Pro-162 Troubles on UCAN

[Utah_Viper]

Some have been following the thread: http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=126797
Which was started for thr Pro-164, Well it somewhat turned into a Pro-162 thread. Thought I would go ahead and start a new thread for the newest issues.....

I thought I finally had things working. the biggest problem now is the scanner gets stuck everytime there is a transmission on 860.7125 then it just shows what ever was the last TG, does not scan, yet still passes the other traffic. Does it also if im trying to monitor a TG. Then I just start hearing everything as if the scanner is open mode, but the screen does not change. Anyone else having issues like this?? I am planning to try and use Nelson Peak instead of the SL Simo after I get home and see if that works.

The SLC AC33, and the Utah Communications TYS seem to be working perfect. Its just UCAN and the new band plans.

 

[Utah_Viper]

A working fix!! (sorta)

Seems that what ever the issue is has to do with the SL Simo. So technically this issue is still not resolved, but may take a future firmware, a new custom band plan, or a miricle.

For a Pro-162 in the Salt Lake Valley:
853.55000c Nelson Peak - Cntrl Channel Only ON
Custom Band Plan
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25

This seems to do the trick. Still would be curious if anyone can identify why the SL Simo has issues.

 

[kf7yn]

Well it's interesting that you are having problems "getting stuck". Justin didn't say if his is doing this. He tried a lot of different settings and all appeared to be well until today when he noticed the difference between SL Simo and Nelson, this problem was not known until today. As far as I know, you and him are the only ones who post here who own a Pro-162. I pass on what he tells me, and he knows more about scanners than anyone I know. So all we can say is we tried, we did not lie down and quit. That's all we can do is try. I would think the 162 works fine on every other site but SL Simo. Now we need to figure out what's different about it.

 

[Justin84065]

Pro-162 Rebanding/860.7125 issue

First off I would like to thank Jon KF7YN for all of his efforts in trying to relay info on these issues. It takes a lot of time and effort and i know it is appreciated.
First off the 860.7125 issue is not only affecting the Pro-162, I have seen it on the BCT15 and 246T as well.
I believe this to be an intermod issue. Before rebanding it showed on 868.4125. I am not sure of the source, but it seems to occur more or less in downtown slc. I have not experienced the issue anywhere else.
The only remedy at this point is not using cc only mode.
As far as the band plan for the 162, I can't say for sure why the custom plan doesn't work the same on multiple systems.
I Know that once you select a custom plan that plan applies to all systems that you select custom on, there is no way to change individually.
Here is the best way to set up the 162.
if you plan to monitor sl simo,slc
plan1 base 851.0125 upper 861 0r 868 .9875 25k step 0 offset
plan2 base 851.0250 upper 854.000 25k step 440 offset
on the slc system select normal.
for nelson or pt of the mountain
just reverse plan 1 and 2 as described above. Why is this happening?
I am trying to figure it out but in the mean time this will work. If you want to monitor nelson and the sl simo you have to pset up the simo as normal instead of custom in the menu. I am going to try setting up w/out using control ch only and see what happens.
Justin

 

[Utah_Viper]

Ok last night I wanted to experiment some. I programed the SL Simo Control channel, could hear the data, saw the TGID's coming up. I go to scan mode and the scanner never latched onto the cntrl channel. Has anyone with a Pro-162, or other radio had a issue? When I programed Nelson back in the scanner again works fine. I still am frustrated as a few TG's I really, really usually listen to seem to not affiliate with Nelson ever.

 

[k7kop]

Mine does the same thing on Weber Simo, Davis Simo, Salt Lake Simo, Morgan, Echo, Lewis Peak, Humpy Peak, and Medicine Butte. The funny thing is it works on Mt. Ogden, Cal Mtn, and Promontory Point. I am taking mine back to Radio Shack to get my money back.

 

[Utah_Viper]

Mine does the same thing on Weber Simo, Davis Simo, Salt Lake Simo, Morgan, Echo, Lewis Peak, Humpy Peak, and Medicine Butte. The funny thing is it works on Mt. Ogden, Cal Mtn, and Promontory Point. I am taking mine back to Radio Shack to get my money back.

I am probably going to end up doing the same thing. Again! That is twice now was told a scanner would work and has not.

