Will I hear it?

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FederalQ

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Hello, I have a RadioShack Pro-97 right now and there are a few cities that are a bit far away (50 minutes by car) and I cannot hear them with my scanner. I have just ordered a Yaesu VX-170 radio...it is a 5 watt radio...if it has more "receive wattage" is there a chance that I will be able to hear the departments I cannot hear right now with my scanner? Thanks!
 

BaLa

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FederalQ said:
Hello, I have a RadioShack Pro-97 right now and there are a few cities that are a bit far away (50 minutes by car) and I cannot hear them with my scanner. I have just ordered a Yaesu VX-170 radio...it is a 5 watt radio...if it has more "receive wattage" is there a chance that I will be able to hear the departments I cannot hear right now with my scanner? Thanks!
uhh
What is 'receive wattage'


50 miles is pushing it anyways..so...I wouldn't get my hopes to high.

Where are you located at?
Also the VX170 appears to be a 2m Ham Radio, so if they're not using the VHF band for Police/Fire in your area, you're not gonna pick them up.
 
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57Bill

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Hook the 97 to an outdoor antenna with some low loss coaxial cable lead-in. You will hear stations you never heard before. Maybe even the ones you are trying to hear.
I never heard of "receive wattage".
 

Raven95150

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FederalQ said:
Hello, I have a RadioShack Pro-97 right now and there are a few cities that are a bit far away (50 minutes by car) and I cannot hear them with my scanner. I have just ordered a Yaesu VX-170 radio...it is a 5 watt radio...if it has more "receive wattage" is there a chance that I will be able to hear the departments I cannot hear right now with my scanner? Thanks!

This is probably a question you should have asked BEFORE you spent your money. The Yaesu should have a better reciever than a scanner since it's dedicated to VHF so you may be able to hear them as long as they are on VHF. The only thing is that being a handheld, it is mainly designed for communicating on local repeaters, not long range reception.

I'd say your money would have been better spent on a good (preferably outdoor) antenna. Assuming they are using a repeater system, 50 miles isn't really too far to hear VHF even on your scanner as long as you have a decent antenna, especially if you use a directional antenna and aim it toward the signal you want to hear.

Another thing to consider is the location of the transmitter. The city could be 50 miles from you, but they may use a repeater that's another 20 miles away, so you might really be trying to listen to something thats 70-75 miles away.

And I also have never heard of receive wattage. "5 watts" is referring to the transmit power of the radio, which you can't use unless you have a ham radio license.
 
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Airdorn

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Get a nice Yagi that matches that distant public safety system, aim it that way, connect the Yagi to your scanner with some good quality cable -- LM400 if you're really feeling froggy -- and you'll more than likely get that distant system, and get it pretty well.
 

jb872033

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There is no such thing as RX wattage..its more like you might want to try to put an antenna amplifier in line with your antenna, which as stated really shold be outdoors and up as high as possible for the best chance to recieve...its a tough call...

JB
 

Zaratsu

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yeah, there isnt such thing as "reciever wattage" but if you can get a directional yagi up high you may get them. GRE also makes an amplifier, but you have to have some signal for it to work. I have a GRE PSR300 which is essentially an updated Pro 97, and I can hear 30+ miles out with a Diamond whip antanna. After that it is up to the terrain if I can hear it or not, but I can get systems beyond 30 if geography allows. I imagine if I could get up a bit higher, I could hear 50 miles if it is a strong system. Who knows what I could get with a directional?
 
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