Bad Static on BCT15

[troshs]

I just bought a Uniden BCT15 about a week and a half ago and have been having nothing but bad luck...lol.
I was working on this with someone in this thread:
http://forums.radioreference.com/pe...56-lycoming-county-systems-2.html#post1800882

and the person I was speaking with thought I'd better post it over here. My antenna did not come with my Uniden, rather I had to buy one from the local RS. Its the center loaded telescoper. I got it about 4 days ago and it worked okay for a few hours, then it turns out I get a lot of static on the dispatch channels, even with my squelch all the way up. I can still get transmissions once in a while, but most of the time its pure static. If I move the scanner/antenna around until the static stops it will periodically behave but goes right back to being a pain in the wazoo within a half hour. At first I thought it was the antenna, so I went to RS and got a replacement. Same thing, so process of elimination shows that its the scanner. It was bought used on Amazon through a seller, so I don't know whats been done to it or what its done. My boyfriend opened the scanner up after the static started and says that nothing appears out of place, it just looks like it was soldered funny. I can post pics if needed, can also do video of what the thing does during the fits it has too if you guys think it would be better. I can still get weather clear as a bell, but can only get one channel. The other person I was speaking with says if I don't get one clear one and at least one weak one, he might put it down to the connector for the antenna. Also this does not do this without an antenna connected, so I think the pieces are coming together here. Anyone have any ideas what the hell is going on?
My previous post on Uniden forums was another problem, that has been disregarded and in no relation to this one. Thanks in advance. Looking forward to meeting some awesome people here.

 

[Boatanchor]

Your main problem is high localized RF noise.
VHF can be a very noisy band, particularly if you are using an indoor antenna inside a house/apartment.
You need to firstly identify if you have a noise problem and secondly try to either reduce it or get the antenna away from it. Sometimes, neither is easy.

The important thing to remember is that it doesn't matter how good your (omnidirectional) antenna is if it is inside. A high gain VHF antenna will pick up stronger signals from the service you are trying to listen to, but it will also increase the noise level, giving you a zero net gain. Directional antennas will help, but this is not usually practical for indoor antennas on 160Mhz.

Thankfully, the GRE and Uniden scanners allow you to select AM mode on any frequency.

* Select a frequency near to, but not on, one of the frequencies you are interested in..
* Now select AM as the mode and turn the squelch right down so that you can hear noise.
* What does the S meter indicate (note that the S meter will not indicate noise level if the squelch is closed)?
* If you are on a VHF frequency, you will find that moving the scanner antenna near to computer monitors, TV's and just about any other electronic device, will increase the noise level. Electronic equipment in nearby apartments will also be causing noise. 'Inverter' air conditioners can also cause a lot of noise on VHF. Using this method with a handheld scanner, you can snoop around the house locating the worst noise offenders. It's a bit hard to do with a desktop scanner though. You could get a long coax lead with an simple loop on the end and use that to 'sniff' around the room for noise.

 

[Boatanchor]

You are probably receiving the Weather stations nice and clear because they are a lot stronger (nearer?).

 

[orpcat]

Take it for a ride

You should take the scanner for a ride in the car towards the area that you are having trouble receiving. If drive to the top of a hill and notice better reception then the surrounding terrian is the issue. If any hills / mountains are between you and the system that you want to monitor that will effect reception.

For instance I can travel 45 miles to the north of my location and still pick up my local PD and Fire because the a terrain is very flat, but if I travel 45 miles to the south or east I lose reception after I crest the first hill.

A better antenna will help, but an outdoor directional antenna may be what you need.

 

[troshs]

* What does the S meter indicate (note that the S meter will not indicate noise level if the squelch is closed)?

When I do this, my S meter indicates 1 bar. This is if I have my squelch all the way down so that I hear static. If I turn the squelch all the way up to block out most transmissions, it indicates no signal.
When we move the scanner away from electronics such as the computer or the air conditioner, which the computer monitor is not plugged or even in use, it does go quiet but I don't receive any transmissions at all.

 

[troshs]

You should take the scanner for a ride in the car towards the area that you are having trouble receiving. If drive to the top of a hill and notice better reception then the surrounding terrian is the issue. If any hills / mountains are between you and the system that you want to monitor that will effect reception.

For instance I can travel 45 miles to the north of my location and still pick up my local PD and Fire because the a terrain is very flat, but if I travel 45 miles to the south or east I lose reception after I crest the first hill.

A better antenna will help, but an outdoor directional antenna may be what you need.

Well the thing is, that might not be an option. I live in an apartment building and the landlord is very strict about things outside such as antennas, satellite dishes, etc. Hopefully I can get something to work out where I don't have to tick him off (hes a grumpy guy).
As for going in the car, I need to acquire the lighter plug which shouldnt be too hard to find. I didn't get any accessories with this thing at all so I'm slowly working my way up.

 

[orpcat]

Directional Antenna Inside Apartment

Understand, about the apartment and its rules. When I first got into scanning and ham radio, I built a 2 meter 5 element yagi and installed in an empty room in our house with a tripod for the base. I was amazed at the difference it made on receive frequencies on 2 meters. I had my HTX 202 (radio shack 2 meter ht) hooked up to a short piece of coax that was connected to the yagi and I would rotate the antenna to zero in on other stations. I eventually mounted the yagi outside with a rotator, which improved reception and made my wife / life happier.


You can do the same with the scanner, if your target station is an 800mhz station, buy a 800mhz yagi and mount on a small camera tripod. Point it in the direction of the radio system that you want to monitor and see what happens. An 800 mhz yagi is much smaller than a 146 mhz (2-meter) yagi and will be easy to move around.

If you are up to it here is a link to a homebrew yagi.

http://forums.radioreference.com/build-your-own-antenna/125567-homebrew-850mhz-yagi.html

 

[troshs]

Well I think I figured out the problem, and the weather radio I have does this too. I should have known!
Every once in a while, I have to move the radio--the signal will just become weak randomly and I have to move it around until I have good signal. I have the scanner sitting on my kitchen table at the moment, where its not in the living room disturbing the TV and what not...it sounds okay. If I hear a tone I either mute the TV when the other isn't home, or if its something close (and we all know the tones for our area) I'll get up and go out into the kitchen for a moment to hear what is going on. I did that just now, I heard my towns tone go off and its one of those ones you don't quite remember after its gone off but you know when it does. If that sounds weird I understand, lived with an EMT for a while and his pager was on 24/7. Anyways, I am probably still going to send it in to Uniden just to get it checked out since it was a used item and they will tune it up for me they said. But thanks for all of your help. I know I usually don't think things through sometimes and it gets me in trouble.