Trouble lsitening to Whitman, Sharon

[Ecordian]

In the Randolph area and I'm having trouble hearing Whitman fire and Sharon fire frequencies. I have the BCD436HP with stock antenna. Anyone else have trouble listening to these channels or just me?

 

[ecps92]

What do you mean by hearing ?

Signal is weak ?
You don't hear those two agencies?

Did you enable them in Scan ?
Do they have the Right Tones ?
Are the Frequencies Correct ?

In the Randolph area and I'm having trouble hearing Whitman fire and Sharon fire frequencies. I have the BCD436HP with stock antenna. Anyone else have trouble listening to these channels or just me?

 

[Ecordian]

So I just can't hear those channels for whatever reason. I set them up through the Sentinel software and all my other channels work through that. The frequencies are correct and I have the list enabled to scan. Not sure about the tones, I assumed Sentinel did that?

 

[Ecordian]

What do you mean by hearing ?

Signal is weak ?
You don't hear those two agencies?

Did you enable them in Scan ?
Do they have the Right Tones ?
Are the Frequencies Correct ?

Any ideas?

 

[ecps92]

So lets begin with
Freq and Tone for those two agencies.

So I just can't hear those channels for whatever reason. I set them up through the Sentinel software and all my other channels work through that. The frequencies are correct and I have the list enabled to scan. Not sure about the tones, I assumed Sentinel did that?

 

[Ecordian]

So lets begin with
Freq and Tone for those two agencies.

Sharon- 483.337500 - CTCSS 141.3Hz

Whitman- 472.400000 - CTCSS 203.5Hz

 

[kb1elv]

Aside from the other recommendations, have you tried using another radio to test? I've found that my BCD436HP is pretty awful in that range compared to my 346xt. I can barely hear Somerville PD right in Somerville, but my 346 hears it fine.

 

[Ecordian]

Aside from the other recommendations, have you tried using another radio to test? I've found that my BCD436HP is pretty awful in that range compared to my 346xt. I can barely hear Somerville PD right in Somerville, but my 346 hears it fine.

Definitely a possibility. I just figured I was close enough to pick them up.

 

[garys]

Those are the correct frequencies. For Sharon, have you tried listening to the PD? They tend to be a bit busier than the FD, so it might help if you know you can receive them.

I have Sharon FD on HOLD right now on my 436HP. I'll edit this to confirm that I can hear them. I'm right next to Sharon, so I should have no trouble hearing them.

Whitman appears correct as well. If I get time, I'll give a listen to them too.

Stay tuned.

Sharon- 483.337500 - CTCSS 141.3Hz

Whitman- 472.400000 - CTCSS 203.5Hz

 

[Ecordian]

Those are the correct frequencies. For Sharon, have you tried listening to the PD? They tend to be a bit busier than the FD, so it might help if you know you can receive them.

I have Sharon FD on HOLD right now on my 436HP. I'll edit this to confirm that I can hear them. I'm right next to Sharon, so I should have no trouble hearing them.

Whitman appears correct as well. If I get time, I'll give a listen to them too.

Stay tuned.

Thanks I appreciate that, I'll check the PD freq.

 

[garys]

I'm getting Sharon with signal strength of five bars. Dispatching a medical call.

That's with an outside antenna. Switching to a RS800 antenna, I'm down to three bars with some hiss on the signal.

One thing you might want to consider is replacing that stock antenna with a better one. In my experience, those stock antennas are about as good as a coat hanger. The Radio Shack 800Mhz antenna works well on UHF.

UPDATE: Hearing Whitman FD send an ambulance and Captain to a medical call on 472.440 PL 203.5. I'm using a 536HP and outside antenna for that since it's a bit further away.

Thanks I appreciate that, I'll check the PD freq.

 

[Ecordian]

I'm getting Sharon with signal strength of five bars. Dispatching a medical call.

That's with an outside antenna. Switching to a RS800 antenna, I'm down to three bars with some hiss on the signal.

One thing you might want to consider is replacing that stock antenna with a better one. In my experience, those stock antennas are about as good as a coat hanger. The Radio Shack 800Mhz antenna works well on UHF.

Ok thanks I'll buy one now. Do you think this would be an improvement?

https://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-PRO-137-800MHz-Scanner-Antenna/dp/B00354L7R8

 

[garys]

The antenna is good, but the price isn't.

This, Remtronix REM-800B, Diamond REM-800S Scanner Antenna is the same antenna. You can get the SMA version if you don't plan to use the radio with other antennas. If you do plan to do that, get the BNC version.

In addition to the advertised 700-900 reception, they work well on UHF.

Ok thanks I'll buy one now. Do you think this would be an improvement?

https://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-PRO-137-800MHz-Scanner-Antenna/dp/B00354L7R8

 

[Ecordian]

The antenna is good, but the price isn't.

This, Remtronix REM-800B, Diamond REM-800S Scanner Antenna is the same antenna. You can get the SMA version if you don't plan to use the radio with other antennas. If you do plan to do that, get the BNC version.

In addition to the advertised 700-900 reception, they work well on UHF.

I appreciate the help. I'll be purchasing one of those antennas for my scanner and I'll update this thread when I get it. Hopefully I'll be able to hear a few more frequencies.

 

[Ecordian]

Well I got the new Antenna but still can't get those frequencies. Oh well I must be too far away I suppose. I'm roughly 11 miles from Sharon and 8 miles from Whitman. I just thought I would be able to pick those up with a couple bars of strength.

 

[garys]

I'm baffled. Sharon has a pretty good signal and you should be able to hear it in Randolph. Even if Whitman doesn't have a strong signal, you're close enough to there that you should be able to hear them as well.

Have you tried just sitting on one or the other channels and listening? Also, check your Avoid and Attenuator settings.

Well I got the new Antenna but still can't get those frequencies. Oh well I must be too far away I suppose. I'm roughly 11 miles from Sharon and 8 miles from Whitman. I just thought I would be able to pick those up with a couple bars of strength.

 

[Ecordian]

I'm baffled. Sharon has a pretty good signal and you should be able to hear it in Randolph. Even if Whitman doesn't have a strong signal, you're close enough to there that you should be able to hear them as well.

Have you tried just sitting on one or the other channels and listening? Also, check your Avoid and Attenuator settings.

Should the Attenuator be on or off. At this time it has been off.

 

[garys]

Should be off.

Should the Attenuator be on or off. At this time it has been off.

 

[Ecordian]

Should be off.

Yeah I'm not sure what to try next.

 

[Ecordian]

I'm getting Sharon with signal strength of five bars. Dispatching a medical call.

That's with an outside antenna. Switching to a RS800 antenna, I'm down to three bars with some hiss on the signal.

One thing you might want to consider is replacing that stock antenna with a better one. In my experience, those stock antennas are about as good as a coat hanger. The Radio Shack 800Mhz antenna works well on UHF.

UPDATE: Hearing Whitman FD send an ambulance and Captain to a medical call on 472.440 PL 203.5. I'm using a 536HP and outside antenna for that since it's a bit further away.

How far away from Sharon are you?