Too close to transmitter...Problem?

[mrhowes]

I have a quick question. If you have a scanner too close to a transmission source, can it overload and damage a scanner radio? Specifically, if I have a scanner in a vehicle that also has a a 2 way radio, and I transmit on that radio, can it damage my scanner? The radio broadcasts in the 450-460 range.....if that helps.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Rt169Radio]

Well it depends on how much power the 2 way radio is putting out when transmiting,and how close the antennas are to each other to.

 

[DickH]

... can it damage my scanner? The radio broadcasts in the 450-460 range.....if that helps.

YES. Even if the scanner is not turned on.

 

[sfd119]

I've never had it happen. Had the antennas 16" apart and TX'd while having the scanner(s) on. Been doing this for years and no issues have come up.

 

[jackj]

A properly designed radio front end can handle very strong signals without damage. That said, if the radio is a cheap and dirty receiver then, yes you can destroy the first active component (RF amp or mixer) with too much signal even if it is off frequency or out of band. I can't say how much power it would take to do damage but you can't use a receiver's antenna input as a dummy load for a 100 watt transmitter.

I once had an AM-FM-Shortwave portable that would blow it's RF amp every winter. I was finally able to rework the front end with diodes and a different FET that fixed the problem. If I had used it in close proximity to a transmitter before the mods, it would have been damaged because there was NO protection for the RF amp.