I'm monitoring the city of Fayetteville fire and police on the p25 system with a pro 197. I have a strong signal but a lot of transmissions are very broken up. I talked with someone that said they thought the system may be simulcast but not 100% sure. One suggestion was to try using a paper clip as a antenna which has helped but it's still choppy at times or I miss parts of the transmission altogether. All this scanner stuff is like a foreign language to me so any help would be appreciated.
Is anyone else having problems with City of Fayetteville p25 poor reception?
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It sounds from your post that simulcast broadcasts are your issue. If that's true, the Uniden SDS 100 or 200 scanner, or Unication pager are your options for clear reception of a simulcast system. Here in Charlotte I had the same reception issues and went through all the paperclip, yagi antennas, no antennas, etc with no real improvements. Purchasing a Uniden SDS 200 scanner solved the simulcast reception issues for me.
Fayetteville is a simulcast. I believe it's a 3 site system but I don't know much about that area so I could be wrong.
Take a look at the license(s) attached to the system on the database entry and see where you are in relation to the transmit sites, if you're in an overlapping coverage area from at least two sites then you're in a troublesome area for simulcast distortion unless you're using a receiver built to handle LSM.
Take a look at the license(s) attached to the system on the database entry and see where you are in relation to the transmit sites, if you're in an overlapping coverage area from at least two sites then you're in a troublesome area for simulcast distortion unless you're using a receiver built to handle LSM.
If you look at the database page for the Durham/Fayetteville system (here). Then click the link to the Fayetteville site (here). Then click on the FCC callsign for the license associated with that site (here).
Note that there is only a single location associated with that license. That would indicate to me that the Fayetteville site is NOT simulcast. If you presume that the callsign associated with the site is correct, and the FCC license for the site is accurate (it's possible that this is not the case).
Note that the Durham site (callsign link here) has multiple locations associated with it. This site likely IS simulcast.
Ensure that you are listening to the Fayetteville site only. Based on the note at the top of the system database page, it sounds like these sites are pretty separated administratively, meaning you're probably only going to hear Fayetteville agencies on the Fayetteville site, and you'll likely only hear Durham agencies on the Durham site. If the broken/garbled transmissions are ones associated with Durham agencies, then simulcast is probably the issue.
Note that there is only a single location associated with that license. That would indicate to me that the Fayetteville site is NOT simulcast. If you presume that the callsign associated with the site is correct, and the FCC license for the site is accurate (it's possible that this is not the case).
Note that the Durham site (callsign link here) has multiple locations associated with it. This site likely IS simulcast.
Ensure that you are listening to the Fayetteville site only. Based on the note at the top of the system database page, it sounds like these sites are pretty separated administratively, meaning you're probably only going to hear Fayetteville agencies on the Fayetteville site, and you'll likely only hear Durham agencies on the Durham site. If the broken/garbled transmissions are ones associated with Durham agencies, then simulcast is probably the issue.
Thanks for actually checking on that Brian, I went back through my notes and looked at the FCC data and updated the database with accurate info.
Looks like it is in fact a three site simulcast with two different FCC licenses. Take a look at the link below for the transmitter locations, as mentioned before if you're in an overlap area with multiple transmitters, your PRO197 will struggle to decode properly. The goal is to either get an LSM capable receiver or if you're in a fixed position try the paperclip method or point a yagi antenna at a single site to minimize distortion.
Looks like it is in fact a three site simulcast with two different FCC licenses. Take a look at the link below for the transmitter locations, as mentioned before if you're in an overlap area with multiple transmitters, your PRO197 will struggle to decode properly. The goal is to either get an LSM capable receiver or if you're in a fixed position try the paperclip method or point a yagi antenna at a single site to minimize distortion.
Durham-Fayetteville Site: Fayetteville Simulcast
Durham-Fayetteville Site: Fayetteville Simulcast Details
www.radioreference.com
Thanks @trumpetman for the further research you did to determine that the site, is in fact, simulcast. This is why I always try to include caveats in my posts to indicate that there may be more to an issue that is reflected in the data we're looking at.
This is a good cautionary tale for those who rely on the RR database for information. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's important to remember that the RR database is not always 100% accurate and complete. Sometimes, a little deeper research reveals these gaps. The database admin team relies on other RR users to help identify these inaccuracies so that they can be corrected. And sometimes, like this time, a simple question based on a real-world experience helps the process along.
Unfortunately, the fact that the site IS simulcast is not the answer that you, or we, were hoping for. Now you know what's needed to truly solve your reception issue, without speculation.
This is a good cautionary tale for those who rely on the RR database for information. That's not a bad thing at all, but it's important to remember that the RR database is not always 100% accurate and complete. Sometimes, a little deeper research reveals these gaps. The database admin team relies on other RR users to help identify these inaccuracies so that they can be corrected. And sometimes, like this time, a simple question based on a real-world experience helps the process along.
Unfortunately, the fact that the site IS simulcast is not the answer that you, or we, were hoping for. Now you know what's needed to truly solve your reception issue, without speculation.
That answers a lot of my questions. Looks like a radio upgrade for me in the future. I really appreciate the info. Thanks.
I'm exactly 1 mile from the twc site and about 4 miles away from WFNC so that's got to be the problem. I'm using the paper clip right now which has helped. Now I'm just south west of the twc site so do you think the yagi antenna could be of any help since the other sites are in the same general direction? If so what yagi antenna would you recommend? Thanks.
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