Uniden BCD325P2 Desperate For Help

[UnidenAmatuer]

Hi All,

About 6 months ago, I bought myself a Uniden bcd325p2 because; One, I like to here what happens around my county and Two, I am currently employed at a department. When I first bought it, learning it was a big step because I have never had to program something like this but thankfully to the forums I came across, I was able to set it up without needing any assistance. Now with that said, I live in Waukesha County (Wisconsin) which uses a P25 Phase 1 Trunk System which is 800mhz. I set up my scanner via FreeScan and followed instructions to the T but hardly get any signal if any. I've gone through at least 3 different Antennas in hopes it would change the signal but it does not change a thing. So now, I am reaching out because I feel like I am running out of options and need some experienced help to help me get my scanner to run properly. Is there a common issue that people do that causes this? Is there a certain antenna that would work great with the scanner? Is there a firmware update I am not aware of that I need? Anything and everything would be helpful, even for a trial and error run. If I should post what i have set up on FreeScan, let me know because as far right now, I feel like I am not doing something correctly

Thank You

 

[RaleighGuy]

I suspect the tower in your county which is listed as C4FM is simulcast, and, depending on your location, the only fix for that is upgrading to a SDS scanner, using a Unication pager, or switching to SDR dongles with appropriate software.

Search RR Wiki for more info on Simulcast distortion.

 

[tvengr]

Waukesha County Wisconsin which is on the OASIS system is definitely simulcast. Organization of Affiliated Secure Interoperable RF Subsystems (OASIS) Trunking System, Milwaukee & Waukesha, Wisconsin There is very little on the WISCOM system. If you attach your FreeSCAN programming file, I will be happy to check it for problems. You will need to right click on the file and Send to Compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it. Click on Attach files and open the zipped folder. Which agencies are you interested in monitoring?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums. Please review the wiki below. Simulcast distortion is an issue frequently encountered & discussed daily here on the forums & can be quite frustrating while monitoring via most scanner makes & models (aside from the aforementioned Uniden SDS series). There are a few workarounds mentioned in the wiki you can try but they work in very few cases, it all boils down to your location relative to two or more simulcasting towers. If this is a system you intend on monitoring regularly trust me you'll be much better off with an SDS100

Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

 

[UnidenAmatuer]

Waukesha County Wisconsin which is on the OASIS system is definitely simulcast. Organization of Affiliated Secure Interoperable RF Subsystems (OASIS) Trunking System, Milwaukee & Waukesha, Wisconsin There is very little on the WISCOM system. If you attach your FreeSCAN programming file, I will be happy to check it for problems. You will need to right click on the file and Send to Compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it. Click on Attach files and open the zipped folder. Which agencies are you interested in monitoring?

At the moment, I am just trying to get FD and PD within waukesha county itself. I unfortunately am on shift for 36 hours so tomorrow i will be able to clone what i got on the scanner and send it in the thread.

 

[UnidenAmatuer]

Welcome to the RR forums. Please review the wiki below. Simulcast distortion is an issue frequently encountered & discussed daily here on the forums & can be quite frustrating while monitoring via most scanner makes & models (aside from the aforementioned Uniden SDS series). There are a few workarounds mentioned in the wiki you can try but they work in very few cases, it all boils down to your location relative to two or more simulcasting towers. If this is a system you intend on monitoring regularly trust me you'll be much better off with an SDS100

Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

Thanks for this, Ill try the solutions and see what i get, I am hoping i don't have to find a buyer for mine to get a more expensive one lol. But we will see!

 

[Boone4796]

Hi All,

About 6 months ago, I bought myself a Uniden bcd325p2 because; One, I like to here what happens around my county and Two, I am currently employed at a department. When I first bought it, learning it was a big step because I have never had to program something like this but thankfully to the forums I came across, I was able to set it up without needing any assistance. Now with that said, I live in Waukesha County (Wisconsin) which uses a P25 Phase 1 Trunk System which is 800mhz. I set up my scanner via FreeScan and followed instructions to the T but hardly get any signal if any. I've gone through at least 3 different Antennas in hopes it would change the signal but it does not change a thing. So now, I am reaching out because I feel like I am running out of options and need some experienced help to help me get my scanner to run properly. Is there a common issue that people do that causes this? Is there a certain antenna that would work great with the scanner? Is there a firmware update I am not aware of that I need? Anything and everything would be helpful, even for a trial and error run. If I should post what i have set up on FreeScan, let me know because as far right now, I feel like I am not doing something correctly

Thank You

Hey how are ya! I was EXACTLY you a couple years ago. I am in the Chicago suburbs and purchased this radio because I monitor a simulcast system similar to yours. I am probably not going to come to you here with much of any good news, and I’m not totally condemning your scenario, but I have to help with some input. I spent soo much time and effort into programming that radio and tweaking all the settings including the “best” antenna for that frequency range….the conclusion= that radio just simply cannot decode simulcast that well. It was unusable to me for monitoring simulcast systems. The transmissions , when they would come in, would come in very “garbled” and would cut out. I sold it on eBay and ended up purchasing an sds100 and OH MAN what a difference. I couldn’t believe the difference, i was honestly mind blown how incredible it decodes simulcast. The sds line in my opinion, it’s the only way to go (my opinion only) for simulcast. It’s all thanks to searches here where I read others say the same thing about the 325p2 decoding simulcast poorly.

 

[wtp]

is the squelch set to 2 ??
and i see the OASIS is simulcast, that might be the problem.

 

[Engine104]

Give the old paperclip antenna a try. With simulcast, less (antenna) is more. It doesn't always help, but worth a try.

 

[jeff]

Set your P25 threshold to 7 or 8. Move the scanner around for a 'sweet' spot.