I bought a BC 220 XLT, with the rubber antenna that came with it, several
years ago at the NASCAR track to hear the races.

I live in a town that is small enough not to be on a trunked system, so I
have our local PD and FD programmed in.

My question is, how far away should I be able to receive the signal?

I am sure this depends on their transmitter and other variables, but I can
have the scanner in the parking lot at work, about 10 miles from the city,
and barley can receive them. Same for the FD where I work though, I can
barely get them at the house.

I have had 2 other scanners in the past, and they were able to get a good 30
miles minimum and normally much more.


Thanks...

Chuck


****
Larry La Prise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey," died peacefully at
the age of 93. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into
the
coffin. They put his left leg in and that's when things started going
downhill...

On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 11:16:21 +0000, Chuck wrote:

I bought a BC 220 XLT, with the rubber antenna that came with it, several
years ago at the NASCAR track to hear the races.
.....
I have had 2 other scanners in the past, and they were able to get a good 30
miles minimum and normally much more.

Are you using a freshly charged battery pack?
Are you still getting the same amount of use in between charges?

Check the antenna and the antenna jack for a bad connection.
Make sure the antenna's center pin is still intact.
Inspect the center contact in the antenna jack to see if it
has expanded and is no longer making good contact.
--
================================================== =======================
Bob Parnass, AJ9S GNU/Linux User http://parnass.com

"Bob Parnass" wrote in message
news
On Sat, 15 Jan 2005 11:16:21 +0000, Chuck wrote:

I bought a BC 220 XLT, with the rubber antenna that came with it,
several
years ago at the NASCAR track to hear the races.
....
I have had 2 other scanners in the past, and they were able to get a
good 30
miles minimum and normally much more.

Are you using a freshly charged battery pack?
Are you still getting the same amount of use in between charges?

Check the antenna and the antenna jack for a bad connection.
Make sure the antenna's center pin is still intact.
Inspect the center contact in the antenna jack to see if it
has expanded and is no longer making good contact.


Thanks for the suggestions...

I have already checked the antenna connections. They are ok.

As far as the battery charges, I have 2 batteries (I need to buy 2 more).
One doesn't last very long, so I stopped using it. The other will last about
3 or 4 hours. They used to last a good 12 hours. But, I have been keeping
the scanner plugged into A/C most of the time lately. The batteries are old
anyway.

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 02:26:34 +0000, Chuck wrote:


As far as the battery charges, I have 2 batteries (I need to buy 2 more).
One doesn't last very long, so I stopped using it. The other will last about
3 or 4 hours. They used to last a good 12 hours. But, I have been keeping
the scanner plugged into A/C most of the time lately. The batteries are old
anyway.

One of the cells in your battery pack may be dead and
the lower voltage could be affecting the BC220XLT's
sensitivity.

--
================================================== =======================
Bob Parnass, AJ9S GNU/Linux User http://parnass.com

"Bob Parnass" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 02:26:34 +0000, Chuck wrote:


As far as the battery charges, I have 2 batteries (I need to buy 2
more).
One doesn't last very long, so I stopped using it. The other will last
about
3 or 4 hours. They used to last a good 12 hours. But, I have been
keeping
the scanner plugged into A/C most of the time lately. The batteries are
old
anyway.

One of the cells in your battery pack may be dead and
the lower voltage could be affecting the BC220XLT's
sensitivity.


Hmmmm....

I will unplug the battery and see if that helps any...

Thanks for the advice....

Chuck

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:30:52 +0000, Chuck wrote:


One of the cells in your battery pack may be dead and
the lower voltage could be affecting the BC220XLT's
sensitivity.


Hmmmm....

I will unplug the battery and see if that helps any...


The best way to tell is to measure the DC voltage
of your fully charged battery pack. NiCd cells should
be 1.2 - 1.4 VDC each after a full charge.
If your pack has 4 NiCd cells, it should measure 4.8 - 5.6 VDC
after a full charge. If it measures a lower voltage, then
one or more cells is probably shorted.

--
================================================== =======================
Bob Parnass, AJ9S GNU/Linux User http://parnass.com

"Bob Parnass" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 14:30:52 +0000, Chuck wrote:


One of the cells in your battery pack may be dead and
the lower voltage could be affecting the BC220XLT's
sensitivity.


Hmmmm....

I will unplug the battery and see if that helps any...


The best way to tell is to measure the DC voltage
of your fully charged battery pack. NiCd cells should
be 1.2 - 1.4 VDC each after a full charge.
If your pack has 4 NiCd cells, it should measure 4.8 - 5.6 VDC
after a full charge. If it measures a lower voltage, then
one or more cells is probably shorted.




Okee Dokiee...

Next time I have a "full charge" on the battery pack, I dig out my meter and
check it.

Thanks for the tip...

Now if I can just talk my wife into letting me spend $150 for that RS
Pro-95...