Uniden 396xt simulcast

[firebell9137]

Hi. Can the Attenuator help with decoding simulcast on the 396xt? It keeps saying finding control channel. It's a OASIS Milwaukee, wi fire depts im trying to scan. I know it's not the best scanner for simulcast. But i am picking up other simulcast freqs loud and clear.

 

[wtp]

it might help.
just remember it is used to cut down on the received signal to 1/100th the original.
if you see "finding control channel" it might have cut it too much, or simulcast is cutting it out of your radio.

 

[hiegtx]

Hi. Can the Attenuator help with decoding simulcast on the 396xt? It keeps saying finding control channel. It's a OASIS Milwaukee, wi fire depts im trying to scan. I know it's not the best scanner for simulcast. But i am picking up other simulcast freqs loud and clear.

Simulcast is extremely location specific. For the ones that you are able to receive, it may be that either you are far enough away that a usable signal, from one sub-site (transmit tower) reaches you. Or, there could be terrain, tall buildings, or even something in your house (like metal siding, foil-backed insulation, or something on the other side of a wall, like your refrigerator) that is blocking enough of the signals from other sub-sites that you can receive the system.

The attenuator might work, or maybe not. You could also try "less" antenna, such as using a paper clip. At least it would not cost you anything but a bit of your time to try either of these.

 

[firebell9137]

it might help.
just remember it is used to cut down on the received signal to 1/100th the original.
if you see "finding control channel" it might have cut it too much, or simulcast is cutting it out of your radio.

Ok ill disable it. Milwaukee is the county above me.

Simulcast is extremely location specific. For the ones that you are able to receive, it may be that either you are far enough away that a usable signal, from one sub-site (transmit tower) reaches you. Or, there could be terrain, tall buildings, or even something in your house (like metal siding, foil-backed insulation, or something on the other side of a wall, like your refrigerator) that is blocking enough of the signals from other sub-sites that you can receive the system.

The attenuator might work, or maybe not. You could also try "less" antenna, such as using a paper clip. At least it would not cost you anything but a bit of your time to try either of these.

Ok. Can a bnc connector and bnc antenna help? Maybe FM?

 

[wtp]

the more signal you receive, the worse it gets.
it is from receiving two or more signals slightly out of phase.

 

[firebell9137]

the more signal you receive, the worse it gets.
it is from receiving two signal slightly out of phase.

Ok. Is there a 800mhz antenna for the scanner?

 

[wtp]

less signal can help, but there is no guarantee.
that antenna is called a race antenna as it works fine if you are at the race track.
you don't want to hear some guy talking 5 miles away that he put something on a shelf at walmart.
try putting a fridge in the way of the signal and even turning the radio sideways and turning it around.
horizontal makes it more directional.

 

[hiegtx]

Ok ill disable it. Milwaukee is the county above me.

Ok. Can a bnc connector and bnc antenna help? Maybe FM?

You can use an antenna with a BNC connector by using the SMA->BNC adapter that came with the scanner. The type of antenna connector, whether BNC or SMA, is not going to affect what does, or does not, work.

Ok. Is there a 800mhz antenna for the scanner?

As wtp has noted, less antenna might work better than using an antenna with a gain. (That's why I mentioned the paper clip antenna.) There are a number of antennas that optimize 700/800MHz reception, but that's not always an advantage in dealing with simulcast systems.

 

[ofd8001]

Depending on where you are, NO antenna might be helpful. I had an antenna cable issue on a vehicle radio - best decode I ever got from an x96 model scanner. Of course the non-simulcast systems were not there.

 

[n1chu]

As stated, the simulcast issue is highly location dependent. I listen to a simulcast system on the SDS200 while mobile, probably the worst scenario imagined because my location keeps changing! But so far, I’ve noticed no simulcast issues that I can determine. (It may be I am affected but don’t know any better because I’m not hearing any of the transmissions that are mixing out of sync.)

I’ve got the BCD396XT also and never tried to receive the simulcast system with it. But if I did, I’d only program the control channels and experiment with differing antenna options. So, yes, it’s worth a try and yes, there are 800MHz single band antennas available but if you are trying to attenuate the signal, why use an antenna designed to hear more? I suppose it’s all in an effort to find that sweet spot, where signal strength can be manipulated using different attenuation and antenna combinations.

 

[smokchsr]

If you are using the scanner portable, less antenna or attenuation may help. If you are using it at a fixed location the best thing I've found is using a directional antenna pointed at a specific site(mine is a 800MHz yagi). Unfortunately the directional antenna is not practical when operating mobile or portable. Actually what I use mostly is a fixed base scanner and stream that to my phone. That has been the most reliable solution.