New Uniden BCD996P2 not hearing anything

[TJR-Tucson]

Recent purchase from Scanner Master. They programmed for Tucson PCWIN, Pima County WIN etc.
Has been running 3 days, seems to be scanning the right channels but not receiving any transmissions. Contacted vendor but not heard back.
Any ideas?
Yes the volume is up an speaker is on.
I downloaded the data base from radio and it seems to have everything I requested re programming.
Probably something simple but I'm old and easily confused.
Thanks for any help..........

Current Settings if this helps resolve the problem:

[SETTINGS]
MDL,BCD996P2
VER,Version 1.07.09
RMB,40021
OMS,Uniden Bearcat,BCD996P2 ,Digital Trunking,Dynamic Scanning
CNT,7
SCO,,AUTO,0,2,0,1,1111100000000000,0,,,100,1,1,1,0
QSL,1111000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000,0000000000
QGL,80,PimaCntyWIN,2222020000
SHK,.,.,.,,,
SSP,1,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,2,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,3,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,4,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,5,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,6,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,7,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,8,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,9,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,11,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,12,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
SSP,15,2,0,0,1,.,.,0,NONE,1,1,0
CSG,0000000000
CSP,1,Custom 1,00250000,00279950,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,2,Custom 2,00280000,00296800,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,3,Custom 3,00297000,00499900,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,4,Custom 4,00500000,00540000,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,5,Custom 5,01370000,01439875,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,6,Custom 6,01440000,01479950,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,7,Custom 7,04060000,04199875,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,8,Custom 8,04200000,04499875,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,9,Custom 9,04500000,04699875,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CSP,10,Custom 10,08060000,09560000,AUTO,AUTO,0,2,0,0,1,0,,,.,.,0,NONE,1,0,0,1
CBP,1,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,2,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,3,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,4,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,5,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,6,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,7,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,8,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,9,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
CBP,10,STD,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
BBS,1,00000000,00000000
BBS,2,00000000,00000000
BBS,3,00000000,00000000
BBS,4,00000000,00000000
BBS,5,00000000,00000000
BBS,6,00000000,00000000
BBS,7,00000000,00000000
BBS,8,00000000,00000000
BBS,9,00000000,00000000
BBS,10,00000000,00000000
SGP,1,SAME 1,------,------,------,------,------,------,------,------
SGP,2,SAME 2,------,------,------,------,------,------,------,------
SGP,3,SAME 3,------,------,------,------,------,------,------,------
SGP,4,SAME 4,------,------,------,------,------,------,------,------
SGP,5,SAME 5,------,------,------,------,------,------,------,------
MEM,0,1,3,77,0
PRI,0,100,1
KBP,0,0,0
BKL,HIGH,CYAN,
DUD,0
SCN,2,,0,0,,0,0,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
AOP,11,50,0,0
GDO,0,0,0,0.0,DMS
CLC,0,0,,1,0,3,1111111,0,3,2,NONE,OFF,0
WXS,2,0,0,0,0,
DBC,1,500,AM
DBC,2,500,AM
DBC,3,500,AM
DBC,4,2000,NFM
DBC,5,1000,NFM
DBC,6,2000,NFM
DBC,7,5000,WFM
DBC,8,500,FM
DBC,9,5000,WFM
DBC,10,10000,FMB
DBC,11,833,AM
DBC,12,1250,NFM
DBC,13,500,NFM
DBC,14,1250,NFM
DBC,15,500,NFM
DBC,16,1250,NFM
DBC,17,5000,WFM
DBC,18,2000,NFM
DBC,19,2500,AM
DBC,20,1250,NFM
DBC,21,1250,NFM
DBC,22,1250,NFM
DBC,23,1250,NFM
DBC,24,1250,NFM
DBC,25,1250,NFM
DBC,26,625,NFM
DBC,27,625,NFM
DBC,28,1250,NFM
DBC,29,1250,NFM
DBC,30,1250,NFM
DBC,31,2500,NFM
BSP,08500000,1250,2M,0
TON,1,Tone Out 1,01370000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,2,Tone Out 2,01380000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,3,Tone Out 3,01390000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,4,Tone Out 4,01400000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,5,Tone Out 5,01410000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,6,Tone Out 6,01420000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,7,Tone Out 7,01430000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,8,Tone Out 8,01440000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,9,Tone Out 9,01450000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,
TON,10,Tone Out 10,01460000,AUTO,0,2,0,0,00,,00,,,0,OFF,0,0,,

 

[lou9155]

can you get your local weather freq?

 

[iMONITOR]

What are you using for an antenna? What type of structure is it in, home, office, vehicle?

 

[ka3aaa]

If you are listening to trunked systems make sure your only receiving one control channel per trunked system otherwise you may not hear anything. is it possible your trying to listen to encrypted communications and if you are you wont hear anything.

secondly what you posted is a config file and doesn't tell anybody about the systems you are trying to listen to so more help on the systems would be nice.

 

[TJR-Tucson]

What are you using for an antenna? What type of structure is it in, home, office, vehicle?

