Philadelphia Fire/Police Reception in Jenkintown PA

[MikeyP19128]

I currently live in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia and am moving to Jenkintown PA in April. Is it possible to receive Philadelphia Fire department radio reception in this area. For those familiar with the area, I will be moving to the vicinity of Old York Rd and The Fairway. This is about 4 miles north of Philadelphia (Broad and Cheltenham avenue).
I’ve been told that reception is good in that area, but I had my BCD536HP over there yesterday and no reception. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been listening to Philadelphia fire radio for over 60 years and would hate to lose it this late in life. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Reception is spotty west & northwest of the city. You'll encounter sweet spots and dead zones from outside of the intended coverage area due to varied topography. The further you move away from the city limit, forget about it. You may encounter simulcast distortion with the 536HP if you're within range of two or more simulcasting towers. I speak from experience while mobile from within the city with a 536HP. My SDS100 never misses a beat. I can't speak specifically for Jenkintown but I've been in certain areas of Bucks and Delco about equally-distant from the city as Jenkintown is. Coverage is there in certain areas but not others. I now live in Norristown and get zero pick up on the city system regardless of antenna used. Had to come to terms with that fact after living in Drexel Hill about a 5 minute drive from West Philly and picking it up without an issue there. Ah well, there's always Broadcastify

 

[philacop]

Reception is spotty west & northwest of the city. You'll encounter sweet spots and dead zones from outside of the intended coverage area due to varied topography. The further you move away from the city limit, forget about it. You may encounter simulcast distortion with the 536HP if you're within range of two or more simulcasting towers. I speak from experience while mobile from within the city with a 536HP. My SDS100 never misses a beat. I can't speak specifically for Jenkintown but I've been in certain areas of Bucks and Delco about equally-distant from the city as Jenkintown is. Coverage is there in certain areas but not others. I now live in Norristown and get zero pick up on the city system regardless of antenna used. Had to come to terms with that fact after living in Drexel Hill about a 5 minute drive from West Philly and picking it up without an issue there. Ah well, there's always Broadcastify

Unication will work with no problem..

 

[policefreak]

You actually have 2 things working against you. First is the fact that the as others have shared and I have witnessed, Philadelphia City system is very weak to the North and West. In fact on a Unication device there are parts of Flourtown where it does not come in. Add to that the fact that if you're less than a 1/2 mile from a cell tower or a cell site on the side of a building it will overload your scanner to anything in the 800mhz range.

 

[trentbob]

I've had many a occasion to travel Route 611 from the turnpike down through Jenkintown towards Elkins Park while monitoring Philly radio.

Never had an issue with the apx7000, I haven't used a 536 in years but have had spotty reception with the sds100. As correctly explained above you are dealing with simulcast distortion due to using a 536 and the terrain in Jenkintown is all over the place. It's like a roller coaster.

It all depends where you're going to move to in Jenkintown, will you be in The Boro or on the outskirts near Ridal, Noble or near the Jenkintown train station? Location is really going to matter especially if you are in one of those real deep dips.

 

[MikeyP19128]

Many thanks to those who have responded so far. With respect to topography, we’re moving to Rydal Waters, a senior living community bounded on the south by The Fairway and on the west by Old York Road. The complex seems to be at a higher elevation than the surrounding properties (Whole Foods and the other businesses along the north side of The Fairway). I’m not opposed to investing in an SDS100/200, but I guess I’d like some assurance that they would work. I’ve had the 536 since 2014 and I don’t know how much the technology has changed over time. I also have a Home Patrol 2. I’m going back to Jenkintown on Thursday and I thought I’d take the HP 2 in the car to see how the reception varies between Roxborough and Jenkintown.
Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[trentbob]

Many thanks to those who have responded so far. With respect to topography, we’re moving to Rydal Waters, a senior living community bounded on the south by The Fairway and on the west by Old York Road. The complex seems to be at a higher elevation than the surrounding properties (Whole Foods and the other businesses along the north side of The Fairway). I’m not opposed to investing in an SDS100/200, but I guess I’d like some assurance that they would work. I’ve had the 536 since 2014 and I don’t know how much the technology has changed over time. I also have a Home Patrol 2. I’m going back to Jenkintown on Thursday and I thought I’d take the HP 2 in the car to see how the reception varies between Roxborough and Jenkintown.
Again, thanks for the replies.

Well I have good news for you and bad news for you. The good news is you are moving to the most wonderful area and the reputation of Rydal Waters is terrific.

I lived in Drexel Hill but then moved to Rydal and grew up there. Later in life, My older brother lived in Rydal East which is across the Fairway from you, I inherited that condo when he passed but sold it long ago.

You have got the Whole Foods and the Shopping Center along with Trader Joe's. You just couldn't find a better place to live. Congratulations!

The bad news is you are about topographically as low as you can go right there, if you go on Susquehanna to the Rydal train station and go under the Rydal Bridge whether you make a left on Susquehanna or a right on Washington Lane you go straight uphill. If you go on Susquehanna the other way towards Huntingdon Pike and 611 you are going straight uphill. Be careful of that winding stretch for ice and deer. If you go up the Fairway towards 611 and make a left towards Jenkintown you are going straight uphill, if you make a right on 611 towards Abington Hospital you are going straight uphill. Topographically you are at the lowest spot you can be in that area.

You might have options with using certain types of antennas, you will certainly want to see how the 536 does. As you know Abington and Jenkintown police are encrypted, County Fire and EMS is Phase 2 simulcast so you may have problems with that and the 536.

Get back to us after you move and don't spend a lot of money until you're sure you're going to be able to hear Philly. We may be able to help you work something out with an antenna like a directional beam mounted on a floor lamp near a window in your unit. Don't lose hope yet.

