GRE Pre-amp
NorwalkRXing,
In my case it was the best money ever spent on the hobby. I live in northern NJ, about 40 miles northwest of NYC, in a valley. Without the pre-amp all I could receive was just the local units in about a 5 mile radius. After hooking the amp up I now receive most everything in the upper 3rd of the state (from about I-78 north), as well as all FDNY, Orange, Rockland, Putnam, Ulster, and Westchester counties in NY. Obviously I still only hear local mobiles, but that range has also increased with the use of the pre-amp.
My antenna is an omni-directional mounted on a 10-foot mast which is attached to my old tv antenna mast.
Pre-amps do have a downside, though. Depending on your area, they can overload the scanner with interference. If you have the chance to borrow one do that first before purchasing one.
Hope this helps, enjoy!
Joe P :shock:
Emergency Services Dispatcher
Volunteer Firefighter
Scanner Buff
