996XT CTCSS dropouts?

[russianspd]

I listen to two main conventional FM channels in my county. One is AMR 461.525 DPL or DCS of 114.0. The other is CHP White Base on 44.92 and PL of 167.9. The transmissions and signal will come in strong and fine and then the audio will cut out and the tone ID will start flashing. The signal doesn't break when this happens so I know that they are still talking but the audio isn't being "processed"? When the audio comes back the ID flashing stops. I assume it means it refound the correct tone to continue the transmission?

Would setting the CTCSS from the correct tone to search or off fix the issue?

When setting a tone option for a frequency, what exactly is the difference from setting the CTCSS tone yourself, having the radio search for it, or having it off entirely?

Here is my county homepage if you need a reference: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=221

Thanks for the help.

 

[mdulrich]

It would be best to set it and not have it search. Searching will require the correct tone be found on each scan of the frequency. Having no tone set will allow possible distance signals on the same frequency to be heard.

Mike

 

[russianspd]

I have set the PL and DCS for both AMR and CHP. Lets see if I still get dropouts.

 

[UPMan]

If you are near another agency that uses the same RF frequency (a common reason to use PL), when that other agency keys up, it is very common for the target comms to cut out. The interference could be blocking reception of the target signal enough to prevent a good lock on the PL being used, so the scanner drops audio.

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

Upman Dude get us some new models of Uniden scanners out on the market and release us some info.

Don't bite your tongue anymore. Give the community some good news.

 

[russianspd]

Upman Dude get us some new models of Uniden scanners out on the market and release us some info.

Don't bite your tongue anymore. Give the community some good news.

Check out the link UPMan has in his sig and that should clear up your whining.

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

Check out the link UPMan has in his sig and that should clear up your whining.

Where is the wining coming from. I dont hear it

 

[doctordialtone]

Winning

If you are near another agency that uses the same RF frequency (a common reason to use PL), when that other agency keys up, it is very common for the target comms to cut out. The interference could be blocking reception of the target signal enough to prevent a good lock on the PL being used, so the scanner drops audio.

Agreed. That would be the case on a new scanner, an old scanner, or the NEXT scanner. ANY scanner or ANY radio. If one transmitter is closer or more powerful than another transmitter on the same frequency, the stronger signal wins.

Therefore pepsima1's comment is unwarranted, ignorant, somewhat rude and without merit. He whines, but can't spell whining. That's unfortunate. Maybe his manufacturer of choice can provide a better solution here in these forums? 'Nuff said.

I would try taking the "Search" off temporarily to see whether you hear another agency drowning out the one you are attempting to monitor.

Hope that helps you, russianspd.

Enjoy!

 

[kbehning]

What is being discussed here, is the FM Capture Effect, in case you want to understand it further.

Another component of the OP's question:

What is the difference between CTCSS freq set by user, set to search, and OFF.

1) CTCSS freq set by user: The CTCSS tone is necessary to be present in order to open the squelch, even though the RF power would otherwise be enough to open the squelch.

2) set to search: Squelch will open when RF power is strong enough to overcome squelch level setting, radio will search for any encoded PL tone on signal and display a found tone to the user

3) OFF: CTCSS tones not required or searched. RF power vs Squelch is the only consideration in passing audio to speaker.

4) there is another setting, its called CTCSS / DCS lockout: you can specifically list a CTCSS tone you don't want to listen to. Any signal on the frequency strong enough to open squelch without the locked out CTCSS / DCS value will be passed to speaker.

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

This issue has been brought up before by other listeners in regards to the CHP. I've also noticed it with a PSR-500 on Phoenix FD dispatch; some pager tones seem to interfere with the CTCSS, and the audio is blocked if I have it set. I keep it on...

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

Search for that reason. Some of the aforementioned CHP listeners dealing with this issue have either disabled the tone function, or set it to Search.

 

[russianspd]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

Search for that reason. Some of the aforementioned CHP listeners dealing with this issue have either disabled the tone function, or set it to Search.

I want to say setting it to search for the tone was one of the contributing factors for the amound and longevity of the dropouts. Having since set the CTCSS tone for CHP and the DCS for AMR I have to say the amount, frequency and timing of the dropouts have decreased. They still seem to be there but only for a very little almost unnoticeable amount of time.

Thank you for the answers in here.