noob needs help with rural reception

[ChaosWitch]

Hey all... My name is Meghan,

Before you tell me to "search" i have tried but to no avail. So here i am my first post. *Hides in corner from mods if I'm posting in the wrong place* The new member stickys said to go to my regional to post first! ...

ok here we go.

Kentucky, Pulaski County, Burnside
Radioshack Pro-528

I just need less static and a little more chatter would be nice. I don't know anything about scanner radios. took me a week to get the correct frequencies? programmed in. I just wanna monitor local police,fire,ems and maybe KSP if I'm lucky. (I also have some McCreary County frequencies programmed in. Mostly for fire *just south of me*) everything is between 154. - 460. (is that what i need to know?)

I can't find a good place to set my scanner anywhere in my house! I can stand in the middle of the kitchen, hold it up high and get "better" reception... but i just cant stand like that forever! haha

After reading a great deal on RR i saw this link on a different forum post.
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Homebrewed_Off-Center_Fed_Dipole

The wire variation looks interesting...i don't want a lightening rod... but i don't want to make it... i found a similar post where someone was saying they wanted to buy one ready made as well.... so i browsed the recommended Ebay and found plenty.... but.... I don't know which i should buy. Can i install these inside? Across my ceiling or up a wall? Or are the better outside?

This one? if so.... what else do i need?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-Wave-...602866?hash=item1ca170b6b2:g:LagAAOxyB-tSUFD7

P.S. as a noob i feel proud to have found the correct local frequencies and programmed them in without getting on here like many other noobs do... I SEARCHED! ya gotta give me credit for that.

Sorry for the long post

HELP

Thanks in advance for not yelling at me..
Meghan

 

[DJ11DLN]

If you're using the stock antenna that came with the radio, just about anything you do will improve performance. Something as simple as getting a Diamond RH77-type (with the appropriate connector) should make a big difference.

If you buy our build an OCFD, make sure you put it up vertical as that is the polarization the services you're wanting to hear will be using. Mounting it horizontal will result in a large loss of performance.

 

[flythunderbird]

Hi Meghan,

A second on the Diamond RH-77. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Original-RH77CA-Dual-Band-Handheld/dp/B00M1X73EA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1520549987&sr=8-1&keywords=+Diamond+RH77CA

The OCFD is easy and cheap to make (especially the wire one), and it has pretty decent performance - so don't be afraid to try it. My primary scanner uses one with good results. As you have discovered, height improves antenna performance, so you'll want to get it as high as you can.

If you don't already have a manual for your scanner, here's a copy:

http://www.scancat.com/OnLineHelp/OEM_Radiwners_Manuals/PRO-528_Users_Guide.pdf

Your 528 will not decode P25 radio systems, so scanning the KSP isn't going to happen ...

 

[ChaosWitch]

Thanks for the fast replies!
Yea from what i read vertical was the correct way.... I may try to get that diamond antenna so thanks for the link.... but honestly i think ill need a bit more oomph... so any suggestion on where i could buy a pre-fabricated wire antenna... (I assume that's what u all are calling OCFD) as I'm not going to attempt to make one...

The Ebay link i posted above is one of many... I'm not sure which to purchase... so many numbers i don't understand... This guy has a ton of em pre made...


https://www.ebay.com/usr/radioman79?_trksid=p2047675.l2559


can someone advise me on purchasing something like this? i really have no clue what I'm doing... Thanks

 

[whitty]

You may need an outside antenna and if you want to hear KSP you will need a digital scanner. You should be able to hear Pulaski Co. and McCeary Co. I live in southern Wayne Co and can hear Pulaski S.O. with an outdoor antenna.

 

[SenorMoofer]

If you have a little know how building a Off Center isn't incredibly difficult. I can attest that they work very well in fact you can listen to https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/20896 which runs via a homemade Off Center Dipole. It works very well and is mounted in an attic of the feed host's location, it was also for a longtime standing next to the computer and worked well also.


