What XT P25 level do you use in ST.Joe.county ?

[SCOTTER]

Now that St. Joe PD is online with SAFE-T my 396 XT is all over the place with err rates with the simulcast traffic and digital choppy traffic. What settings or tweaking have worked for you ? THANKS

 

[SCOTTER]

What nobody has a XT around here?

 

[GTO_04]

I do not have to make adjustments on my XT to pick up SAFE-T, but OTOH I am not listening to any simulcast towers. Simulcast sites are more problematic and you may be limited in the adjustments you make.

I monitor MECA which is simulcast but I am in a good location and most of the time I don't have any problem. The factory settings have worked just fine.

GTO_04

 

[Anon6083]

Now that St. Joe PD is online with SAFE-T my 396 XT is all over the place with err rates with the simulcast traffic and digital choppy traffic. What settings or tweaking have worked for you ? THANKS

I monitor the Decatur (Adams) and Ft. Wayne (Allen) sites. I have the P25 Wait Time at 900 MS (it doesn't cause a problem with clipping the beginning of voice transmissions in my experience). My P25 Adjust Mode remains at the factory default of 3 (an article on the wiki advised against modifying this) and my P25 Adjust Level is maxed to 200. With these settings, I can readily monitor SAFE-T sites and rarely, rarely get spammed with modulation audio.

 

[SCOTTER]

Thanks for the tips.I have been tweaking on this 396xt since it came out.the problem I have is the city next to me Mishawaka is a what some call a true or pure P25 system so you cant ajust the settings like the SAFE-T so I try to find a group of settings that works for both. I have tried the 200 setting and err rates are to high.So right now my settings are Adjust mode 3 Level 60 Wait time 300MS Modulation FM Band default FM and that seems to be about the best I can get it.BTW the signal is 5 bars for both systems

 

[Anon6083]

Thanks for the tips.I have been tweaking on this 396xt since it came out.the problem I have is the city next to me Mishawaka is a what some call a true or pure P25 system so you cant ajust the settings like the SAFE-T so I try to find a group of settings that works for both. I have tried the 200 setting and err rates are to high.So right now my settings are Adjust mode 3 Level 60 Wait time 300MS Modulation FM Band default FM and that seems to be about the best I can get it.BTW the signal is 5 bars for both systems

I would suggest you try upping your P25 Wait Time; giving the scanner time to process the accompanying data can help it decide what is voice and what isn't.

 

[N9WP]

On the XT Scanners and the 996t, you can define each talkgroup as analog or digital and then you can do away with the P25 delay.

 

[SCOTTER]

I did not know that so I could put the wait time at 0 on my St.Joe county system ? BTW all the TGs are programed digital on that system. What about my SAFE-T mixed system I have each TG programed right on that system does wait time need to be set because its mixed and I have it in ID search? I think it does but what do I know? I will test it on both systems tonight and Monday and thank you for the info.

 

[W9NES]

Thanks SCOTTER for your post.I tried you ideas on my Uniden 396XT and it helped me on the Boone County Safe-t tower tuning up the wait time.Also did the same on Metro Indianapolis/Marion County MECA and it also made a big difference.

 

[N9WP]

Scotter, I have all of my systems set with a wait time of 0 because I define the digital talkgroups as digital, the analog talkgroups I have defined as All. I use FreeScan to program my scanners. I have most of Central Indiana in my FreeScan file but I don't have St. Joe county. But you can download my FreeScan file and look at how I did it. The link to my webpage is in my signature and once there, look for the link on the right that goes to the usd and freescan page. By defining the talkgroup as digital, you never hear that machine gun sound and you can set the wait time to 0 so you don't miss the beginning of any transmission. I do use Search on systems and new undefined digital talkgroups may make that noise but I write them down and program them into freescan then re-program my scanner.

The wait time was set up to help with the machine gun sound at the beginning of transmissions, especially on the 396t, but the newer Unidens, you can define the talkgroup as digital and you never get that noise except for new undefined talkgroups. I don't know how to set it manually on the scanner itself as I just set each talkgroup in FreeScan.

 

[Anon6083]

I'm inclined to implement N9WP's suggestion, but I'm hesitant that someone with an older/not-recently-touched radio will pull a TG down into analog mode. An unlikely and improbable event, perhaps, but I can't let that thought go every time I consider statically configuring the voice modulation on my scanner's TGs.

 

[W9NES]

I have both IMPD along with Fire/EMS and MECA PD Digital set up with a 5 second delay and it sounds better than before.Also I monitor Boone County Safe-t and have changed my settings on a New Uniden 396XT and it also has helped.Do not be afraid to try different settings.I did and it helped.This is what this fourm is all about helping others

 

[GTO_04]

I did not know that so I could put the wait time at 0 on my St.Joe county system ? BTW all the TGs are programed digital on that system. What about my SAFE-T mixed system I have each TG programed right on that system does wait time need to be set because its mixed and I have it in ID search? I think it does but what do I know? I will test it on both systems tonight and Monday and thank you for the info.

If you are having reception problems on SAFE-T do not use ID search. You will get more motorboating as the analog/digital TG settings may be ignored when ID search is used.

GTO_04

 

[W9NES]

Thanks GTO O4. I am not having problems on Safe-t.I was having problems on MECA System 1,There is a 5 second delay on Transmissions on the Northwest Side of Metro Indianapolis/Marion County. I would ask others that if they are having problems hearing MECA that they try to set the delay function to 5 seconds.After I did this on my 396Xt. I am now able to hear ALL IMPD Districts including Fire,EMS, and also the Other PD'S Like Speedway, Lawerence, IPS. IUPUI PD, Butler University PD anf the Airport Police NOW with no problems.All you have to do is PLAY with the settings until you get the get the voice in a clear and easy to understand.I have also done this to my Uniden 396T and have had EXCELLENT RESULTS. Others in the Metro area might want to try this that have been having problems since MECA went Digitial P-25.

 

[SCOTTER]

Thanks for all the tips guys I have my SAFE-T set to MOD. auto WAIT TIME 0 and im getting nice low err rates starting at 11 to 13 brought down to 3 to 0 The only motorboating I ever get is if I hit a new TG that I have not set the digital only on. Thats why I sold my 396T when the XT came out.My other system is the county PD they use the same SAFE-T tower and control channel but I think they also use simulcast because there is a site in all four corners of the county.The settings I use for that are MOD.auto WAIT TIME 0 ID SCAN this is the one that give me the most trouble but maybe they are tweaking there radios and sites cause they have been on only a few months who knows ? I will keep trying things it gives me somthing to do besides just looking at it

 

[N9WP]

I think the discussion has turned to 2 different kinds of delay. The P25 delay, set to 0 and define the talkgroups that are digital to digital and analog to analog or all. Tim, your talking about the system delay, the delay on how long the scanner sits on a trunk system. I agree, I've also found setting it for a few seconds on the MECA system helps the scanner lock better on the control channel but I've not had that problem on the SAFE-T system, just MECA.