New Scaner for PDX Metro

[pdxrealtor]

Sorry for clogging up the other thread. I decided it's best I start another to get confirmation. With the advice given directly to me, and the reading I've done I seem to have two options -

Buy something I don't need or wait and buy in a couple years when there MIGHT be some more optimization for the digital world we are headed to.

I don't really scan anything but police/fire/ems. I use the 800 Mhz tuned antenna exclusively, but also have the adjustable whip I could throw on if I get board and want to search for something else one day.

I live pretty close to the airport now so I've thought about playing around with that. But again, for the most part I'm a set it on police and only touch it if I want to follow an incident or stakeout etc.....

To satisfy my urge I think I am going to buy a base scanner for my bedroom, and put the 346 in the truck, unless someone can give me some good reasons to buy something better I'm just going to get the 346s brother - the BCT15x.

Any input from anyone on the BCT15x decision or not going digital at this time?

 

[Otto]

I have a 15X and its a really nice scanner. I used to use it mounted in my work truck with a Larsen 800 mhz antenna and it worked really well on the TRS systems in the Portland Metro, as well it did a decent job of pulling VHF signals of the out lying counties Public Safety systems, even though it had a 800 mhz antenna hooked up to it. Granted I was in those counties when I could pick them up well.

The 15X is priced really well on Amazon right now too.
Believe it or not, I still listen to a 246T for home listening, which is most days when putting around the house, and it works just fine as well.

I did buy a HP2 recently, but that was mainly because of it's form, and flexible mounting options. (the new truck's interior prevented an easy out of the way mounting option for the 15X) I mounted it up high in my work truck with a suction cup mount and routed the wiring under the headliner for a "installed" look. I think it might have been over kill to get a Phase II capable scanner at this time, since none of the stuff I listen to is digital at this time. But BOEC and WCCCA are in the process of building new digital systems for the future, so I guess I will be ready.
That is if I keep the HP2. It has recently developed a strange squelch trail that is highly annoying, and have sent off some emails to Uniden to see how to solve that. If it can't be fixed, I might return it to HRO where I bought it ( it's less than a month old) and rethink the HP setup.

 

[pdxrealtor]

Thanks for the input.... again ; )

Sorry to hear about your HP2. In the reading I've done the last few days there is one thing I've read over and over and that is Uniden has quality issues. Oddly those complaints are always followed by someone saying their scanner has had no issues. : /

Amazon is exactly where I've been looking. They have it open boxed for 149.00. It's in my cart.

I was tempted by the HP 1, but I couldn't find any videos of the thing in operation. They're all unboxing and Uniden trying to sell this or that. I'm not sure if I'd like it since I'm used to quick keys.....even though I can't figure out 90% of the rest of the typical scanner.

 

[sparklehorse]

The Uniden 396 and 996 are really nice scanners. They're Phase I only though, but currently that's all we have in the Portland area, and we don't even have much of that. I don't think there were many quality complaints with either of these radios, and certainly my two units have been excellent. I think the Uniden quality complaints have been more common with their most recent models, the older ones seem pretty solid. My 780 is nearly 15 years old and still works like a champ. I have a Whistler 1065 also, which is virtually identical to several of the GRE and Radio Shack models, and I don't think it's build quality is nearly as good as the Uniden 396 or 996.

 

[Otto]

Thanks for the input.... again ; )

Amazon is exactly where I've been looking. They have it open boxed for 149.00. It's in my cart.

I was tempted by the HP 1, but I couldn't find any videos of the thing in operation. They're all unboxing and Uniden trying to sell this or that. I'm not sure if I'd like it since I'm used to quick keys.....even though I can't figure out 90% of the rest of the typical scanner.

I got my 15X brand new from Amazon about a year ago for $165.00. It comes with quite a bunch of stuff. Wall wart power supply, cigar lighter charger for the car, mounting bracket, telescoping antenna and a programming cable. Oh an a CD with a PDF of a cryptic users manual. At least I can't figure out the manual.

I would still be using it in my work truck if they still offered the remote head for them. But it was discontinued only one year of production, and they command hefty prices on eBay($300!!) When they turn up once in a while. That was the real motivation for the HP radio. I should have just saved money and bought the HP1 rather than the HP2, simply because I don't need the phase II capability. The usb charging is nice I guess, but other than that it's pretty much the same as the HP1. Oh, and you have to pay extra to unlock all the features of the radio.

Oh well, I think you'll like the 15X, it's a good radio and at a great price right now. I would buy it again. If I can find a reasonable priced remote head for it, I might mount it in my personal vehicle.

 

[pdxrealtor]

Thanks to you both.

I ordered the 15x. It will be nice to have a matching hand held. I plan to do the opposite. 346xt in the vehicle and 15x by the bed.

Otto- did you find the antenna on the 15x best for 800 Mhz, or would the scanner benefit from a 800 Mhz Radio Shack whip?

 

[Otto]

Well, I have not used the telescoping back of set antenna more than maybe half an hour. It seemed to pick up ok, but it mostly was paired with a Larsen NMO mount 800mhz 3db gain antenna that was mounted to my truck roof cargo/ladder rack. So I am not sure how well that stock antenna works,

 

[pdxrealtor]

^^ Thx

 

[DickH]

^^ Thx

Set the telescoping antenna to 6-1/2" for 800MHz. 13" will still be OK and will be better on 460 and Hi Band.

