I have been monitoring the Washington County / Johnson City P25 Phase I system on both a BCD436HP and a BCD996XT for over two years now with almost no problems. Over the last two weeks, I've noticed *very* intermittently lost audio on both scanners and have no explanation. I've not changed any system programming at all.
Quick overview of the system: it contains two sites. Control channels use the same frequencies on both sites. One site has more voice frequencies available than the other. My (stationary) 996XT is locked onto one of the two sites. The 436HP scans both sites.
Two weeks ago I noticed that my BCD436HP was much quieter than normal. I thought I had inadvertently pressed the menu button, but not so much. I walked over to the 996XT and noticed it was receiving audio like crazy while the 436HP did not seem to think there was anything to listen to. It was physically eight inches away from the 996 and I've never had any reception issues here. Then later the opposite happened. The 436 was receiving audio on the police and sheriff dispatch channels while the 996 just sat there scanning away. Sometimes the audio comes back after just a few minutes; other times it can take 4 - 6 hours. Generally if I power cycle either of the scanners, I'll get audio again. At first I thought that might be an indication of failing hardware, but with both pieces of hardware acting the same way at the same time after having zero problems, I think it's nearly impossible that both pieces of hardware would fail at the same time. I also have no problem on the 436HP receiving audio from TACN Phase II systems. Only the Washington County Phase I system seems to be giving me a problem.
I've checked the RadioReference database and both scanners' programming matches exactly. I checked the ULS database for changes in Johnson City over the past 60 days and couldn't find anything related to this system. Any thoughts about what might be going on or what I need to do to troubleshoot?
Thanks in advance!
Quick overview of the system: it contains two sites. Control channels use the same frequencies on both sites. One site has more voice frequencies available than the other. My (stationary) 996XT is locked onto one of the two sites. The 436HP scans both sites.
Two weeks ago I noticed that my BCD436HP was much quieter than normal. I thought I had inadvertently pressed the menu button, but not so much. I walked over to the 996XT and noticed it was receiving audio like crazy while the 436HP did not seem to think there was anything to listen to. It was physically eight inches away from the 996 and I've never had any reception issues here. Then later the opposite happened. The 436 was receiving audio on the police and sheriff dispatch channels while the 996 just sat there scanning away. Sometimes the audio comes back after just a few minutes; other times it can take 4 - 6 hours. Generally if I power cycle either of the scanners, I'll get audio again. At first I thought that might be an indication of failing hardware, but with both pieces of hardware acting the same way at the same time after having zero problems, I think it's nearly impossible that both pieces of hardware would fail at the same time. I also have no problem on the 436HP receiving audio from TACN Phase II systems. Only the Washington County Phase I system seems to be giving me a problem.
I've checked the RadioReference database and both scanners' programming matches exactly. I checked the ULS database for changes in Johnson City over the past 60 days and couldn't find anything related to this system. Any thoughts about what might be going on or what I need to do to troubleshoot?
Thanks in advance!