 

[Loper24]

Works for me.

I loaded Salt Lake Simo into my Pro-95, BCT-15 (with the latest firmware), and my new Pro-162 with one Police Department Dispatch TG and their car to car TG to see if I could follow their conversation without missing anything. Every so often the BCT-15 and the Pro-162 would pick up the TG that my Pro-95 didn’t pick up. So with my little test, the Pro-162 is working fine right out of the box.

I had to do so much adjusting with the BuTel ARC160 software (turning things on and off, ect. ) when I loaded the Pro-162 and I finally got it to work. My preliminary thinking right now is that the BuTel ARC160 software is the problem. I know it would be a lot easier if Starrsoft had software out for this scanner. I’m not a fan of the BuTel ARC160 software.

 

[Utah_Viper]

I loaded Salt Lake Simo into my Pro-95, BCT-15 (with the latest firmware), and my new Pro-162 with one Police Department Dispatch TG and their car to car TG to see if I could follow their conversation without missing anything. Every so often the BCT-15 and the Pro-162 would pick up the TG that my Pro-95 didn’t pick up. So with my little test, the Pro-162 is working fine right out of the box.

I had to do so much adjusting with the BuTel ARC160 software (turning things on and off, ect. ) when I loaded the Pro-162 and I finally got it to work. My preliminary thinking right now is that the BuTel ARC160 software is the problem. I know it would be a lot easier if Starrsoft had software out for this scanner. I’m not a fan of the BuTel ARC160 software.

Your getting the SL Simo to work with the Pro-162? can you send me your arc-160 file.

 

[sexyscanman]

Loper 24

I just got my hands on what seems to be the last two Pro-162's this side of the Mississippi at a Radio Shack in Las Vegas. I would be interested in getting a copy of your ARC-160 file if you wouldn't mind sharing. My e-mail is sexyscanman@yahoo.com.

Thank you

 

[Utah_Viper]

Loper 24

I just got my hands on what seems to be the last two Pro-162's this side of the Mississippi at a Radio Shack in Las Vegas. I would be interested in getting a copy of your ARC-160 file if you wouldn't mind sharing. My e-mail is sexyscanman@yahoo.com.

Thank you

I received a copy of his file. He does not have the custom band plans in which is why it is working. With out the custom bandplan you only get 80% of the traffic. You can do that with any legacy scanner you could have bought. Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time.

 

[sexyscanman]

I received a copy of his file. He does not have the custom band plans in which is why it is working. With out the custom bandplan you only get 80% of the traffic. You can do that with any legacy scanner you could have bought. Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time.

Did you mean to say he (Loper24) does or does not have the custom band plans in the Pro-162? I understand if he doesn't have the band plans in it would only work at 80%. I have an old Pro-95 and I did the same type of test Loper24 did, programming them the same and setting them side-by-side. They both picked up the same frequencies. In fact, my Pro-95 seemed to pick up the frequency before the Pro-162 did.

I don't understand how you put in a custom band plan in the ARC-160 programming software. Right now I am only running the trial edition (ya know, testing it out first to see if the Pro-162 is going to work for me before purchasing). Do I need the full, paid for edition?

I see where it says custom plans with the option of normal or 800mhz custom, but there aren't enough blank areas to put in the upper and lower, offset and steps (going by memory here). Do you somehow put them in the frequency page or the settings page. It kept the offset at 380, wouldn't let me change it.

Also, I have read and understand the posts about scanners not picking up the SL Simo site (Salt Lake Valley in general), however, my question is, is this something the UCAN engineers will be working on in the future or is it a problem with the scanners themselves and the need to update firmware in the future?

Does Nelson Peak work for the Salt Lake Valley in picking up the same traffic broadcast on SL Simo? I programmed in Nelson Peak in the Pro-162 and kept SL Simo in my Pro-95. I was only picking up about 1/3 of the traffic off of Nelson Peak as I was off of SL Simo (at 80% of course). I may not understand that part of trunking and scanning in Salt Lake and the reception you get off of different towers. I have studied the maps and the coverage area and it would seem to me that I could pick up the same traffic off of Nelson Peak as I would off of SL Simo?

Does the same problem exist with Nelson Peak as with SL Simo when you say, "Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time?"