If you are looking for something smaller and more compact https://www.amazon.com/1094-BNC-Sca...pID=317Xdutd1WL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch is serving a feed well in Versailles Kentucky. It monitors the Versaille police and fire feeding DSD+ for the NXDN decoding heard here https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/27723 for reference.

Really as been stated anything will be a vast improvement over the stock antenna on the radio.

 

[ChaosWitch]

So its impossible to buy one pre made? none of the ones on Ebay will work? i have 3 telescoping antennas, a magnetic car antenna and the original rubber ducky that came with mine... "dammit Scotty we need more power!" i dont want an outside antenna because that just puts me into the crazy work of having to ground things for fear of lightening and i have no idea how to do that, also i dont have the budget for all the correct supplies.... is there ANYWHERE on the World Wide Web where i can purchase an antenna to give me more than im getting with little telescoping antennas.... and doesnt have to be stuck outside on a pole?

is this wire homebrew better than the telescoping and magnetic car antennas?

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Homebrewed_Off-Center_Fed_Dipole

if so.... ill ask again... where can i buy one?

or are the previously suggested linked antennas better than the Off-Center Fed Dipole Using Simple Wire?

 

[ChaosWitch]

i could have swore i posted a reply to this already..... anyway...

i have zero know how when it comes to building anything scanner/antenna/radio related except what ive learned in the past week of trying to program my scanner to listen to local police/fire/ems....i dont have an attic... i live in a rural area and i can only hear the county sheriff, city police, and ems dispatch.... i have a multitude of frequencies programmed in (stayed up till 3 am last night doing it) and im sure that its due to my location..... i have 3 telescoping antennas, a magnetic base antenna, and a rubber ducky that came with my Pro-528

and all work pretty much the same.... constant static unless im tippy toeing in my kitchen or outside reaching for the stars...

i do not want the hassle or fear that comes with installing a giant metal lightening rod of an antenna on my roof.. i have zero wiring knowledge and i am NOT comfortable with the idea of doing so...

what i would be comfortable doing is screwing a wire to the outside of my house, if you all think it would be better than the above suggested small portable antennas you linked me to...

i swear im going to throw this scanner in the trash if i cant pick up something more than the garbled half translatable dispatch lady and the ems tones...

Pulaski county kentucky surely has more than 3 working frequencies right?



is there a non pole out door antenna for sale anywhere on the World Wide Web that will eliminate static and get better range??

 

[AK9R]

i could have swore i posted a reply to this already..... anyway...

You did. But new forum members are on moderation until they make several posts. Until then, your posts have to be approved by a moderator.

 

[jonwienke]

i do not want the hassle or fear that comes with installing a giant metal lightening rod of an antenna on my roof.

The antenna for the frequencies you're trying to receive isn't "giant"--3-4 feet tall at most. But putting it outside on a pole as high as possible is the ONLY thing that will get you better reception. Attaching something to the side of the house will not help. The antenna has to be above your roof, hills, and trees in the area, or the signal will be mostly or completely blocked by the obstacles in the way.

 

[popnokick]

Meghan - The eBay stuff you linked to (and all the others I found in eBay searches) are ham / amateur radio antennas that are not in the frequency ranges you want to receive with your scanner. Avoid them.
Making the wire version of the Scanner Off-Center Dipole in the RR Antenna Wiki that you found is really dirt simple and as has been noted here.... it works really well. Better than any telescoping antenna or magnetic car antenna. Here's the trick: Do you have upstairs windows? Or any windows? If so, the best window to use is upstairs, but a lower floor window will work. What you want to do is hang the wire vertically in the highest window you have. The cable from the TV transformer should be at a 90 degree angle for a few feet away from the vertical wires. You'll need a simple F female to BNC male TV cable adapter to your scanner.
ANOTHER OPTION (and this one you can buy anywhere) - Get one of the flat "blade" or "leaf" type TV antennas. They are available at Walmart, Sams, home stores, hardware stores, etc. Yes, you read right.... a TV antenna. They have even have flat ones that you can stick to a window. TV antennas receive the scanner frequencies very well. Put it in a window that faces the direction where most of what you want to hear comes from. Then connect the TV cable from the antenna to your scanner; again, you'll need an F-female to BNC male adapter that matches the connector on your scanner.
If you have an upstairs window but want to hear the scanner downstairs, consider a bluetooth audio sender to a bluetooth speaker or earphone. Plug the audio sender into the scanner and take the speaker or earphone with you wherever you go in the house.

