Find Out What's New at Uniden

[UPMan]

Those of you who have been around for a year or so are familiar with my irregular newsletter: UPMan's Update. Because of several different infrastructure and personnel changes, it is now very difficult for me to produce an email newsletter in that format, so I'm taking advantage of the subscription service built into our new TWiki site to create what I hope will be a better way to keep you up on all the latest firmware updates, new product announcements, and other Uniden Scanner-related news.

If you want to get in on the inaugural issue, which I hope to have out in the next couple of weeks, surf over to:

WhatsNew < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

and click the "Subscribe" button at the top of the page.

 

[jnewell]

Thank you. I appreciate your patience and perseverence with all the questions you receive. Your support is a big plus.

Now, if we could only get a paper representation of you...

 

[bonus1331]

Hope to see a "UASD 396XT is ready for download" message with the first newsletter.

 

[torontokris]

latest news - firmware for the remote head NICE

 

[kb9hgi]

hopefully a update for the 996

 

[andy404ns]

Hope to see a "UASD 396XT is ready for download" message with the first newsletter.

Second

 

[kb9hgi]

Well does it work? I have not received any news yet from Uniden.

 

[jnewell]

Well does it work? I have not received any news yet from Uniden.

Paul sent a test message a week ago or so. If you didn't get it, you may not be subscribed.

 

[DaveIN]

He sent an earlier message about the BC-RH96 firmware update for the "XT" models also.

 

[jnewell]

He sent an earlier message about the BC-RH96 firmware update for the "XT" models also.

Hmmm. I don't recall seeing that one in my email.

 

[DaveIN]

Hmmm. I don't recall seeing that one in my email.

Scroll down to News for April 9th: WhatsNew < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

 

[jnewell]

Thanks. I got the 4/16 one, so maybe I hadn't registered on 4/9. Talk about short term memory loss...

 

[UPMan]

For those of you who saw the recruitment notice for beta testers...that opportunity is now closed (filled the roster w/in about 5 minutes of the newsletter going out).

 

[werinshades]

Oh these pesky Simulcast Sites..

Being a regular user of Uniden Digital scanners, it's nice to see all the latest improvements that have come out in the latest XT versions. I am liking the Priority Trunking feature the best, but for others i'm sure they have their own list. However, the one thing that seems to stump both Uniden and GRE (I was told), is the decoding of these simulcast sites. I'm monitoring one of the Starcom sites in Illinois, and despite improvement from the "T" models, their is still that consistent audio dropouts I expierienced previously. I do use outdoor antennas, tried the Atteunator, switched antennas, switched modulation to FM, you name it ,i've tried it. I could be looking at 5 solid bars, hear the beginning of a transmission, then see the Talkgroup holding, 5 bars of strength, and hear nothing, then hear the end of the transmission. For those of you lucky enough not to have this issue, count your blessings. Those of us in Illinois monitoring Starcom, have all reported similar issues, so I ruled out programming issues. Some users of XT models have had better luck, probably more location-based. I've read this is a common occurence being in the middle of simulcast sites, but i'm sure their has to be a solution out there. So I guess I can ask Upman, did the APCO conference give you any insight in the decoding format? Anyone slip you the secret formula underneath your door in the middle of the night? Will Uniden beat out GRE in finding the magic formula again...like they did with Trunking System Talkgroup Priority?

 

[W6KRU]

Being a regular user of Uniden Digital scanners, it's nice to see all the latest improvements that have come out in the latest XT versions. I am liking the Priority Trunking feature the best, but for others i'm sure they have their own list. However, the one thing that seems to stump both Uniden and GRE (I was told), is the decoding of these simulcast sites. I'm monitoring one of the Starcom sites in Illinois, and despite improvement from the "T" models, their is still that consistent audio dropouts I expierienced previously. I do use outdoor antennas, tried the Atteunator, switched antennas, switched modulation to FM, you name it ,i've tried it. I could be looking at 5 solid bars, hear the beginning of a transmission, then see the Talkgroup holding, 5 bars of strength, and hear nothing, then hear the end of the transmission. For those of you lucky enough not to have this issue, count your blessings. Those of us in Illinois monitoring Starcom, have all reported similar issues, so I ruled out programming issues. Some users of XT models have had better luck, probably more location-based. I've read this is a common occurence being in the middle of simulcast sites, but i'm sure their has to be a solution out there. So I guess I can ask Upman, did the APCO conference give you any insight in the decoding format? Anyone slip you the secret formula underneath your door in the middle of the night? Will Uniden beat out GRE in finding the magic formula again...like they did with Trunking System Talkgroup Priority?

