Best equipment for monitoring RWC, PPD, PFD?

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mesocyclone

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What is the best equipment these days for services on RWC?

I currently have a BCD996T and don't seem to be hearing much from PPD. Someone in another forum wrote that it is not able to receive everything on RWC (unencrypted, of course). I also have the handheld equivalent to the 996T (don't remember the number).

In general, any advice would be appreciated. Tks in advance.
 

caphab1

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PPD being Phoenix or Peoria?

Ensure your squelch is at about 1-2.. Make sure when you program it that its set to stop on something for a decent amount of time. Good mounted antenna.. Depending where you are at, everyone experiences some sort of receive issue because of the multipath discrepancies scanners have with the system. Again depending where you are in the valley listening wise, not all sites carry all TG's.. so that could be the culprit as well..

Im only a beginner scanner for the digital realm so I don't quite know all of it, but im sure others here will pop up at some point.
 

mesocyclone

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Thanks for the advice. I have a good antenna and location and am using the towers that I have line of sight to (North and Thompson Peak).

I meant Phoenix PD - sorry for the confusion.

I've done lots of scanning in the past, and I used to be able to hear PPD fine on my current setup. I guess I'll go check the setup again.

I'd still like to know whether the BCD996T is adequate for Phoenix PD, if anyone can answer.
 

cellphone

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I've done lots of scanning in the past, and I used to be able to hear PPD fine on my current setup. I guess I'll go check the setup again.


Check your frequencies. Simulcast A and B have changed frequencies in the last year. If you haven't listened in a while, you might need to update. Also, Phoenix PD is currently carried on Simulcast B due to maintenance on the RWC. They should be moving back to Simulcast A soon though.
 

KB7MIB

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Phoenix PD is not being carried on the North Mtn IR site. And only the Black Mtn (200) precinct is being carried on the Thompson Peak IR.
Similarly, Phoenix FD is not being carried on the IR sites, with the one exception of K-2 which is carried on the Thompson Peak and maybe White Tanks IR sites.
If you want to hear Phoenix PD and FD, you have to use the main simulcast systems, not the IR sites.

The main simulcast systems are not easy to receive, mainly due to the multi-path issues caused by having the same set of frequencies being transmitted from multiple sites at the same time within any particular simulcast system. Our scanners don't have the circuitry to separate the signals like professional grade equipment can. Some scanners are somewhat better than others, but, to my knowledge, the opinions are based on anecdotal evidence of the users. Some will say that Uniden is better. Some will say that GRE/Whistler is better. Ultimately, your experience will be your experience.
Some have found that a directional antenna is necessary. You may want to purchase one, and experiment with which direction to point it. Pointing it directly at the closest site in a simulcast system isn't necessarily the best direction to point it in.
This may mean that you'll need more than one scanner if using a directional antenna to receive Phoenix dimishes your ability to hear other cities/agencies you may be interested in.

John
Peoria
 
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