What are my chances of hearing NYC Freqs in Philly?

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Danny37

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I might be moving to philly sometime this year. I grew up and lived most of my life in NYC and scanner listening was on of my hobbies. So what are my chances of hearing NYPD SOD and FDNY in philly with a decent outdoor antenna? I'm glad there's live feeds but nothing beats the physical gear. 90 miles away seems pretty hefty but I remember a road trip to the Catskills I was able to hear SOD from 100+ miles away, maybe I was just lucky lol.
 

w1bp

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I might be moving to philly sometime this year. I grew up and lived most of my life in NYC and scanner listening was on of my hobbies. So what are my chances of hearing NYPD SOD and FDNY in philly with a decent outdoor antenna? I'm glad there's live feeds but nothing beats the physical gear. 90 miles away seems pretty hefty but I remember a road trip to the Catskills I was able to hear SOD from 100+ miles away, maybe I was just lucky lol.



I think the curvature of the Earth will be working against you. In the Catskills you had the benefit of being on a mountain. In Philly, I think you'd be closer to sea level.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Danny37

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I think the curvature of the Earth will be working against you. In the Catskills you had the benefit of being on a mountain. In Philly, I think you'd be closer to sea level.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I guess it's a pipe dream lol, man leaving NYC is going to be tough. At least there's live feeds.
 

pro106import

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I am about 65 miles as the crow flies from NYC.
You can check your new location to NYC here:
https://www.freemaptools.com/how-far-is-it-between.htm
I hear NYC SOD on a handheld rubber duck sitting in my living room. But I am in a good location which makes a world of difference as the poster above said. Get a spot high up. I am 130 feet above sea level on a hill with nothing else around me and 800 feet from Long Is. Sound. Get yourself a Yagi antenna cut for the band you are monitoring, in this case UHF. Also, the down feed coax makes a huge difference at those frequencies.
The first shot below is the distance from Philly to NYC as the crow flies:
And I can hear Asbury Park CMED on 462.950 210.7PL from my location which is the same distance which you can see in the second shot.
So I would say there is a chance. Especially in the warmer months when the propagation is better
Bob
 

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NC1

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You can find many cheap Yagi TV antennas on ebay that should cover the frequency range. Some may need a little modification but should work on the stronger signals. Their transmit antennas are up fairly high, so you may only need to get above your roof line in the new place.

Something like this will probably work, and using 75ohm cable is just fine for scanning purposes.
BoostWaves Directional Yagi TV Antenna HDTV UHF VHF FM Outdoor Digital | eBay
 

radio3353

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I don't listen anymore, but years ago I could reliably receive FDNY with an attic antenna (omnidirectional). I think they were on UHF at that time. I have no idea what they use now. Maybe the same. I am in Philly area about 362 ft. above sea level.
 

whsbuss

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I guess it's a pipe dream lol, man leaving NYC is going to be tough. At least there's live feeds.

Yep live feeds are the only way to listen now. Just wish there were better scanner equipment for the P25 systems
 

Danny37

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I am about 65 miles as the crow flies from NYC.
You can check your new location to NYC here:
https://www.freemaptools.com/how-far-is-it-between.htm
I hear NYC SOD on a handheld rubber duck sitting in my living room. But I am in a good location which makes a world of difference as the poster above said. Get a spot high up. I am 130 feet above sea level on a hill with nothing else around me and 800 feet from Long Is. Sound. Get yourself a Yagi antenna cut for the band you are monitoring, in this case UHF. Also, the down feed coax makes a huge difference at those frequencies.
The first shot below is the distance from Philly to NYC as the crow flies:
And I can hear Asbury Park CMED on 462.950 210.7PL from my location which is the same distance which you can see in the second shot.
So I would say there is a chance. Especially in the warmer months when the propagation is better
Bob

That's quite impressive, I'f I can get an apartment high up that's not blocked by buildings that would ideal.
 

Danny37

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You can find many cheap Yagi TV antennas on ebay that should cover the frequency range. Some may need a little modification but should work on the stronger signals. Their transmit antennas are up fairly high, so you may only need to get above your roof line in the new place.

