nfd2004 said:
Certainly I am no expert or even a radio tech. But I will say that generally speaking, the UHF band (450-480s) do NOT have the distance reach of the high band (150-170 mhz). I certainly hope to be wrong on this for most people who can now receive the FDNY on scanners. I used to live 60 miles outside of NYC and their signal would come in loud and clear. Lets all hope for the best. Maybe somebody who knows more on the subject can join in.
It doesn't necessarily depend on what band you are on. UHF has a stronger "penetrating" radio wave and it tends to bounce of structures better as well. As for hearing the radio frequency it is a bunch of things that help you listen far away.
First is the location of the transmitter and how high the antenna is. If the antenna is only sixty feet of the ground at sea level, it is not going to be as effective as one on top of a 100 story building whose base is sitting at 200 feet above sea level (tip of the antenna would be at 300 feet above sea level).
Second is wattage. The old VHF frequencies I believe were licensed for 300 or more watts because they needed more power to transmit over the region.
Third is atmospherics. Weather plays a great deal how you hear radio transmissions. An incoming storm depending which direction it comes from, can actually carry or prevent a radio wave from traveling. Sunspots is another thing but I'm no scientist how that effects the upper atmosphere.
Fourth - your antenna. If you have just the little stick on the back of your scanner versus a discone mounted in you attic or on your roof, you'll notice a major change. Of course the little stick is not going to pull in radio waves like a true tuned radio scanner antenna.
You'll have to play around with it and see what works from you. I live just outside of New Haven, CT and Sometimes I pull in the VHF sometimes I don't.