I kind of regret that I sold the condo at Rydal East but you can see they were much older units. Again congratulations!

 

[trap5858]

It depends where in Jenkintown you are moving to. I used to live in Wyncote and had no trouble receiving Philly even on a hand held scanner. My experience has been that reception is pretty consistent south of Susquehanna Road. You should be good

 

[SuperPuma]

On a side note what is the recommended best scanner to monitor Philadelphia now? Last I used was a RS Pro106 and the simulcast distortion was terrible.

 

[policefreak]

SDS100 portable or SDS200 mobile is the best scanner around. The 100 goes for $649.99 and the 200 for $699.99. For that money you can get a Unication G4 pager and while technically it's not a scanner (can only hear 1 system or one 1 site at a time) the reception is even far superior to the SDS scanners.

 

[trentbob]

On a side note what is the recommended best scanner to monitor Philadelphia now? Last I used was a RS Pro106 and the simulcast distortion was terrible.

Yes that's correct any GRE, RS or Whistler radio does not work well on that particular Phase 1 simulcast system. You can get good results with the b c d 436 + 536 but there are going to be simulcast issues but if you are in a fixed location in The Sweet Spot they can do the job other than that your best results are going to be a simulcast capable radio or pager so that would be the sds100, 200 or the unication pagers. You always have the option of a used commercial radio programmed for receive only.

 

[trentbob]

SDS100 portable or SDS200 mobile is the best scanner around. The 100 goes for $649.99 and the 200 for $699.99. For that money you can get a Unication G4 pager and while technically it's not a scanner (can only hear 1 system or one 1 site at a time) the reception is even far superior to the SDS scanners.

Another simultaneous post confirming each other lol.

 

[policefreak]

Another simultaneous post confirming each other lol.

Great minds think alike!

 

[kh11]

Unication will work with no problem..

Not everywhere. I'm less than a mile out of the city to the NW, and there are a lot of dead spots for PPD with my G5. (Fire is a little easier.) Out of my house and around the area, no problem, but apparently I live in a black hole for the PD zone.

 

[MikeyP19128]

Just a little update. First, thanks again to everyone who has replied, I greatly appreciate it.

I was at the house twice last week, once with my 536 and the other time with my Home Patrol 2. Neither radio received any transmissions. For whatever it’s worth, I was using the HP 2 in my sister’s car and it seemed like after crossing Bells Mill road from Ridge to Germantown avenues, I had no reception altogether (and likewise on the return trip). I was very surprised by this. The display indicator showed no signal strength for some period of time. Then it intermittently showed 1, 2, or 3 bars but not for any appreciable length of time. It seemed like I had a signal for several seconds on one of the Rydal Waters’ streets, but no audible transmission.

I’ve been posting similar messages to the Facebook Uniden Scanner group and, like here, have gotten a mixed bag of responses. Several people have indicated that a Yagi directional antenna may solve the problem, but given some of the other responses, I’m not altogether convinced. Someone also suggested that the SDS 200 may work but, again, I’m not so sure. I’m not inclined to make that investment and not have it work.

Again, many thanks to everyone who has replied to me !

 

[trentbob]

Just a little update. First, thanks again to everyone who has replied, I greatly appreciate it.

I was at the house twice last week, once with my 536 and the other time with my Home Patrol 2. Neither radio received any transmissions. For whatever it’s worth, I was using the HP 2 in my sister’s car and it seemed like after crossing Bells Mill road from Ridge to Germantown avenues, I had no reception altogether (and likewise on the return trip). I was very surprised by this. The display indicator showed no signal strength for some period of time. Then it intermittently showed 1, 2, or 3 bars but not for any appreciable length of time. It seemed like I had a signal for several seconds on one of the Rydal Waters’ streets, but no audible transmission.

I’ve been posting similar messages to the Facebook Uniden Scanner group and, like here, have gotten a mixed bag of responses. Several people have indicated that a Yagi directional antenna may solve the problem, but given some of the other responses, I’m not altogether convinced. Someone also suggested that the SDS 200 may work but, again, I’m not so sure. I’m not inclined to make that investment and not have it work.

Again, many thanks to everyone who has replied to me !

Yep as I was pointing out geographically or topographically in my post and having lived across the Fairway from where you are moving that location is a particularly low point. Wait till you move in and come back on this thread and we can talk about the possibility of a directional antenna mounted on a floor lamp.

 

[trap5858]

No surprise that you lost everything around Germantown and Bells Mill. Not long ago I was showing a friend my SDS100 at the Northwest Stables and barely heard anything. Moving to the St. Martins train station on West Willow Grove Avenue we could hear all of the PFD and PPD traffic. The nearest city towers are Germantown and Carpenter and Andorra. Both have good elevation so it seems to be an ongoing experiment. I will be trying a Yagi from my home in Horsham soon. I will let you know how that goes. My discone has failed the test.

 

[MikeyP19128]

Just a little update. We moved to Jenkintown yesterday and I set-up my BCD536HP this morning. When I had the radio here in early March, I had no PFD reception on the radio. Using my handy-dandy iPhone compass to determine south and minimizing the squelch setting, I’m now getting some PFD reception.
It’s a rainy day so it might be a lower radio traffic day. My other idea is that it might be worthwhile to get one of the Yagi directional antennas for improved performance. But, I’m more encouraged than I was six weeks ago. As always, I want to thank everyone who replied to my original post.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

It’s a rainy day so it might be a lower radio traffic day.

No day is a "lower radio traffic day" in Philly. Their system is always bustling with activity from one talkgroup or another