Digital Noise on Pro-96

[bob-the-scanner-man]

I'm really getting annoyed with digital noise on my Pro-96. Sometimes during P25 traffic the scanner will break up and I'll get annoying and loud digital noise. It's always done this to an extent but since my county rebanded it's gotten worse. Is there some kind of firmware update I need for the scanner to fix the digital noise issue? Or is it poor quality decode on my end? Would a dedicated 800mhz duckie fix things?

[ecanderson]

Any chance it's your cell phone pinging that you're hearing? Some modulation types are worse than others in this regard.

Listen just as you have been during the problem you report, but keep your cell phone turned off while listening and see if that makes a difference.

If that helps, then we can get down to remediation (if possible).

[kuiper]

When I was using my Pro-96 on a P25 system I found DSP-App 1.2 reduced motorboating. Give it a try if you can.

[N8IAA]

Originally Posted by bob-the-scanner-man

I'm really getting annoyed with digital noise on my Pro-96. Sometimes during P25 traffic the scanner will break up and I'll get annoying and loud digital noise. It's always done this to an extent but since my county rebanded it's gotten worse. Is there some kind of firmware update I need for the scanner to fix the digital noise issue? Or is it poor quality decode on my end? Would a dedicated 800mhz duckie fix things?

This is the reason the 106 was developed. It is a firmware problem that was in the 96. Had a 96 from 2003-2008. It was retired to running on Pro96com when I purchased the 106 and was sold.
Larry

[bob-the-scanner-man]

My scanner currently has DSP App 1.3 on it. I see that there is actually a 1.4 App available maybe that would help the decode some. I'll try that and an 800mhz antenna and see if that helps things.

I don't think my cell phone is interfering with it since it does it when my cell phone is nowhere nearby.

I'm trying to pick up another Pro-96 so I'll have 2 of them to monitor different things with. If my deal goes through I'll also be getting a programming cable with that scanner so I can try tinkering with the different DSP versions to see which works best.

[ka3jjz]

This may or may not be an answer here, but it is at least worth investigating. As I understand it, some trunk systems are now using LSM modulation, which most scanners have a hard time decoding. However, a few folks have discovered that if you adjust VR4 while receiving the problem system, and watching the percentage decode, it improved the decode rate greatly. I suspect - I've never seen any documentation on this - that VR4 *may* be an alignment pot for the P25 decoder. This is logical - it's an older scanner, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if, over time, it fell slightly out of alignment.

Here is a pic...

File:PRO96 Adjustments.JPG - The RadioReference Wiki

If you are hearing this digital noise, and the CC is still relatively strong, it's worth trying....HTH...Mike

[bob-the-scanner-man]

I went and picked up the other Pro-96 I had set up a deal on. Now I have 2 Pro-96's. The one I got today came in a bundle with a ton of accessories. One of which was an RS 800mhz antenna. I tried that antenna on both scanners and the reception was 100% better than before with the stock rubber duckie.

In this case it seems poor quality decode was my problem. The 800mhz antenna fixed it for me.

Thanks to everyone that offered their opinion.

[puzzleriddle]

That's Great bob, need any help I just around the corner in South Highlands