Wow thats weird. Some people just over the border cannot receive the Philadelphia system. It does seem to be directional towards the east, however. I can receive the system from the top of Pine Hill, NJ gloucester twp, and deptford. I can receive it clearly from Cherry Hill, west of I-295 and even from Clementon (east of the main square because thats the valley). I can almost receive the control channel from my home which is almost 20 miles away from Center City. All this with an RS 800 duckie. I can't help but notice that on the PA turnpike just west of the Delaware Valley Interchange that I completely lose the Philadelphia system. And this is only a mile from the city line in the Northeast. So I wonder what coverage is like for the officers and firefighting units in that part of the city.
To answer your question, Rich250, on my 396 reception was slightly improved. I listened the other day from the Deptford area and slightly less motorboating, though I did hear a few of them. Thats not too great considering I noticed a huge improvement on Burlington County digital (even the West system which was just horrible), Bucks, and Montgomery Co. Fire. All of these systems I hardly hear any machinegunning. So how did you make out with the firmware upgrade?