jrrob8
Member
not having any luck getting VSP to work consistently, any suggestions? what kind of setup are you using?
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536 and stars
- Thread starter jrrob8
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I'm having the same issues with my 436 monitoring STARS.
Same here. 436 not working. It is showing signal strength and LNK and DAT on the display which should mean it is picking up the control channel and thinks it is hearing voice traffic. Without Analyze it is hard to tell what it is doing.
Dafe1er
Member
Has anyone tried just sitting on a main control channel to see if you can get any audio?
I tried with my HP-1 before posting this and it worked. Missed a lot of other talk back but know the channel I was sitting on worked.
If you have the original antenna on the unit you might want to try another. I have read that people are having better result with other antennas.
I am about 20 miles west of Fred and can pickup some STARS on my HP-1 but have better luck picking all STARS up while in town mobile with a 23" mini antenna on the vehicle.
Like Wednesday I was going North on 95 and for the first time since owning the HP-1 (three years) finally got to hear some ABC agents talking in Fred how they wanted to burn someone.
I hear VSP selectively at home. I get Richmond 1/2, Culpepper 1/2, and some times Fairfax. Sometimes clear and sometimes the channel(s) light up with NO audio. When mobile and closer to 95 I hear a lot more of course.
If you have not already checked which I am sure you have, check you have the updated database in the 436/536. You might not have the correct channel list in the unit(s) which will make you think you are going crazy.
I tried with my HP-1 before posting this and it worked. Missed a lot of other talk back but know the channel I was sitting on worked.
If you have the original antenna on the unit you might want to try another. I have read that people are having better result with other antennas.
I am about 20 miles west of Fred and can pickup some STARS on my HP-1 but have better luck picking all STARS up while in town mobile with a 23" mini antenna on the vehicle.
Like Wednesday I was going North on 95 and for the first time since owning the HP-1 (three years) finally got to hear some ABC agents talking in Fred how they wanted to burn someone.
I hear VSP selectively at home. I get Richmond 1/2, Culpepper 1/2, and some times Fairfax. Sometimes clear and sometimes the channel(s) light up with NO audio. When mobile and closer to 95 I hear a lot more of course.
If you have not already checked which I am sure you have, check you have the updated database in the 436/536. You might not have the correct channel list in the unit(s) which will make you think you are going crazy.
I have tried to use Conventional Discovery to search the voice channels with some annoying success. It will decode the P25 on the voice channels but it keeps stopping on the control channel and I can't get it to skip or Avoid it (see my other post about how to get Avoid to work in Discovery). So it doesn't seem to be a lack of ability to decode the voice.
I have put it in Hold on a single System and Site and even tried holding on specific talkgroups all with no success. Also no luck in ID search where it should follow any talkgroup which would eliminate the talkgroup programming as being the problem.
It continues to show it is receiving a strong signal and showing the DAT and LNK which makes me convinced it is picking up the correct control channel. It seems like it is just not decoding it correctly to find the talkgroups but without Analyze I can't tell what it is doing other than not working.
I have used the main database (updated to current), two different peoples created favorite lists and even a manually entered system. None of them work.
It seems like the first step is to get it to show some kind of activity from the control channel but so far all I can get it DAT and LNK and it never shows anything else.
John
I have put it in Hold on a single System and Site and even tried holding on specific talkgroups all with no success. Also no luck in ID search where it should follow any talkgroup which would eliminate the talkgroup programming as being the problem.
It continues to show it is receiving a strong signal and showing the DAT and LNK which makes me convinced it is picking up the correct control channel. It seems like it is just not decoding it correctly to find the talkgroups but without Analyze I can't tell what it is doing other than not working.
I have used the main database (updated to current), two different peoples created favorite lists and even a manually entered system. None of them work.
It seems like the first step is to get it to show some kind of activity from the control channel but so far all I can get it DAT and LNK and it never shows anything else.
John
jrrob8
Member
i even tried the favorites list from the other person on the uniden forum. mine is now set to control channel only, no other freqs in site. i have filled in the band plan, used id search, id scan. don't have but one site, deleted all others, just the vsp talk groups, no other depts. on some occasions have had it working, but it would stop working as quick as it started working, no explanations as to why. only worked when id search was activated.
is not working at this time but might start at any time. I think uniden has a problem with their setup to decode VHF P25 systems. J.R.
is not working at this time but might start at any time. I think uniden has a problem with their setup to decode VHF P25 systems. J.R.
brownlab
Member
OK I do not have one of these yet but I have read the manual and the Location Control (on/off) setting seems like something that could mess up STARS. I might look at that? Just a thought.
Has anyone been successful monitoring STARS in the Roanoke/Ft Lewis area with 436 or 536? I can get mine to work for a few hours but then it just stops and won't decode anything for 10-12 hours or more. Then it will suddenly start working again. Nothing on the STARS system is changing that I can tell since I have multiple other scanners that continue to work and they show the same control channel. It is just the new Unidens that quit. The Unidens always show a strong signal and LNK on the display they just don't stop in either ID Scan or ID Search modes.
