scanner background noise

[xpawel15x]

Is it normal to get some background hissing noise during transmitions? I listen to my city's PD for a long time and from time to time the transmitions are totally clear but sometimes i get loud hissing noise in the background. And when I pick up and move the scanner in a different angle sometimes the noise fades and gets better or gets worse. I use my original rubber ducky. I think that may be the cause, but the noise doesnt bother me too much now. I just want to know if that is normal to happen.

 

[SouthSoundScanner]

I listen to a Motorola system and get the hiss most of the time too.

 

[TonyS]

I've never heard a scanner without any hiss. Any scanner company could make the audio a lot better but it'd cost too much(?). Listen with a commercial grade 2-way radio and you'll not hear that hiss. In fact, the audio will usually be A LOT better than most, if not all, publicly-available scanners. That's one thing I've always hated about scanners. Crappy audio. Even my Pro-97 that I read raving reviews for the audio still isn't that great IMO.

 

[RocketNJ]

What scanner and what town are you trying to hear?

The stock antennas on scanners are a compromise on most frequencies. You could put an antenna on that is designed for the band you want to scan the most.