Hi Paul,
(I am having an issues connecting a 2nd one, it appears only one can be on the WiFi network but maybe I don't have something configured configured correctly)
Rich / N1NCZ
I've seen an issue that I'm not sure is related to the Siren App but I suspect it is.
If I turn on both or all three of my 536HP's at the same time, they will NOT connect to my wireless router or access point.
I've tried Cisco Meraki's, 3Com, an HP model and a cheaper D-Link. The D-Link has the best chance at reconnecting all my 536HP's if I do a settings change in the wireless routers or access points. The D-Link appears it does not fully disconnect the wireless clients when you change its configuration.
All models listed above will show that both are all 3 of my 536HP's have linked and authenticated but when you look at the scanners screen, no WiFi indicator is lit and if you go into the WiFi menu in the scanner and try and look at just WiFi Info, all you see is a WiFi Busy message. At that point, about all you can do is power cycle the 536HP's to restore it so you can use any function.
Even though the WiFi router or access point shows all the MAC's as associated, secured and linked, I cannot ping any of the 536 radios or perform remote head or remote audio functions at all.
I even spread the dongles as far apart as possible plus tried several passive and active USB extension to even further the dongle distance from one another. More info about this test further down.
I found the trick that does work every time though. Fire up 536 number one and wait for it to display its wifi indicator. Then do 536 number 2 and wait again for its wireless connection indicator to light and finally do the last 536. Once all three are powered on with a significant pause from each other, I can control them just fine. I cannot run more than one copy of the RH test software that Uniden made available for us to play with though. Even from different computers. No big deal as I usually use ProScan connected to the GPS port of each 536 over a VPN tunnel.
I also cannot stream audio from more than one 536HP using the same audio software but I believe part of that is a port issue.
I can stream audio from any one of the three using VLC on one and then I can stream audio from either of the remaining two using the audio player that Bob (ProScan Author) supplied but I've never found (never really searched) for a 3rd program that will stream from the 3rd 536.
I'd imagine if I found another software package that supports RTSP, that the 3rd would also stream audio. The above is true regardless if I use the same computer or a different computer when trying to stream audio from more than one 536 wirelessly.
But... the most interesting thing is the fact none will actually complete a wifi connection if powered on at the same time. They get hung in some weird loop or state. As long as I don't go into the menu to show wifi info, all three radios are useable as scanners just fine as well and they are still able to be logged or controlled via the GPS serial port on the rear.
Why they won't connect over wireless when powered on at or about the same time is a mystery though. And that's using two professional WAPS and two more residential devices, one being a WAP and the other an actual router but setup as a WAP only.
It baffles me. I fire up ALL my laptops and other wireless devices at the same time without a problem. Why the Uniden 536HP's must be powered up about a minute apart is a mystery.
It's either something in the cheap dongle Uniden is using or something in the wireless part of the firmware code in the 536.
I can fire up a single 536 and a computer that both go live on the wireless network at the same moment without a problem but no go with two 536HP units.
And why ALL my WAPS or wireless routers say all 3 536 units connected and authenticated and then hang is a mystery.
The other bad thing is the 536 cannot connect to a 'hidden' wireless router or wap. There is no way to put in the SSID of a hidden network into the 536. One must unhide their wireless network, make a connection with the proper password and then go back into the wireless router or wap and hide the SSID again. And this does not work with all wireless routers and waps either. Many higher end models won't allow even one 536 to connect if the SSID is hidden after uniding it and connecting a 536.
Plus no 5 GHz band coverage at all.
I even setup two wireless routers with two different SSIDs and channels and the 536HP's would not connect to either of the routers even though different SSID's and channels were used. Power the 536 at different times about a minute apart and they both work fine on the different routers.
Even connecting two or more 536HP's to different networks does not work if the 536HP's wireless signals can hear each other when they power up.
So... I live in an apartment, if the guy below or next to me fired his 536 up at the same time I did mine, neither of us would connect! It seems if more than one 536HP is within wireless range of another, they MUST be powered up about 45 to 60 seconds (or greater) from each other and then they will both connect.
Now I know I'm the only person here with a 536 so that is not a problem but it could be.
This may be why you (N1NCZ) are having issues getting two or more 536HP models online. Try this power up and wait sequence and see if that does not correct this issue.
