Listeners in Tulare, CA
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vagrant
ker-muhj-uhn
What antenna are you using with your SDS100? If you are using the stock "rubber duck" antenna that connects to the radio, your lack of reception for Fresno PD is expected as you are probably 40 miles, or more, away.
What I am unsure of is whether using a discone antenna outdoors with LMR-400 coaxial cable will help with that distance. You will typically want that antenna mounted above your roofline as well. Additionally, you may need to add an FM broadcast filter inline as well. With an improved antenna comes unwanted RFI (Radio Frequency Interference).
Hmm....actually @PrivatelyJeff is in Kings County and may be able to provide feedback. Still, tell us more about your current antenna.
What I am unsure of is whether using a discone antenna outdoors with LMR-400 coaxial cable will help with that distance. You will typically want that antenna mounted above your roofline as well. Additionally, you may need to add an FM broadcast filter inline as well. With an improved antenna comes unwanted RFI (Radio Frequency Interference).
Hmm....actually @PrivatelyJeff is in Kings County and may be able to provide feedback. Still, tell us more about your current antenna.
Touching on what @vagrant said above, a really good discone antenna is the D130NJ. I will put a link to it below.
D130NJ Diamond Super Discone Antenna | Scanner Master
D130NJ Diamond Super Discone Antenna
www.scannermaster.com
vagrant
ker-muhj-uhn
A rubber duck antenna typically works with nearby and or strong signals.
Transmission towers/antennas for Fresno city PD are not worried about, nor trying to send signals too far outside of the city, let alone outside Fresno county. Fresno county sheriff obviously covers a much larger area. Their transmission systems are designed to work over a significantly larger area than the city area of Fresno.
Finally, Fresno County Sheriff uses VHF frequencies which typically cover further distances due to the wave length and definitely appropriate for the size of Fresno County. Fresno Police uses UHF frequencies, which is a shorter wave length. UHF works fine for limited and metro areas with buildings.
Transmission towers/antennas for Fresno city PD are not worried about, nor trying to send signals too far outside of the city, let alone outside Fresno county. Fresno county sheriff obviously covers a much larger area. Their transmission systems are designed to work over a significantly larger area than the city area of Fresno.
Finally, Fresno County Sheriff uses VHF frequencies which typically cover further distances due to the wave length and definitely appropriate for the size of Fresno County. Fresno Police uses UHF frequencies, which is a shorter wave length. UHF works fine for limited and metro areas with buildings.
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
Because the radio system for the CITY of Fresno is designed to cover the city. The radio system for the COUNTY of Fresno is designed to cover the entire County.
The County system was built to provide coverage to the entire county. Being in Lemoore puts you outside the county, but close enough that you can hear it.
The City system was built to provide coverage to the city. Building radio systems is expensive and agencies don't put a lot of money into expanding coverage outside their jurisdiction. The times they need to provide assistance outside the county, they probably have an agreement with the County Sheriffs office to utilize their system.
The rubber duck antennas, (even the "upgraded" ones) are poor performers, especially if used inside your home. If you want to hear City of Fresno PD, you'll need to install an antenna outside your home and up above the roof line. No magic rubber duck antenna is going to magically make the city system cover where you are located.
Since just about all the public safety stuff in Fresno and Kings Counties are VHF and UHF, you'll do better with a dedicated outdoor VHF/UHF antenna. Discone antenna can be a good option, but you can do better with a VHF/UHF antenna.
Yep, what they all said. Fresno county has repeaters up in the hills so line of site coverage is much larger. The city ones are probably no higher that 200 feet, and that’s if they are using rooftops. Hanford PD is probably 30 feet.
I have a similar issue with Corcoran PD. Their coverage area is so small that unless you’re within about a mile of their city, you don’t hear them with anything other than a rooftop antenna.
I have a similar issue with Corcoran PD. Their coverage area is so small that unless you’re within about a mile of their city, you don’t hear them with anything other than a rooftop antenna.
I want to second mckenna's advice about discones. My experience with them is that they are the widest band antenna you can put up and I have one now, mounted on a short mast above my roofline. I can't hear much of anything, the discone performs equally badly on all bands. I'm going to replace it with a ham 2m/70cm dual band with small ground plane elements on the bottom. I will lose out on the CHP as I won't have the length of wire to pick them up well. The short length of the 2m will pick up 800 MHz from 60 miles, that is what my last dual band antenna did. My 2m or VHF High (148-174 MHz) reception will be the best, I expect to pick up the Sierra National Forest to my west once again, at least couple of their repeaters (Mt. Tom and Shuteye). I have very little opportunity to pick up UHF traffic, but maybe I will begin to pick up some USFS and Caltrans UHF links again. I will be replacing my LMR-400 coax. It is subjected to burial by snow, icing and harsh afternoon high elevation sunlight (7870 feet).
You are trying to pick up, primarily, VHF High and UHF. I would recommend a ham 2m\70cm antenna, I've had much better reception with one than the awful discone up on the roof now.
I would add that in your location you can pick up a lot of U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cal Fire and Cal Dept. of Fish and Wildlife traffic. You can hear what the snowpack is like, fire danger, visitor impacts, search and rescue and other natural resource management related traffic. You should be able to pick up most Sequoia-Kings Canyon NP frontcountry traffic and maybe even some from Yosemite NP. I've heard of lot of when I'm in the Central Valley with its line of sight for a lot of repeaters in the mountains. You might even try how much Caltrans traffic you can pick up, again with an interest with what is going on in the mountains.
You should also keep in mind that base station type scanners do a better job at long distance reception. You might think of picking up the SDS-200 or BDC996P2. Those and a good outside antenna with the best coax will surprise you.
You should also keep in mind that base station type scanners do a better job at long distance reception. You might think of picking up the SDS-200 or BDC996P2. Those and a good outside antenna with the best coax will surprise you.
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