Poor/No Local Pickup on BCD436HP

[Ajank8303]

Hello everyone, long-time lurker, first time poster. After having many analog scanners since I was a young child, I had gone a period of a year or two without one until my wife surprised me with a Uniden BCD436HP. I was familiar with the old process of getting the newest Police Call book from Radioshack and programming my scanner to my liking. I knew this model had the built in database and I created a few favorites lists so that I could narrow down my listening and get rid of a lot of the misc. frequencies. Well, I reside in Haverhill, MA and I like to monitor Methuen and Lawrence because Haverhill PD uses an encrypted system these days. Methuen is a P25 system and Lawrence is a regular FM. I was unable to receive a single transmission from either department when I used an online scanner feed as a way to determine this inaccuracy. Hearing how the stock antenna was not that great, I purchased a Radioshack 800MHz version last night and thought it might help the gain, well, not at all. I picked up a few static-laced Lawrence transmissions and not a single one from Methuen. Salem, NH, which is a P25 system and also a neighboring town, I was unable to monitor. I am extremely disappointed with this scanner as my old Uniden analog model had no problem with basic non-P25 systems. Even with the addition of the new antenna, I have boxed up the scanner and will most likely return it. Was this a poor purchase on my wife's behalf? I've read both good and bad things about this model, but I have been looking at the 325P2 as an alternative. I know it doesn't have the built in database and the added bells and whistles, but are the internals good, as far as reception power and whatnot? I've briefly looked at Whistler models and would like a Phase I and II compatible model, going forward for compatibility. More importantly, I'd like to thank everyone for their time reading this message, I love staying up to date to local police and fire, but this model is really turning me off from the hobby as a whole now.

 

[DPD1]

I wouldn't necessarily blame the radio. The problem with a lot of the new systems, is that they are specifically designed to keep the signals in the designated area.

Actually... Looking at the towns you listed, I'm seeing mostly VHF and 400 frequencies. Is there another 800 system not listed in the database? I also see the county sheriff appears to be 400 as well.

I assume this was just handheld antennas? If you haven't sent it back yet, I would keep trying. I would try an outdoor antenna... preferably something VHF/UHF 400. Something like a dual band 2M/440 base antenna would probably be close enough. You're going to get a big difference in performance with a raised up external antenna dedicated to the bands, compared to a handheld antenna. Especially if you were using one for 800. If you can elevate yourself on your property outdoors, you might be able to get a feel for the improvement. Maybe sit on the roof with the radio. You'll look crazy to the neighbors, but it will give you an idea of what's possible.

 

[JD21960]

Poor/No Local Pickup BCD436HP

Welcome back to the fun. I went 2 years with no scanner once until the digital stuff came out. Now forget everything you knew about the old way of scanning and inputting frequencies. If you use the zip code method? you'll learn it's a black hole and you'll rarely hear what you want. It's all about creating a scan-LIST and keeping the talk-groups lower in number *I do mine by county, just like the old banks and channels set-up and around 60 or so. You'll notice how slow scan rates are no matter what scanner you buy, you'll notice how badly they all perform on 700/800mhz P25 Digital simulcast systems ESPECIALLY when mobile. Simulcast distortion is bad for all of them. Some have to resort to aluminum foil in the battery case to help on 470mhz reception. So buying a 325P2 or RS Pro668 won't cure it. Only a Yagi home antenna or buying a $1000 Unication voice pager will do any good. My area the simulcast is so bad I resorted to what I did in this video. IT worked, but only for 700/800mhz Simulcast problems around town. And what a wife you have! bought you a scanner! we all should be so lucky. I myself won't be buying any more new scanners from the 2 main manufacturers. I'll be waiting for Unication to make their voice pager more scanner-like and updating the firmware to Phase II. My wish is that THEY make an all band scanner. It's pretty bad when my 12-13 year old Pro96 deals with simulcast better than a new 2016 scanner. That's the industry today with these "IPOD" type scanners that you can barely hear in the car. Today's stuff is really dependent on a proper antenna. They need a lot of help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKxp3-2_y8g

 

[troymail]

So I am reading your description of poor reception and a couple of thoughts come to mind.

This one was first : http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/337172-436-how-improve-your-uhf-reception.html

You'll see I've contributed to that thread and found that the recommendation for a solution really made a huge difference for me.

The other possibly that you just got a lemon - it happens.

Then I read Dave's comments above about the VHF and UHF frequencies you are trying to listen to and the above thread came back again.

Another thought - http://forums.radioreference.com/ge...063-problems-programming-uniden-bcd436hp.html

I'm not sure how long you've had the radio but if you still have time before you need to return it for a full refund, you might want to play a bit more... On the other hand, seeing posts like the above where we're all applying shielding tape to the battery compartment just to get the radio to work, I can understand why you'd throw in the towel...