It is working well on the local 800MHz system just won't work on STARS. If I can't find a solution for this the scanner will likely go back and I will wait for something else.
John
It is working well on the local 800MHz system just won't work on STARS. If I can't find a solution for this the scanner will likely go back and I will wait for something else.
John
reconrider8
Member
From what I've been reading the 496 is the same way. Its a bug that gas to be worked out I believe hence why I haven't bought one of the new ones yet they can get MOST bugs out in the shop but not all so now everyone doing personal field testing the new stuff
brownlab
Member
STARS works on the 436 (in case you have not read Dafe 1er posts "Scanner Dealers in VA.)
I would say it works in some areas. There are way too many experienced scanner and STARS listeners in our area having absolutely no success with STARS for me to agree it works everywhere.
John
John
I agree. I have been reading where x36 users have reported STARS tracking intermittently.
brownlab
Member
That may be true however I think there was a fear that the new Uniden digital models were not decoding the VHF digital signal (STARS) and that has been shown not to be the case at least with the 436 model. However that all said, STARS is certainly problematic and I could cover my roof with the sheer number of posts on the subject.
W4UVV
Member
No excuse for this issue--No STARS VA beta testing?
The following is my opinion based on my past experiences with the 396T/996T. Others may differ.
A little STARS history reminder...Alaska was the first vhf multi-data stream trs installed by Motorola. circa 2003. Virginia was the second and a test bed for Motorola technology. In circa 2006 with the introduction of the 396T/996T there were technical issues with proper STARS reception. During that period often the users were blamed for incorrect setup, etc. The 396XT/996XT models offered a "standard p25" option and did not have the STARS trs decoding/tracking problem.
For whatever reasons, knowing their past history of decoding/tracking STARS transmissions issues, common sense would have dictated that Uniden should have ensured, via beta testing in Virginia, that correct STARS trs decoding/reception would not be an issue. Beta testing quickly would have identified this technical software problem(s) to be resolved before beginning scanner production. One could make the argument that Uniden did not do any beta testing in Virginia..
There really is no excuse for this issue to have progressed beyond a beta test milestone.
Relief possibly will occur at a future date in the form of a firmware upgrade.
John
W4UVV
The following is my opinion based on my past experiences with the 396T/996T. Others may differ.
A little STARS history reminder...Alaska was the first vhf multi-data stream trs installed by Motorola. circa 2003. Virginia was the second and a test bed for Motorola technology. In circa 2006 with the introduction of the 396T/996T there were technical issues with proper STARS reception. During that period often the users were blamed for incorrect setup, etc. The 396XT/996XT models offered a "standard p25" option and did not have the STARS trs decoding/tracking problem.
For whatever reasons, knowing their past history of decoding/tracking STARS transmissions issues, common sense would have dictated that Uniden should have ensured, via beta testing in Virginia, that correct STARS trs decoding/reception would not be an issue. Beta testing quickly would have identified this technical software problem(s) to be resolved before beginning scanner production. One could make the argument that Uniden did not do any beta testing in Virginia..
There really is no excuse for this issue to have progressed beyond a beta test milestone.
Relief possibly will occur at a future date in the form of a firmware upgrade.
John
W4UVV
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Dafe1er
Member
I agree. You can see from the video(s) I posted with my HP next to the 436 that the HP has issues catching up on STARS. I do not think Uniden did much beta testing out this way. I think it was more along the lines of them testing their home stations (in Texas) out and going off those working for them. But, I am a little man in a fish bowl so what do I know....lol
brownlab
Member
Good points!
I also agree. Initially Uniden and GRE both had problems tracking STARS. Firmware updates solved that problem. I am surprised this is an issue that even needs to be discussed all these years later. I would have thought STARS would not be an issue for Uniden by now.
HankFrank
Member
Yeah, when the new Uniden lineup was announced I was a little skeptical due to the lack of NXDN etc. decoding but figured I would begin to set money aside for one anyway.... But now that the STARS decoding seems to be so spotty I'll just stick with my GRE/RS P25 scanners and wait to see what Whistler comes up with. Maybe by the time Whistler gets something new out Uniden will have this stuff corrected in firmware and there can be a true head to head comparison.
- Joined
- Jul 19, 2004
- Messages
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I have been scanning for 30+ years and have owned about every type of scanner from before crystals to present day HP-1, PSR-800, and 436 (like many others on this great forum here). I'm not an expert but can only tell you my personal experience. My 436 has decoding issues with STARS! My 800 is near flawless sitting next to the 436. Otherwise I love the 436 and I'm very pleased. I like Uniden and I'm grateful for UPMAN (Paul) and all his help. I'm pretty sure my problem is not user error or anything I can control. I just think it needs alittle tweek. I hope Uniden investigates and tries to solve the problem.
Dave
Dave
jrrob8
Member
check out the Uniden forum for new info. new sticky at the top
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