help needed with a Pro96 in Halifax, NS.`

[scnnr]

I agree with checking the firmware of the scanner. I don't know if you bought it new or if it is a older first generation one. If you are running original firmware I would definitely try at least the DSP 1.4 upgrade.

As for the scanner itself. I have had a pro 96 as well as a 2096 since 2003 and they both sound just fine on our Omnilink system. Then I got the PSR -500. Huge improvements in Digital scanning .

 

[CBFD]

How far away from Geizers are you? Your signal strength meter, if that is below 3 bars forget decoding digital, analog will be a little hissy but digital will not decode on 3 bars or less

 

[hfxChris]

I don't believe there is a signal meter on the Pro-96. Been a while since I've turned mine on, but I'm 99% sure there is none.

 

[scnnr]

I don't believe there is a signal meter on the Pro-96. Been a while since I've turned mine on, but I'm 99% sure there is none.

No what is shows is the signal strength of the control channel.

 

[darrylcn]

How far away from Geizers are you? Your signal strength meter, if that is below 3 bars forget decoding digital, analog will be a little hissy but digital will not decode on 3 bars or less

I'm gonna do the signal meter tweak on my PSR-500 when I get it in a few weeks, I'm about 3/4 of a mile from Geizers, should still be full bars I think. I'm in a pretty prime location, can't wait.

 

[CBFD]

ahh yes thats right...

 

[scan-o-matic13]

By road, it says I'm 26 KMs away, but I know its a bit less then that straight line.. Just as a side note, I can see Geizers tower from my rooftop on a clear day..when I'm listening with my Uniden it shows me 3-4 bars signal, but still comes in clear and crisp.

I dont recall ever seeing a signal bar or anything on the Pro 96, only if I do manual scan, and then select a bank, it will give me a percentage, it says like this :

M36:-----99%

Sometimes its 10% , it seems to go up and down between 10 and 99%.. it seems like when I hear chatter it jumps up to 90-99%....Also, sometimes it says :

M36:7FF3 07%

All of this is while listening to only the Geizers Hill CCs...

Honestly I've kinda given up on it, I have EHS and everything analog jammed into I could find, and it seems to work for most everything except HPD, but as I said before, the HPD TGs even work some of the time..maybe I expect too much lol.

 

[hfxChris]

7FF3? That's not right! Should be displaying 6939.
I'm starting to think something is wrong with that scanner...

 

[mciupa]

7FF3? That's not right! Should be displaying 6939.
I'm starting to think something is wrong with that scanner...

Not terribly wrong though, it is trying to process a very weak signal (07%) resulting in the false ID. My fringe sites display the same sort of thing.

How about improving the antenna for the scanner?

 

[hfxChris]

Yeah but that's it, I've been able to pick that site up a heck of a lot farther away than that - and he says it's pretty much line of site too, so there shouldn't be too much of an issue with terrain.

 

[scnnr]

Yeah but that's it, I've been able to pick that site up a heck of a lot farther away than that - and he says it's pretty much line of site too, so there shouldn't be too much of an issue with terrain.

Perhaps he should try having only that sites CC & alternate channels only programmed in that bank. I have had that happen here in Winnipeg. The scanner will try an pick up a weak tower signal from a site at the south side of the city. I just put in the Downtown tower On top of a 32 story building and I have no problems receiving it 25 miles away. I ended up taking out the other two city towers in that bank and that solved that problem.

Guys here in Winnipeg with our very similar system it is best to monitor the tower right in the downtown area as it is the main site for all the City of Winnipeg stuff. Would that not be the case for you in Halifax . To be sure you don't miss any of the city stuff , Police/ Fire / Amb. would you , should you, not be monitoring the tower closest to the center of the city.

 

[scan-o-matic13]

Would that not be the case for you in Halifax . To be sure you don't miss any of the city stuff , Police/ Fire / Amb. would you , should you, not be monitoring the tower closest to the center of the city.

It is infact the case, and I've tried with only the main site as you suggested scnnr, and it still seems to be the same, Analog works like a charm, but digital TGs are garbled/broken, or it misses them all together..I think Chris might be right, either there is something wrong with it, or its just not comparable to a 396T, for overall listening ..

