I live 22 miles from the major city in the tri-county area. I was delighted to pick up police, fire, emcomm traffic using the provided whip antenna, on the ground floor. First trunking receiver I've owned, not certain what's "normal" - radio occasionally wants to freeze in a trunk group with no audio. No digital capability but an excellent value. Programming is different but easily done once you get the hang of it. Manual is pretty well written too.