SUCKS!

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mmartinfan

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Long time user of the 536HP. Long time hater of Uniden and this unit. I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers and have little to no signal on any of them.

Will Uniden ever come out and repair all the 536hp so they actually decode a signal? My 436 is virtual as bad.

All the Uniden fan boys can saw what they want, but deep down you all wonder the same thing.
 

WX4JCW

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Instead of complaining trade it for a Unication G4


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 

JamesO

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The majority of problems with reception issues on the HP series of scanners is Pilot Error with programming and settings. In some instances it may actually be an issue with the way the system you are trying to monitor is set up and configured. .Sometimes you cannot hear all Talk Group ID's depending on the system configuration. Occasionally there may be some database errors. Some systems may have multicast problems,

Not sure you actually want help, because if you did, you might ask for assistance and explain in detail what you are trying to receive and exactly what the problem is.

Otherwise this just seems like a venting post.

This seems like a clue?
I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers and have little to no signal on any of them.

Time to do some homework. Maybe where you work the facility is shield very well and there is poor signal penetration? Maybe you need to remove the antenna and try a paper clip in the antenna port due to signal overload and/or interference?

We can only hold a hand for so long and solve so many problems.
 

fxdscon

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Long time user of the 536HP. Long time hater of Uniden and this unit. I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers and have little to no signal on any of them.

Will Uniden ever come out and repair all the 536hp so they actually decode a signal? My 436 is virtual as bad.

All the Uniden fan boys can saw what they want, but deep down you all wonder the same thing.

You have posted this same rant about many of your scanners and other hardware you have had difficulty operating....

I think you can guess what we are really wondering about.

.
 

Nasby

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It's simulcast related. Neither my high end Whistler nor my flagship Uniden will receive the Columbus Simulcast system reliably.

At best I get 25-30 percent reception not matter what part of the city I'm in.

Sadly, your only option is probably a Unication pager.
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
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Long time user of the 536HP. I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers and have little to no signal on any of them.

Will Uniden ever come out and repair all the 536hp so they actually decode a signal? My 436 is virtual as bad.

When you say; "I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers" You talk like that's a good thing. It's not. The more towers, and the closer they are, make the situation worse, not better.

If you think there is a better scanner available, why have you tolerated the 536HP for so long? Have you tried a different scanner, or taken any steps to resolve the problem you're having? Have you read up on simulcast systems, multipath issues, etc?
 

Whiskey3JMC

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I've owned two 536's and two 436's and both models are stellar performers. I can't speak about the system mentioned but I've got simulcast systems in my area I can barely receive from certain zones within their intended service areas no matter what scanner I use, Uniden or not. Keep in mind they don't engineer radio systems to be optimized for scanner listeners
 

wa8pyr

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Works for me

Funny, I'm not having many issues with my 436 or my Whistler radios for that matter, and I'm in Columbus just like mmartinfan. I guess he's being technically inept again (he can't work a Mac either, so that should tell you something :D).

Initially I was having a few issues as well although they weren't such a threat to Western civilization as mmartinfan would have you believe. Even so, both (436 and Whistler) were quite usable right out of the box. I spent a bit of time tweaking P25 decode settings on both sets of radios and now my P25 decode is quite good; I have more issues with signal reception than anything else, as the building I work in and my house are apparently unintentional Faraday cages.

My earlier model GRE radios (PSR500/Pro106/Pro197, etc) on the other hand? Very fussy. I have to use a minimal antenna and position the radio just so in order to get clean decoding. I usually dedicate the Pro197 as a control channel radio for use with Pro96Com.

I also have plenty of manly radios (Motorola, Harris, etc) to play with, so I'm not too worried.

And in case you were wondering. . . yes, I know who mmartinfan is; he really isn't always like he seems. :D
 

bob550

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With P25, as in real estate, it's all about location. The OP does not indicate he has any better reception with another scanner brand. All things being equal, if a Whistler did a better job of decoding the P25 connected to the same antenna, he may have a valid argument against Uniden.

I have found consistently good P25 reception to be an exercise in frustration. I have tried too many various antenna configurations, including a discone mounted on the peak of my roof, to mention here. I had no better success using a RS PRO-651 vs. a BCD996xt. At least for me, the signal seems so fragile, that minute variations in antenna location make all the difference in the world. I've had the best luck with a Diamond RH77CA mounted on the lower pane of a window connected to my nearby PRO-651. But, if I raise the window, or move the antenna to the right or left by an inch, the signal goes to hell.
 

garys

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PEBCAK. Problem Exists Between Chair and Keyboard.


The majority of problems with reception issues on the HP series of scanners is Pilot Error with programming and settings.
 

garys

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I've found that the latest firmware update for the x36HP scanners has significantly improved both P25 and DMR decoding. You are correct thought, it's all about location (and signal strength). Listening to 900Mhz MotoTrbo stations that are fairly distant from me has demonstrated that even relatively minor changes in signal strength can have large effects on signal decoding. It's even easier to see that when using SDR with DSDPlus.

There is less variation at UHF and even less at VHF. That's likely, at least it seems so, due to the slower rate of fall off in signal strength.



With P25, as in real estate, it's all about location. The OP does not indicate he has any better reception with another scanner brand. All things being equal, if a Whistler did a better job of decoding the P25 connected to the same antenna, he may have a valid argument against Uniden.

I have found consistently good P25 reception to be an exercise in frustration. I have tried too many various antenna configurations, including a discone mounted on the peak of my roof, to mention here. I had no better success using a RS PRO-651 vs. a BCD996xt. At least for me, the signal seems so fragile, that minute variations in antenna location make all the difference in the world. I've had the best luck with a Diamond RH77CA mounted on the lower pane of a window connected to my nearby PRO-651. But, if I raise the window, or move the antenna to the right or left by an inch, the signal goes to hell.
 

lindsay34654

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Scanner and Uniden

Instead of complaining about the radio that you did not check out first before you bought. If it is that bad I will buy it off you for $100 [ick it up do that you do not have to ship it. If you have updated the dated the radio they it should work, or send it in for repair. If it comes back and they say it works like it supposed too. no one else seems to complain
 

bob550

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When I think about digital P25 problems, I always think about reception troubles with digital over-the-air or satellite TV. With less than satisfactory signal strength, your picture becomes pixelated and freezes. For most, however, it's easier to understand reception trouble when you can visualize it. In the end, there may be little difference between the two problems. Anyway, APCO 25 seems to be dicey even for the intended users. Monitor enough, and you'll discover that even the Public Safety agencies have periodic difficulties.
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
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Simulcast digital distortion
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast_digital_distortion

Uniden


  • Digital AGC if its ON try it OFF because it may be be making Voice transmissions less intelligable, espcially if there are multiple errors already in the decode.
  • P25 Threshold option can be changed after monitoring the Site with Auto to see the best setting for that System to be be decoded on, so if decode is best at 6, switch the P25 decode threshold for that system to Manual and 6. While 6 isn't a panacea, it's at least a beginning numeric to try starting with, typically up-to 9 in Manual mode will make the biggest difference. Not all scanners allow this ability System/Site specific/individually.
 

milcom_chaser

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Long time user of the 536HP. Long time hater of Uniden and this unit. I am in Columbus, Ohio work within line of sight of three P25 towers and have little to no signal on any of them.

Will Uniden ever come out and repair all the 536hp so they actually decode a signal? My 436 is virtual as bad.

All the Uniden fan boys can saw what they want, but deep down you all wonder the same thing.

"All the Uniden fan boys can saw what they want, but deep down you all wonder the same thing."

Um, not really... sounds like a project of frustration and disappointment.
 
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