Pre Amp for BCD396T

[jimhorner67]

I would like to get a pre amp for my scanner. I only have it set to listen to 1 trunked system and 2 groups. I have it broadcasting Durham Police on RR. I understand about noise floor and such but i only have it scanning the frequencies for Durham City PD. I bought the 800mhz antenna from scanmasters and that didnt seem to help much. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPad; CPU OS 6_1_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/536.26 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0 Mobile/10B146 Safari/8536.25)

Look at getting a yagi, and high quality feed line before adding a preamp. If you Are using a broadband antenna, the preamp will amplify everything, potentially causing more harm than good. You should be able to improve your receive quality by using a band specific directional antenna and low loss feed line.

 

[LtDoc]

I think that if you could borrow a preamplifier to see what the difference would be, that you would give it back to whoever you borrowed it from. The 'bad' part about any preamplifier with any antenna and receiver is that it can't and doesn't discriminate between wanted and unwanted signals. You will be amplifying noise right along with desired signals. That can be okay in some instances, but just an added aggravation in most of them. The one 'simple' thing you can do to 'better' the signal you want is to get the receiving antenna higher so that it can 'see' the transmitting antenna(s) better. Maybe using a 'gain' antenna would help, all kinds of possibilities are preferable to a preamplifier in most cases. Then again, getting an antenna higher isn't always possible. So, make it ea$y on your self and try whatever you think may make it better.
Good luck.
- 'Doc

 

[nanZor]

Simple checks which you've probably already done - have you checked to make sure that ATTenuator isn't on? Does reception improve if it IS on?

I don't know where Wake Forest is in relation to the tower you are listening to, but if very close you could be overloaded rather than needing a better antenna.

 

[RonnieUSA]

I would like to get a pre amp for my scanner. I only have it set to listen to 1 trunked system and 2 groups. I have it broadcasting Durham Police on RR. I understand about noise floor and such but i only have it scanning the frequencies for Durham City PD. I bought the 800mhz antenna from scanmasters and that didnt seem to help much. Any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

Have a look at this >> Electroline Eda 2100 Signal Booster Bi Directional Drop Cable Digital Amplifier | eBay It is what I use, got it yesterday, and went from 2 bars on a trunked system to 5 bars, and much clearer.

 

[bernietr]

Electroline eda-2100 signal booster

This is a great choice for a preamp,
Especially helpful with a long cable run.

 

[jimhorner67]

the scanner is at my sons appartment. He is right on the border of Raleigh and Durham .He's probably 6 miles or so from where they dispatch.I'll check the attenuator setting. Thanks

Jim

 

[jimhorner67]

There are 3 ports...do i need a load on the open port?

 

[jimhorner67]

the scanner is setup at my sons apartment so thats not an option at this point. ihave a 8" 2.5 DB from scanmasters.
thanks

jim

 

[RonnieUSA]

There are 3 ports...do i need a load on the open port?

The one I linked to is a 1 port setup, 1 input, 1 output, and the power port that looks like a hookup port, it is the one with the green diamond above it.

 

[jimhorner67]

The one I linked to is a 1 port setup, 1 input, 1 output, and the power port that looks like a hookup port, it is the one with the green diamond above it.

bought the amp you recommended. Worked like a charm. Went from 2-3 bars to full 5 bars. Thanks for all the help.

Jim