I'm sorry but I am really new at this and I couldn't figure out how to start a new thread
Hello: I just received my RS pro-163 and I must say that as a first scanner...IT IS AWSOME..
With that said, HELP. I have sucessfully programmed my scanner using the software but now I have to figure out an ant. for my patrol vehicle. I do not, nor can I, use an ant. that it for ever long. I was thinking about a one of those really low profile disk type ant. but I need to pick up multiple freq.
I work in Dallas and Richardson Texas but I live in Fort worth. While I was at home I was able to hear Dallas broadcast but at work I cannot hear Fort Worth.
Any suggestions??
Scott,
Depending on exactly where you work in the Dallas/Richardson area, reception of the Fort Wort/Tarrant County
system is going to be sporadic at best. The key is distance
and elevation. You're right near the ragged edge of best possible range. In my vehicle, I can occasionally hear Fort Worth while sitting in the parking lot outside my office location (near Forest & Central, just west of Medical City), but the lot I'm in is on a slight hill. Once I'm off that point, no more Ft. Worth.
The 800mhz signals don't travel as well, so to speak, as the Uhf signals used by Dallas PD/FD. The 800mhz band is much more 'line of sight'. I can generally hear Dallas out into eastern Parker County. Some of the stronger Vhf-high agencies (an even lower frequency) may be readable even farther.
Is the Pro-163 mounted in the vehicle, and you want to mount an external antenna on it? Or were you leaning toward a magnetic mount, that can easily be removed when not in use. You'll probably get a wider range of suggestions in the antenna forum. Also, the Pro-163 has a fairly "hot" receiver, meaning it's very sensitive. That can be good, but also has it's drawbacks. Nearby transmitters, such as cell towers, can overload the scanner's front end, causing it to desense, and actually become less sensitive. One way to combat that is by using the attenuator function. As an experiment, you might 'copy' your Fort Worth programming to another bank, but set attenuation for that bank only, and see if you can then notice any difference. Note that adding an external antenna will increase the signal to the scanner, but also increase the possibility of overload, if you have a number of cell sites in the are you're using it in. For my PSR-500, a digital scanner made by GRE (the same company who made the Pro-163 for Radio Shack), using a
gain antenna caused it to overload & hear less. I have a virtual forest of cell towers in and around my neighborhood. I ended up using the stock antenna around town, only switching to a gain when I'm out of the metro area, and clear of the heavy rf interference.
