Have a BCD 436 HD is that a good scanner for Dallas can anybody help or don't need to upgrade to the SDS 100
What part of Dallas are you in?
Simulcast distortion is
extremely location specific. Even to the point that a move of only a foot or two, inside your house, can make all the difference between decent receptor, or practically none at all, or only a garbled mess.
I am using one of my 436HPs to monitor the system & keep track of any new talkgroups. I have it laying flat on my desk, with a Diamond RH77CA antenna. It's doing reasonably well, and gets very nearly the same reception that my SDS200, a couple feet away,
At a fixed location, you may have to try various places in your house, to see if you can find a sweet spot where it works. Metal siding, or foil backed insulation in the walls, can give you a spot where the scanner is only getting the signal from one sub-site and receives well. Sometimes, something else, like a metal file cabinet, or a refrigerator on the other side of the wall, helps create a spot where it may work. Hills & clusters of taller buildings between your location & the various transmitters may also help create a space where it will work. You can also use a directional antenna, such as a yagi, aimed at one specific sub-site. Remember that, where simulcast is involved,
less antenna can work better that than a gain type antenna, even to the point of using a
paperclip for an antenna.
Of course, all of these possible countermeasures are mainly effective when used at a fixed location. Out driving around in your vehicle, there's little you can do that will help. My other 436HP struggles when out in my SUV, so I generally carry my SDS100, not a 436HP.