VIA Rail frequencies inactive?

[ATCTech]

I'm more interested in why what were working frequencies are not longer receivable so let's focus in tighter in 160 MHz than worrying about Fleetnet repeaters 20 MHz away and VHF air band that the 144XL doesn't cover in the first place.

Can you try the following and let us know if these have worked in the past if they don't now? You can move the antenna around and see what changes. These are continuous transmissions rather than not knowing if someone is talking or not on other services

161.775 (Marine continuous broadcast)
162.400 (Public weather broadcast from Toronto)
162.475 (Same thing, but from St. Catherines)
162.550 (Public weather broadcast from Buffalo)

From 4 floors up facing west you might reach St. Catherines or Buffalo...maybe. And, a light just went on for me too. You said in your original post that the 3 freqs. in question worked until 2 weeks ago. You just added that you changed antennas 2 weeks ago. Co-incidence??? Does the new antenna have the proper connector for the back of the radio (I can't tell from the online manual what style connector it uses, but it looks like an RCA connector) and I'm curious if it's properly connected to the coax cable or if perhaps there's a strand of the outer braid wire shorted within the connector. Please go back to using the original antenna and recheck it against the new antenna for reception quality,

 

[zapper1]

ATCTech- I have examined the connector component (supplied by a member as said earlier) and find it to be
sound. I will fiddle with scanner location ,antenna swapping and the additional frequency suggestions over next 24 hours and report Monday pm. Also, this unit has a dedicated weather band button with clear audio
Thanks collectively for your assistance for this unskilled senior- newbie.

 

[zapper1]

Well, After 1 1/2 days of fiddling around with moving scanner and both antennas to different rooms and into
various wall plugs, I have come up with a compromise. Just to back track a little: As I said earlier, I was getting
very good copy from 3 TTC freq. which are active every minute and also Toronto Eaton Center often but
noisy and had lost Via 3 freq. altogether. Just before I started to act on your suggestions , I lost Eaton Center
completely- nothing at all.
So this is what I have done: The scanner with the original small whip is now in the next room. I have fed an earphone long extension cord through a hole where TV cable outlet is and listen through a small speaker
with 3.5mm jack. I have determined that the scanner using the more robust antenna donated by another
forum member for some reason made some frequencies deaf and it remains deaf in the new location while
the smaller original whip is perfect. Additionally , it all works better plugged into the other room outlet as
opposed to my den where I have numerous other items plugged in to 3 outlets I did disconnect them one by
one to see if there was any effect on the scanner but all was ok. Perhaps there was just too much going on
in that location.I even tried running 50 feet of extension cord from the new location's outlet so that I could keep the scanner in my den but it turns out to be best plugged directly into the wall in new room plus the
fact that the original antenna seems to pick up better at that window which is in the same line and just
15 feet from the problem room.

In the new location. Eaton Center is good again with less noise and I did pick -up one transmission
from 2 Via freq. and a transmission from 162.550 Buffalo which ATCTech suggested. No activity from
MOH frequencies which were suggested.

In summary, I may have come up with the best solution to my reception issues regarding Via in particular
although I may have to live with the scanner being away from my den listening area where I have my PC
and shortwave equipment,lamps etc.Aside from all this, I am curious why the better antenna ( well made and well
terminated) had an adverse affect. Is it too much for this basic simple scanner?
Hope I have not rambled on too much and will update again to confirm if I at least get back Via regularly.
Thanks- and your valuable feedback is welcome!

 

[EJB]

Well, After 1 1/2 days of fiddling around with moving scanner and both antennas to different rooms and into
various wall plugs, I have come up with a compromise. Just to back track a little: As I said earlier, I was getting
very good copy from 3 TTC freq. which are active every minute and also Toronto Eaton Center often but
noisy and had lost Via 3 freq. altogether. Just before I started to act on your suggestions , I lost Eaton Center
completely- nothing at all.
So this is what I have done: The scanner with the original small whip is now in the next room. I have fed an earphone long extension cord through a hole where TV cable outlet is and listen through a small speaker
with 3.5mm jack. I have determined that the scanner using the more robust antenna donated by another
forum member for some reason made some frequencies deaf and it remains deaf in the new location while
the smaller original whip is perfect. Additionally , it all works better plugged into the other room outlet as
opposed to my den where I have numerous other items plugged in to 3 outlets I did disconnect them one by
one to see if there was any effect on the scanner but all was ok. Perhaps there was just too much going on
in that location.I even tried running 50 feet of extension cord from the new location's outlet so that I could keep the scanner in my den but it turns out to be best plugged directly into the wall in new room plus the
fact that the original antenna seems to pick up better at that window which is in the same line and just
15 feet from the problem room.

