Bucks County TRS question

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scosgt

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Last week I drove through Bucks County from the NJ turnpike on the PA Turnpike. I heard nothing on the TRS, not even a control channel. I did pick up a few conventional transmissions, Fire and EMS I think. I had a Home Patrol II, and also a PRO 668 upgraded to Whistler.
Nothing on either radio. Both programmed from the latest data base.
What am I doing wrong?
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Bucks County has been on a 700 megahertz Phase 2 simulcast system for quite a while now and the 500 megahertz smartzone TRS has long been inactive. Refer to the RR database. You need a phase II scanner but due to location of towers it is very susceptible to LSM. In the lower part of the county I found the Whistler P2 capable scanners don't work a lick and the 536 and 436 work in parts of the county but are muffled and garbled. SDS 100 a lot of Missed Transmissions in Lower Bucks County but different results for different people. G5 P2 and Motorola subscriber radios work dependably and flawlessly of course.
 

radio3353

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Last week I drove through Bucks County from the NJ turnpike on the PA Turnpike. I heard nothing on the TRS, not even a control channel. I did pick up a few conventional transmissions, Fire and EMS I think. I had a Home Patrol II, and also a PRO 668 upgraded to Whistler.
Nothing on either radio. Both programmed from the latest data base.
What am I doing wrong?

Are you sure? As trentbob said, they are on their 700 MHz system now.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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What might have happened if you programmed Bucks County that has a lot of conventional channels still repeating fire dispatch and so forth. Somehow or other you did not program the 700 megahertz Phase 2 system from the latest database. You might have been hearing one of the VHF frequencies that repeat fire calls from the digital system. If you were listening to your Whistler radio to the new simulcast system I have found they just don't work on this particular P2 system, that's my experience. I use a Motorola apx 7000 which is the same radio the county uses and they work great. Those who say that the SDS 100 works good never put a unication radio or a Motorola radio next to their radio. If they did they would then realize all of the Missed Transmissions they would find.
 

scosgt

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Nope. Have the 70 MHZ programmed as below.
Radio works, got all kinds of SEPTA. No Bucks.
Must be some trick I am not aware of?
 

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scosgt

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The pic above does not look like Bucks is selected but it is. Those are the freqs from the database.
 

trentbob

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Yep Sarge, they look like the frequencies. If you are listening to all of that stuff at one time that could be a problem as that's a lot of different systems to cycle through. You know what they say the more you scan the less you hear. It could also be that your radios just don't work on this particular P2 system especially the Whistler. Very much affected by LSM. I see you're from Long Island and I'm guessing your a Suffolk County Police sergeant. I'm from down here but did live up there for about 20 years. I thought Nassau County was encrypted? Anyway, you may not have been in range of a tower using the antennas on the radios. Again you would be cycling through a lot of different systems from what I can see there. It's a very tough system to pick up. I hear Suffolk county is about to go on their P2 simulcast system and only the tac channels will be encrypted. Well anyway when I was there they were still on the 155 megahertz repeater system, great system before the 800 megahertz system.
 

scosgt

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NCPD has been encrypted for a few years.
I have the extreme update, and I could not even see a control channel.
I would have to guess that Bucks County should be able to work on the Tpk since it runs right through.
Montgomery County works just fine.
Very strange.
 

scosgt

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I did hold on Bucks but again nothing at all. Using a mobile antenna that is mounted inside the side window. Receives NJSP loud and clear.
 

trentbob

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Even if you were sitting on the Bucks County P2 system and nothing else you probably would not pick it up from the turnpike. The Whistler don't work anywhere in the county properly but the bearcat could possibly pick up something on the turnpike but maybe not with the on unit antenna. I don't think you did anything wrong it's just a tough system to hear secondary to LSM.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Yes even with the antenna you were using and sitting on the system it probably just wasn't working because of LSM issues. It's a tough system. I love the apx 7000 as it is flawless and has tremendous volume. You can hear the Bucks County system well into Montgomery County and even from the Jersey Shore LOL.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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If you weren't reaching a tower it would make sense you wouldn't even get the control Channel. The scanners available including the SDS 100 have been very disappointing in Bucks County. A lot of people paid a lot of money to pick them up and only get 3 words out of 10. In my job it was worth getting the apx 7000. I don't think you did anything wrong. You just couldn't hear the system.
 

