On the cheap side of things:

Amazon.com

A little more money, but a better build quality:

Amazon.com

And if I can splurge?

 

[hiegtx]

And if I can splurge?

A "splurge" would needed to get you into the WS1040/WS1065 category, That would cover what is currently shown for Douglas county/Lawrenceville, plus what is used in P25 Phase I mode (designated by a D in the mode column) on the statewide KSICS system. When & if the KSICS system migrates to P25 Phase II, neither of the Whistler scanners would work, Univ. of Kansas is Phase I on KSICS, although U.K. Athletics use a DMR system, probably including operations at the stadium during games.The two listed Whistler scanners are in the $250 to $275 range on Amazon (ScannerMaster is currently out of stick). Whistler occasionally has sales for refurbs or 'scratch & dent' scanners (returns in good working order, but cosmetic defects in appearance), that sell in the $200 range, occasionally less. You might also find either of these models for a lower price in a previously owned unit being sold in the classifieds here on RadioReference, or perhaps on eBay, or at a pawn or resale shop, or an estate sale.

The Uniden 325P2 or 996P2 run, new, in the $400 range, but would be able to handle Phase II when & if it arrives there, or to wherever you move to once you graduate.

The RTL-SDR devices krokus suggested would let you 'get your feet wet' fairly economically, so you could then decide if you wanted to upgrade at some future date.

 

[krokus]

And if I can splurge?

While I have been a fan of the GRE based scanners, which are now owned by Whistler, they have not been that great on phase 2, or simulcast. Uniden is making the better scanner for the time, the SDS series.

Another option, that is more limited in use, is a Unication G4 or G5 pager. They have scanning features, which the company has made into a specific firmware for scanner use.