PRO-2052 Poor Reception

[bigshrek]

Granted the scanners not that old (5yrs) but I'm getting poor reception with it. I'm surrounded by 3 counties with little to no obstructions, and the 2 local dispatch I'm closest to sound scratchy and unreadable. I've adjusted the antenna, have it near a window, etc, etc, etc. Is it time to retire this thing or operator error. Thanks

 

[Thayne]

try it on the weather channel in your area, that would give you an indication of problems or not. Those are usually pretty hot receivers if working properly.

 

[ka3jjz]

You didn't say much about the antenna - specifically the coax and any and all joints to the antenna. Coax is not waterproof - it has to be sealed against the elements, and sometimes water intrudes where the coax mates to the antenna. If you have a lightning arrestor inline, that's another place where water can get it.

'Poor Reception' is a bit vague - if you are experiencing poor reception on the higher freqs - 400 mhz and up - and the coax is in good shape, check what coax type you're using. If you're using a 58 or 59U of any appreciable length (50 foot or more) you're needlessly losing a bunch of signal from coax loss.

In either case, replacing the coax is the way to go 73 Mike

 

[Benzman66]

Might need to resolder the wire that leads from the BNC connector to the board.

 

[bigshrek]

Well by process of elimination, I still get 2 out of 3 weather tx's that come in clear, the antenna is still the stock collapsable one that came with it, so should i still think about resoldering the contacts. Thanks for the help.