gre prs 255 scanner

desmurphy

got one of these in maplins just cant seem to get any signals on it. am i doing something wrong? i only have the rubber duck ariel

Our man in Havana

Where are you located?

Our man in Havana

Where are you located?

desmurphy

in dublin, drumcondra

PauloMN

I have one of those. I'd imagine you should be able to get some activity from the airport on it if you are in Drumcondra (lots of frequencies between 118 and 136MHz), also Dublin port radio (156.600MHz), 2m amateur activity (although the Dublin repeater is down on 2m) around 145 to 146MHz, 70cm amateur activity (see here for frequencies). 446 to 446.100MHz is the PMR446 license free walkies, scan around there and you should hear something. You should also be hearing plenty of couriers and taxis among other stuff.

Have you managed to get it scanning? If so, just leave it scanning the various bands until you hear stuff, then once you familiarise yourself with active frequencies in your area, you can add them to the memories.

As regards reception - the rubber duck will only give limited results, so make sure you are not sitting in the middle of a basement trying to use it! Best bet is to put it at or close to a window up as high as possible when you leave it scanning.

If you have no joy, you can try building a simple antenna to mount outside which would definitely help, or something like a wideband discone. A proper antenna is probably more important than the scanner itself for decent results. Outside is best but mounted in an open space in the attic would still yield better results than the rubber duck which is very much a compromise antenna for outdoor use really.

desmurphy

thanks, thats great info. where would i get a discone ariel?

brownmini

desmurphy wrote: »

thanks, thats great info. where would i get a discone ariel?

You could build your own if you are so inclined.
See: http://www.northcountryradio.com/Articles/discfig2.htm for guidance.


Or you could go shopping for one at the following places or others that might to come to mind later...

http://www.moonraker.eu/Scanning-Receiving-and-Avionics/Base-Discone-Antennas

http://www.maplin.co.uk/searchtemplate.asp?criteria=DISCONE%20AERIALS

http://www.cqcomms.com/products_scanners.htm [down the bottom of the page]
This shop is on the Northside quays near the new pedestrian bridge over the Liffey.


http://www.rocketradio.co.uk/base-station-31-c.asp



But there's one thing that I have noticed about your scanner.
Looking at various websites that advertise it, they all say that
the mode is FM. The ones that I looked at do not have any
mention of AM.
If this is the case and not just a mistake on many websites
then you'll find it difficult to pick up the aircraft.
You might hear them but in theory you shouldn't.
But if you do, you would hear them alot better if your scanner had AM.

PauloMN

brownmini wrote: »

But there's one thing that I have noticed about your scanner.
Looking at various websites that advertise it, they all say that
the mode is FM. The ones that I looked at do not have any
mention of AM.
If this is the case and not just a mistake on many websites
then you'll find it difficult to pick up the aircraft.
You might hear them but in theory you shouldn't.
But if you do, you would hear them alot better if your scanner had AM.

Good point, and it's actually the PSR-282 I have rather than the PSR-255 - one of the differences being that the 255 does not appear to have air band at all.

Apologies for the confusion Des, yours won't pick up the air band. You should still be able to listen to the other stuff listed though.