Bottom line: If I put in custom band plans in the Pro-162, will I be able to pick-up 100% of UCAN traffic in the Salt Lake Valley or am I still hampered with this problem you allude to? If not, will there ever be or am I wasting my time with the Pro-162? I already returned a Pro-164.

One more question. Is a Pro-162 picking up Davis County okay out-of-the box? Do the standard frequencies work or do you need a custom band plan for Davis County as well? I don't get out to Davis County much, however, my second scanner I bought is for my dad who lives in Bountiful. He's relying on me to figure this all out for him.

I know this is a lot, but I really appreciate your time. I will look forward to monitoring the new Yahoo Group just created for the Pro-160/162 and hopefully contributing what I can.

Thank you.

 

[sexyscanman]

I received a copy of his file. He does not have the custom band plans in which is why it is working. With out the custom bandplan you only get 80% of the traffic. You can do that with any legacy scanner you could have bought. Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time.

Did you mean to say he (Loper24) does or does not have the custom band plans in the Pro-162? I understand if he doesn't have the band plans in it would only work at 80%. I have an old Pro-95 and I did the same type of test Loper24 did, programming them the same and setting them side-by-side. They both picked up the same frequencies. In fact, my Pro-95 seemed to pick up the frequency before the Pro-162 did.

I don't understand how you put in a custom band plan in the ARC-160 programming software. Right now I am only running the trial edition (ya know, testing it out first to see if the Pro-162 is going to work for me before purchasing). Do I need the full, paid for edition?

I see where it says custom plans with the option of normal or 800mhz custom, but there aren't enough blank areas to put in the upper and lower, offset and steps (going by memory here). Do you somehow put them in the frequency page or the settings page. It kept the offset at 380, wouldn't let me change it.

Also, I have read and understand the posts about scanners not picking up the SL Simo site (Salt Lake Valley in general), however, my question is, is this something the UCAN engineers will be working on in the future or is it a problem with the scanners themselves and the need to update firmware in the future?

Does Nelson Peak work for the Salt Lake Valley in picking up the same traffic broadcast on SL Simo? I programmed in Nelson Peak in the Pro-162 and kept SL Simo in my Pro-95. I was only picking up about 1/3 of the traffic off of Nelson Peak as I was off of SL Simo (at 80% of course). I may not understand that part of trunking and scanning in Salt Lake and the reception you get off of different towers. I have studied the maps and the coverage area and it would seem to me that I could pick up the same traffic off of Nelson Peak as I would off of SL Simo?

Does the same problem exist with Nelson Peak as with SL Simo when you say, "Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time?"

Bottom line: If I put in custom band plans in the Pro-162, will I be able to pick-up 100% of UCAN traffic in the Salt Lake Valley or am I still hampered with this problem you allude to? If not, will there ever be or am I wasting my time with the Pro-162? I already returned a Pro-164.

One more question. Is a Pro-162 picking up Davis County okay out-of-the box? Do the standard frequencies work or do you need a custom band plan for Davis County as well? I don't get out to Davis County much, however, my second scanner I bought is for my dad who lives in Bountiful. He's relying on me to figure this all out for him.

I know this is a lot, but I really appreciate your time. I will look forward to monitoring the new Yahoo Group just created for the Pro-160/162 and hopefully contributing what I can.

Thank you.

 

[DickH]

...
I see where it says custom plans with the option of normal or 800mhz custom, but there aren't enough blank areas to put in the upper and lower, offset and steps (going by memory here). Do you somehow put them in the frequency page or the settings page. It kept the offset at 380, wouldn't let me change it. ...
Thank you.

I think you need to put in the Custom Band Plans manually, not via the software..

The steps are on page 59 of the manual.
Here are the values.
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25

If some sites do not work, input Band Plan 2 first, then Band Plan 1.

Those values are also in messages #2 & #4 earlier in this thread.

 

[Utah_Viper]

Let me see is I can tackle this can of worms, My reponses will be in bold:

Did you mean to say he (Loper24) does or does not have the custom band plans in the Pro-162? I understand if he doesn't have the band plans in it would only work at 80%. I have an old Pro-95 and I did the same type of test Loper24 did, programming them the same and setting them side-by-side. They both picked up the same frequencies. In fact, my Pro-95 seemed to pick up the frequency before the Pro-162 did.

