NX-5200/5300 2-tone detect with scan

[N2ZPY]

I am working with another tech on an issue with a NX-5200. It will 2tone alert fine if you are locked onto the dispatch channel. If you have the radio scanning it will not alert. Any help before we loose any more hair?

Thanks!

Kevin
Chief BCFD
N2ZPY

 

[03msc]

Could it be that it is not hearing enough of the tones to trigger the 2-tone alert? I.e. when scanning, the first bit is cut off so it doesn't trigger it? Especially if the radio is scanning a lot of channels...?

 

[N2ZPY]

Could it be that it is not hearing enough of the tones to trigger the 2-tone alert? I.e. when scanning, the first bit is cut off so it doesn't trigger it? Especially if the radio is scanning a lot of channels...?

I don't think this is the issue as we tested with no carrier drop before the tone set and it wouldn't alert.

 

[nhfirefighter]

What if you make the channel a priority channel in the scan list? I agree with 03msc it’s probably not deciding enough of the tone to activate.

 

[mmckenna]

Scan and Two-Tone decoding are a PITA. I'm not using it on any of the NX-5K's, so no specific guidance, but you'll need to figure out your scan timers carefully. Even then, I'd personally not trust it 100%. Setting up your console to key up and wait a full second or two before sending the page would help, or r-e-a-l-l-y l-o-n-g first tone.

For station alerting, we used a dedicated radio, and had a separate radio for scanning.

 

[N5XPM]

I have worked with many Fire and EMS folks on this over the years and for the reliability they wanted (They always wanted to be alerted on ALL of their 2 tone calls, missing a call due to scanning was always rejected) we ended up with a dedicated channel in the radio and no scanning when on duty.
If the user wanted to scan on their radio as well, they wore a 2 tone pager as well.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah, I'd agree. If this is for real world life safety stuff, then scanning and two tone is probably not a real good idea. In fact, it's a bad idea.

If it's hobby/casual use, then make it work the best you can't, but expect to periodically miss a page.

Scanning can create a lot of issues.

 

[EWC_BDN]

What firmware version? This sounds like the kind of problem that would exist in a radio and then be fixed by firmware.
I've had radios that guys used as longer range pagers because they would never hear the page at their homes with a pager. I think I got it to work with scan. It would have only been one other channel though. I think i had the CP200 set to auto scan so that if the guy used his radio on the talking channel and didn't remember to switch it back it would have still decoded the page.

How many channels are you scanning? you might have to play with some of the timers on it.
1000ms and 3000ms tones?

 

[03msc]

What firmware version? This sounds like the kind of problem that would exist in a radio and then be fixed by firmware.
I've had radios that guys used as longer range pagers because they would never hear the page at their homes with a pager. I think I got it to work with scan. It would have only been one other channel though. I think i had the CP200 set to auto scan so that if the guy used his radio on the talking channel and didn't remember to switch it back it would have still decoded the page.

How many channels are you scanning? you might have to play with some of the timers on it.
1000ms and 3000ms tones?

Perhaps but I think the other comments nail it.

 

[mmckenna]

It's not a firmware issue. Any radio will present the same way. If it's scanning and misses one of the tones, it's not going to alert.

You can set the "lookback" time really short, but then it's going to be annoying as HE77 if you want to listen to another channel. You can make it fairly reliable, but they the user starts complaining about the audio cutting out really fast and wants it "fixed".