hey everyone, been on here for awhile and have used multiple scanners. i bought the 325P2 awhile ago and assumed i had it programmed correctly for my area according to the info i got from this site and the frequencies listed for orange county ny. theres a website i use to back track if i had missed a transmission, and while listening to that and the scanner, its obvious that the scanner doesn't broadcast everything i hear online. i have tried programming all of the frequencies in the 700 range listed, then just the control frequencies, then all of the frequencies in the 800 range along with just the control frequencies as well, then just all of the control frequencies and left it locked on one department while listening online and would only hear about 1 out of 4 broadcasts. anyone have any tips on how i can change how i have it programmed to correct this? thanks
BCD325P2 programming
- Thread starter bennett22
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It’s possible the system you want to monitor is simulcast! the 325P2 might not be able to handle it! The online feed could be using a SDS model which handle simulcast very well!!!
If this is the system you are trying to monitor,
Orange County Public Safety Radio System (OCPSRS) Trunking System, Orange County, New York
Orange County Public Safety Radio System (OCPSRS) Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
it is definitely Simulcast,
Simulcast is a problem for pretty much every scanner except the SDS100 & SDS200. See the Wiki article for more details:
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
Simulcast is extremely location specific, to the point that, in some cases, moving the scanner to a different spot in your house might make a lot of difference as to how well you can hear the system. If your 325P2 is being hammered with simulcast, you might hear only some of the radio traffic, or at times nothing at all. In other cases, what you do hear is mostly garbled. The 325P2 does not do well for simulcast. As mass-man has noted, the feed provider might be using one of the SDS scanners, or using one of the SDR dongles along with a PC & downloaded software, which can avoid the distortion. With your 325P2, you could try using 'less' antenna, even to the point of using a paper clip. A directional antenna, aimed at one isolated transmit tower, sometimes helps. You might try to contact the feed provider, and ask what he is using.
tvengr
Well Known Member
What programming software are you using?
Don’t forget the obvious problem of missing comms because your scanner is busy listening to another transmission (frequency, TalkGroup)… in which case, reducing what you listen to will help. The old adage “The more you listen to the least you hear” is definitely always in play, regardless of other issues such as simulcast.
I have every scanner Uniden makes and the only scanner that works in simulcast areas 100% any time any place is the SDSx00 scanners.
tvengr
Well Known Member
I agree! The only scanners which will receive my local simulcast system are the SDS100 and SDS200. Bennett22, please let me know what programming software you are using. I have a file for Orange County that you can try. If that file does not work, it will be due to simulcast distortion. There are a couple of things you can do to minimize the effects of simulcast.
thanks for all the info guys, yes it is simulcast, but i never had an issue until recently, or just didn't think i did. i didn't use any software to program it, just looked up the control frequencies and dept id's, programmed them, and started listening (tried one of the sites for programming and it just flustered me, so i did it manually). 99% of the time, the only channels i have scanning is the pd for my city, the next town over, state police, and le priority (i use a bc125at for the fire depts). i was just testing it again not too long ago since there was some police activity at a hotel in the next town over, as i was listening online (scanner make/model not listed but the freq shows in the 800 band) and a good 5 minutes passed before my scanner even picked something up.
if its a limitation of the scanner thats fine as i can always listen online if things start getting real busy, then when i can, I'll see if i can upgrade to a better scanner that does simulcast. i think the local pd's have only been on p25 for about a year or a little more, i don't exactly remember when they switched from analog to digital.
could it also be an issue that the scanner already has the following frequencies pre-programmed in the band plan-851.00625/6.25, 762.00625/6.25, 851.01250/12.5, 762.00625/12.5, 935.01250/12.5, 935.01250/12.5? i seem to get better results with just the 700 band control frequencies programmed since the south simulcast 800 band doesn't really cover the area i live in
if its a limitation of the scanner thats fine as i can always listen online if things start getting real busy, then when i can, I'll see if i can upgrade to a better scanner that does simulcast. i think the local pd's have only been on p25 for about a year or a little more, i don't exactly remember when they switched from analog to digital.
could it also be an issue that the scanner already has the following frequencies pre-programmed in the band plan-851.00625/6.25, 762.00625/6.25, 851.01250/12.5, 762.00625/12.5, 935.01250/12.5, 935.01250/12.5? i seem to get better results with just the 700 band control frequencies programmed since the south simulcast 800 band doesn't really cover the area i live in
wtp
Member
my son used a phone app and it was usually running a few minutes behind.
so that might just be normal if they were talking the same thing.
also trying to listen to any trunked system the radio takes 2 seconds and just sits on it for "housekeeping".
so i would ONLY listen to the north site and not even anything else.
