R30 R30 Reception

[KAZ7ED]

My R30 reception is not very good. Seems any of my Uniden Scanners will receive better than the R30, BCD436HP and SDS100, on any frequency. I did a complete reset on the R30 but same results. Maybe the stock antenna is not very good? Any ideas?

 

[GadgetGeek]

My R30 is much more sensitive than my 436, SDS100 & SDS200 when using the same antenna.

 

[palmerjrusa]

My R30 is much more sensitive than my 436, SDS100 & SDS200 when using the same antenna.

Same here.

The new ID-52A is also very sensitive on UHF, easily the equal of the IC-R30.

 

[palmerjrusa]

My R30 reception is not very good. Seems any of my Uniden Scanners will receive better than the R30, BCD436HP and SDS100, on any frequency. I did a complete reset on the R30 but same results. Maybe the stock antenna is not very good? Any ideas?

You mean you thought is was?

Stock antennas are pretty much always mediocre.

 

[KevinC]

My R30 reception is not very good. Seems any of my Uniden Scanners will receive better than the R30, BCD436HP and SDS100, on any frequency. I did a complete reset on the R30 but same results. Maybe the stock antenna is not very good? Any ideas?

Have you adjusted the RF gain?

 

[KAZ7ED]

Have you adjusted the RF gain?

I will give it a whirl. Thanks!

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Stock antenna is usually the first thing I toss in a drawer & forget about when I acquire a radio (the stock telescopic on my IC-R20 being the rare exception) Hard to provide any ideas without any info from you on what bands you're struggling to bring in, what your RF environment is like, etc

 

[bearcatrp]

Stock antenna is mediocre. Bought one of those antennas (can’t remember the name) you extend for frequencies you want to match. Works great.

 

[KAZ7ED]

Stock antenna is mediocre. Bought one of those antennas (can’t remember the name) you extend for frequencies you want to match. Works great.

Thanks. The stock antenna is a telescoping antenna also that you extend based on frequency.

 

[bearcatrp]

The Comet SMA-W100RX2 works allot better than stock. Bought one for my yaesu vx 7r to try for reception. Pretty much double the reception. Also put one on my RS Pro 26. Has markings on the side to show what length to use for a particular band.

 

[cbehr91]

Which frequency(ies) are you trying to receive?

 

[KAZ7ED]

@bearcatrp - I have a Comet SMA-W100RX2 and doesn't seem to make any difference from the stock telescoping antenna.
@cbehr91 - All frequencies, but lets say primarily UHF and VHF.

Thanks!

 

[KAZ7ED]

Have you adjusted the RF gain?

RG GAIN was set to MAX. I scaled it back to say 5 to see if it makes a difference.

 

[cbehr91]

@bearcatrp - I have a Comet SMA-W100RX2 and doesn't seem to make any difference from the stock telescoping antenna.
@cbehr91 - All frequencies, but lets say primarily UHF and VHF.

Thanks!

The R30 blows everything away reception wise I've ever used, so it's very odd you're having issues. Even the stock antenna seemed decent (other than having to adjust it to frequency). Popular scanner-type HT antenna include the Diamond RH77.

 

[KAZ7ED]

Well, alrighty then. I think I figured it out. I had Tone Mode set to tsql (with ctcss codes). Set to none and obviously much better reception. Set RFGain to 8 in lieu of MAX.

 

[cbehr91]

Well, alrighty then. I think I figured it out. I had Tone Mode set to tsql (with ctcss codes). Set to none and obviously much better reception. Set RFGain to 8 in lieu of MAX.

I've monitored pretty much the R30's entire frequency range and have never had RF gain set to anything other than Max.

 

[GadgetGeek]

Me too.

 

[G7RUX]

The RF gain control has its uses, mainly around frequencies below 40 MHz but monitoring FM or digital modes it won’t be much use. You’d only need to reduce the RF gain really if you’re starting to suffer intermods and blocking behaviour.

 

[vagrant]

I typically have my RF gain set to 7 and adjust as needed depending on the antenna and filters connected.

 

[KevinC]

I typically have my RF gain set to 7 and adjust as needed depending on the antenna and filters connected.

I'm usually at 8, but like you adjust according to filter and antenna.