HELP!

Anyone with a BCD436/536HP know how to FINE tune the NJICS? Most of the transmissions are distorted and barely readable on my 436HP. Thank you for the HELP.

I just went through this myself, and I'm sure others can be more helpful, but here's what I've gathered from lurking around here. From what you describe, fine tuning isn't likely going to dramatically help your current situation - of course, it doesn't hurt to try. The only adjustment available is manual digital threshold (auto-tune is the default), and the optimal value will depend on your exact situation (seems to involve many variables). Experiment and maybe you'll luck out:
See the simplified manual: Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual
Some explanation and tips here: https://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/365414-p25-garbled-2.html#post2880467

From what I've gathered, you will have more problems when mobile (a roof-mount antenna may help), when near multiple towers in simulcast (CQPSK) (biggest problem > simulcast distortion), and when trying to receive Phase II P25 TDMA ("T" for "Mode", as seen here: https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=7021)

I've found the most reliable way (by far) to receive NJICS on the 436 is to keep the receiver in one position (I'm surrounded by the 3 Union County simulcast towers, all are within 5-10 miles of me). If you're relatively close to a tower(s), experiment with positions in your house, office, whatever (a few inches, or a different room/window, can completely resolve garble). I found my optimal position by locking the receiver onto my town's TG (not scanning), then looking for positions that keep the control channel indicator (DAT on the display) steady. If it's blinking a lot, that's no good. If you have no DAT indicator on the display, you have no usable signal. In that case, lots of folks have had success with a yagi aimed to bring in just a single tower.

One more thing - the 3 towers are all within maybe 5-10 miles of me and I found the stock antenna wasn't cutting it. The Radio Shack 800Mhz antenna was a major improvement. You don't want to feed the receiver too weak or too strong a signal.

Thank you for the Info.

ive struggled with njics too . even driving to various towers and listening made no difference...it just sounds horrible. any p25 phase 2 sounds bad.. im kinda giving up on it

Would getting the PROVOICE upgrade on the 436 make a differance?

upsmannj said:

Would getting the PROVOICE upgrade on the 436 make a differance?

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That would do nothing for P25 reception.... would be a complete waste of money.

This topic has been beat to death in the Uniden and Whistler forums and falls upon deaf ears at Uniden and Whistler. They do not care your scanner doesn't work as advertised. Both manufacture's scanners are not properly designed to demodulate linear simulcast phase II systems. Until Uniden and Whistler gets their acts together and uses the proper hardware in their designs we all will suffer with poor reception of phase II systems and having to jump through flaming hoops to get marginally better reception.

upsmannj said:

Thank you for the Info.

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I see you have a TRX-1 as well. Curious how it compares with the 436 on NJICS in your area.

After a few weeks of experimenting, I seem to have found an ideal setup (without resorting to a yagi, thankfully) that consistently gets me 95+% reception of my local simulcast without having to keep moving the receiver around. Still some occasional dropouts or clipped transmissions, but perfectly listenable. Maybe I was just lucky, but it was not a simple task (required some modifications), and it's disappointing that I can't get reliable mobile reception in my area, but I'm satisfied because I can leave the unit recording when I'm not at home, and just catch up later. Without the recording function, the 436 would be pretty useless to me for monitoring local law enforcement. But, I knew what I was getting onto before I bought the thing.

best thing for that simulcast distortion on the njics is block out transmissions from all the towers except for one of them, so what i do is stick the antenna my scanner came with through a hole in the side of an empty paint can near the bottom, or maybe surround the antenna with a similarly shaped enclosure with cardboard and aluminum foil. problem solved.

I'd love to know how many times you've suggested this, or if anyone has actually come back to you and said, hey, thanks, that did the trick! Not saying it can't work, but I've tried something like that and it had very little effect. But, since you're such a proponent of this paint can method, you might consider the fact that you're not fully describing the orientation of the paint can (guessing you're using it like a signal "funnel", with the open end aimed at the tower?), it's location (inside, outside, window?) or, most importantly, your location relative to the towers.

bailly2 said:

best thing for that simulcast distortion on the njics is block out transmissions from all the towers except for one of them, so what i do is stick the antenna my scanner came with through a hole in the side of an empty paint can near the bottom, or maybe surround the antenna with a similarly shaped enclosure with cardboard and aluminum foil. problem solved.

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Try that when driving in your car at 50 MPH. :lol:

Problem solved for everyone would be Uniden and Whistler fixing their dam scanners !

Get a friggin' Unication. No current scanner does it well. Location is everything.

Yep, the obvious choice if you require mobile reception, which luckily, I don't. Glad to find that the 436 is capable when properly situated, since it's a far more versatile receiver, and dirt cheap on the used market by comparison.

I've still yet to have any issues receiving the NJICS on my BCD436HP or HP2 that everyone reports. Have you adjusted your Digital Threshold settings? Perhaps use an upgraded antenna?

https://wiki.radioreference.com/ind...ment#Manually_Adjusting_P25_Decode_Thresholds