 

[Golay]

Hearing the locals

First off, I want to say that it's possible it's not all on your end.

I'm from Michigan. We spend about a week around Whitley, McCreary, Scott and Campbell counties every year for a reunion. And I've been in this hobby and ham radio for quite the while. And in listening down there, I sometimes wonder if it's been a long time since some of the base stations have swapped out the feed line. Especially McCreary County Sheriff. They are just too scratchy for as close as I get to Whitley City. It's possible this may be contributing to your poor reception in your area. Some of the services may have the same antenna and coax for over 40 years.

And I agree with those that say that off-fed scanner dipole is a great idea. But depending on where you're at, it may be a little difficult to get it above the tree lines. I'm going to assume you're not living on flat land for miles around . Make it, and set it up outside on a pole. Even though you won't be above nearby obstructions, I have no doubt you'll see a big difference just being outside.

 

[flythunderbird]

Pulaski county kentucky surely has more than 3 working frequencies right?

Pulaski County has many frequencies, as does McCreary County.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=1088

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=1062

what i would be comfortable doing is screwing a wire to the outside of my house, if you all think it would be better than the above suggested small portable antennas you linked me to...

The wire variation of the OCFD described in this thread can be hung on the inside or outside of your house from a nail or a screw (or you could even tape it to the inside wall, if you want). However, if you were to hang it outside, you'd need to hang it so that it didn't swing in the wind. Many people simply hang it in a window, especially if they are traveling. It's easy to make - honest! And the parts are very cheap.

Popnokick also mentioned the 'blade' or 'leaf' TV antennas ... perhaps you may want to look at one of those:

https://www.amazon.com/Sobetter-Detachable-Amplifier-warranty-supports/dp/B072R5L938/

or this one:

https://www.amazon.com/Antenna，Philex-Digital-Antenna-Reception-Performance/dp/B078WPHR5M/

and the appropriate adapter for your scanner:

https://www.amazon.com/Cmple-F-Jack-to-BNC-Plug-Adapter/dp/B004KA5UB0/

You can put this antenna in a window, as he said ... no pole necessary.

 

[ChaosWitch]

Ok thanks for the help. Yea. The hills around here probably do work against me. Luckily I am on top of of a very large hill. Unlucky though that I’m just a bit over the hill opposite of the area I want to listen to and not directly on top. I don’t have any windows on the side facing where I want to receive from and I don’t have an upstairs because I’m in a double wide trailer. I think my tin roof causes problems with my indoor reception. Ugh. There is just so much to learn with this hobby. It REALLY interests me though as my grandfather did radio in the Korean War. He was stationed in England and have several fun stories about his radio activities. Ok. I’m sorry to bombard you all with a million questions. But here are some more. Are there any outside pole antennas that don’t require mad skills? Like with grounding n such? Beside my house there is a clear cut in the trees heading straight up the hill in the direction I need. I’m thinking if I could get up about 20-30ft and have the antenna about 20ft away from the house (that would put it up about another 5ft from my homes ground level) then I may be able to get a better line of sight in the correct direction. The pole would have trees on both sides of it but not blocking it. BUT there is a power line between it and Somerset. A 20ft roof top antenna would be even higher. But I’m terrified of the thought of lightening that high up. Ugh.... I don’t even know what I’m asking...

Outside reception is much better than inside.
Scared of tall poles that could attract lightening.
No attic or windows facing the right direction.
On the wrong side of a tall hill/mountain.
Small Power lines crossing line of sight.


