Pro-668 (Phase II) Tweaking

[marine_hm]

I just got my 668; It seems to receive P-25 Phase II very well. I'm sure it's programming error on my part, I'm getting parts of transmission. Lets start with the 1st & most basic step. Should I delete all the other Trunking freq's and leave just the Primary(red) or should I also list the secondary(blue)?

 

[Swipesy]

You only need the control channels (red) and alternate (blue) frequencies.

 

[Spitfire8520]

It's very dependent of how your local system behaves and the number of sites you plan on monitoring. Some systems will never or very rarely (a few of hours in several years) use the alternate control channels. Other systems change control channels periodically, which makes programming all control channels listed.

If you only plan on monitoring a small number of sites, it would probably be better to keep everything programmed to ensure that nothing is missed. If you plan on monitoring a number of sites on the same system or listen while mobile, then it might be better to omit the alternate control channels. It will simplify your programming, allow you to program more sites for large system, and may slightly increase the performance when trying to lock onto a new site since it doesn't need to check the alternate control channels.

 

[Swipesy]

If you plan on monitoring a number of sites on the same system or listen while mobile, then it might be better to omit the alternate control channels

Never, ever eliminate the alternative frequencies. If a system switches from their control channel, 99.999999% of the time they will switch to one of their alternative channels.

 

[Ghstwolf62]

Many will tell you to enter control only or control and alternate only. But for me, I found out the hard way that having all frequencies for a site or system programmed in saves a lot of headaches.

I used to travel across the country via vehicle and not having a freq programmed in caused many an issue in a system which switched control channels suddenly.

Having all programmed in ensured I would always pick up any traffic no matter what.

As was found out recently by some a big site out here switched from their control to their alternate suddenly and some were no longer able to pick up the site any longer.

By having all freqs programmed it didn't pose a problem for me. Just my 2 cents on it FWIW

 

[johnls7424]

First tweaking the Pro 668 needed was when the software engineer designed the format of how the scanner operates. Second is the programming software. Very early 2000's ish!!!

As for decoding: I personally think the Uniden BCD436HP does a better job at least on 700/800mhz p25 p2

 

[marine_hm]

It looks like I''ve got it right but get very little traffic. Yesterday while grilling dinner, i set the radio on the ledge of the privacy fence. All kinds of traffic. So it looks like a reception issue. The rubber duckie ain't cutten the mustard! I switch to my diamond RH77CA, still no dice. Are these not made for indoor reception?, Then again, I don't get much radio traffic as I'm driving to-from work either. Anyone on here try one of these?: Radioshack - Products

 

[johnls7424]

It looks like I''ve got it right but get very little traffic. Yesterday while grilling dinner, i set the radio on the ledge of the privacy fence. All kinds of traffic. So it looks like a reception issue. The rubber duckie ain't cutten the mustard! I switch to my diamond RH77CA, still no dice. Are these not made for indoor reception?, Then again, I don't get much radio traffic as I'm driving to-from work either. Anyone on here try one of these?: Radioshack - Products

I have I have. You can mess around with the DSP gains to try to fine too things for reception, but like you said it sucks indoors. Even in a car. The radio was made very cheaply. I do feel sorry for people who spent full price awhile back before these radios going on sale due to RadioShack going out of business

 

[marine_hm]

I found a sweet spot in the house. On top of the mantle in front of the tv. Great reception. Now for the Jeep.? Has anyone tried one of these? 800 MHz Mobile Antenna BNC Glass Mount 4" Scanner Motorola Uniden Radio | eBay or 800MHz Scanner Antenna 6 inch Fits Radio Shack Gre Uniden w BNC Connector | eBay. The second one claims 3.5 db gain. as compared to the 1st one with only 3db gain. Is that going to make any difference?

 

[marine_hm]

I ordered the 800mhz antenna from RadioShack. If it doesn't work like I want , I know they will take it back.


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[trentbob]

... it's sounds like you are having LSM issues... it's a situation that is not widely accepted as there are not enough P-2 LSM systems up and running... there is a lot of denial and rationalization blaming antennas and the systems themselves especially from the fanboys... the bottom line is that it affects all brands and models of p-2 scanners especially older GRE scanners like your rebranded PSR800 and PSR 900 (1095)... if you are at home close to the towers of the system the less efficient antenna possible still getting a good signal will work better... if you are stationary and further from the system a Yagi or beam antenna pointed at just one tower of the system should work good... if you are mobile and moving around in between the towers of the system nothing will help... as I say most people will not agree and it will be quite a while before there are enough LSM systems for the problem to be well accepted for what it is... this post alone is going to generate all kinds of reaction blaming everything but the radios themselves including that it is only in my area... we have many LSM systems in my area and they are ALL the same... I need dependable performance to do my job and I (and my peers) use Motorola APX 7000's with very good results as we move around the systems... I would be glad to help you if I can but when all the BS starts from people who do not understand the fundamentals of LSM I will not be wasting my time responding...

