I'm new at scanning and recently purchased a Uniden BC95XLT with software, that is a handheld unit with small antenna. I have no trouble using the scanner and programming. In fact, I can monitor my local sheriff/fire etc. without any trouble. Trying to monitor CHP is not working for me and I cannot figure out what is wrong. I'll try and offer as much information as possible in hopes someone can point me in the right direction.
I live in Southern Lake County. It's a mountainous region with peaks as high as 4000 ft and valley's as low as 1000. The dispatch center servicing my area is Ukiah, which is about 40 miles away as the crow flies. I almost never hear CHP radio traffic and when I do, it's dispatch that I pickup, never the mobile units. Sometimes days can go by without picking anything up.
At first I suspected I am simply too far away, but CHP units are very common along the highway here, one mile from where I live. Of course they must be able to hear dispatch and I should be able to pickup their mobile radio traffic when in my area. Again, I can easily pickup other agencies who cover the same territory. The same holds true if I travel 5 miles up or down the highway -- nothing, or very rarely.
I do travel to busier Napa and Sonoma counties too, and rarely pickup CHP in those counties. Just as my home county, I can easily pickup other police agencies.
Something else I find odd. My CHP area is known as "Clearlake Area", with a full office and all, but apparently is dispatched out of Ukiah. These are two distinctly different areas with a mountain range separating them. I just find it odd the Clearlake area office doesn't have its own dispatch. Or am I missing something?
Here's the frequencies I have programmed:
Ukiah base 42.56
Ukiah mobile 42.72
Santa Rosa base 42.80
Santa Rosa mobile 42.20
Napa base 42.42
Napa mobile 42.66
I live in Southern Lake County. It's a mountainous region with peaks as high as 4000 ft and valley's as low as 1000. The dispatch center servicing my area is Ukiah, which is about 40 miles away as the crow flies. I almost never hear CHP radio traffic and when I do, it's dispatch that I pickup, never the mobile units. Sometimes days can go by without picking anything up.
At first I suspected I am simply too far away, but CHP units are very common along the highway here, one mile from where I live. Of course they must be able to hear dispatch and I should be able to pickup their mobile radio traffic when in my area. Again, I can easily pickup other agencies who cover the same territory. The same holds true if I travel 5 miles up or down the highway -- nothing, or very rarely.
I do travel to busier Napa and Sonoma counties too, and rarely pickup CHP in those counties. Just as my home county, I can easily pickup other police agencies.
Something else I find odd. My CHP area is known as "Clearlake Area", with a full office and all, but apparently is dispatched out of Ukiah. These are two distinctly different areas with a mountain range separating them. I just find it odd the Clearlake area office doesn't have its own dispatch. Or am I missing something?
Here's the frequencies I have programmed:
Ukiah base 42.56
Ukiah mobile 42.72
Santa Rosa base 42.80
Santa Rosa mobile 42.20
Napa base 42.42
Napa mobile 42.66