Simulcast causes multi-path distortion. This isn't something new or linked to trunking systems in any way. It is the combining of two different radio waves that are of the same frequency but out of phase. When these signals are processed by the radio the output of the demodulation circuit is distorted.

I had a Marantz stereo that had a signal strength meter that doubled as a multi-path distortion indicator. That enabled you to rotate your directional antenna for the minimal amount of distortion so that you were getting the cleanest signal from the main direction.

I have no idea how Marantz did that but I would love to have a multi-path detector on the freq of my choosing. The distortion that I was looking at was in FM broadcast band and it was interesting to turn the antenna and watch the results on the meter.

I don't think that anyone is going to come up with magic to decode digital signals that have been obscured by distortion. It could be done but it will require more processing than used now.

 

[werinshades]

Simulcast causes multi-path distortion. This isn't something new or linked to trunking systems in any way. It is the combining of two different radio waves that are of the same frequency but out of phase. When these signals are processed by the radio the output of the demodulation circuit is distorted.

I had a Marantz stereo that had a signal strength meter that doubled as a multi-path distortion indicator. That enabled you to rotate your directional antenna for the minimal amount of distortion so that you were getting the cleanest signal from the main direction.

I have no idea how Marantz did that but I would love to have a multi-path detector on the freq of my choosing. The distortion that I was looking at was in FM broadcast band and it was interesting to turn the antenna and watch the results on the meter.

I don't think that anyone is going to come up with magic to decode digital signals that have been obscured by distortion. It could be done but it will require more processing than used now.

I appreciate your response, and i've heard similar explanations given. One mentioned the "pulsating" control channel which occurs in the middle of simulcast sites. As far the comment that no one is going to come up with the magic to decode these signals, I think Uniden is close with the latest XT scanners. Numerous reports of increased signal strength in the simulcast site areas proves they are on the right track, but these appear to be location dependent. My 996XT is without a doubt holding the signal with much more consistency, but the garbled and dropped audio is still an issue...at least for me. I have a few other single site trunking systems programmed in, and the scanner trunks them flawlessly. So i'd give a big kudos to the Uniden folks on the latest scanners, but keep plugging away at these pesky issues. I know the perfect scanner will never be out, but I suspect more of these simulcast issues will frustrate the novice users, and hopefully they'll resolve it someday.

 

[DaveNF2G]

Simulcast is a problem on conventional frequencies also, digital or analog. If you are in the wrong location trying to monitor analog simulcast, it sounds like garbage. It has nothing to do with the scanner.

 

[werinshades]

Simulcast is a problem on conventional frequencies also, digital or analog. If you are in the wrong location trying to monitor analog simulcast, it sounds like garbage. It has nothing to do with the scanner.

Some truth to the location-based scanning. From what i've read, it has everything to do with the scanner getting"confused" on the signal(s) it's getting. I monitor Site 102 on the Starcom system here in Illinois. From what I have read in the database, their is eight different sites in my proximity. I'm located in Chicago, just west of Midway Airport. Does my scanner attempt to compensate when the audio drops, but yet the control channel is showing 5 solid bars? As more of these systems go on line, it would be in the manufacturers best interest to discover the mystery, which i'd suspect they are looking into it. On the previous "T" models, their was an issue with the Control Channel dropping on these simulcast sites, which has been tweaked on the new XT versions. Now if the audio was tweaked a bit, we'd have a winner, but not at another $500 expense please...LOL!

 

[RoninJoliet]

Just for the record "Dave" T102=Cook Co South has been real bad here on the far south side the past two weeks even on the 396XT and GRE/RS197 on a outside antenna...It used to be better, im hoping after the leaves fall off the tree's we will se some improvment.....

 

[jwlehman]

I take it UPMAN doesn't provide updates via the Uniden TWiki any longer? It's been 2.5 years since the "What's New" been updated. I'm not trying to be a smart a**...just curious if the updates stopped or if they're in another location.

Thanks!
JW