 

[pdxrealtor]

^^ how will that compare to the 800 Mhz rubber antenna from Radio Shack?

 

[DickH]

^^ how will that compare to the 800 Mhz rubber antenna from Radio Shack?

The RS 800MHz should be better on 800MHz, but not as good on other freqs.

 

[pdxrealtor]

The RS 800MHz should be better on 800MHz, but not as good on other freqs.

Thx.

I'd like to listen to Washington County from East Gresham/Troutdale..... consistently.

I seem to pick it up on and off using both the RS 800 antenna and the wire telescoping that came with the BC15.

Is it worth a shot to try this antenna? 800 MHz 2.5db Gain Professional Portable SMA Antenna

It seemed to get some good reviews over the RS 800.

 

[DickH]

Thx.

I'd like to listen to Washington County from East Gresham/Troutdale..... consistently.

I seem to pick it up on and off using both the RS 800 antenna and the wire telescoping that came with the BC15.

Is it worth a shot to try this antenna? 800 MHz 2.5db Gain Professional Portable SMA Antenna

It seemed to get some good reviews over the RS 800.

In a marginal signal area, moving the scanner just an inch or two could make a big difference. Bear in mind a 1/4 wavelength is just 3-1/4 inches at 800MHz, so, theoretically, you should hit a peak and a null every 3-1/4 ". I also depends on surroundings. The signal could bounce off buildings or be absorbed by foliage.
With so many variables, just play around. Slowly move the scanner around and up and down, in different rooms, etc. until you find the best signal.
Since normal glass does not impede RF, try it near a window, too.

 

[pdxrealtor]

A lot of that is over my head. haha.... I know a bit about peaks and nulls from designing a home theater and dealing with getting a flat response from the bass. I never thought about it in terms of radio waves. Interesting.

I ended up ordering the Laird EXE 806 to test side by side the RS and telescoping wire antennas that I currently have.

On another note - I got free scan installed and running last night. Fun stuff!

 

[Otto]

A lot of that is over my head. haha.... I know a bit about peaks and nulls from designing a home theater and dealing with getting a flat response from the bass. I never thought about it in terms of radio waves. Interesting.

Radio waves are the same as sound waves, just at a higher frequency

On another note - I got free scan installed and running last night. Fun stuff!

Freescan is a good program. I use it to load all my scanners (except for my HP2, it's not compatible) with the identical band plans. Keeps things uniform. Plus you can change things like the welcome screen and other neat stuff that would be kind of hard to do from the front panel interface on the scanner.

 

[sparklehorse]

Monitoring Washington County from Troutdale will likely be a tough nut to crack, unless you're on a hill with an un-obstructed view west. Even then you'd probably need an 800 MHz yagi antenna with really good coax to get a consistently good, low-static signal. I live in SW Portland but get a very poor signal from Washington County. I do get a good signal from the Clackamas County 800 system though, so I just add in the Wash County Talkgroups to my Clackamas System and can monitor most of WCCCA that way. Granted, not all of the Wash County talkgroups are broadcast on the Clack sites, but many of them are. You could give that a try as you'd have a much better shot at Clackamas from Troutdale.
By the way, I've tried that Laird 800 antenna before. It's good for a duck type antenna, but in my experience not really much better than the RS 800. It may be better with other bands than the RS though.


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[pdxrealtor]

Funny you mention the Wash. Co. on CC thing. How does that work? I mean, how are Wash. co. TGs being broadcast on CC? I turned on Clackamas co. last night and was getting tons of Washington Co. on that system. I thought I had things entered wrong. What's weird is I didn't see the Wash. co. TG IDs. It was mostly coming through on 60848, which I think is CC dispatch.

Edit- I can pull in Washington Co., barely, withe telescoping stock antenna and the RS 800 MHz on the hand held. Odd thing is they're both pulling it in about equal.

 

[Otto]

When you where listening to CCOM, did you have it it in "id search" instead of "id scan"?
In "id search" the scanner will pull up all TGID's being broadcast by the system. In the case of CCOM, they share a system controller with WCCCA and Newberg, so you could hear any of those units if they affiliate with any of the CCOM sites. Not always, but a good amount of the time southet cities and Wa. Sheriff will affiate on that site because of their proximity to the site.

 

[pdxrealtor]

Ahhh!! Very well could be on ID search. I'll have to look.

So how's that work, WCCCA on CCOM? You say affiliate, but what's that mean? How can I tell what TG IDs I can enter in a CCOM system input specifically for listening to WCCCA?

 

[Otto]

Affiliate means that the individual radios send a transmission to the site "letting it know they are present on the system. the controller then assigns the site to transmit traffic for the TG's the radio is set to through the site. In the case of a Washington County unit coming up on the Clackamas system is a matter of which site the WaCo. units radio affiliated to. In the case of south cities of sheriff working close to Clackamas county line, they might actually be affliating with the site on Goat Mountain, or other CCOM sites, and therefore the main controller will send the appropriate TG traffic over the Clackamas sites. This is because CCOM and WCCCA and Newberg all share the systems main controller, which is located in Hillsboro. There are seperate simulcast sites for each "user" they are esentially all on the same system.

Or at least that's how I understand the system...

Or if you can't sleep at night, here is some reading about Motorola type II smartnet trunking systems.