Reception problem when driving

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xpawel15x

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Dec 14, 2005
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793
When I drive and have my scanner inside the vehicle with a ducky, reception is a nightmare. It even becomes difficult to listen to my hometown PD that is just 2 sqare miles and I'm within it. The problem is when i drive, the reception becomes choppy, cutting out all the time. When I stop the car I can receive fine. Seems like the scanner can't hold on to the signals because the car is moving.. I tried 2 completely different vehicles, tried all 3 scanners and they all do this. The only time I can receive loud and clear without cutting out is when I drive on the street where the police station with the transmitting antenna is. People on this forum told me before that they have no problem having a portable scanner with a ducky in their car while driving and listening. So why am I? Any help will be appreciated.
 

Ch1ronTL34

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Sep 16, 2006
Messages
84
Well I'm not sure exactly why some people claim to be able to receive with duckys while driving, but in order to get the best reception while driving, it's best to have some sort of external antenna. This could be a mag mount antenna or you could drill some holes in your roof (best place for antenna typically) and install an NMO mount and run some coax to the passenger cabin and you'd be good to go. Hope this helps
 

fineshot1

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Joined
Sep 17, 2004
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2,532
Location
NJ USA (Republic of NJ)
Just because others can rx well while driving does not mean that you can also. There are many variables that can cause this - but mainly it sounds like there is not enough signal saturation in your area for what you are trying to rx. You probably need an antenna installed on your vehicle and connected to the scanner in order to pull in more signal strength. But be advised that can also cause other problems such as rx frontend overload if driving near strong base stations that output a lot of power. Sounds like you need to start experimenting with a mobile antenna and try it out.
 
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