Using antenna that came with it. Inside home. Same space where other radios work fine as well as cell phone. When it is scanning and I randomly press the hold button so it stops on a frequency I will often get squelch sound but that's it.

 

[TJR-Tucson]

If you are listening to trunked systems make sure your only receiving one control channel per trunked system otherwise you may not hear anything. is it possible your trying to listen to encrypted communications and if you are you wont hear anything.

secondly what you posted is a config file and doesn't tell anybody about the systems you are trying to listen to so more help on the systems would be nice.

Thank you.
None of the channels are encrypted.

These are the channels I have set:
Decimal Subfleet Alpha Tag Mode Description Tag Category
18009 PCSO East1 T East1 Law Dispatch Sheriffs Department Patrol
18010 PCSO East2 T East2 Law Talk Sheriffs Department Patrol
18024 PCSO North1 T North1 Law Dispatch Sheriffs Department Patrol
18025 PCSO North2 T North2 Law Talk Sheriffs Department Patrol
18027 SO Off Duty1 T Off Duty 1 Law Tac Sheriffs Department
18028 SO Off Duty2 T Off Duty 2 Law Tac Sheriffs Department
18029 SO Off Duty3 T Off Duty 3 Law Tac Sheriffs Department
18032 PCSO TUS SAV T SAV Tucson Law Dispatch Sheriffs Department Patrol
18034 PCSO South1 T South1 Law Dispatch Sheriffs Department Patrol
18035 PCSO South2 T South2 Law Talk Sheriffs Department Patrol
18046 PCSO West1 T West1 Law Dispatch Sheriffs Department Patrol
18047 PCSO West2 T West2 Law Talk Sheriffs Department Patrol

I currently have it locked on to the PCSO East 1 channel as it is close by and has regular traffic (that I don't hear on the radio but do on others.)

 

[jonwienke]

None of that is helpful until you explain what system site(s) you're monitoring. If you don't have at least one site programmed with a valid control channel frequency that can be received by the scanner, you will never hear anything.

Scanners never scan talkgroups, they scan transmitter sites. Talkgroup programming is only used when a transmission is heard from a transmitter site, to label and categorize the transmission.

 

[mule1075]

None of that is helpful until you explain what system site(s) you're monitoring. If you don't have at least one site programmed with a valid control channel frequency that can be received by the scanner, you will never hear anything.

Scanners never scan talkgroups, they scan transmitter sites. Talkgroup programming is only used when a transmission is heard from a transmitter site, to label and categorize the transmission.

If scannermaster programmed it i would think the info is correct. My guess is the OP is having LSM issues.

 

[jonwienke]

One would hope so, but the OP has made no mention of what sites/frequencies are actually being monitored. Which makes me wonder if that part of the programming was omitted, or deleted afterward under the mistaken impression it was extra garbage.

Simulcast is a possibility, but the OP says unspecified other radios hear traffic.

 

[mule1075]

One would hope so, but the OP has made no mention of what sites/frequencies are actually being monitored. Which makes me wonder if that part of the programming was omitted, or deleted afterward under the mistaken impression it was extra garbage.

Simulcast is a possibility, but the OP says unspecified other radios hear traffic.

I am just going by what the OP said looking at the database PCWIN for Tucson is a simulcast system.

 

[TJR-Tucson]

can you get your local weather freq?

Yes it does broadcast the weather frequency no problem. Is obviously some kind of a setting problem with the channels I want.

 

[buddrousa]

You are new here welcome to RR.
Do you understand what Simulcast Distortion is?
https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Simulcast_digital_distortion
You may have the wrong scanner for your type system.

 

[KB7MIB]

What other scanners are you using to monitor the same system?

Are they all monitoring the same control channels? It is very likely that the deaf scanner is not, and it needs to be reprogrammed correctly for your part of town. It may have been mis-programmed for the wrong site(s) that provide coverage to where you live.

Another possibility is that the service tags are not selected properly. Make sure the appropriate service tags (Law Dispatch, Law Talk, etc) are all properly selected.

John
Peoria

 

[KC7CPB]

If you are listening to pcwin try listening off of simulcast b or mt Lemmon and make sure your squelch is all the way down. My 996 won't pick up any pcwin sites unless the squelch is all the way down.

 

[hiegtx]

Yes it does broadcast the weather frequency no problem. Is obviously some kind of a setting problem with the channels I want.

Since you can hear the weather frequency, then the receiver on the scanner is not totally dead or damaged in some way.

As you indicate that other scannerss can hear traffic in the area where you have the 996P2 located, then, while simulcast may be part of your problem, it is not the only issue.

If scannermaster programmed it i would think the info is correct. My guess is the OP is having LSM issues.

Not necessarily. Late last year, I was assisting someone local in my area, who was not hearing what was expected, despite being programmed by ScannerMaster.

I found that they had programmed the old systems previously used by two large suburbs, instead of the new system that both had switched to. It's not unusual that someone not in the target area makes an incorrect assumption of which systems and frequencies are actually in use. While they do their 'best guess', based on what is in the database, it's not always correct, especially with systems going through major changes and updates.

