BC250D reception issue

[R426onthescene]

I am 'trying' :roll: to scan fairfax county useing my BC250D with digital card. I got all of the codes from the RR database, and they work great!... EXSEPT: all of the channels come in 'garbled' and messed up. Is there something I am doing rong, or is normal, or what. Thanks!

PS. I did a search and all I could find was Pro96 reseption issues.

 

[troymail]

I'm assuming the systems you are listening to are
digital... did you make the sound quality adjustments?

see your owners manual page 78

 

[R426onthescene]

Humm... That is what it is. But what 'low, mid, and high' number do I need, and on the top bar, it just has stars, insted of numbers :evil:

 

[R426onthescene]

Humm... That is what it is. But what 'low, mid, and high' number do I need, and on the top bar, it just has stars, insted of numbers :evil:

 

[troymail]

You have to experiment with it... from my memory,
you must be hearing a digital converation while
trying to make the adjustments... if there is no
voice while adjusting, I think that's when you see the
stars....

You *really* have to play around with it and get used
to doing it... and it is really important to follow the
exact procedure to "save" the settings.

Also keep in mind that the settings applied to ALL digital
systems on your radio (i.e. you cannot make a different
setting for bank 1 and bank 2 - they share the setting).

 

[R426onthescene]

I see. Do the stars matter, or can I just mess with the low.mid.high settings. Thanks a bunch!

 

[troymail]

There really isn't a specific low/mid/high number setting...
it's - what sounds good to you. Therefore, you must find
an on-going digital conversation (police like to talk alot),
and make the adjustments while they are talking. I *think*
you'll only get "***" when there is no voice... and that
won't help at the point since there is no voice to determine
what sounds good.

Recommended settings:

There may be a recommended VFO setting on this site. Check
the RR Database info for your jurisdiction. (example: the Howard
County Maryland listings show "Uniden DSP: 0333 1985 3542 ".

 

[UPMan]

The symptoms you describe are not indicative of a voice quality setting issue, but rather a reception issue. If the audio sounds "metallic" or "robotish", changing that setting will have some affect.

You probably need to improve antenna or location.

 

[troymail]

... and then there is that....

 

[R426onthescene]

What is a good antenna? Because I think that it is a reseption issue, because yesterday night when I went to get some dinner, over in West Springfield I was getting no "robot sounds" at all. Thanks,
-Wes

 

[JamesO]

800 MHz antenna

Wes,

Check this Radio Shack link below.

This is a pretty good antenna that many Radio Shacks stock. It may not fully resolve your problem, but it may help.

Your location you use your scanner may be part of this issue. If you are having problems at home, in the house, you may need an external antenna.

JamesO

http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog_name=CTLG&product_id=20-283

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

Sounds like your suffering from poor reception. I know the Radio shack antenna works, But you'l proubaly nead to get a antenna above the house if you live more than 30 miles from a tower.

8)

 

[WesFFXFire]

R426 , living near Springfield, you should have no reception issues. There is a tower at Lorton and one at 123/FX CO PW, that should be more than sufficient. It could be any number of things, I'm no expert but it could be the leaves on the tree's. Like I say, just play with it. I ordered the 800mhz anntenna from Scanner Master, for the most part I have no complaints about reception. The 800mhz digital is a far cry from the old 154 and 460 band we were used to....so reception is definatly an issue

 

[R426onthescene]

I miss the old channels... All right, I will head over to radio shack, I got about 6 around here so 1 of them should have it... :roll: Thanks!

 

[Waldo325mvfd]

Mabe there something wrong with the internal part where the BNC meats with the memary bord(Had it happen).

:?

 

[R426onthescene]

Hey, would this one be better: http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...me=CTLG_008_009_010_001&product_id=20-034 or is it just a waste of money. Thanks!

 

[R426onthescene]

Or maby this one... http://www.scannermaster.com/store/14-540714.html

 

[fireradio]

The scannermaster one might be OK, it doesn't say what type of connector it has. You need one that has a BNC connector.

The radioshack one you posted (this one: http://www.radioshack.com/product.a...me=CTLG_008_009_010_001&product_id=20-034 ) is not going to be any better than the one previously suggested, as it is not designed for 800 MHz.

 

[R426onthescene]

I see... Now its between these two. http://www.bncantenna.com/800.htm (there just like the ones at scannermaster and radio shack). I guess I will head down to the radio shack and if that one works I will get it, if it doesnt, then I will take it back! [/url]

 

[fireradio]

Yeah, I'd just get the one from RadioShack. I know a few people who have it and it seems to do the job.