Anyone still using a PSR-500/600 on OKWIN?

[n5usr]

It's been a few years since I had the scanners hooked up, recently been tinkering with them again. I now have an SDS200 so I can hear the OKC Phase 2 system, but was pleased to see that OKWIN is still Phase 1 so I could still use the old PSR-500/600s - the SDSes are too pricey for me to want to buy four again!

Unfortunately I'm not having a lot of success...

I have created a new file with current DB info and tried one of the 600s and the 500. Both exhibit the same behavior. They detect the trunk signal just fine, and do receive talkgroups but the audio sounds like a very slow picket fence. I get a few syllables/words nice and clear, then nothing for the same time, then repeat. Strangely, sometimes the picketing is faster - only get a couple of syllables at a time - and others I'll get whole phrases then a nice long gap.

The SDS200 receiving the same system/TGIDs with the same antenna is solid.

These scanners did suffer pretty badly from desense from nearby cell towers back when OKWIN was analog, but I never had this picketing effect with the audio. Could just be a side effect of being digital now... I have also tried a 740-861MHz bandpass filter, back when OKWIN was analog it helped a bit but this time I still get the same picketing.

Have only been doing this side-by-side test this evening at home, so haven't yet tried receiving from different locations. Just wondering if anyone else is still successfully using these older scanners on OKWIN in the metro area or if I'm just wasting my time!

 

[n5usr]

Ah... Happily, I can say the old scanners work just fine with OKWIN! Apparently my problem was in fact the old desense issue, manifesting differently for digital signals.

My house is apparently lined in foil or something, not even the SDS200 can get a usable signal with an indoor antenna. The above testing was being done with a Larsen 150/450/800 scanner antenna on a ground plane kit up about 20 feet. I just spent some time hunting around my house looking for anyplace that would give me a usable signal inside - and found if I put an antenna in one of my east-facing windows, hey a perfect signal! If I move that antenna even a couple feet from the window, reception is horrible.

I even tried an antenna in the attic - apparently they lined the roof with foil before putting the shingles on too... Actually a little worse than down in the main part of the house!

The SDS works well on either antenna, although it does show about 10-15 dB stronger signal on the outdoor antenna (as expected).

The PSRs definitely prefer the indoor antenna. On the outside antenna that picket-fencing. On the east-facing window antenna OKWIN sounds just fine.

The cell tower that gave me problems in the past is about a mile to the southwest - so maybe the foil-lined house is helping to block its signal from the PSR's overly sensitive frontend...

 

[toad99]

OKWIN reception in the OKC area suffers from simulcast distortion. It was really bad when OKWIN was analog, and a directional Yagi antenna aimed downtown was the only fix for that. The SDS scanners can handle that distortion with digital signals (not analog, however). This seems to have started when the Edmond transmitter site (which used to be Edmond's own system) was added to the OKC OKWIN site. If you monitor the Guthrie OKWIN site, that traffic is perfectly clear on any Phase 1 scanner (not simulcast).

 

[n5usr]

Ah, okay. I didn't realize they were doing simulcast on some systems. Just now noticed when clicking on the individual site it shows how many and where. Thanks!

 

[toad99]

I have a Uniden 996P2 on an attic Yagi antenna that runs all night long. Works great for OKWIN reception. It’s odd that the OKC metro system is also simulcast, but has never given me any issues on any P2 scanner, handheld or base. Guess I’m just in the right spot.

 

[KI5IRE]

Used a PSR-600, BCD996, BCD436 and BCD536 on OKWIN in both Tulsa and OKC (also on the OKC MPS) when I lived in Oklahoma, in addition to my SDS100 and Unication pagers. Worked just fine mobile and at my QTH, with some occasional tweaking of settings, mostly just squelch adjustments.

 

[radiodog2009]

It's been a few years since I had the scanners hooked up, recently been tinkering with them again. I now have an SDS200 so I can hear the OKC Phase 2 system, but was pleased to see that OKWIN is still Phase 1 so I could still use the old PSR-500/600s - the SDSes are too pricey for me to want to buy four again!

Unfortunately I'm not having a lot of success...

I have created a new file with current DB info and tried one of the 600s and the 500. Both exhibit the same behavior. They detect the trunk signal just fine, and do receive talkgroups but the audio sounds like a very slow picket fence. I get a few syllables/words nice and clear, then nothing for the same time, then repeat. Strangely, sometimes the picketing is faster - only get a couple of syllables at a time - and others I'll get whole phrases then a nice long gap.

The SDS200 receiving the same system/TGIDs with the same antenna is solid.

These scanners did suffer pretty badly from desense from nearby cell towers back when OKWIN was analog, but I never had this picketing effect with the audio. Could just be a side effect of being digital now... I have also tried a 740-861MHz bandpass filter, back when OKWIN was analog it helped a bit but this time I still get the same picketing.

Have only been doing this side-by-side test this evening at home, so haven't yet tried receiving from different locations. Just wondering if anyone else is still successfully using these older scanners on OKWIN in the metro area or if I'm just wasting my time!

I have a 436HP and an HP II and they both work fine on OKWIN. OCPD has a different system than OKWIN. According to Radio Reference, the OCPD system is ProVoice and that was the reason I unlocked PV on my 436, only to find that thet are open key on all the dispatch TG's and some outlying communities are on the system with them. Communities like Bethany, Warr Acres, Yukon and Mustang are just a few of the signals I receive on both scanners. The OCPD system encrypts all of the extra channels so the criminals cannot hear what is being said.
A friend tells me that either of the SDS models will automatically make the voices clearer on the OCPD simulcast and the P25 OKWIN.

However, I looked at a few YouTube videos on the SDS100 and I heard no improvement in voice clarity.

If anyone who owns an SDS100 in Central Oklahoma, I would love to hear your experiences with that scanner and clarify for me which set of information is correct.

Kindest regards....

 

[N4THC]

I owned an SDS100 for a short time, I also have a BCD996P2. I only gained the suburbs you mentioned along with OCFD callouts on the sds100. The OCPD Dispatch frequencies I listened to were clear enough on the 996P2 on OKWIN, in my opinion. So, I sold the sds100 and have not regrettted it. OCPD switched from their old Provoice to the new simulcast system a while ago.

I will also add that today I learned the okc OKWIN site is simulcast as well. I may have good luck because I use small antenna and am in Moore.

 

[toad99]

Oklahoma City is P25 Phase II. I've never had any simulcast issues with the OKC system, but OKWIN is a real problem unless you use an SDS scanner or directional antenna (at least in my part of town). The OKC system sounds fine on a 436, I can't hear any improvement on an SDS100. OKWIN, however, is bad on a non-SDS scanner, where simulcast distortion will cause the digital decoding to fail, sometimes intermittently and sometimes completely.