A question about the BC72XLT

[firefighter111]

Hi,
I have a BC72XLT. I live about 50 to sixty miles from NYC. I cannot pick up either FDNY dispatch or NYPD dispatch channels. Would a better antenna help me with this or do I live to far away.
Thanks

 

[DaveIN]

Your too far away you would need a building with an antenna on it to hear them from 50-60 miles. Line of sight is a good rule of thumb. Then there is the area and surroundings.

 

[firefighter111]

Thanks for your help

 

[N4JNW]

An antenna might not even help you... Check out what types of systems they're running.. If they're trunked or digital, with the 72, you're screwed dude... You'd have to have a "bigger" scanner to hear those type of systems. The scanner you have is analog. It'l work good for 150-ish and 450-ish mhz stuff, but most trunked systems and digital systems are 800 mhz, and will still require a trunking or digital type scanner.