After some light cleaning I was able to get Prosper FD, which is the FD closest to me. They are dispatched on Frisco's P25 single site. The audio was very faint even with five signal bars.
TRX 1 Issues cropping up
- Thread starter ArkTex
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tvengr
Well Known Member
It doesn't look your window has any tinting. The tinting films can reflect a signal. I can't tell how far the center pin of the magnetic mounted antenna connector extends outward from the photo. It should be about even with the insulated portion of the connector. It is also possible that the RF amp of the scanner may have been damaged by exposure to a strong signal from a nearby transmitter. Did you recently key up a transmitter close to the scanner or were standing close to any public safety radios when they keyed up? Something you could try is a Remtronix REM-800B antenna. That is high gain on the 700 and 800 MHz frequencies used by the trunked systems of Denton and Collin Counties and works much better that the stock antenna. It will work OK on UHF, but VHF frequencies will suffer.
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I don't have any transmitters at all, and never go close to a public safety transmitter. The pin for the connector on the antennas end is inside, and doesn't extend outwards at all. The pin is recessed in. Is there any way to fix that?
I would go for a REM 800B, only issue is that I want to listen to Dallas City agencies that operate on and around 450mhz.
tvengr
Well Known Member
Are the pins on the magnetic mount and the stock antennas about the same?
Pretty much. They are the same.
And now, at another apartment. The RH77CA with the pins lined up correctly are actually picking up things. Like the little locking pins.
tvengr
Well Known Member
On the magnetic mount antenna, try holding the BNC connector in one hand and pushing the cable into it with the other. See if it extends the center pin.
Alright.
Now the RH77CA is picking up Frisco PD Dispatch just fine and even picked up Dallas City NTTA TxDPS Dispatch.
All I did was go from a house on the second floor to a second floor apartment inside. The apartment is even further north from the Frisco Transmitter.
Could it be that it was trying to scan too many systems at once?
I had quite a lot of sites and systems for it to scab at once. It even got CCFD Dispatch on PAWM. Could I be overloading the scanner with the 35 something scanlists going at once?
tvengr
Well Known Member
The more systems you monitor, the less you hear, especially multiple trunked systems. While scanning one system, you are missing everything on the other systems.
I did the thing with the pushing the cord in on the antenna connector, and it still doesn't seem to want to pick up anything.
I'm thinking of just getting a remtronix REM-800 like the one you mentioned, and just get a better one for 450mhz and travel with them both.
The mag mount did fine. I was driving back from Sherman, a town 60 miles from Dallas, and I heard Dallas Fire Departments Automated Station Dispatching just fine, in varied terrain while driving.
So, I think it's just the location of my house that's becoming an issue.
tvengr
Well Known Member
It can also be caused by the foliage on trees. In winter, trees are bare of leaves and offer minimum attenuation of the signal. In summer, the leaves give additional attenuation of the signal, especially wet leaves. I have had a lot of experience with TV live trucks. There have been a lot of locations where we could get usable signals during the winter but were hopeless in summer.
There is only one tree in the backyard, and it is lower than the window. Would adding a booster to the antenna help anything?
tvengr
Well Known Member
There may be only one tree in your backyard, but what is between your house and the transmitter sites? Most likely, any increase in your antenna height will result in better reception. Using LMR400 cable will minimize transmission line loss which can be very significant at 800 MHz when using RG58 coax.
So, I don't know what and I don't know how, but a Cobra CB radio antenna is doing really well on 800mhz. It picks up PAWM and Frisco just fine. I just have it on top of the windowsill.
Since it's a screw-on antenna, is there any screw on antennas that I could buy for it?
tvengr
Well Known Member
If a CB 27 MHz antenna is working better, that is a good indication something is wrong with your magetic mount antenna. What is the frequency coverage of the magnetic mount antenna? Is the CB antenna a base or mobile antenna or is an antenna off of a handheld?
The CB antenna is a mag mount as well. The normal mag mount says it covers frequencies from 20 to 1300mhz.
tvengr
Well Known Member
I believe the REM-800B antenna may be the answer in your situation. There are 700/800 MHz systems I could not receive with the stock antenna which work reliably with the Remtronix antenna. Your scanner magnetic mount antenna is either defective or works very poorly on the 700/800 MHz frequencies. The REM-800B is only 7" long so it will be very convenient to use with your scanner. You could even have a BNC connector mounted to your window and use the Remtronix antenna.
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That'll be the go to if my current idea doesn't work. I have a can fit snug on to the mag mount, and im trying to create a directional twoards the nearest transmitter.
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