One would hope so, but the OP has made no mention of what sites/frequencies are actually being monitored. Which makes me wonder if that part of the programming was omitted, or deleted afterward under the mistaken impression it was extra garbage.

Simulcast is a possibility, but the OP says unspecified other radios hear traffic.

If other scanners can hear some things, but the 996P2 doesn't, then it's more likely a programming issue. As you noted, it's possible that something was omitted, or accidentally locked out or deleted.

Using antenna that came with it. Inside home. Same space where other radios work fine as well as cell phone. When it is scanning and I randomly press the hold button so it stops on a frequency I will often get squelch sound but that's it.

I would suggest that you post your programming as read from the scanner. What software are you using, if any? ProScan, ARC-XT, and FreeSCAN can all be used to 'read' the scanner and save the programming profile.

If you do not have software installed at this time, then load FreeSCAN, which you can find here. The FreeSCAN user guide can be found in the Wiki. After installing FreeSCAN, use it to read the scanner, and save the file. Attach that file to a post. Note that only certain file types can be posted. Either zip your file and attached the compressed version, or rename it to add *txt to the name. For example, if you were using FreeSCAN, the programming file would be something like "myfile.996" (without the quotes). rename it to "myfile.996.txt", which can then be attached to a forum post.

 

[hiegtx]

What other scanners are you using to monitor the same system?

Are they all monitoring the same control channels? It is very likely that the deaf scanner is not, and it needs to be reprogrammed correctly for your part of town. It may have been mis-programmed for the wrong site(s) that provide coverage to where you live.

Another possibility is that the service tags are not selected properly. Make sure the appropriate service tags (Law Dispatch, Law Talk, etc) are all properly selected.

John
Peoria

The scanner is a 996P2, so service tags are not used. I would guess that this is a programming issue, either incorrect, or missing key components.

 

[TJR-Tucson]

Since you can hear the weather frequency, then the receiver on the scanner is not totally dead or damaged in some way.

As you indicate that other scannerss can hear traffic in the area where you have the 996P2 located, then, while simulcast may be part of your problem, it is not the only issue.

Not necessarily. Late last year, I was assisting someone local in my area, who was not hearing what was expected, despite being programmed by ScannerMaster.

I found that they had programmed the old systems previously used by two large suburbs, instead of the new system that both had switched to. It's not unusual that someone not in the target area makes an incorrect assumption of which systems and frequencies are actually in use. While they do their 'best guess', based on what is in the database, it's not always correct, especially with systems going through major changes and updates.


If other scanners can hear some things, but the 996P2 doesn't, then it's more likely a programming issue. As you noted, it's possible that something was omitted, or accidentally locked out or deleted.

I would suggest that you post your programming as read from the scanner. What software are you using, if any? ProScan, ARC-XT, and FreeSCAN can all be used to 'read' the scanner and save the programming profile.

If you do not have software installed at this time, then load FreeSCAN, which you can find here. The FreeSCAN user guide can be found in the Wiki. After installing FreeSCAN, use it to read the scanner, and save the file. Attach that file to a post. Note that only certain file types can be posted. Either zip your file and attached the compressed version, or rename it to add *txt to the name. For example, if you were using FreeSCAN, the programming file would be something like "myfile.996" (without the quotes). rename it to "myfile.996.txt", which can then be attached to a forum post.

I do have Proscan. I downloaded system and configuration successfully - I think. Problem is that it does not tell me where it downloaded it to.

 

[hiegtx]

I do have Proscan. I downloaded system and configuration successfully - I think. Problem is that it does not tell me where it downloaded it to.

Unless you changed the default, it should be at:
C:\Users\(User Name)\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\ProScan

Replace (User Name) with the name that you are using to log into Windows,

Note that ProScan Favorites list files use the *.txt description, which is acceptable for uploading on a post. No renaming or zipping (compressing) needed.

 

[TJR-Tucson]

Unless you changed the default, it should be at:
C:\Users\(User Name)\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\ProScan

Replace (User Name) with the name that you are using to log into Windows,

Note that ProScan Favorites list files use the *.txt description, which is acceptable for uploading on a post. No renaming or zipping (compressing) needed.

Thank you Steve. I now have the files. Which ones show I show here so folks can laugh and point fingers and tell me where I screwed up?

 

[hiegtx]

Thank you Steve. I now have the files. Which ones show I show here so folks can laugh and point fingers and tell me where I screwed up?

In the database editor screen, click on the File drop down menu.
It will bring up a number of options, but at the bottom, should be one or more 'recently used files', along with the names for them.

If nothing else, connect the scanner to the PC, then select 'read from scanner' and save it (use the save as option) under an easy to remember name, then attach that to a post.

These things usually turn out to be an easy to correct error or omission. We've all done it at one time or another (at least those that will admit it). Once the problem is found, someone can make a suggestion for correction.

You can attach the programming file without alteration.