:?:Newbie to it all:?:

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Aly
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Scanners and Receivers: Uniden UBCD996T

:?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Aly »

Hello all,

My name is Aly, and I am a total newbie to this all. I just got my first scanner and I am on a big learning curve, and loving it! I have been reading through the forums, even though quite a lot of it is quite foreign to me, I am picking up bits. I was wondering if anyone could give me any pointers? - Like I find it really hard to get good reception.. I only use the default aerial.. any ideas on what would be best? Or whats are good frequencys to use up here?

I live in Kalamunda, I have a Uniden UBCD996T


Thank you
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by robbage »

Aly wrote:.. any ideas on what would be best? Or whats are good frequencys to use up here?
What are you interested in? Can't listen to WAPol in the metro area. Fire and emergency are very available. Probably not going to hear marine up there :) You will certainly receive Perth airport and aircraft.
Rob
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Aly
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Aly »

Hey robbage,

Thanks for the quick reply. I really quite enjoy anything - Fire and emergency would be awesome, and same with the airport. I did pick up the airport the other night, but the reception still wasn't great.. very on and off.
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Tyranus »

Another factor that could be an issue is whether you're the owner or a tenant of the house you're living in.

If you're a tenant then obviously only temporary modifications can be made if any at all.
If you're the owner then it's up to you.

The included antenna that comes with the scanner is as a general rule pretty basic and not very effective unless you're right next to whatever you're listening to. A good place to start would be using another antenna SCBASE by Mobile One which is available from Dick Smith as well as other stores. You would need to be able to mount this to a pole I use a TV antenna pole which is screwed into the roof for my antenna. This should then give you enough height to hear the airport and most of the repeaters available. You will also be able to hear local fire radio traffic within reason.
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Aly
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Aly »

Excellent, thank you :) Yep, owner of the house - so no problems there.
richard omeara

Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by richard omeara »

If you press the svce button that will give you a list of things (police,air,rail) You may pick up Wheatbelt police from Kalumunda.I have a 996T scanner and am learning all the time.Good choice.
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by meg »

Tyranus wrote: The included antenna that comes with the scanner is as a general rule pretty basic and not very effective unless you're right next to whatever you're listening to. A good place to start would be using another antenna SCBASE by Mobile One which is available from Dick Smith as well as other stores.
I also recommend this antenna - have one (and also located in the hills) and pick up a pretty wide area with it.

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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by auntys_eyes »

This will make some people cringe and set some eyes rolling, but i am using an old handheld scanner and have it plugged in to one of our tv antenna sockets. Works a treat and cost next to nothing :lol: *ducks and runs*
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Tyranus »

:shock: :roll: hehehe that's all well and good bearing in mind that a tv antenna is tuned, and is directional. You may pick up some stuff from behind but your strongest signals will be from where you are pointing the tv antenna to. Wherever possible you also want to try and match the mounting of antenna's i.e. ambo's, fire trucks and SES vehicles have vertical whips, without going into all the complexities of it you will usually pick up a better signal having your antenna in the same fashion so vertically mounted.
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by robbage »

auntys_eyes wrote:This will make some people cringe and set some eyes rolling, but i am using an old handheld scanner and have it plugged in to one of our tv antenna sockets. Works a treat and cost next to nothing :lol: *ducks and runs*
No laughing here. It works better than a rubber ducky indoors and will do if you can't have anything else on the roof (like if you're in a strata title or similar)
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by vk6hgr »

robbage wrote:
auntys_eyes wrote:This will make some people cringe and set some eyes rolling, but i am using an old handheld scanner and have it plugged in to one of our tv antenna sockets. Works a treat and cost next to nothing :lol: *ducks and runs*
No laughing here. It works better than a rubber ducky indoors and will do if you can't have anything else on the roof (like if you're in a strata title or similar)
TV antennas work surprisingly well. The only problem is that they'll work well on VHF mid band (78MHz), pretty good on UHF (~400MHz) but not so well if at all on VHF high band (~160MHz).
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robbage
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by robbage »

vk6hgr wrote:TV antennas work surprisingly well.
Considering they're horizontal.. I wouldn't mind trying ours out rotated 90°. We watch FTA on Foxtel anyway.
Should receive the hills repeaters well :)
Rob
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Aly
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Aly »

FINALLY found myself a Mobile One SCBASE.. and I must say.. that makes the world of difference!!! I can pick up so much more. Thank you so much for the advise :)
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by Gohie »

Sorry to jump onto your posts Aly, but I have just purchased a ubct8 and experiencing similar issues to you. Was wondering if ythere is anyone out there with the ansers and the experience with this unit.

Interested in FESA - why do i sometimes get 6IP and then it seems to skip transmission occassionally? Do I need to also invest in a scanebase? I live in Bullsbrook. Any help / hints out there appreciated
robbage
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Uniden UBC72XLT handheld
Uniden UBC73XLT handheld
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Two-way
Yaesu VX-3R 2m/70cm Ham TRX and wideband RX handheld
Yaesu FT-1802M 2m Ham TRX mobile x 2
Yaesu FT-7800R 2m/70cm Ham TRX and wide band RX mobile
Icom IC-208H 2m/70cm Ham TRX and wide band RX mobile
Icom IC-706MKIIG all-band all-mode Ham TRX mobile
Icom IC-V85 2m VHF Ham TRX handheld
Wouxun KG-UVD1P VHF/UHF wideband Ham TRX handheld
Wouxun KG-679P VHF wideband Ham TRX handheld
Wouxun KG-713 UHF wideband Ham TRX handheld
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Re: :?:Newbie to it all:?:

Post by robbage »

Gohie wrote:Interested in FESA - why do i sometimes get 6IP and then it seems to skip transmission occassionally? Do I need to also invest in a scanebase? I live in Bullsbrook. Any help / hints out there appreciated
Your location indicates that a roof antenna (or similar) would help immensely with scanning. The scbase is a bit pricey but the advantage is it's very easy to set up, especially if you have a high point to hang it from (a tree or maybe the boom of your TV antenna) The cable is integrated so just hang and plug. You might need an extension coax depending on distance from the radio. An alternative I mentioned before is to buy some coax, fit the plug one end and strip the shield off the other end for 500-1000mm. Hang that end up as high as you can. That will do ok for FESA VHF and similar.
Rob
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