Somone asked about antennas, I have 2 external antenna's, one is a Discone(from Ebay, Centerfire Antenna's) that is said to be tuned for 400-800MHz, and the other is a 1/4 wave Dipole, tuned to 118MHz roughly, for air band listening.. I also have a "long line" in my attick, which is actually what I have the 396T hooked up to most of the time, and even being inside my home, it still picks up better then the Pro 96 on the 2 externals, that have almost perfect line of site to the Halifax tower, I'm trying to monitor. The long line is basically just a 40 foot piece of copper soldered to a piece of Coax, to feed down to my scanner, it was something I rigged up my self.

I've tried the Pro 96 on all 3, plus the ducky it came with from RS, mounted near my ceiling in the same room as the scanner, using a 50 Ohm BNC cable I got at "The Sourse", oddly enough, the ducky seems to get just about the same as the externals, maybe even better, which makes no sense to me lol.

IDK, but maybe the Pro96 got zapped in the travel back to Canada from Texas, I sent it UPS with a bunch of other crap I got while there..maybe they used some radar on it to look inside, and that damaged it?? So many Variables, so little time

 

[scan-o-matic13]

Yeah but that's it, I've been able to pick that site up a heck of a lot farther away than that - and he says it's pretty much line of site too, so there shouldn't be too much of an issue with terrain.

Same here Chris(with my 396), I pick up Geizers hill well past the Airport on the 102, and at least as far as Hubbards, down the 103, which is considerably farther than my location, in Tantallon, and thats with the factory antenna, just sitting on my dash in the car..

 

[hfxChris]

Guys here in Winnipeg with our very similar system it is best to monitor the tower right in the downtown area as it is the main site for all the City of Winnipeg stuff. Would that not be the case for you in Halifax . To be sure you don't miss any of the city stuff , Police/ Fire / Amb. would you , should you, not be monitoring the tower closest to the center of the city.

That would be the site he's trying to get.

Same here Chris(with my 396), I pick up Geizers hill well past the Airport on the 102, and at least as far as Hubbards, down the 103, which is considerably farther than my location, in Tantallon, and thats with the factory antenna, just sitting on my dash in the car..

It's quite amazing isn't it. I've got the Geizers Hill site from the 104 along the Cobequid Pass before - that's a good 100 Km (65 mi) away!

 

[scan-o-matic13]

It's quite amazing isn't it. I've got the Geizers Hill site from the 104 along the Cobequid Pass before - that's a good 100 Km (65 mi) away!

It is for sure, I just installed a "modified" CB antenna on my truck, so I'm curious how far out I will get it now, when I'm on the road again further than the Airport.

Anyone looking for a cheap solution to an antenna for thier car, check out Canadian Tire in the Radio section, they have a Magnetic CB antenna, that you can shorten down to a nice 6-8 inch long antenna for scanning, by excluding the thicker spring part(u will see when you buy, just leave out the bottom section), seems to be working great for TMR and Air monitoring, seems to have really made a difference in the clarity of what I'm recieveing, compared to having the factory antenna inside the car.

The antenna cost me 20$ at Canadian Tire, and the adapter's(PL259 to BNC, and a Female Female BNC Joiner thingy) and extra BNC cable cost me another 30$ at The Source, but most of that cost was the additional cable I needed, as I have a small SUV and wanted to hide the cable for the most part under the roof trim inside, so I got the extra length.

Was painless to install, and the performance seems great for the price, check it out if you scan on the road.

 

[hfxChris]

I think just having the antenna outside the car is what made the difference; I think you would find it even better if you used an antenna made for 800 MHz, instead of a modified CB antenna...

 

[scan-o-matic13]

.....

 

[scan-o-matic13]

I think just having the antenna outside the car is what made the difference; I think you would find it even better if you used an antenna made for 800 MHz, instead of a modified CB antenna...

That makes sense to me, I saw some 800mhz ants. on Ebay, know any local places that I can get one for a deacent price? I hate waiting on the mail

 

[hfxChris]

Unfortunately no...

 

[scan-o-matic13]

Sooo, Ebay, or Ebay.. lol

Any suggestions/recommendations on what you see on Ebay, or some other sites ?