Pro-106: Pro-106 and NEW Simulcast in my area

[cl3scan]

I live in El Paso County, Colorado, more specifically, Colorado Springs. I recently found it that the El Paso County area has now switched to a simulcast radio system. I was told they have, I think, 4 towers that transmit radio frequencies of the various agencies.

However with my handheld RS Pro-106 I can no longer pick up any trunking transmissions. I spoke with someone locally and they mentioned Yagi antennas may work or possibly some type of code chip?

I appreciate solutions from anyone with experience in this realm. I have no problem picking up transmissions with my desktop Uniden Homepatrol.

 

[RoninJoliet]

We just got a EFJohnson system installed in my County and would not work on P25 Auto, but it works on setting your RS106 to P25 Manual worh a try.....

 

[cl3scan]

Ok. So I lost you at "We just got a ".................cause what I usually do is these 2 steps; 1) turn on scanner by rotating dial clockwise and 2) listen.

But I have learned to spell Shack finally.

 

[cl3scan]

Ok. Seriously, I did switch the TSYS from P25 Auto over to P25 Manual. Its been running for quite some time now without any transmissions. I may try the MOT 800/900 selection.

 

[Spitfire8520]

Ok. Seriously, I did switch the TSYS from P25 Auto over to P25 Manual. Its been running for quite some time now without any transmissions. I may try the MOT 800/900 selection.

Switch it back to P25 Auto, the P25 Manual suggestion does not apply for DTRS. MOT 800/900 will definitely not work.

The simulcast distortion wiki article has a list of things you can try, although keep in mind that it is possible that nothing will help with the issue because it is a flaw in scanner design.

I have found that turning the squelch all the way down (counterclockwise) can help a little bit with locking onto and staying with the control channel.

You can try taking a look at the local Simulcast coming to Colorado Springs thread for some things that other people in the area have tried.

 

[rbrtklamp2]

Mot 800/900 is for type 2 systems not p25 phase 1 or 2 sysyems that will not work. Welcome to the wonderful world of simulcast distortion. Where less antenna is more. The reason a directional anyenna will help is you have to filter out all other towers except 1 for the scanner to decode the digital voice properly. Also the pro 106 will not decode p25 phase 2 if they went phase 2 you are out of luck and require a new radio.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[cl3scan]

I have confirmed they are using P25 Phase 1, State of CO DTRS.

Where would I find other antennae recommendations?

 

[AC9BX]

Looking at the database there are several sites in El Paso County. To get started choose the one nearest to you. However, Colorado Springs is a simulcast, that poses problems. If you can hear one of the others well you may be better suited. However again, it's not uncommon for such systems to have a site dedicated to certain users. I don't know if this is the case.

Put frequencies in as conventional items only so that you can determine if you can hear the system at all, to be sure the radio is working and can decode the transmissions and you have the right frequencies. You can also do this to determine which is the current control channel. The database may not be up to date. Some systems change regularly, other are very static. If things are working you should hear occasional voice calls. If so you know you are capable of listening to this system. You can delete all whatever you've put it. Now it's time to program it as a proper P25 trunk system. Also to get started I'd recommend a wildcard talk group. If you're getting wildcard hits things are working at least somewhat and you can move on to specific talk groups.

If you're hearing things and they just drop out or move from clear to garbled or back you are probably experiencing distortion caused by the simulcast system. In this case you have a few things to try. There's a lot of info in these forums. Basically we need the radio to get just enough signal to decode clearly but not so much that it cannot differentiate between the 2 or more signals hitting it at the same time which is what is causing this distortion. This can be as simple as attenuation, moving the radio or antenna around, to more elaborate things such as directional antennas and variable attenuators.

 

[iMONITOR]

I live in El Paso County, Colorado, more specifically, Colorado Springs. I recently found it that the El Paso County area has now switched to a simulcast radio system. I was told they have, I think, 4 towers that transmit radio frequencies of the various agencies.

However with my handheld RS Pro-106 I can no longer pick up any trunking transmissions. I spoke with someone locally and they mentioned Yagi antennas may work or possibly some type of code chip?

I appreciate solutions from anyone with experience in this realm. I have no problem picking up transmissions with my desktop Uniden Homepatrol.

Make sure you have the most recent firmware for your scanner.
Pro-106 and Pro-197 CPU/DSP Upgrades - The RadioReference Wiki

You may need to create a new re-banding table. Hopefully someone with a PRO-106 can assist.

 

[Spitfire8520]

Looking at the database there are several sites in El Paso County. To get started choose the one nearest to you. However, Colorado Springs is a simulcast, that poses problems. If you can hear one of the others well you may be better suited. However again, it's not uncommon for such systems to have a site dedicated to certain users. I don't know if this is the case.

In this specific case, they must use a Zone/RFSS 4 site in order to hear anything local. A closer Zone/RFSS 6 site will not carry the traffic they are looking for. Site 4-017 (Airport) is also not an option as it now denies most talkgroups. If they have that site programmed and the scanner attempts to use that site, it might cause the silence issue.

They might be able to get some of the primary dispatch talkgroups on neighboring sites, but most system radios will prefer to use the simulcast site when possible.

You can also do this to determine which is the current control channel. The database may not be up to date. Some systems change regularly, other are very static.

This specific system falls into the second category. The site is brand new and the database is up to date. The current control channel (853.7125 MHz) is correctly listed in the database.

You may need to create a new re-banding table. Hopefully someone with a PRO-106 can assist.

N/A - Not applicable. Reiterating my previous reply, custom tables are not needed or used with this specific system.