I belive there is a term for this but I can't think of the name - maybe "birdie"? When I try to scan through my banks the scanner keeps getting hung up on several frequencies, all in the 154-155 MHz range. Does anybody know how to resolve this? I already tried turning up the squelch but that doesn't really solve the problem.
"Open Carrier" interference
- Thread starter ansky
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Lock'm Out
what kind of scanner is it?
what kind of scanner is it?
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- Nov 27, 2005
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I tend to try to isolate these freqs in two ways. First I try to identify if something locally is interfering, a light fixture, computer hardware..Try turning things off in the area of the scanner/antenna when the noise is occuring. I noticed once that I had noise on certain frequencies if my nearby flat-panel monitor had a lot of white on the screen. Souds silly but if I opened an all white window I had noise. If that doesn't work I try to isolate the noisy frequencies into a separate system/bank that I can easily turn off if they get noisy.
Also determine what CTCSS or DCS the agency you are interested in is using, set that and (in you case) run the bank in CLOSED mode. That should eliminate it stoping on the frequency (although it does not really eliminate the interference itself.)
The term "birdie" usually means "interference" that the scanner itself causes. Each model has a list of freqs that you simply can not use.ansky said:
One way I got rid of interference from nearby electronic devices was to connect to an outside antenna. As others have mentioned, if you can use a CT or DC setting (meaning that what you want to hear uses a specific tone) that will get rid of more problems.
I've personally found that there are certain freqs I can not listen to with certain scanners at certain places in my house. So I'll use a PRO-95 for one freq and a PRO-97 for another. Yeah it is more than I should have to do, but it "solved" the problem.
If it is actual carrier, and not a birdie, you may try to tune to the other side (away from the carrier frequency). For instance, if the interference is on 154.010, and that is the freq you want to monitor, then you can try programming your scanner for 154.015 or 154.005. If your scanner has pre-set band intervals then enter the next interval frequency that it will accept. That way, your scanner may be able to reject the carrier frequency and still accept your desired frequency, depending on which "side" your interference is. If the carrier is centered exactly on the same as your desired frequency, then you are out of luck. Chances are that the interfenence may be coming from an electronic device which is your same room (or close by). Try moving your scanner to other parts of your house and see if the carrier goes away. Some of the older LED clocks were nortorious for throwing out multiple frequencies (and also 2nd & 3rd order harmonics).
"If it is actual carrier, and not a birdie, you may try to tune to the other side (away from the carrier frequency)."
Oh it'll work on a birdie too provided it (or actual interference) isn't too strong to be overcome. It's also useful to reduce or eliminate interference from adjacent channels and intermod, a scanner receiver is broad enough so the wanted signal can usually sneak in even when the receiver is a bit off frequency.
Note;
This fix doesn't always work well in NBFM mode, you may have to fiddle with it a bit.
Oh it'll work on a birdie too provided it (or actual interference) isn't too strong to be overcome. It's also useful to reduce or eliminate interference from adjacent channels and intermod, a scanner receiver is broad enough so the wanted signal can usually sneak in even when the receiver is a bit off frequency.
Note;
This fix doesn't always work well in NBFM mode, you may have to fiddle with it a bit.
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