800 freq booster

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usnasa

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hello all I am having some problems receiving radio transmissions in the 800's frequeinces it is very weak and static coming ini am in brooklyn ny area and i am trying to listen to the trunked freq's for the port auth
i am using the pro 2051 and is connected by an rg8 cable one is 50 feet and then i needed to extend it to another 10 foot piece making it 75 feet total my question is is there anything i can buy to pull the signal in stronger so i can hear them better my antenna is about 20 feet up but cant go any higher does anyone use or know about a preamp i am getting some freq very low and weak in the 400 and 800 freq range but the one i was looking into does the whole band from 2-1000 MHz http://www.hamtronics.com/
but it says not recommended for applications in a high rf environment where selectivity is essential to avoid overload or intermod interference.
i live in brooklyn ny i just added a 10 foot rg8 piece to my setup when i noticed the problem with static or low freq's
can i use this and does it work


thanks to all
 
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Chris0381

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Im no expert but I am going thru a bit of what you are going thru. Have you just tried a RS 800 mhz antenna connected directly to the scanner.
I think you may want good scanner coax and just one length of it to avoid antennuation. Also I wonder if your cable is acting like one large 75 ft antennae if its not quality cable and you know the 800 mhz antenna should be quite small (this happened to me and I realized it when I still got transmitions with just the cable attached and no antennae.

Edit

Rev-1
good scanner "was" RG6
 
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usnasa

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thanks for your post but what your saying if i put this on my setup i cannot hear any other freq'S and do they have a preamp for my 400's too freq there are some that are weak as well can i get one to do both vhf bands ? thanks
 
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RayK

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Hi;
First what antenna are you using ? Second RG-8 has hi loss at 800 Mhz.
Third you added section if done with connectors willl add loss.
Chris 0381 gave you solid good advice. Adding an amp may make things worse
adding noise/overload your scanner.I would first use th RS 800 ant, better than that
is a MAX 800.Again the antenna on your roof will make a differance .
Hope this helps,Ray
 

usnasa

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hello well i had always had rg8 cable it worked great i was getting good signal i think i noticed it when i added a 10 foot cable which i needed to add i am getting some signal but i have a greater loss now is there anything i can do for this ? thanks
 

rhutch

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Replace the cable with a single run the length you need. You really answered your own question, the problem didn't start until you added a section of cable. SO before I did anything I'd start there.
 

usnasa

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yes but i hear what your saying the reason i adding a piece was because i couldnt get a 75 foot length and it was much easier to add it then to replace it would a low noise vhf/uhf preamp work in between the two pieces of cable such as the one i am looking to buy now

http://www.hamtronics.com/
thanks
 

RESCUE4NFD

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Preamp

I have 2 GRE 3100 and just bought another 1 last week on EBAY.For me they work great on UHF/VHF,and for 800 Systems they bring in systems loud and clear that I can't even receive when the amp. is off.
 

RayK

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Hi;it looks like your 10 ft extension is bad (poor solder connection,broken wire ,bad cable etc)
even if you add an amp if the cable is bad nothing will help.You are getting good advice based on your answers.It all started with the add on 10 ft section.Ray
 

Al42

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Two things:

1) You're in an RF-saturated environment. (Even at the beaches, the RF level is pretty high.) A good amplifier will just get overloaded, and actually reduce your sensitivity.

2) A good test of 450 MHz sensitivity is your local PD frequency, and the surrounding frequencies (you should be able to receive most of Bklyn North if you're in the north or most of Bklyn South if you're in the south), SOD and any other citywide frequencies. You should also be able to hear 147.000 with absolutely no noise at all, almost anywhere in the borough. If you have any problems with those signals your antenna or cable are bad. (I can usually hear all of Brooklyn and most of Queens in the car from the moment I hit Staten Island, coming in from NJ.
 

usnasa

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i hear everything great some of my bronx freq's are static ex 40;41;46,48, but there preey far away from me but everything else i am getting clear some static on my 800 but not that bad i can hear them thanks for your help
 

RESCUE4NFD

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GRE Preams.

They have stop making the GRE 3100 Amp.,but still make a Amp. for scanners its just smaller,but I've never used one.The GRE 3100's are always coming up right here on RR and EBAY.Here's the web site for GRE Products:www.greamerica.com/ HOPE THIS HELPS................
 

Dubbin

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FYI I do not get much of an improvement at all using the GRE 3100 for 800mhz trunking systems. I have a scantenna 30ft up and I can't pick up a certain tower (only 20 miles away) with the radio hooked to that. I can however pick it up with the RS and GRE 800mhz antennas without a problem.
 

RISC777

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usnasa said:
yes but i hear what your saying the reason i adding a piece was because i couldnt get a 75 foot length and it was much easier to add it then to replace it would a low noise vhf/uhf preamp work in between the two pieces of cable such as the one i am looking to buy now

http://www.hamtronics.com/
thanks

As rhutch stated, the problem started when you added another section of cable. And you posted that you can't get 75 feet of cable.

What connectors do you need on the antenna end? (Yes, assuming BNC at the scanner end, unless you're running that feedline through an amp or other...)
 

usnasa

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i am using the bnc that came with the cable and also i bought an adaptor to mate the two pieces of cable togther and thanks all for helping me you guys and girls are great here
thanks to you Rescue4NFD do u think that the gre amp would help me and how to i hook it up in between the two pieces that i joined how ??
 

kb2vxa

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Hi Nasa and all,

If you're not receiving the "ponies" in Brooklyn there's something seriously WRONG! I would take a long hard look at your antenna and coax. Likely you're trying to make a "one size fits all" system that doesn't exist in the real world do all the work and an amp in such an RF rich environment is a disaster waiting to happen. Try an 800MHz antenna such as a cell phone antenna that comes with a short length of coax for the car alone first and take it from there. If the Pony Police can hear the repeater on the waterfront with HTs and stubbies you really should too.
 
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