my county uses a 700 digital simulcast system and i move the radio around for the sweet spot.
you also could try turning on attenuation as that cuts down the signal and might be enough to not hear a second tower or more.
that is what causes the problem. as a human you can stand a little reverb but a computer can not take any.
so that might just be normal if they were talking the same thing.
also trying to listen to any trunked system the radio takes 2 seconds and just sits on it for "housekeeping".
so i would ONLY listen to the north site and not even anything else.
my county uses a 700 digital simulcast system and i move the radio around for the sweet spot.
you also could try turning on attenuation as that cuts down the signal and might be enough to not hear a second tower or more.
that is what causes the problem. as a human you can stand a little reverb but a computer can not take any.
tvengr
Well Known Member
If you download and install FreeSCAN programming software and download and install the driver for your scanner, you will be able to use my file. The software is FREE! My file includes all of the talkgroups on the Orange County trunked system. The sites and groups all have quick keys so that you can easily select exactly what you want to scan from the keypad. Here is the link for FreeSCAN: Downloads - Sixspot Software Here is the link for the driver: Driver Install for the Uniden Bearcat | Scanner Master Save the attached zipped file to your computer and extract. Open the extracted file with FreeSCAN. Connect your computer to your scanner. Go to the Scanner tab and click on Upload Programming. Select Erase All Systems & Settings to remove what is already in the scanner. Click on Start Upload. The second PDF file will answer all of your questions about using quick keys. Quick keys as follows:
| SYSTEM QUICK KEYS: | |
| 1. Orange Co North (Site) | |
| 2. Orange Co South (Site) | |
| GROUP QUICK KEYS: | |
| 1. Orange Pub Works | |
| 2. Orange Interop | |
| 3. Orange Emerg Ops | |
| 4. Orange Fire/EMS | |
| 5. Orange EMS/Hosp | |
| 6. Orange Sheriff | |
| 7. Orange Law | |
| 8. Orange Local PD | |
| 9. NY State Police | |
| 0. NY State Misc |
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thank you for this. would i really need the south simulcast? my city is just about on the edge of that system according to the coverage map in the database. also, how difficult would it be to make this file without the public works, ems/hosp, and fire? i don't listen to PW or ems, and i use an analogue scanner for fd. and again, thanks for taking the time to make the upload file
Upload the entire file…turn off the PW and EMS service types! You never know when something might happen and you could hear it. My case in point…avoided public works, heard a brief mention of a SWAT thing on PD! Heard the IC say”get on the radio and send the dump trucks this way…” They were used to barricade several streets. PW dispatcher told them exactly what intersections to block and I knew the location of the incident!!!
It's a great scanner. And it does not work AT ALL on the simulcast system here. Won't even lock on the control channel. I wish it did ... but it doesn't.
Just because it works for you doesn't mean it will work for someone else somewhere else.
tvengr
Well Known Member
Did you try turning on the attenuator and moving the scanner around the room? Try laying the scanner on its back and rotating it in various directions. You may find a sweet spot where it works. You would want to listen to EMS for reports of shootings, accidents, etc. You can turn off the Orange EMS/Hosp group to avoid hearing the medic units consulting with the hospitals. You can turn it on anytime you wish to determine the condition of a victim being transported to the hospital. The quick keys make it very simple to do that. The same applies to Public Works. The talkgroups are available anytime you need them. You can toggle the South site on and off by pressing 2 on the keypad. If you travel to the southern portion of the county, you can easily turn on the South site.
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i programmed it with the program and file you uploaded and just turning off the groups i don't usually listen to, seems to be working a little better, thanks again for taking the time to make the file and explaining how to upload it to the scanner. the local, state troopers, and county 911 are pretty good with alerting to shootings and accidents. next town over that i monitor actually had a suicide in a hotel and they weren't shy about saying anything on their frequency. had a edp issue a few weeks ago in my friends village and all LE were talking freely about it as well and heard just about every move they made when they transmitted. usually when i travel, I'll just listen online or on an app if something is going on, its actually illegal in NY to have a radio in your possession that broadcasts PD transmissions while you are off of your property, even though you can listen online, go figure.
JethrowJohnson
I love P25
I thought it was only illegal to have in the car up there?
the app will always be a little behind being that it has to go through the internet before you hear it through the app. my issue was that i could be listening to the app or on the website i use, and the scanner wouldn't even broadcast anything. after the replies here, i finally found that not hearing everything is a limitation of the scanner, not how its programmed.
wtp
Member
yes on the internet thing.
and the other thing is a big question i like to ask...
what is the squelch set at ?
and the other thing is a big question i like to ask...
what is the squelch set at ?
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