Portland reception

[jeremym70]

You said you were living in the Orchards area, and I can tell you that you are (in reference to Portland) located behind a rather large hill (escarpment, actually as it extends from Grand Ave. downtown Vanc. to Camas) and the ridgeline is approx along Mill Plain.

I am a bit confused about your antenna. Have you attached a Rat Shack 800 MHz duck to the back of the radio? I haven't heard of any other external outside antennas other than the ground plane and discone. I believe either would be unity gain on any freq. Therefore I suspect that most of these guys are on the right track in saying that only with an antenna, as high as you can mount it will your reception improve. I am mistified by the gentleman living along Burton however who had trouble getting BOEC from Cascade MS as it is on 18th up on the hill from where he lives (albeit on the back/down side of the grade of the hill).

I live on 7th St., near 162nd Ave, and get really fuzzy reception of CRESA in my car on a Uniden 996XT. I have always suspected it was (as Jeremy indicated) a decensing of the RX because of my proximity of both Prune Hill and Livingston. Never thought of a NEXTEL site. Even I have problems (at certain times) getting BOEC, but usually can on even a handheld with a very short 800 MHz duck on it. But again, I'm up on the hill. In my car I can get VHF sites 50 miles away full quieting, but have issues with 800, especially "picket fencing". Naturally, this area is surrounded by cell sites and who knows any more which ones are NEXTEL. Their antennas used to be easier to spot.

I think geography is playing havoc with your reception and even a ground plane would improve if up high. I have built several using mobile 800 MHz whips and NMO ground plane kits that you can usually find floating around. Heck I built one around leftover Antenna Specialist parts and a solid aluminum disk using a 3 db mobile whip. Worked great! If you can get a yagi, they are the best, I just haven't found one inexpensive enough at a ham show. Grab one of those and get it up high, experiment with sites. They are on the right track with the antenna, but be aware of your location in relation to the topography.

I know there is a Nextel site on 162nd across from the Target, trying to remember where other sites are at in the area as I haven't had Nextel for over 5 years. There is also a site around 157th and 4th Plain, 18th and 136th Street, and Prune Hill. Nearby AT&T sites provide a little desense.

 

[vansigint98661]

Yeah, I think that I get hit hard with that or something else due to the proximity of high powered multiple sites in a simulcast system. One or the other, not sure.

I think you guys are on the right track for Matt though. But even a high-in-the-air ground plane would probably help, but a yagi would be outstanding. I'd love one to test some of the outward BOEC sites. Looked for a couple at SEAPAC, but they wanted too much. I really suspect he's below the hill here and that's his bigger issue. But in an RF target-saturated area, we are all victims of some sort of reception issue. Remember when our biggest problem was intermod??

 

[PaulNDaOC]

Yeah, I'm guessing it's just your location. Make sure you have all of the "Simulcast Backbone" frequencies programmed in your scanner. Also, since you said you live in the Orchards area, you may want to put the "Biddle Butte" frequencies in as well. And leave all the other ones out.

Just a note about Biddle Butte and the other fill-in sites, you won't hear the full system as you would on the Simulcast group.

Biddle Butte covers east of the Sandy River and a lot of the east cities great, but you will only hear the talk groups with radios on using that site, so may not hear much of the PPB groups,and some of the groups unless it's a call out east, but you will hear county police disp and tap out.

Same goes for Forest Heights site, you won't hear PPB Central unless a car is up there.etc....

Basically your screwed listening if you live in an area not covered by the Simulcast group.

 

[Rom-Rom]

I know there is a Nextel site on 162nd across from the Target, trying to remember where other sites are at in the area as I haven't had Nextel for over 5 years. There is also a site around 157th and 4th Plain, 18th and 136th Street, and Prune Hill. Nearby AT&T sites provide a little desense.

18th and 136th is the location of Cascade Middle School, which would explain why I get nothing there!

-Scott, KD7KIP

 

[GB1952]

I use the br-6386 from the antenna farm it works very well

 

[Dann]

Im in Battle Ground and I get Portland just fine with no outside antenna.

 

[Darth_vader]

"I know there is a Nextel site on 162nd across from the Target, trying to remember where other sites are at in the area as I haven't had Nextel for over 5 years."

You mean, the one up the street behind Parkrose Hardware? *confused*

"18th and 136th is the location of Cascade Junior High School, which would explain why I get nothing there!"

Yeah, the cell sites on the BPA towers really hammer the area.

The AT&T/former Cingular site just off Valerie's Restaurant, in the complex next to Fred's on NE Chkalov, also desenses my PRO-94 on 400 and 800 MHz. Monitoring with headphones, it also injects an odd scratchy, high-pitch "buzzing" sound into the audio chain when in proximity of the towers, and not even very close proximity. The ones at the Van Mall offramp at 205/4th Plain and behind the Elks club do the same.