cbro298
Member
Can someone please tell me what kind of range that i can expect from the 500.I am in greenville sc.Example,Charlotte,Columbia,Charleston? Or will it be limited to lets say a 50 mile radius?
PSR-500 range
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firefighter89
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The antenna is what matters not what scanner you have. The better antenna you have and the higher you put it, you have a better chance of hearing distant signals. I'm in Spartanburg and I'm using the RadioShack 800Mhz antenna. I can usually hear around a 30-40 mile radius, but I have heard as far as Lexington County and Avery County, NC before.
Not only does your antenna affect the range your radio will "hear", but so will your location and the radio system you're trying to listen to.
For example, as far as location, if you live at the top of Paris Mtn, you'll "hear" a lot farther away than you would if you're in Mauldin. That's assuming you can deal with all of the overload and desense you'll get from the high-power transmitters on the mountaintop. I've heard a long way from the top of the Saluda grade along I-26.
As well, you're not going to hear a 5-watt portable on a simplex radio system like you will a 200W VHF amateur radio repeater at the same distance. As an example, I can easily "hear" the Palmetto 800 site from Paris Mountain here in Spartanburg. It's not perfect, but pretty strong. However, I can't hear a peep from the trunked radio system at the BMW plant. Not only is the Paris Mountain site obviously higher in elevation giving it a much larger range, but the BMW system is lower powered, designed to only cover the BMW property.
Another example - you can hear the Spartanburg Co. Town PD channel (460.300/118.8 PL) for probably 75 miles around - it's located on Hogback Mountain, and it's designed to cover from Landrum down the Woodruff, Pacolet to Duncan to Chesnee. However, I can't hear Spartanburg City PD dispatch (460.225/118.8 PL) much more than 10 miles outside the city limit. That repeater is designed to cover a much smaller area than the Town channel.
While there is some difference, most consumer-grade scanners (can you call a $500 radio a consumer-grade receiver? I guess so since the professional radios are several $$$$) are pretty equivalent in terms of their "ears". Some seem to be slightly more sensitive than others (generall GRE scanners except the PRO-92 are considered more sensitive than are Unidens) and it varies from band to band.
So, you can certainly increase range by using a better antenna. The RS 800 antenna will help with 800MHz systems generally, but you'll sacrifice some signal on VHF. But if you're hoping to pick up CharMeck fromm Greenville, put up a Yagi outside way up high and hope for a band opening (which are not rare this time of year). Forget Charleston, but I do from time to time hear Sumter Co, SC TRS in Spartanburg, usually once or twice a year during a perfect band opening.
For example, as far as location, if you live at the top of Paris Mtn, you'll "hear" a lot farther away than you would if you're in Mauldin. That's assuming you can deal with all of the overload and desense you'll get from the high-power transmitters on the mountaintop. I've heard a long way from the top of the Saluda grade along I-26.
As well, you're not going to hear a 5-watt portable on a simplex radio system like you will a 200W VHF amateur radio repeater at the same distance. As an example, I can easily "hear" the Palmetto 800 site from Paris Mountain here in Spartanburg. It's not perfect, but pretty strong. However, I can't hear a peep from the trunked radio system at the BMW plant. Not only is the Paris Mountain site obviously higher in elevation giving it a much larger range, but the BMW system is lower powered, designed to only cover the BMW property.
Another example - you can hear the Spartanburg Co. Town PD channel (460.300/118.8 PL) for probably 75 miles around - it's located on Hogback Mountain, and it's designed to cover from Landrum down the Woodruff, Pacolet to Duncan to Chesnee. However, I can't hear Spartanburg City PD dispatch (460.225/118.8 PL) much more than 10 miles outside the city limit. That repeater is designed to cover a much smaller area than the Town channel.
While there is some difference, most consumer-grade scanners (can you call a $500 radio a consumer-grade receiver? I guess so since the professional radios are several $$$$) are pretty equivalent in terms of their "ears". Some seem to be slightly more sensitive than others (generall GRE scanners except the PRO-92 are considered more sensitive than are Unidens) and it varies from band to band.
So, you can certainly increase range by using a better antenna. The RS 800 antenna will help with 800MHz systems generally, but you'll sacrifice some signal on VHF. But if you're hoping to pick up CharMeck fromm Greenville, put up a Yagi outside way up high and hope for a band opening (which are not rare this time of year). Forget Charleston, but I do from time to time hear Sumter Co, SC TRS in Spartanburg, usually once or twice a year during a perfect band opening.
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