I don't understand how you put in a custom band plan in the ARC-160 programming software. Right now I am only running the trial edition (ya know, testing it out first to see if the Pro-162 is going to work for me before purchasing). Do I need the full, paid for edition?

That is one part that is lacking in the software. You can select to use the custom band plan with the software but will need to program it in manually.

I see where it says custom plans with the option of normal or 800mhz custom, but there aren't enough blank areas to put in the upper and lower, offset and steps (going by memory here). Do you somehow put them in the frequency page or the settings page. It kept the offset at 380, wouldn't let me change it.

Also, I have read and understand the posts about scanners not picking up the SL Simo site (Salt Lake Valley in general), however, my question is, is this something the UCAN engineers will be working on in the future or is it a problem with the scanners themselves and the need to update firmware in the future?

This one is a puzzle that no one has yet figured out. For some unknown reason when using the custom band plan on the 162 the SL Simo locks up on one frequency. As this issue has only affected the Pro-162 I believe it will have to be fixed via a firmware update.

Does Nelson Peak work for the Salt Lake Valley in picking up the same traffic broadcast on SL Simo? I programmed in Nelson Peak in the Pro-162 and kept SL Simo in my Pro-95. I was only picking up about 1/3 of the traffic off of Nelson Peak as I was off of SL Simo (at 80% of course). I may not understand that part of trunking and scanning in Salt Lake and the reception you get off of different towers. I have studied the maps and the coverage area and it would seem to me that I could pick up the same traffic off of Nelson Peak as I would off of SL Simo?

I currently listen to everything via Nelson Peak on my 162, I also monitor the SL Simo on my Pro-2055 with out the rebanded frequencies. Believe it or not the SL Simo has many more TG's affliated then Nelson does. With the Pro-2055 though I only get that 80% of traffic. This really has been frustrating as some of the TG's I normally monitor a lot do not affiliate with Nelson most of the time.

Does the same problem exist with Nelson Peak as with SL Simo when you say, "Just be advised that the Pro-162 does NOT work the Salt Lake valley area correctly at this time?"

I guess I should have state "does not work on the SL Simo, and other site do not have all the traffic"

Bottom line: If I put in custom band plans in the Pro-162, will I be able to pick-up 100% of UCAN traffic in the Salt Lake Valley or am I still hampered with this problem you allude to? If not, will there ever be or am I wasting my time with the Pro-162? I already returned a Pro-164.

Yes and No. By using the Nelson peak site you will get, and trunk 100% of the TG's affiliated with that site. Unfortunately from my monitoring I have determined that only 60-70% of the SL Valley TG's are affiliated with Nelson. The one advantage with Nelson is you can get some of Tooele, Summit, Davis, and Utah counties as well. I also returned a Pro-164 then purchased thi 162 based on everyone stating that it works. i decided to keep mine since I spent a extra $10 later on screen protection. I also needed a handheld. The 162 does work fine on the Salt Lake City trunk, and some of the others around.

One more question. Is a Pro-162 picking up Davis County okay out-of-the box? Do the standard frequencies work or do you need a custom band plan for Davis County as well? I don't get out to Davis County much, however, my second scanner I bought is for my dad who lives in Bountiful. He's relying on me to figure this all out for him.

This is a good question, I cannot receive Davis at my location. The scanner would need the custom band plan. My question is does it lock up on a frequency on other Simo sites of just SL.

I know this is a lot, but I really appreciate your time. I will look forward to monitoring the new Yahoo Group just created for the Pro-160/162 and hopefully contributing what I can.

Thank you.

 

[qlajlu]

I have to wonder if some of these problems experienced by Viper isn't somehow related to the particular CCs used by SL Simo and Nelson Peak. Remember the Custom Band Plan?

Lo Chan Hi Chan   Offset    Base Freq     Step
0       439       0         851.012500    25.000
440     559       440       851.025000    25.000
560     719       560       865.012500    25.000
720     759       720       866.000000    25.000
815     831       815       867.000000    25.000
958     958       958       868.975000    25.000
961     1022      961       867.425000    25.000

SL Simo's CC is 853.1125 (LCN 84) which places it in the first line of the Custom Band Plan. Nelson Peak's CC is 853.5500 (LCN 541) which places it in the second line. Since they both use a different base frequency, one is being treated differently than the other which gives credence to bneilson's post. I'm convinced this is a firmware problem, not a software problem.