If I did put up a poll is there an all-in-one kit I could purchase? In the price range of around $100? Just starting this hobby I don’t want to invest much. And I really can’t afford much more than that starting out. Something super easy to install with directions a 10 year old could follow.

Don’t feel like I’m ignoring the previously suggested ideas I am just trying to collect as much advice as possible so I can look at all my options before purchasing something that may not work for my situation. Thank you all so much for the input and help. ��

P.s. typing this reply on my phone and it’s not letting me scroll up to proof read so sorry if there are typos and sorry if my craziness is showing. Haha

 

[popnokick]

Thanks for a LOT more info... and that is going to help get better ideas here. Your (likely) metal roof and walls explain why you noted that you get a better signal with the scanner outdoors. Indoor antennas are going to be a problem no matter what you use. Take heart in that though... it means that almost anything you can get onto your roof is going to help. Have to ask a "long shot" question: Is there by chance an existing TV antenna on your trailer? If so, you can definitely use that with your scanner. E-Z P-Z.... let us know if you have an existing TV antenna and we'll tell you how to connect to the scanner. If not, well.... you might want to consider one due to the ease of installation.

 

[jonwienke]

Tv antennas are mounted horizontally, a scanner antenna needs to be vertical. The antenna would have to be remounted to work worth crap.

 

[ChaosWitch]

Thanks for a LOT more info... and that is going to help get better ideas here. Your (likely) metal roof and walls explain why you noted that you get a better signal with the scanner outdoors. Indoor antennas are going to be a problem no matter what you use. Take heart in that though... it means that almost anything you can get onto your roof is going to help. Have to ask a "long shot" question: Is there by chance an existing TV antenna on your trailer? If so, you can definitely use that with your scanner. E-Z P-Z.... let us know if you have an existing TV antenna and we'll tell you how to connect to the scanner. If not, well.... you might want to consider one due to the ease of installation.

Unfortunately no I don’t have an existing antenna. I have tons of tall trees and that’s about it.

And yea I read that the tv things get mounted different.

 

[popnokick]

Turning the existing antenna to vertical polarization would be necessary eventually.... but getting connected to it initially is simple enough. And from my experience and others who have done this (and written about it here on RR) it will still provide an improvement from anything that is inside the Faraday cage known as a "double-wide".

 

[BigEd1314]

I hear McCreary SO just fine up here in laurel county.

First off, I want to say that it's possible it's not all on your end.

I'm from Michigan. We spend about a week around Whitley, McCreary, Scott and Campbell counties every year for a reunion. And I've been in this hobby and ham radio for quite the while. And in listening down there, I sometimes wonder if it's been a long time since some of the base stations have swapped out the feed line. Especially McCreary County Sheriff. They are just too scratchy for as close as I get to Whitley City. It's possible this may be contributing to your poor reception in your area. Some of the services may have the same antenna and coax for over 40 years.

And I agree with those that say that off-fed scanner dipole is a great idea. But depending on where you're at, it may be a little difficult to get it above the tree lines. I'm going to assume you're not living on flat land for miles around . Make it, and set it up outside on a pole. Even though you won't be above nearby obstructions, I have no doubt you'll see a big difference just being outside.

 

[SenorMoofer]

Unfortunately no I don’t have an existing antenna. �� I have tons of tall trees and that’s about it.

And yea I read that the tv things get mounted different.

If you have tree's building a wire version of the OCFD and hanging it outside only when using it might be an option, the wire versions are ideal for quick deployment and will again net you vast improvements over a wide array of frequency's

You can purchase a functional one from ebay for 50 to 150 dollars depending on size and quality and i can surely point you in that direction as can many others here, but for 20 to 30 dollars and about an hour of effort you can build the same thing. Using the directions here https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Homebrewed_Off-Center_Fed_Dipole look at the bottom, if you can operate screwdriver and pliers you can build this cheaply using components found at Lowes or Home Depot.

Mind you your run to the scanner needs to be 50 feet or less or loss on the cable run will be negate the improvements.