Antenna (sds 200) in Arizona question

Status
Not open for further replies.

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
so i just bought a sds 200. i listen to public safety 700/800 frequency. i seem to be missing transmission. stock antenna & remtronix. i do have bcd 436 with remtronix on it and this particular department i listen too(700 freq.) i don’t seem to miss a transmission BUT with sds 200 i miss tranmission from this same department. I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A MAGNET BASE ANTENNA I COULD USE.
hope this make sense. could use the help
ThX
 

Reconrider

Active Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
1,756
Location
EST
Do the bcd and sds share the same favorite list for scanning?

Make sure the sds has the squelch on "2" that's the number I've found to work good.
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
yes. and yes on squelch is on 2. i even thought of moving the sds 200 around. still having not go results.
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
so i just bought a sds 200. i listen to public safety 700/800 frequency. i seem to be missing transmission. stock antenna & remtronix. i do have bcd 436 with remtronix on it and this particular department i listen too(700 freq.) i don’t seem to miss a transmission BUT with sds 200 i miss tranmission from this same department. I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A MAGNET BASE ANTENNA I COULD USE.
hope this make sense. could use the help
ThX
 

Reconrider

Active Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2017
Messages
1,756
Location
EST
yes. and yes on squelch is on 2. i even thought of moving the sds 200 around. still having not go results.
Hmm. Try bumping the squelch up to 3. The bcd might scan slightly faster than the sds200 on sqeulch 2.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
You'll have to be more specific about which system for anyone to help you.
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
Arizona : Maricopa County, Maricopa County Sheriff P25. Salt River Indian Communty, regional wireless site: tempe, chandler.
 

GlobalNorth

Active Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 2, 2020
Messages
2,040
Location
Fort Misery
Magnetic mount antennas for automobiles seem to be dying off. Many trunk lids and other components are now made of aluminum and a mag mount won't work in such an application.

If you are missing responses on Maricopa P-25, RWC, or Topaz; you probably want to create a Favorites list with just MCSO as part of it and exclude the Animal Control, Constables, Courts, Probation [adult & juvenile], MCDOT, and all the other stuff that can clog your listening. Same with RWC, SRIC, and Topaz. This will concentrate the time spent on interesting channels and increase the chances of picking up the other half of the traffic. Lengthening the delay time can work too,
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
yes i had created a fave list. i figure i would check into magnets antenna for the home with have to drill into wall for an outside antenna.
i wondering like how to solve this little problem. here a little video both have a remtronix antenna. even the stock antenna that came with the sds is missing too.
 
Last edited:

GlobalNorth

Active Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 2, 2020
Messages
2,040
Location
Fort Misery
If you are listening to RWC and Maricopa P25, shorten the factory telescoping antenna to 9.7 inches [5/8 wavelength of 760 MHz]. If you are interested in Topaz, their frequencies are ~850 MHz, so for 5/8 wavelength, shorten the antenna length to ~8.7 inches.

This will get you the best reception for those groups.
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
If you are listening to RWC and Maricopa P25, shorten the factory telescoping antenna to 9.7 inches [5/8 wavelength of 760 MHz]. If you are interested in Topaz, their frequencies are ~850 MHz, so for 5/8 wavelength, shorten the antenna length to ~8.7 inches.

This will get you the best reception for those groups.
Thx for your help
 

Ubbe

Member
Joined
Sep 8, 2006
Messages
8,944
Location
Stockholm, Sweden
You can see in the video that the signal strenght from the site jumps from full bars to no bars. A typical case where you probably have to play with different filter settings and also IFX could be tried on the voice channels. You have some interference that desense the SDS200 so it looses the signal completly. Getting a better antenna could probably make the situation worse.

Try each filter setting for that site from Normal all the way to Off. If that doesn't help then set IFX to the voice channels and try all filters once more. Easiest way to change IFX are to check up what frequencies that are voice channels and then use Sentinel and Edit Profile and go to Miscellaneous and enter the frequencies in the IFX Review and Edit box.

/Ubbe
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
You can see in the video that the signal strenght from the site jumps from full bars to no bars. A typical case where you probably have to play with different filter settings and also IFX could be tried on the voice channels. You have some interference that desense the SDS200 so it looses the signal completly. Getting a better antenna could probably make the situation worse.

Try each filter setting for that site from Normal all the way to Off. If that doesn't help then set IFX to the voice channels and try all filters once more. Easiest way to change IFX are to check up what frequencies that are voice channels and then use Sentinel and Edit Profile and go to Miscellaneous and enter the frequencies in the IFX Review and Edit box.

/Ubbe
will try thx
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
You can see in the video that the signal strenght from the site jumps from full bars to no bars. A typical case where you probably have to play with different filter settings and also IFX could be tried on the voice channels. You have some interference that desense the SDS200 so it looses the signal completly. Getting a better antenna could probably make the situation worse.

Try each filter setting for that site from Normal all the way to Off. If that doesn't help then set IFX to the voice channels and try all filters once more. Easiest way to change IFX are to check up what frequencies that are voice channels and then use Sentinel and Edit Profile and go to Miscellaneous and enter the frequencies in the IFX Review and Edit box.

/Ubbe
Thanks for your help. changing the filter worked
 

rpgaun

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 26, 2010
Messages
514
Location
Sun City, Az
This is what I’m using on my SDS200. It’s the small mag mount with a standard 700/800 antenna. I shortened the coax from the 17ft to a foot. This cuts way down on the loss.CE47EF0F-4469-4C7A-ADEC-F2EAD727FE24.jpeg
 

HEReAZ

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 13, 2017
Messages
96
Location
scottsdale AZ
Whatre you trying to listen to in regards to salt river? Pd dispatch is encrypted.
another member asked me to list what systems and site to better understand what was going on with my sds 200. so i just thru salt river in general. but yes i seen that they are encrypted.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top