In the new location. Eaton Center is good again with less noise and I did pick -up one transmission
from 2 Via freq. and a transmission from 162.550 Buffalo which ATCTech suggested. No activity from
MOH frequencies which were suggested.

In summary, I may have come up with the best solution to my reception issues regarding Via in particular
although I may have to live with the scanner being away from my den listening area where I have my PC
and shortwave equipment,lamps etc.Aside from all this, I am curious why the better antenna ( well made and well
terminated) had an adverse affect. Is it too much for this basic simple scanner?
Hope I have not rambled on too much and will update again to confirm if I at least get back Via regularly.
Thanks- and your valuable feedback is welcome!

I have a PSR800 that is connected to my laptop via a USB cable. When I push the USB cable into the laptops port the entire way it sometimes hinders reception, I have no trouble with it on the local towers, ones I would get even if I was using a rubber ducky but when I am scanning Brantford or Cayuga having the USB cable plugged in completely will not let it pick up these towers. I loosen the connection on the cable and all is good.

Maybe you are having the same issue, do you have any other electronics around your scanner?

I see that you are able to monitor NOAA in Buffalo on 162.550, can you get Rochester or the one in Niagara region (Vineland or Fonthill) on 162.475?

 

[ATCTech]

Good work Zapper1, you're well on your way in the fine art of troubleshooting. As I said Sunday, the coincidental change of antennas and the loss of reception was too obvious not to be investigated. If you somehow can, is there a way for you to try the scanner in a completely different location, away from your residence, and try both antennas on various frequencies? Short of the scanner being completely overloaded from nearby signals there's not much chance that the second antenna is "too much" for the radio. In an urban environment that is a possibility however, going back to my original statement about off-frequency signals causing interference. Not at all unusual.

I also have a feeling we're about to close the circle between you, me and the person that set you up with the second antenna. I have a hunch he may have mentioned your setup to me in face-to-face conversation the other day. Like me, would he be from Milton?

 

[zapper1]

Further to my thread and helpful replies, my little Bearcat BC144XL is performing well in the new location.
I have found that reducing the original antenna height by one half has helped in getting signals better.Moving it either way by a few inches has identified the sweet spot for getting my favourite frequencies

Other antennas have been suggested but I think the original is satisfactory . I notice that Durham Radio has a Scan-4 wire antenna with BNC connector for $10 but putting several feet of coax on the window may
attract more noise ( as the original does if I extended it fully. Uhf/vhf antennas from local dealers
are too pricey for me . Cheap ebay offerings from China don't cover the top end of the 400 MHZ range.
Just some final questions :
1. Does extreme cold weather affect signal quality?
2. I have run extension headset cable form its location through the wall to where I do my listening .
I am using a small inexpensive speaker which is not as good as the built-in.
Any suggestions for a not too pricy speaker easily available in Toronto area with good audio?
Thanks again.

 

[ATCTech]

Glad to hear things have returned to normal for your most-listened frequencies. I can't say that extreme cold routinely affects urban/local reception, but it certainly can cause changes to noise sources as arcing (for example) may decrease as conductivity changes as moisture disappears from surfaces. Natural noise may also drop due to the lack of electrical charge to the air in extreme dry (cold air) conditions.

For a speaker, if you live nearby a Sayal Electronics shop you might find something suitable in their audio section. Don't over-do it though or you could find there's annoying hiss or hum being produced by the scanner that isn't audible now.

*Maybe* some possibilities here for little investment?

SAYAL Electronics Action Catalog Details - 1/27/2015

You might also find some suitable lower-end computer speakers at Tiger Direct or Canada Computers. As soon as you start looking for "communications speakers" you are right, the $$$ start to add up for very little gain in performance for general listening. It's all personal preference when it comes to sound quality versus budget.

If I was you I'd be trying to put a small 1/4 wave (roughly 18-20") whip on you balcony and snake the coax through a window frame. If nothing else take the scanner itself or the loaner antenna outside for an hour and see what difference it makes. I think it will be night and day. Ultimately I'd be looking for a VHF/UHF 'combination' mobile (magnet mount perhaps) that would be all but invisible on or near the balcony railing or window frame. Well worth the trouble in my mind.



Bob

 

[zapper1]

Picked up a good used Radio Shack Pro-2033 for $30 and putting it in my original listening room, it does
much better than the Bearcat BC-144xl did in that spot. The antenna on the Pro-2033 is more substantial.
I tried it on the Bearcat but it was deaf. I assume that the Bearcat may only be built to handle a Motorola antenna or the Pro may be the better scanner of the two. Anyway, I am pleased.

 

[davidmc36]

Some of those Pro-2XXX series were great Rx's. I have an old 2037 that kills on VHF compared to all the other boxes in "The Shack"