Something like this will probably work, and using 75ohm cable is just fine for scanning purposes.
BoostWaves Directional Yagi TV Antenna HDTV UHF VHF FM Outdoor Digital | eBay

Thanks, I'll look into it!
 

Danny37

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I think you may be talking about their VHF system, I think it's been only a few years since they mingrated on the UHF system. If you could punch in the frequencies and let me know, that would be awesome.
 

Danny37

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Can anyone confirm that my home patrol-1 would be usable to listen to the Philly P25 system (fire,PD) RR database says its phase 2 but the forums are stating conflicting info that it is phase 1. Home-patrol-1 only decodes P25 phase 1, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could confirm. I think I may be visiting philly in February, so I want to do some scanning.
 

pro106import

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That's quite impressive, I'f I can get an apartment high up that's not blocked by buildings that would ideal.

Yes, as they say, location-location-location.
Your site elevation makes the world of difference. My antenna masts are only 15 feet from the ground, high up enough only to get over the roof level. Any higher wouldn't make much of a difference. The spot is actually more important than the height. If you are trying to receive one particular thing, you might have to move the antenna around to find the optimal spot before final installation. Moving the antenna just a few inches one way or another could make the difference between full quieting or silence, especially at UHF frequencies.
So you mentioned an apartment situation where usually they do not allow external antennas. In that case, your location would be the number one priority regarding elevation since you won't be able to install a 20 foot mast or anything like it.
The downside with elevation is trying to make it up your hill in the winter. I've had to park down the hill and walk up in the past. :lol:
 

GTR8000

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Can anyone confirm that my home patrol-1 would be usable to listen to the Philly P25 system (fire,PD) RR database says its phase 2 but the forums are stating conflicting info that it is phase 1. Home-patrol-1 only decodes P25 phase 1, it would be greatly appreciated if someone could confirm. I think I may be visiting philly in February, so I want to do some scanning.

http://forums.radioreference.com/pennsylvania-radio-discussion-forum/344522-philly-phase-2-a.html
 

kennyloatman

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I pick them up here in South Jersey on most days, I have a ST4 Antennacraft about 25 feet up. But I am also out in the country in a open area, Thus the reason my antenna isn't up that high.
 

phillydjdan

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First Point: If you use a good antenna system mounted high up you SHOULD be able to pickup at the very least the VHF FDNY channels. I can get them to break squelch when conditions are right from just south of Philly. When I was north of Philly it could be done on a regular basis using a good base antenna mounted at a high elevation.

Second Point: The Philly system is Phase 2 CAPABLE, meaning the system can do it of enabled. As of right now it is NOT (and the system trunking tables are not even setup for it). So yes, you can scan them with your HP. HOWEVER, they use LSM (Linear Simulcast Modulation) on their system and it is not setup the way it should so most scanner listeners experience lots of "dead spots" and garbled transmissions especially when moving. It isnt actuallya dead spot, its 2 signal sources (2 towers) coming into the scanner at the same time and cancelling each other out. The entire region's systems are the same way. The only way to get a reliable signal is to either use a directional yagi antenna or buy an actual Motorola radio.
 

whsbuss

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First Point: If you use a good antenna system mounted high up you SHOULD be able to pickup at the very least the VHF FDNY channels. I can get them to break squelch when conditions are right from just south of Philly. When I was north of Philly it could be done on a regular basis using a good base antenna mounted at a high elevation.

Second Point: The Philly system is Phase 2 CAPABLE, meaning the system can do it of enabled. As of right now it is NOT (and the system trunking tables are not even setup for it). So yes, you can scan them with your HP. HOWEVER, they use LSM (Linear Simulcast Modulation) on their system and it is not setup the way it should so most scanner listeners experience lots of "dead spots" and garbled transmissions especially when moving. It isnt actuallya dead spot, its 2 signal sources (2 towers) coming into the scanner at the same time and cancelling each other out. The entire region's systems are the same way. The only way to get a reliable signal is to either use a directional yagi antenna or buy an actual Motorola radio.

Or hopefully some day, a scanner engineered to receive LSM
 
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