Scanner range

[MP173]

Quick question for you radio or scanner folks out there.

I have noticed recently that the range that I hear transmissions on my scanners has dropped dramatically. The range has fallen from about 12 - 15 miles to only about 5 or 6. I have Radio Shack desktop models that have worked well.

Does climatic conditions affect scanner reception. Recently it has been very hot and very humid.

Any thoughts?

ed

[Anonymous]

Ed, go to railroadradio.net There is a technical forum in there that might help. I've been poking around in there as I'm getting interested in scanning. Good luck! Willy

[MP173]

Thanks, I will. It is a fascinating aspect to the hobby that requires no travel!

ed

[cnw4001]

Without going into detail you'll find on railroadradio.net, weather conditions indeed can and do affect reception.

They work both in favor of better and worse reception.

Dale

[chad thomas]

Atmospheric conditions would not have that significant of an effect on reception. I would suspect an antennae problem or connector problem. It could also be a problem in the "front end" of your scanners tunner.

[MP173]

I have two scanners, both Radio Shack. Both seem to be affected.

I also notice that the range depends on which outlet I am connect to. It is almost as if certain outlets act as an antenna.

ed

[chad thomas]

Have you considered an outdoor antennae?

[DPD1]

If you're switching to a different outlet across the room, just that distance can change reception dramatically, when it comes to indoor reception. If you don't move the radio, then it's a mystery. Going from battery to wall power can sometimes make a little difference due to ground, but I don't know why switching outlets would.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Featuring the NEW TrainTenna LP Directional RR Radio Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[Anonymous]

Different seasons "can" realy make or break a Scanners tunning. Radio signals can travel farther in the summer than in the winter. So it might not be you Scanner at all. First, Check that the Antenna is connected to the Radio tightly. You might have to buy some cleaner to clean the connector inside of the Antenna BNC jack,That is a must because dirt and dust "can" realy cause your Scanner to not pick up signals from your Antenna. Plus. Weather patterns will have a major factor when it come to picking up Radio signals. Radio signals are a bit stronger just before an approaching storm and tend to lessen right after.........
Also,More than likely you just might have to get yourself a better Antenna that is "tuned" to the Railroad band.
BNSFrailfan.

[daniel3197]

Sorry that you are not getting good service from your Radio Shack scanner.

I have had excellent results with my Kenwood TH-G71 2-way amateur radio "ham radio". No, you do not have to have any kind of license to use this great radio if ALL you do is LISTEN. This thing has the most INCREDIBLE sensitivity, and is SUPER at rejecting "intermod" (interference from close frequency transmitters). The only disadvantage in using this radio is that it is a little bit complicated to use - but not much. As they say, "Run, do not walk" to your nearest Ham Radio Outlet store (12 locations around the USA):

http://www.hamradio.com/

And you can - once in a while - benefit from an atmospheric condition called "tropospheric bending (ducting)", which means times when the layers in the atmosphere change in such a way that they bend UHF or VHF TV and radio waves. Tropospheric bending extends the range of stations well beyond their normal limit. Distant reception along straight-line paths becomes possible. For radio & TV stations, ducting can cause unwanted interference from distant stations on the same channel. If you are a "ham", trying to hear distant stations is called "DX-ing". Here is the URL for a site that gives forecasts for when this will happen in the near future.

http://home.cogeco.ca/~dxinfo/tropo_wam.html

I benefited from tropo ducting one day a year or so ago when I was in Santa Clara, CA (the city just N of San Jose, CA), and heard - using the car-top antenna (which grounded my radio) - the UP dispatcher who talks to trains in the Roseville, CA area (just E of Sacramento), 100 air miles away - YES that's right 100 miles, clear as a bell !! [:)]

I was in Alviso, CA (north edge of San Jose), and received BOTH sides of a track warrant given to a train in the Watsonville, CA, area, about 36 miles away (straight-line).

I was in San Jose, CA, railfanning on another day, using the radio INSIDE the car, using ONLY the stock "rubber duckie" antenna, and heard the BNSF Stockton Sub dispatcher - more than 45 miles away, with 2 mountain ranges (3,000 feet elevation) between me and him (dispatcher radio).

There is simply NO way that ANY inexpensive scanner will ever be able to do this. [wow]

I hope all of this helps to shed some light about the differing performance given by different grades and brands of radios

Best regards and happy listening!

--- Daniel

[BNSFNUT]

In the range of high freq. radio signals can be effected by many things. The fact that the radio freq. use is almost a line of site thing it takes very little to effect it. Move the radio just a few feet can make quite a difference also the leaves coming on will some time make a differance. I have a radio for 2m amatuer bands (144-148 MH about 15MH lower than railroad band) that will not reach a local repeater station when the leaves are on with 10 watts and a good antenna but by moving about 25 ft from my house I can get with a 1 watt hand held radio.When you get into the VFH range things can get strange. Your best solution is an outside antenna.

[MP173]

The cool dry weather came back into the area yesterday and so did the range for my scanner.

Co-incidence?

Dont know, guess I will have to wait for the next stretch of miserable 90 degree humid weather.

ed

[DPD1]

Probably not... I've noticed hot weather can often cause problems. Around here, it seems like when it goes from hot in the day, to cool at night... That's when it can be really good. But it's not always a sure thing.

Dave
-DPD Productions - Featuring the NEW TrainTenna LP Gain RR Scanner Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

[tree68]

Never mind scanners - the "professional" radios from the big boys have the same problems - I see it all the time with my fire dept radio.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by tree68

Never mind scanners - the "professional" radios from the big boys have the same problems - I see it all the time with my fire dept radio.

I like that. That's realy cool.