Reception distance?

[gotitans]

Hi everyone.

I just recently purchased a PRO-97 (right before they went on sale...grrrr...) and have been surprised by the reception I have been getting while in my house on just the stock "rubber duckie" antenna. I can often pick up signals from police dispatches and police cars from over 60 miles away! A couple weeks ago I was clearly recieving transmissions from over 80 miles away. From what I can tell looking at the database on this site, none of the signals I have been recieving is a repeater-aided signal. Is this unusual? I assume this would only improve with a decent outdoor antenna...right?

Strangely, one of the same dispatches that I can pick up on here at the house 60+ miles away, I can usually only pick up from 25 miles at best in my car on the same antenna? Does the metal of the car cut down on reception that much?

Of course, I cannot pickup all signals that clearly....some are very fuzzy at 25-30 miles, which is about what I was expecting.

Just wondering if these are anomolies or if this is typical reception. I live in a very flat area if that matters.

 

[DPD1]

Pretty much... It matters a lot more what they are doing on their end, as opposed to what you're doing. Some of them may have transmitters on water towers. Others may only be on a one story building. Some systems may be in disrepair and poorly maintained, other systems may be very well kept.

Yes, the car metal will block substantially. Hold it out the window above the roof line and you'll notice the difference. Also, the position you're in will change it dramatically. You might just be in an advantageous position at your house. Plus, even just having a barely perceivable elevation can actually make a big difference. Areas that have very subtle topographic changes can be hard to see with the eye, but actually create differences of one hundred feet or more.

Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Custom Scanner, MURS, GMRS, & Ham Antennas -

 

[K6PCW]

Consider this...

Also, the dispatch center you're hearing may not be colocated with their transmitting equipment. In other words, a dispatch center in a downtown police headquarters building, for example, may indeed be linked to a remote transmit site (or multiple sites) via leased phone lines, microwave path, fiber optic, or a combination of these. The transmit site(s) are typically on "high ground", like a hilltop or mountaintop, tower, tall building or other structure, etc. These sites could be rather far away from the dispatch center (and perhaps closer towards you!).

But then again, with conditions in your favor, a handheld radio can receive a good signal from very far distances! Many refer to this as a signal path. If the path is unobstructed, reception can be very good!

The more you discover about system architecture and design, the more fascinating it becomes! Enjoy your radio!

 

[tglendye]

Hi everyone.

I just recently purchased a PRO-97 (right before they went on sale...grrrr...)...

I think that RS honors sales if you buy the product and it goes on sale w/n a few days- 30 days sticks in my mind. It might be worth stopping in or calling to find out.