 

[buddrousa]

Bob you got your APX7000 setup like you want it I hope its working out for you.

 

[trentbob]

... yea Buddy... it's good to know that I will not miss any transmissions even in previously poor reception areas... the extra loud volume is fantastic... my whole region is going p2 LSM so to do the job and have the edge, it's the only way to go... looks like the guys on this thread aren't interested in my help or observations?... oh well... they don't know about all the research, testing and videos I've been involved with... it will take a long time for the p2 LSM issues to come to the forefront but it will happen as more and more people see their scanners are not working right on p2... 73's...

 

[buddrousa]

Like I stated in another thread Both companies need to fix know problems, then fix the LSM problems and after that address the new DMR formats. But 1st they need to fix known problems.

 

[trentbob]

.. yup... I agree, it's going to take a while... judging by that lame update I wouldn't hold your breath but I guess it will be up to Uniden as I don't think Whistler/ Rat Shack will be coming out with anything new... they are just learning about the old GRE radios they sell... more and more people will be upset paying big bucks for radios that don't work right on new systems and the denial will turn to anger...

 

[buddrousa]

The big mistake with the designers is the mentality from the old analog days where you built a wideband receiver and sent it to market. It looks like they just kept adding things to the old design where it needs an all new receiver design built like a radio to filter the problems. We know this can be done because big M does this and they do this very well. The other thing is digital radios do not like noises and we the public safety officers need to learn how to shield the mikes from these noises so we can be better understood over the radios.

 

[trentbob]

... yea I agree Buddy... something has to give because the crooked politicians will keep mandating more and more expensive systems where the quality and dependability gets poorer as long as they get the kickbacks and we pay the taxes... mother M makes excellent expensive radios that work with these systems but they also make the systems... can you imagine the low cost and great performance a 45 year old VHF repeater system would deliver in todays applications?... it's all about $$$ and corruption...

 

[marine_hm]

trentbob;

Instead of just asking what is LSM, I did a little reading. So as a scanner enthusiast, there's not much we can do until "Mother M" get their **** together and the scanner industry moves up instead of patching what they already have?

I also live next to a military base which use the P25 380mhz encrypted. Any way of listening? Highly doubtful, but I thought I'd ask.

 

[trentbob]

... you have it right hm... if it is truly encrypted there is nothing you can do to pick up the base... if it's a format that scanners can't hear but can be decoded with DSD plus softwear then we can help you but probably not... as far as LSM is concerned all hope is not lost for you... there are many factors involved making the problem severe or not so bad so don't give up hope yet... some systems are not tweeked properly by the techs maintaining them... the pro Mot radios handle the problem but the scanners are affected more severely... don't expect that Mot will adjust the system so our scanners work better... maybe it could improve as routine maintenance is done by different techs... there ARE some things you can do to try to get better results... if you looked up LSM you see that it is simultaneous transmissions from different towers in your system... some live very close to a tower and far enough from another so that there is no problem as long as you use an inefficient antenna... if you use a really good antenna on the roof you're going to get 2 or more towers at once hence LSM... when you found your sweet spot in the house you were only getting one tower- no LSM... make sense?... some people live far from a system... with a good beam type antenna on the roof you can point it directly at the closet tower to you, only getting one tower- no LSM... other factors that can affect severity is terrain, tower separation and atmospheric conditions... the big problem is when you are mobile in the car while moving in between the towers... you spoke of the RS 800 antenna (GRE)... that is by far one of the best hand held antennas for 7- 800 and UHF/ t band (not so much VHF-HIGH)... I assume your p2 system is 700... the RS 800 is not going to be the best antenna for LSM... it's too efficient... make sense?... (don't get rid of your RS 800 it's a great antenna) we found that the least efficient antenna possible while still getting a decent signal works best... try a UHF "stubby" racing antenna or maybe a Comet RH-32 "stubby"... experiment with antennas that have lesser abilities so as to only get one tower at a time MAY work... the problem there is that when you enter poor reception areas you may miss transmissions as you drive around... I work in the news media and even one missed transmission won't do... that's why we got APX 7000's... I understand that is not an option for most people but we had to do it... if you have any questions or concerns I would be glad to try to help you if I can or I'll find out the answer... Bob...

 

[marine_hm]

Correct me if I'm wrong... The easiest interpretation of LSM would be to draw circles with overlapping edges on a piece of paper. The overlapping areas would be "LSM". Laughing... My wife would kill me if I installed a yagi antenna and drilled a hole in the side of the house to hook it to my scanner.

And when I'm driving around, maybe use one of those stubby antennas? Just for ****s&grins I'm going to try a paperclip. Now as far as advanced setting on my 668, I'm just going to have to experiment to see what difference it makes because what works for you PA isn't going to work for me. I get that!