Best Scanner for use in Philadelphia

[wa3bxw]

Scanner test

I enjoyed the video and the audio recordings. Thank you for the time put into the project, I purchased a 996P2 for the new Bucks system and am anxiously awaiting testing so I can hear what the recovered audio sounds like, you video gave me a preview.

 

[phillydjdan]

Unfortunately in a stock configuration it likely won't work well for you. It goes to show you that location and antenna choice is what is going to make or break it for you. I struggled for a very long time with LSM until I have up in a moving environment and went professional. I am going to record some samples over the next couple of days of various scanners I have setup in various ways. One is a 996XT that monitors Philly from Delco using a 3 element yagi. You'll be impressed with how much better it sounds when not getting bombarded with LSM distortion.

If I had to pick one of our scanners for everyday use, personally I would pair the 436HP with the tri-band antenna. That configuration was by far the best we tried. We could have gathered up all of our various antennas and tried each one, but I know I don't have that kind of time on my hands. Maybe in 30 years when I retire lol.

 

[phillydjdan]

Bob, I don't want to advocate a manufacturer finding a cheap solution, but ya know, just shipping a different antenna with these units would make the user experience a little better IMO.

When I did my research with my yagi, I likened it to the old days when you had to adjust your rabbit ears to pickup a TV station. Just moving the antenna a coule of inches to the left or right made a difference. When I setup my yagi on my roof I took my 396XT up with me and watched the decode error rate as I turned the antenna on the mast pole. As soon as I saw that baby drop below 10% I tightened the bolts and got the hell outta there! lol

 

[trentbob]

... reminds me of the old days using a motorized rotor on a beam... maybe not a bad idea... I agree with the including of an additional antenna with the radios... Uniden (maybe it was Electra then) did include a 3 inch metal whip (MOT pin) back when 800 came on the scene... the radios were not trunked so they were kinda useless but I do remember 2 antennas coming with the radio... not a bad idea... UPMAN!!! do you hear this?... gotta love it...

 

[Septa3371CSX1]

The paging sounds I was getting on Marine 11 were likely marine-related paging. Shortly after hearing those sounds I'd hear voice on another channel.

After what I heard on Saturday comparing the scanners to Dan's commercial grade radios I have to say that if I had the money I'd buy one or two myself. Alas I don't have the budget so it's not going to happen (at least not any time soon).

Since base/mobile scanners typically pull in more signal than a portable unit and from my observations on Saturday I'd say the portables performed slightly better with the LSM than the base/mobile units did.

 

[phillydjdan]

So while alone with my thoughts in the warehouse today I thought about running some more comparisons. I'm thinking about a side by side audio comparison between my stationary setup with yagi and a couple of different antennas on my 396XT while driving. My daily commute takes me from the southern suburbs to the northeastern suburbs via I-95. I literally go from out of range to out of range when using a scanner. I can run the recorders at the same time (without VOX) and then pick a busy portion and make it into a stereo recording with the base setup on one side and the moving setup on the other. I can then do the same thing but with a different antenna on the 396XT and we can all see the results. For the tests I would keep both units locked on J Band so we have identical traffic. This is going to take a few days to do, so standby for further.

 

[radio3353]

After listening to the video, it would seem Philly is a basket case on any consumer grade scanner unless one can get the stars to align. In Central Bucks, my PRO-106 does fine on the Bucks 500 MHz system and Montco's 800 MHz system. I think Philly is a no-go from my location on any scanner because I just can't get enough signal. I may continue trying though with some antenna experimentation, like a yagi with some gain (similar to Dan's setup.) I hope I will be fine with a 996P2 or WS1095 when Bucks switches over to Phase II. I don't see any other choices.

Thanks again guys for putting together this test.

Bob

 

[trentbob]

... hey Dan... be careful when you're driving and running the tests... I put the 1095 back in the car today... I was in various parts of Philly this afternoon... I had good performance down Roosevelt Blvd. on J band and the far NE... got a little funky around Cottman Ave. then good again... around Bridesberg and Franford el station, then up 13 it was good but the Morell Park area (Shop Rite at Knights and 13)... awful LSM... came up Knights Rd. to the Franklin Mills Mall... ok till I approached the Mall... then it was awful... I had the 436 with a low profile 800 SMA antenna in the cup holder the whole ride... also suffered LSM in the same places but it wasn't that bad... at the mall it actually worked fine... went in the mall with it on my belt and it was ok... couldn't really hear it as the volume is not loud enough but no LSM near or in the Mall while the 1095 was useless... the 1095 works great with Bucks, Mercer, Burco, Montco and NJSP and I don't need Camco so... I'm going to keep the 436 in the cup holder plugged into the USB and attached to an amplified speaker as............. "the best scanner for use in Philadelphia"...

 

[phillydjdan]

I won't be videotaping, I'm just going to set the recorder and leave it sit on the passenger seat with the scanner clipped on the dash.

 

[trentbob]

... that should be revealing... It would have been good to record audio today as I went through different areas of Philly... you're really good at it... I'm kinda bummed out that it looks like the new system is going to have LSM issues... maybe it will turn out that 436 works best here too... I look forward to your findings on your commute... it would be good to get your video on a national thread... I wonder how many people saw it or know about it?... can you see on you tube how many hits you Have?...

 

[radio3353]

As of this moment, YouTube shows 41 views with 4 likes and 0 dislikes. Three of the 41 views came from me - my first view earlier today, I went back to check more closely the WS1095 performance on the Bucks system and a view just now to check the number of views.

 

[trentbob]

... thanks... it may take some for people to know it's here...

 

[marksmith]

Good video and presentation. Have the radios tested and the reception sounded appropriate to what i would have expected there, subject to picking spots in Philly. Different spots will be different on most of the radios. Should help some people make a decision. My decision seems to always be buy them all.

Mark
WS1095/536/HP1e/HP2e/996P2/996XT/325P2/396XT/PSR800/PRO668/PRO652

 

[trentbob]

... yea we were definitely in LSM alley... that's what we were looking for and we found it...

 

[phillydjdan]

Well, this morning's commute revealed large areas where I was not picking up anything. I had both the scanner and the radio on J Band the whole time and the scanner caught maybe half of the traffic. Reception was lost mid-sentence when I passed under the tunnel on 95 near Penn's Landing, which is no surprise, really. I will, however, note that the /\/\ didn't miss a word.

Don't drink the "you can't do that" Kool Aid, folks! /\/\ is a viable option if you've got a little more money to spend.

 

[trentbob]

... and a little help from our friends who know what they're doing... I had to run to the Northeast (Philly)area last night near the NE airport... the 436 in the cup holder on the usb port with the low profile 800 antenna attached to an amplified speaker actually worked in that area... I didn't pick up anything until I hit the Bensalem/ Philly boarder...

 

[trentbob]

P.S.

... the 1095 worked too but with moments of robotic audio while in motion... I will be in center city Philly next week and we'll have to see... one thing about the Mot radio (I would love to have one) is if I got the dual band would I get 800/UHF or 800/VHF... since I need a radio for Philly and future Bucks and VHF (fire dispatch) and UHF (Mercer County)... I don't want to have to carry a second radio (scanner) with all my photo equipment... I have a hard enough time keeping my pants up now... LOL...

 

[mjs438]

Thanks to all. You have provide valuable information

 

[phillydjdan]

There's always the option of an APX-8000. Looks just like mine but has all 3 bands, VHF, UHF and 700/800.

 

[trentbob]

... mmmmmmmm... I was looking at that on the Mot site... I will contact you on private email as I mull it over... don't want to go off topic here but if you think about it that WOULD be the best scanner for Philadelphia... that would be very cool...