LSP Trunking Problems Troop F, Please help!!!

[twolf816]

I live in Bastrop, in Morehouse Parish, in Troop F. I got a Uniden BCT8 and programmed all the freqs and the talkgroups. When im at my house i use the supplied antenna and can hear the transmissions clearly and see the talkgroup id. When i go mobile, however, sometimes i cant even hear the data channel and when the scanner does track, the reception is almost unreadable, no matter where i go, even in Ouachita Parish near the Calhoun TX Site. Its not the antenna because i can hear Ouachita Parish S.O. on 854.9625 very well. If anyone knows why this is happining or lives up here and can tell me what they put in their scanner i would greatly appriciate it. Thanks in advance.

 

[twolf816]

Anyone?

 

[loumaag]

In general I would suggest that you go mobile somewhere, stop and shut the engine off. See if that solves the problem. If it does, then start looking into ways of getting your vehicle to quit making so much noise. If that doesn't do it, you have me stumped.

 

[twolf816]

thanks for the input man, but thats not it . i dunno what it could be; its not the antenna, the electrical noise, or the scanner; but thanks for replying

 

[Radio_Bob]

Matt:

Are you using an outside-the-vehicle antenna, or a rubber ducky style antenna attached to the scanner? An outside antenna can make all the difference in the world (just make sure it's designed for 800 MHz reception).

As for the mystery of why you can't hear the LSP when you're near the Calhoun transmitting site, that's an odd one... If you've got the time and are willing to drive--maybe you could try programming one of the other sites--say, Bernice or Homer and see what happens when you're in their vicinity.

At any rate, if you're hearing the state system and the SO both at your house and just the SO when mobile, it's clear you've got to get more RF down the pipe to your receiver. Calhoun isn't that far from Bastrop, but it's still a pretty good trip for an 800 MHz signal.

Good luck solving the mystery!

 

[loumaag]

I have another thought, what kind of mobile telephone do you have?

 

[twolf816]

Radio Bob: i have a RS Magnet Mount antenna. when i have it in my house i have to put the scanner in a certain spot to pick up the data freq but when i do, its perfect. im using the marion site; the calhoun data freq wont come in until i enter ouachita parish. when im mobile, the data comes in about half the time, and when it does, the reception im getting is horrible. if the crappy base antenna that came with the scanner can pick it up, why cant a bigger, better mobile antenna? i know it picks up the 800mhz band, because ouachita parish s.o. is on it conventional and its loud and clear. i dunno whats up


and lou: nokia 3587; why?

 

[loumaag]

...and lou: nokia 3587; why?

I guess I should have asked what service are you using? Do some telephones especially those that end up roaming are sometimes prone to interfereing with scanners. May have nothing to do with the band.

As for antennas for mobile or base use, for 800MHz I just use the Radio Shack (RS 20-283) 800MHz Scanner Antenna. It seems to work best for me and there is no loss in the line because there isn't any.

 

[twolf816]

im using alltel, and thats not it because my phone is near the scanner in my truck and its sittin right by the scanner now like it always is and its fine, its just when i go mobile. i do plan to get a base antenna thats specificly designed for the 800 band but for right now the stock ant. is fine.

 

[twolf816]

In my college parking lot, i figured out something. When im in a certain spot i can hear the data freq, therefor it trunks. I move 3 ft, and i cant hear it. Entergy is the same way. It comes in so good at my house cause the first time i set the scanner up, it happend to be in a correct "spot" and it trunks, ive found latly that if i move the scanner 4in it wont. I thought it was electrical interference but i realized this was the same thing that was happining when i go mobile. Now the only difference when i go mobile is that Entergy frequencies (voice) come is perfect. LSP's come in crappy, why is this, i know that they gotta be hearing alot better than me. I also put an 800mhz antenna on it to no avail, another reason its not my awesome antenna causeing the problem. If anyone could shed some light on this i would appriciate it; Thanks

 

[loumaag]

... I also put an 800mhz antenna on it to no avail, another reason its not my awesome antenna causeing the problem.

800 & 900 MHz stuff is pretty tempramental. Which 800MHz antenna are you using? Since your primary interest appears to be LSP, if you don't have the Radio Shack (RS 20-283) 800MHz Scanner Antenna, I would recommend it. I have used it successfully both indoors and mobile and in my opinion it out performs any exterior antenna I have used due to the line loss involved. Where I am now, I use it inside my house to pick up a 800Mhz system located about 30 Miles away. I can pick up this system on the Discone on the roof at about 35 ft, but the rubber duck does a better job from inside (anywhere in the house I move BTW) due to the coax loss in the line. When I was in Houston, it was normal to hold on to the downtown (Site 1, STARNet) tower almost anywhere in the region mobile with that antenna attached to the back of my Pro-2067 (with a 90degree angle adapter) sitting on the dash board. Take a look at the Harris Co. map here on the site and understand from that main downtown site, this antenna would work anywhere in Harris Co., except the far NW corner and continue to work way out in to the surrounding counties east and west as well as south.

To provide you with a more "local" frame of reference, using that rubber duck antenna on a couple of radios, I was able to use both the Calhoun and Bernice LA State TRS sites while sitting in a motel adjacent to I-20 in Ruston when I attended a wedding a year or so ago, well enought to get trunker runs on both of them. I was on the East side of the motel on the ground floor so I couldn't hear the Homer site, but I sure could when I went back outside and mobile.

 

[INDY72]

It also has to do a LOT with the construction of the structure your in....

Prime example..... In most Wal Marts... unless they are sitting right beside the tower.. you can NOT get 800 reception inside past the cash registers.... UHF, and VHF have no issues....

I have listened to LEO's all over both LA, and in SC complain about this....

In Asheville, NC.. It was becomming a real problem with shoplifter arrests.... So A'ville did something to the way thier tower transmits.. now it works in both the Wal-Marts in the area there...

In Jackson, MS.. its still spotty on the EDACS reception inside the Wal-Marts there...... Though I have NOT heard of many complaints about coverage in Rankin County, MS....

 

[loumaag]

It also has to do a LOT with the construction of the structure your in....

This is true, that is why passive antennas work so great for places like that.