Hi Steve,
Thank you for your suggestions and FCC info.
I tried the squelch setting on 0, 1, 5 and 9. I don't notice much difference, I just receive hiss on about 12 preset scan chan's (on 0 (zero) I get some crackling too). I used one of my GMRS radios and set both to chan 22 and the 9PX does clearly receive the transmission (from just a few feet away). My thought of improving the test location was to determine if I can receive ANY channels while on scan. But to your point, yes, if this is what I get at my home then it will serve no purpose.