BCD325P2/BCD996P2: Unique problem with control channel BCD 996 P2

[stormtracker78]

Hi I have a very unique problem that I have never encountered before over my 10 years of scanning experience I have a striceberg multi-coupler hooked to a tram discone antenna about 21 feet in the air with LMR 400 to that I have hooked a bcd996p2 my Whistler 1065 my BCD 396xt and bcd 325p2 here is where it gets into the Twilight zone all the scanners will receive the control channel of a site I am monitoring however the 996 P2 will not receive all of them but once I hook on the antenna that came with it the telescoping one it will!!?? Also if I put my ramtronics 800 MHz on it same thing works fine I've checked the threshold on the decode I reloaded from the butel software I just can't figure it out has anyone ever encountered this problem the site I am listening to is in the Lrgv p25 phase 1 APCO in Cameron county Texas the four sites I have loaded since I'm multi-trunking are Brownsville Harlingen omito and South Padre Island each one is signed with its own quickly for its respective site but all in the same system, Harlingen is the one I'm having problems with and sometimes South Padre Island but on all the other scanners everything is working fine and they will pick up all the control channels no problem with site IDs etc does anyone know what's going on I could really sure use some advice thanks in advance

 

[tvengr]

The first thing I would try is swap outputs and cables on the multicoupler to make sure that is not a problem. Set squelch to 2.

 

[hiegtx]

Hi I have a very unique problem that I have never encountered before over my 10 years of scanning experience I have a striceberg multi-coupler hooked to a tram discone antenna about 21 feet in the air with LMR 400 to that I have hooked a bcd996p2 my Whistler 1065 my BCD 396xt and bcd 325p2 here is where it gets into the Twilight zone all the scanners will receive the control channel of a site I am monitoring however the 996 P2 will not receive all of them but once I hook on the antenna that came with it the telescoping one it will!!?? Also if I put my ramtronics 800 MHz on it same thing works fine I've checked the threshold on the decode I reloaded from the butel software I just can't figure it out has anyone ever encountered this problem the site I am listening to is in the Lrgv p25 phase 1 APCO in Cameron county Texas the four sites I have loaded since I'm multi-trunking are Brownsville Harlingen omito and South Padre Island each one is signed with its own quickly for its respective site but all in the same system, Harlingen is the one I'm having problems with and sometimes South Padre Island but on all the other scanners everything is working fine and they will pick up all the control channels no problem with site IDs etc does anyone know what's going on I could really sure use some advice thanks in advance

If it does not receive the control channel via the antenna & multi-coupler, but does with an antenna connected on the back of the scanner, then either the port feeding that scanner (from the coupler), or the jumper cable, has a bad or broken connection.

As already suggested, try using one of the other jumper cables either directly, or via using a different port on the multi-coupler, Since you can receive the site via a back of the set antenna, that would probably rule out a problem with the scanner itself; the issue is likely the cable or the port.

 

[stormtracker78]

Thank you I also did that too but it doesn't matter now because apparently the flexic cable came loose and I can't seem to fix it so I'm going to have to send it into uniden to get repaired I'm really po at them because it was just a cheap little piece of plastic holding the flexi ribbon in and I've only used the scanner at the most maybe 30 times since I bought it , it was never glued in place I suspect they do that on purpose because anyone would have it in a vehicle it would draw it loose on bumps so here's an extra hundred bucks they get I'm so PO with them right now lol

 

[tvengr]

If the scanner works with the scanner mounted antenna, that doesn't sound like a ribbon cable problem.

 

[stormtracker78]

No what happened was the push buttons go out you can keep pushing them but they won't respond and it's not the key lock mode it's the flexi ribbon I found out on a previous article here at radio reference and I had fixed it about a month ago when it did that but this time when I tried getting that little ribbon in place and snapping that piece of plastic in to hold it which is really crappy it wouldn't take it and now the whole display is out it just shows the blue color and that's it I had fixed the ribbon earlier today put back all the screws and then it went out like an hour later as soon as I mounted it on the base scanner holder the flexi ribbon is an entirely different problem than the control channel and also like I said in the previous post all my other scanners are hooked up and they're running fine so it's something to do with the unit but again that doesn't matter now cuz I got to send it in to get fixed the flexi ribbon is a known problem with these scanners I suspect I got a used one sent instead of new there's a whole section devoted to it here at radio reference

 

[n1chu]

Without reading or understanding the reply’s, the first thing that came to mind is this; Try using the attenuator with your outside antenna on that system that plays better with its supplied telescoping antenna. Or, lock out the closest site, let the scanner grab one that’s not so strong. Trunked systems and simulcast issues have been known to throw some weird stuff at us from time to time… some adjustment by the system techs, doing routine upkeep can be enough to cause the issue and RR database will not give you a clue that something has changed. Of course, all I have written here assumes there is nothing wrong with your monitoring station. I might add that I too use LMR400 coax. It’s stiff. A short length of a more flexible coax is advised to attach to the scanner’s antenna input. Keep the length short and you won’t experience measurable signal degradation with the connectors or the coax.