436HP P25 ERR decode rate

[Anderegg]

In testing my new 436HP next to my 396XT, I am finding that I cannot under any circumstance get a ERR rate of less than high 60's with FULL signal strength. As a comparison, my 396XT gets 0 with the same antenna. When I remove the antenna from the 396XT, the error is still 0 even with only 1 bar.

Are the ERR levels different for the 436HP? Is 60 the lowest the new scanners go to? I've tried changing the P25 level to 11, 8, 6, NFM, FM, and m 800MHz P25 is garbled as heck, with 1.02 and 1.03 firmware. Did I happen to get a lemon? I should take a photo of the two scanners side by side on the same channel with an antenna on the HP and nothing on the XT......it really is disturbing looking at 82 on the HP and 0 on the XT as I type.

Paul

 

[Anderegg]

Well, I got the ERR rate down to 12-28 range. I had to create a new system within a favorites list before P25 decode levels could be changed. Finding that a level of 12-13 is what my radio likes. ERR rate stays pretty much constant from 0-5 bars. I never did understand what the P25 settings do. I was under the impression that each number was a algorithm, but I have only ever seen mention of 8 and 11, no idea what variances occur in between, or in either direction numerically.

Paul

 

[ofd8001]

The first thing that comes to mind, presuming that you are listening to a simulcast P25 system, is site attenuation.

You may have the site attenuation On for the 396XT, but the 436 might be Off. Thus you could be getting that dreaded simulcast distortion on the 436. You might check and turn the site attenuation on for the 436.

While I don't have a 436, the two 536 scanners I have are significantly better with simulcast distortion as compared to my 396XT (or 996XT).

 

[Anderegg]

No simulcast system here, but I am wondering if all the simulcast mods to the firmware were deeply enough integrated into the P25 level algorithms to affect standard P25.

It's great that Uniden has added the ability to adjust these levels independently on each site......now how about giving us 8 and 11 for standard P25, and 13 and 15 for simulcast P25 as an example. If they are in fact separate algorithms, it must not be that much of a stretch to distinguish them better.

Paul

 

[ofd8001]

I believe you can also set the P25 Threshold Level for standard P25 systems.

Use Sentinel to edit this at the system level - far right hand column.

 

[Anderegg]

I see the threshold level, but there is no differentiator between affecting a standard or simulcast system. I just set 6-15 and did the ERR decode screen until I was seeing the lowest errors. Then I played with the P25 wait time to adjust for any level variances, which changed it seemed every time I adjusted the threshold.

Paul

 

[ofd8001]

We might be talking about two different things. When I noted simulcast, I was thinking about a trunked radio system.

For trunked systems be they a single site kind of system or a simulcast system, you set the P25 threshold in the site settings.

For a conventional P25 system (non-trunked) this is set at the system level.

Can you provide me with a link to the system in question just so I'm sure we're on the same sheet of music?