PRO-2096 Digital decoding problems

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gregg251

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 24, 2006
Messages
64
Location
Greensboro, NC
I'm having an intermittent problem decoding digital modulation on my R/S Pro-2096. The trunked system (Greensboro/Guilford Co., North Carolina) has some digital channels but isn't a full APCO-25 system. Signals are very strong at my location. But sometimes I'll turn the scanner on and just hear the non-decoded digital signals on the digital channels. Other times it will work fine. I don't have the problem with my PRO-96 handheld scanner or the BC996. It was programmed with Win 96 using information from radioreference.com.

Does anyone have any ideas.

Thanks,

Gregg251

(N2UUP)
 

timmer

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2003
Messages
266
Location
Springfield, Il
I have the same problem with my pro-96 habheld. Sometimes it will decode fine, other times it is horrible. I never know what kind of reception I am going to get from one day to the next or one hour to the next. Not sure what to do. I'm thinking about getting a PSR 500 and trying that route.
 

Star56

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
91
timmer said:
I have the same problem with my pro-96 habheld. Sometimes it will decode fine, other times it is horrible. I never know what kind of reception I am going to get from one day to the next or one hour to the next. Not sure what to do. I'm thinking about getting a PSR 500 and trying that route.

I had the exact same issue with my 96 monitoring a P25 system. I returned it...bought a PSR500...all issues solved. Great reception...no motorboating...no monkey chatter...
 

xusmarine1979

Active Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,466
Location
Louisville, Ohio
I think my next radio will be a PSR500. Another issue I have with anything digital is once a digital transmition has completed, if another channel is talking at the same time I'll pick up that channel as well. It's quite annoying if the other channel is encrypted.
 

SCPD

QRT
Joined
Feb 24, 2001
Messages
0
Location
Virginia
Can anyone NOT READ??? SCROLL UP to the second message in this thread, also Check BNC connection inside teh radio, 3) and check programming again?. last but not least try having RS check out the radio themselves???
 

xusmarine1979

Active Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,466
Location
Louisville, Ohio
What I'm thinking is it's a simulcasting system and he may be recieving more than one tower at a time. My county's system is simulcast, I have the same problems he has. But on the state's MARCS system when I am only listening to a single site it seems to sound perfect all the time. Did I say all of that right?
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
201
Radio Shack should issue a v1.5 firmware upgrade!

Hi Jon, yep, same problem in NW Ohio - MARCS digital (3600B) single tower works okay, but the multicast / simulcast system in Lucas County makes me want to leave my PRO-96 on a set of railroad tracks. I'm on my 3rd different antenna configuration (yagi pointed to only 1 tower) and still breaking-up audio, buzzing, monkeychatter. Lucky if you get the whole conversation before it crashes and burn.
Radio works fine for everything BUT the CQPSK multicast P.O.S. systems.

Johnny (different than Jon)
 

brian

DB Administrator
Database Admin
Joined
Dec 10, 2000
Messages
2,055
Location
South Carolina
We have the same problem with the PRO-(20)96 radios decoding digital transmissions on the new Charleston Co. simulcast p25 system in South Carolina, also a simulcast system. I posted a question not long ago asking for comments from folks monitoring similar systems in other places what radios have the best success with digital audio on simulcast systems. Some folks say the PSR-500 and 600 are better, and I'll likely be replacing my PRO-96 with a PSR-500 pretty soon because of that. I welcome others comments on their success (or failure) decoding simulcast systems with other radios.
 

Chicago13

Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2005
Messages
40
My 96 does the same thing on Illinois' new Starcom21 system. When I get away from Cook County's simulcast site and into areas only using one tower it works fine. The 96 definitely chokes on simulcast systems. The only way it'll ever be corrected will be with a DSP update. And I somehow doubt Rat Shack will be doing that anytime soon. When I get the money, I'm going for a PSR500 which will cover the 700mhz portions of Starcom.
 
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
201
I suggest we all write a letter to RatShack HQ and ask them for one last DSP firmware upgrade; hopefully enough of us bugging them will get one last gasp out of them to help us out.

Chicago13 wrote: "...The only way it'll ever be corrected will be with a DSP update..."
 

Star56

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
91
johnnyelectron said:
I suggest we all write a letter to RatShack HQ and ask them for one last DSP firmware upgrade; hopefully enough of us bugging them will get one last gasp out of them to help us out.

Chicago13 wrote: "...The only way it'll ever be corrected will be with a DSP update..."

It was the Lucas County P25 system that made me return my 96. I had all the same nonsense...monkey chatter, motor boating....impossible to enjoy.
 

xusmarine1979

Active Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2005
Messages
1,466
Location
Louisville, Ohio
I have posted something like this in the Uniden Forum. I've been messing around with my pro 96 for the last few days. What I started doing is I leave the squelch fully open (when stopped on a channel you'll hear that annoying sound). I'm sure it still has the problem on simulcast, but it doesn't get all garbled up like it did before. The only thing is, if you are listening to anything conventional make sure to use the proper pl or dpl tones so it wont stop on that channel.

So far, it seems to be doing great, especially inside the buildings. The only negative I have is that it seems to take longer to scan the banks and it will pick up the weaker signals. But if anyone else wants to give it a try, let me know how it works for you.
 

ctpd845

Member
Feed Provider
Joined
Dec 28, 2005
Messages
423
Location
Martin, Ohio
johnnyelectron said:
Hi Jon, yep, same problem in NW Ohio - MARCS digital (3600B) single tower works okay, but the multicast / simulcast system in Lucas County makes me want to leave my PRO-96 on a set of railroad tracks. I'm on my 3rd different antenna configuration (yagi pointed to only 1 tower) and still breaking-up audio, buzzing, monkeychatter. Lucky if you get the whole conversation before it crashes and burn.
Radio works fine for everything BUT the CQPSK multicast P.O.S. systems.

Johnny (different than Jon)

The CQPSK simulcast systems are not P.O.S. systems, they work great for the users. The problem is the digital processors in the scanners. It sounds like GRE has put better digital processors in the psr500 and 600. The bad thing is I don't think a firmware update will help that much on the pro96 and 2096, it's just not as good of a digital processor.
 

emtprt

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Nov 21, 2004
Messages
56
Location
Connecticut
Old Problem I found in 2005

I got rid of mine for the DPL issue. RS serviced the radio, I did firmware upgrades and I attempted every tweak known.

I Replaced the radio with a BCd996T. No DPL issues since and I can pick up Private Calls as a group on APCO Motorola systems. I did like the trunking audio on the 2096 and the radio was a bit more sensative but the intermittant DPL conversations drove me nuts (usually high pitched voiced or sirens in backround clipped the message.

Mark
 

FCVPI99

Member
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
355
Location
Rockford,IL
same problem i just sent an email to RS im wating for a reply

im guessing somthing like this

we dont know anything bla bla bla



why on earth is RS still doing scanners no one in the store know nothing about them as well as corp.

how can you sell something at a business when no one knows anything about them??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top