Viper, you should fill out a ticket with GRE since they are probably the maker of your scanner and be very explicit about your problems.

EDIT TO ADD: I dunno. Maybe I'm up in the night. Since these are Control Channels their LCNs may have nothing to do with anything.

 

[sexyscanman]

Still trying to program the 162

Thank you for the responses to my rather lengthy post earlier. Sorry, didn't mean to post it twice.

After having a couple of days to play around with the Pro-162 and the custom band plans, I have a couple of more questions.

First:

I have put SL Simo in Bank 0 with this custom band plan:
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25

I then programmed Nelson Peak into Bank 3 and nothing happens but the frequencies flash, no voice comes on at all.

However, when I switch the band plan around to
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25

Just the opposite happens, the frequencies flash on SL Simo, but I pick up voice on Nelson Peak.

Can you put SL Simo and Nelson Peak in the scanner at the same time? [Is this what Viper was referring to in #5?]
When I change the band plan in Bank 0 it seems to change it automatically for Bank 3.

Second:

I'm still confused on the SL Simo site not working right. Through listening the other night for over an hour and watching what frequencies came up, I noticed I was picking up some voice on frequencies with 0 in the fourth position after the decimal. However, they were far and few between (like 1 per every 50 transmissions) and I only picked up voice on (or even saw) three of the six frequencies in question. Any comments.

And just FYI, I have not experienced the scanner getting stuck when there is a transmission on 860.7125.

 

[Utah_Viper]

Thank you for the responses to my rather lengthy post earlier. Sorry, didn't mean to post it twice.

After having a couple of days to play around with the Pro-162 and the custom band plans, I have a couple of more questions.

First:

I have put SL Simo in Bank 0 with this custom band plan:
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25

I then programmed Nelson Peak into Bank 3 and nothing happens but the frequencies flash, no voice comes on at all.

However, when I switch the band plan around to
Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25

Just the opposite happens, the frequencies flash on SL Simo, but I pick up voice on Nelson Peak.

Can you put SL Simo and Nelson Peak in the scanner at the same time? [Is this what Viper was referring to in #5?]
When I change the band plan in Bank 0 it seems to change it automatically for Bank 3.

Second:

I'm still confused on the SL Simo site not working right. Through listening the other night for over an hour and watching what frequencies came up, I noticed I was picking up some voice on frequencies with 0 in the fourth position after the decimal. However, they were far and few between (like 1 per every 50 transmissions) and I only picked up voice on (or even saw) three of the six frequencies in question. Any comments.

And just FYI, I have not experienced the scanner getting stuck when there is a transmission on 860.7125.

A few things....

First, as too using both Nelson and the SL Simo. This will not work as you can only have One set of custom band plans that is applied to all trunk systems set to custom. This is a MAJOR problem and needs to be addressed with firmware.

Secondly, hearing only some traffic on the new frequencies is correct on the SL Simo, only about 20% of traffic gets to the new LCN's. this is why you can still use a legacy scanner and hear almost everything.

Third and last, This is great news!! I will reprogram the SL Simo in and see if maybe the lock up issue is fixed. If I can finally get SL Simo working my troubles are over.

 

[Utah_Viper]

Well the good news is that the SL Simo is now working correctly. So now I can get everything, and trunk it. Here is the dilemma though, I had added some banks with outer counties since I was using Nelson. As mentioned you cannot run the custom band plan that works for both Nelson and Sl Simo. I have a theory and is anyone can try it (I will later this weekend) or just look at it logically with better knowledge how this works. What is you use 4 custom plans such as the following:

Band Plan 1: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25
Band Plan 2: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25
Band Plan 3: Lo Base freq. 851.0250, Hi Base Freq. 854.0000 Offset 440 Spacing 25
Band Plan 4: Lo Base freq. 851.0125, Hi Base Freq. 861.9875 Offset 0 Spacing 25

Would that work?

 

[qlajlu]

... I have a theory and is anyone can try it (I will later this weekend) or just look at it logically with better knowledge how this works. What is you use 4 custom plans such as the following: ...Would that work?

What? I have no idea what you are saying with those last few sentences.