Proper use of Close Call on 396xt

[JonDickson]

Hello all. I have been monitoring the 800mhz band in Portland, Oregon for a few months now on my 396xt and have really been enjoying it. I mostly listen to Portland Police and Multnomah county sheriff. My question is this: How do I use the close call feature? Now, I know the basics about how to turn it on and the different modes. I have it set for 800mhz but have never hit on a close call. I live in an active area and have lots of police traffic on my street. Is it because I am in such a strong signal area that I don't have anything punch through? The signals are strong enough that I can even pickup alot with no antenna connected. Are there some settings I am missing? I would love to pickup the cars blazing down my streets with lights and siren going. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

--Jon

 

[rwier]

................................................ I would love to pickup the cars blazing down my streets with lights and siren going. .............................................

--Jon

Well, I can't speak for the Police, but I am on a major collector street, about 3/4 mile from a Fire Station. Units from that Station make a run by in front of my house once or twice a day. I hear the alarm/dispatch on my scanner and also the radio traffic when the apparatus reports "on the scene". However, hearing a transmission from the passing unit while they are in my sight range (1/4 mile North and 1/8 mile South) probably occurs only about once or twice a year. Lotta engine and siren noise but the gang ain't talkin'.

ps: Over a long period of time I have used many more scanners than I can remember the brands and models of. I have used "Close Call" or other brands' names for similar features about a dozen times, Each time was by ACCIDENT. This has always resulted in missing the transmissions I am interested in and in hearing transmissions that were not welcome. Since the activation of the Close Call" was not on purpose I usually had to dig out the manual to get back to normal (for me) scanning. Now I know many will say I am missing something great here, but for me "Close Call" is just something for me to try to avoid.

 

[wv_mountaineer]

I only use Close Call if I am in an odd area that I don't have any frequencies programmed for. Also at large gatherings like sports outings, parades and even at the mall or around parks / recreation areas. I have turned on Close Call at or near car accidents and found freqs. for tow companies and even police / fire talk around. It is just one of those things that if I see someone talking or feel like there my be a handheld being used I just turn it on and run it for a few minutes. Also I have left it run all night while sitting on the kitchen table and let it save and store the hits it received, this was interesting as it picked up some frequencies that I have never picked up and still can't seem to figure them out. Must have been someone just driving by on a company radio as I live around a major industrial area. I find it fun to mess with. Kind of like a seek and destroy mission. I know someone has a radio but I don't know what frequency they are using, so I just go sit near the area and run Close Call. It is just a matter of time and I have the frequency! Good Luck and Happy Scanning...

 

[BillyFred]

Hello all. I have been monitoring the 800mhz band in Portland, Oregon for a few months now on my 396xt and have really been enjoying it. I mostly listen to Portland Police and Multnomah county sheriff. My question is this: How do I use the close call feature? Now, I know the basics about how to turn it on and the different modes. I have it set for 800mhz but have never hit on a close call. I live in an active area and have lots of police traffic on my street. Is it because I am in such a strong signal area that I don't have anything punch through? The signals are strong enough that I can even pickup alot with no antenna connected. Are there some settings I am missing? I would love to pickup the cars blazing down my streets with lights and siren going. Any advice? Thanks in advance!

--Jon

Look in the broadcast screen and you'll find you can turn off TV, FM radio etc. There's also custom ranges you can set up and kill. If you're only interested in 800 try killing 25-800 and you'll probably have better luck. Personally I've turned off bits and pieces of the spectrum to speed up acquisition of signals. I have a 396xt mounted in my truck and all it does is close call. It's pretty cool what you'll find. Sadly trying to scan with close call enabled doesn't seem to work so well. If you're out in the boonies you'll find it will hit on things for a good distance, in town not so much. Personally I love it!

 

[kayleesdad]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8900/5.0.0.900 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Not sure of the system type, but maybe try programming the system input frequencies as conventional frequencies and assign them to a quick key. Usually 45 less than the system voice channels. Not sure about input frequencies and rebanding. You won't hear both sides of the conversation, but you might catch the closer transmissions.

 

[ScannerWayne]

Normally I keep CloseCall (CC) turned off while scanning local systems.

I do turn it on while in major department stores, malls or at major events.

Using it at the house, not so much. But then I live in what would be considered a suberb where there is not a lot of radio traffic.

A couple of people have pointed out they use it while out mobile. I do to. Going to and from work I usually turn CC only on.

Another user mentioned that they use it when investigating a particular location. I do the same thing. I'll park down the street from a business, set the scanner to CC and sit back. Usually it ony takes a few minutes to get a freq. Once you have that one freq you can use the FCC data base to find all the others assigned to that location. CC is a very usefull intelligence gathering tool.

Try this. Get a power adapter so you can use the scanner in the car and set it up to save and store while you are away from the vehicle. I do this occaisionaly <sp> and usually come away with something new. My work place is close to a state dock. I CC'ed a freq that I was able to identify as belonging to a stevadoring company at the docks. Using FCC data I was able to determine the other freqs assigned to them. And with a little work and some logic I had figured out their LTR system. It's interesting to listen to them when a ship comes in to be loaded or unloaded.

Wayne...