Uniden BC95XLT Scanner

[Ken_Allen]

I have this scanner and it will sometimes pick up my local frequencies, and sometimes not. I just get weird noises. My grandpas scanner 10 miles away picks it up, but he is 10 miles closer to the dispatch. Should I be able to pick it up?

It's in the 855-860Mhz band.

[Stealth Stalker]

Too many variables to say without a lot more info.
Can you link to the particular system you are trying to listen to at radioreference. com? The information there is what we'd really need to determine how to listen to it.
Did you program the scanner, or get it already programmed?
Do you know for sure that it is properly programmed and current?
What type of antenna are you using?
Exactly how far are you from the transmitter when you cannot hear it? What about when you CAN hear it?
When you say, "sometimes not", what exactly do you mean? You get nothing at all, or you get a broken conversation? Can you describe the "weird noises"?