Also, I cannot simply turn off one or more 536HP's and get one working. Once they get into whatever odd state they get into when powered up together, I must turn them ALL off and then power them up one at a time, wait for the wifi indicator in the 536 display to indicate it connected and then I can power up the 2nd and wait for it to connect and finally power up the 3rd and all is well.
This happens at work, with my equipment at home or several of my neighbors. The wifi makers of my equipment I listed at the beginning of my post is my personal equipment I have to test with at home. The Cisco Meraki devices are considered some of the best yet they have the same problem. We also have a large Cisco Meraki network at work but same problem. My neighbors that gave me access use a variety of wireless routers and ALL have the same problem.
Basically there is no way this is a problem with all the wireless routers or access points I have tried. It is a problem with the dongle supplied with the 536HP or the firmware that runs the dongles.
At least I have a workaround that gets them all online so I can listen from work.
The other bad thing is if I make a setting change in my home wireless device that requires a reboot of the router or access point from work, all three of my 536HP's will again try and connect when the wireless router or access point is ready. Sometimes the 536HP's do connect and I can listen again or control a 536 from work but in most cases, I must remember to tell the router or access point to not reboot or I'll be locked out and I must call home and get someone to power cycle the 536HP's one at a time or go with no radio.
I can't really bring one into work due to the restrictions we have as far as unhiding the SSID for example or the use of the 5 GHz band. So wireless is almost forbidden at work and my 536 monitoring or control can only be done from one or more of my 536's from work over a VPN tunnel I have between work and home.
I do of course know the SSID at work and can just make mine the same at home, join the 536 to that and then take it into work the next day and it will connect to the 2.4 GHz band router we have running in one location. Usually I'm only in range of the 5 GHz network though so no connect for me. Luckily I do have an outdoor antenna connection at my desk which I can use if I feel like taking a 536 in with me.
This wireless issue with the 536HP is a real problem though.
My 536 models are all duplicates of each other so the startup time between them is exactly the same.
When I got the 2nd unit, I figured it was just a fluke. But when I got the 3rd 536 and found the same problem, I realized it was a bug and not a fluke.
I've not contacted Uniden or even posted on just this subject but I suppose I should so hopefully UPMan will see it and be able to duplicate the problem.
I know I can duplicate the problem with all 3 of my 536 models as well as those at work so it is also not a problem with just one of many causing all the others to not connect via WiFi.
For those of you having connection issues over WiFi with 2 or more BCD536HP models and read my entire post, try powering them on about a minute from each other and see if that does not fix your problem.
I know this thread is more about the siren app but I highly suspect the problem I found is the reason those with 2 or more 536 models cannot connect over wireless if they power their 536's on at the same time like I often do.
If my 536 radios are not within wireless range of each other, they connect just fine, even through the same router or access point. But if they are within range of each other, no work over wireless. That's why I tried active USB extenders that can extend USB about 134 feet. That also works as long as the radio signal from each 536 can't reach the other 536. My apartment is not near 134 feet long though so isolating my 536's so they can't see each other over their wireless RF dongle signals is not an option I can easily obtain! I did manage it by placing ones dongle in the fridge and another's in an old steel chest Coleman cooler. Then they both connected to my router just fine.
This has plagued me since getting the 2nd and 3rd 536 but the only fix is to power them each on only after they have each connected to the router or access point. Any sooner and all you get in the WiFi info menu on the radio is 'WiFi Busy'.
Once I do the individual power on and wait for each of my 536's, they remain accessible over wireless for days on end. Now that I have a personal 2nd and 3rd 536, I've also let them run for as long as I've had the 3rd and never lost a wireless connection once established by waiting to power on the 2nd and 3rd. Something is amiss with the wireless dongle Uniden is using or the firmware that drives it, or both.
I run them all in Infrastructure mode so they connect to existing wireless networks via routers or access points.
I've never set them to access point mode and seen if I can ping all when powered up at the same time but I also have no need for that mode as I'm usually far away from the radio.
Sorry for the long post but I felt this was what was needed to get my findings out with accuracy.
For those with more than one 536 connected via infrastructure mode sitting within RF wireless range of each other, try what I said and see if both connect or neither connect. After my extensive testing with many routers and access points and 536HP's, I do not think it is possible that all my 536 radios and my network gear is all faulty! The problem duplicates itself regardless of what I use and is very easy to replicate yourself.