Whiskey3JMC

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Get an SDS100, I can pick up Bucks if I point my antenna towards the towers a certain way or connect to an external antenna from southeast Montco. That baby is a miracle worker
 

HM1529

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I just got a Unication G5. Currently listening to Bucks Co from inside a building in SC Montco. It is a little bit broken, but considering there ain't even a blip on the CC on the scanner, this is a vast improvement.
My BCD436 was always terrible with Bucks.

From this location, I am getting Philly, Chester Co, Bucks Co, and the NJICS. I have never been able to get any of these on a regular handheld scanner. I may be able to pull in more, but have not had time to go thru the tedious programming process for anything else.

Looking forward to the day the receive power of the Unication pagers is combined with a traditional scanner....
 

radio3353

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Get an SDS100, I can pick up Bucks if I point my antenna towards the towers a certain way or connect to an external antenna from southeast Montco. That baby is a miracle worker

Some report spotty reception with the SDS100 and Bucks. Not sure I would spend $700 for iffy reception. I am not speaking from experience as I do not have a SDS100. Just repeating prior comments. I use a G4 for Bucks and it is perfect (same for Philly.) I would imagine the G4/G5 will work well with the new Montco system too if it ever comes on line :wink: Time will tell if the SDS100 works with it. From what I have seen in the Uniden forums, the SDS seems a little too temperamental with some systems. Not my cup of tea for $700. Maybe later something better will come down the line in the consumer scanner world.
 

radio3353

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I just got a Unication G5. Currently listening to Bucks Co from inside a building in SC Montco. It is a little bit broken, but considering there ain't even a blip on the CC on the scanner, this is a vast improvement.
My BCD436 was always terrible with Bucks.

From this location, I am getting Philly, Chester Co, Bucks Co, and the NJICS. I have never been able to get any of these on a regular handheld scanner. I may be able to pull in more, but have not had time to go thru the tedious programming process for anything else.

Looking forward to the day the receive power of the Unication pagers is combined with a traditional scanner....

You will like the G5. A professional solution.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Yep... We are comparing toys to professional tools. It's just that the toys are getting as expensive as the tools. It is true that if you listen to the system with a directed beam antenna to the closest Tower to you and you live far from the system so you don't have to deal with any other Towers the system will work. It's the same as putting system hold on 255 which holds the system over 4 minutes so that you only hear the closest Tower to you in a fixed position but can't scan anything else. To move around between three towers like I do, the Bensalem, thiokol and falls Towers it delivers broken and missed Transmissions. The Motorola Works flawlessly as do the P2 pagers. Again we are talking toys and professional tools. Most people don't realize how many missed Transmissions they have on the SDS 100 till they put it next to a professional radio. Same old conversation we've been having for onwards of 3 years now when we talked about paper clips, paint cans, yaggis and tinfoil hats. It is what it is and it was my fault for buying all the hype and false claims. I take the responsibility for buying an SDS 100, buyer beware, especially of false advertising.
 

Whiskey3JMC

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Some report spotty reception with the SDS100 and Bucks. Not sure I would spend $700 for iffy reception. I am not speaking from experience as I do not have a SDS100. Just repeating prior comments. I use a G4 for Bucks and it is perfect (same for Philly.) I would imagine the G4/G5 will work well with the new Montco system too if it ever comes on line :wink: Time will tell if the SDS100 works with it. From what I have seen in the Uniden forums, the SDS seems a little too temperamental with some systems. Not my cup of tea for $700. Maybe later something better will come down the line in the consumer scanner world.
I picked mine up gently used for less than $600 via private sale. As shown here, I was able to pick up Bucks Co from Lower Merion, Montco with an 800mhz Radioshack antenna, full bars & great signal quality, 15 to 20 miles from the nearest tower? Unheard of with any other scanner radio!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0L8aGSLI8E
 
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