BCD396XT/BCD996XT: Philadelphia Fire

Status
Not open for further replies.

jgoddard23

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Aug 12, 2006
Messages
4
Location
Philadelphia, PA
I have a Uniden BCD996XT with the factory antenna and live just a couple miles outside of West Philadelphia. I used Radio Reference and ARC XT to program my scanner. It will not pick up Philadelphia Police or Fire.. It keeps saying finding control channel, same with chester county.

Anyone have a suggestion?
 

teufler

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
2,357
Location
ST PETERS, MISSOURI
CHESTER CTY APPEARS CONVENTIONAL,according to Sentenial. Do you see any indication that youy are receiving a carrier. Try some conventional stuff, then try some other p25 systems..
 

UPMan

In Memoriam
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
13,296
Location
Arlington, TX
Finding Control Channel means that the scanner is not detecting a control channel on any of the programmed frequencies. You are either out of range or don't have the correct frequency programmed.

Also, Fire and PD are on a Phase II system. If they are TDMA, you won't receive it on a BCD996XT.
 

UPMan

In Memoriam
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
13,296
Location
Arlington, TX
For Chester County, PD / FD are on a LTR Multinet. There are no scanners currently available that will track LTR MultiNet systems.
 

KB7MIB

Member
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Messages
4,194
Location
Peoria, AZ.
Also for Philadelphia, from what I've seen in the PA forum, you have to live in the city to receive them. More than a mile or so outside the city limits, and you won't hear them. Apparantly, their transmitter sites are on the edge of the city, and facing inward.

John
Peoria, AZ (formerly from Abington, PA)
 

ofd8001

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
7,891
Location
Louisville, KY
Just doing a quick glance at the FCC license, it appears they aren't putting out much transmitter power - less than 100 watts. So coverage area may be limited.

This is probably a "Hail Mary" thing, but I would try entering all of the frequencies associated with this system. There is a remote chance they are using a different control channel frequency - one that hasn't been identified as such in the DB. Presuming you've downloaded the system data vis software only those marked as control channel and alternates are downloaded.

Another thing you might try: If you can take your scanner mobile, I'd go toward the city to where you start receiving comms. Then head back home and see where comms fall off. If they drop off a short distance from your home, you might consider an outside antenna mounted as high as you can.
 

trap5858

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 22, 2003
Messages
895
Location
Doylestown PA & Milton DE
Anywhere outside the city limits seems to curtail and reception. Reception can be spotty within the city limits as well. Their system was designed to limit where the signal goes.
 

nr2d

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 28, 2003
Messages
506
Location
Laurel Springs, NJ
Anywhere outside the city limits seems to curtail and reception. Reception can be spotty within the city limits as well. Their system was designed to limit where the signal goes.

Just an observation, from I see in the Philly/South Jersey area the majority of the trunking systems systems are engineered to cover just what they need to. My theory on this is that trunk systems use so many frequencies that the engineers and the FCC want to reuse some frequencies just out of line of site from a site. They also use lower power also in order to help reuse of frequencies.

Just my humble opinion.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top