Anyone using a 536hp/436hp in Douglas Co.

[krd400]

I'm curious if anyone living in Douglas Co. or near by has purchased a new Uniden 536hp or a 436hp and how well is it decoding the ORION p25 simulcast system? Also what kind of antennae are you using?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

I have a 536HP in a mobile setup with a Austin Spectra on the roof.

I am in North Lincoln N 14th and I80 and I can pick up Omaha 1-3 bars with 10% error.

I could never pick omaha this good with my 996xt and sounds as good. I'll try to head up there some day.

 

[krd400]

Thanks for the reply. It's good to hear you can pick up Omaha better with a 536hp. I have a 996xt and get quite a few garbled transmissions from Gretna even when using a yagi unless it's a nice calm day which is kind of a rarity around here. When using a rubber ducky 800 mhz from RS it's almost unusable.

 

[W0RS]

I have a 536HP and I live in Omaha...In my opinion it decodes 99% better then the 996xt that I used to have, I sold it due to the decoding issue. The orion system has an occasional issue and state system is 100% but I believe the 536hp is a keeper. I just hope that once summer is here and the leaves are on the trees I will still have the same opinion....I am utilizing the stock antenna on the 536hp.

I use a GRE PSR800 handheld in the car and it performs great!

 

[krd400]

Then there is some hope for us who listen to the Orion system. That's great to hear. If you remember, after the leaves come out on the trees and especially on a windy day, please report back. If you still get great reception on the 536HP I'll have to start thinking about upgrading. Thanks so much for sharing that news.

 

[SquierStrat]

I have a 536HP and I live in Omaha...In my opinion it decodes 99% better then the 996xt that I used to have, I sold it due to the decoding issue. The orion system has an occasional issue and state system is 100% but I believe the 536hp is a keeper. I just hope that once summer is here and the leaves are on the trees I will still have the same opinion....I am utilizing the stock antenna on the 536hp.

I use a GRE PSR800 handheld in the car and it performs great!

excellent news! How would you compare it to the psr 800, on the douglas county system?

 

[W0RS]

Honestly, I have not utized the psr800 in the home since I have always had something specifically for the house, but while traveling around the city it has performed well, only once in a while I would get a garbled transmission but I could always attribute that to specifically where I was in the city. I will bring the psr800 in the house and then give you a better report....

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

I just went up to Cabelas yesterday and pickup some .22 lr and Omaha sounded great with no error. I also have the GPS hook up and love how fast it is. when it was hook up to the 996xt, it took forever to shut down sites that where not close

 

[Fields2grand]

I got my 436hp today. I went back and forth on the decision but i pulled the trigger. I was going to go with the 536hp months ago but after all the recalls etc. I decided on the 436hp. Now to the good stuff
Quality looking and feeling radio. Plugged it into my computer and installed sentinel. Updated the database and firmware.
Being my first go at this it took me a while to create some favorite lists. I watched upmans videos a while back on it. It was pretty straight forward.
I'm mostly concerned with OPPD's dispatch on the ORION network. I created one favorite list with the 4 dispatch frequencies. Couldn't pull in any chatter. So I ditched the favorites and went with the built in database. I selected only one list type. The law dispatch. All I got was Sarpy county sheriffs.
After some more testing I have found I can't receive anything on the ORION network.
I even added the whole network as a favorite and scanned only that.
Pretty bummed. $545 bucks.....Makes this cornhusker feel cornholed.

 

[Fields2grand]

As a quick update, I've made some modifications and now I am receiving P25 traffic on ORION. However, I'm not picking up the NorthEast or SouthEast dispatches. I OCCASIONALLY get the West dispatches. I don't have another radio to test and I wish I did because I have this feeling I SHOULD be getting the East dispatches. That's where all the action is too. If it helps, I'm working where I-80 and Highway 370 intersect and my range is set to 30mi.

 

[SCPD]

Make sure the ONLY site you have programmed is the Douglas County Simulcast. Do not program in OPPD sites. I assume you meant OPD (Omaha Police Department) above instead of OPPD (Omaha Public Power District).

 

[ORION_NE]

Like activehat said make sure you only have Douglas Co site frequencies programmed in for OPD. Double check your programming for the talk groups.

The west channels, especially NW, can be quite busier than the east channels.

 

[krd400]

As a quick update, I've made some modifications and now I am receiving P25 traffic on ORION. However, I'm not picking up the NorthEast or SouthEast dispatches. I OCCASIONALLY get the West dispatches. I don't have another radio to test and I wish I did because I have this feeling I SHOULD be getting the East dispatches. That's where all the action is too. If it helps, I'm working where I-80 and Highway 370 intersect and my range is set to 30mi.

I live in the Gretna area and am able to pick up all services in Douglas county including all talk groups that are part of ORION and all of Sarpy county without any problems except for occasional garbled messages on ORION. But I'm using a bcd996xt with an indoor yagi. Are you using a rubber ducky with your 436hp?

 

[Fields2grand]

Another update, I wish I would have read your posts! I went to the full database and held on the Orion system and the opd dept. from there I watched the screen closely waiting for a hit. In very small letters I saw Douglas Co Sim... The lightbulb went off. I was doing it all wrong. So I read and read about trunking systems , control and alternate frequencies etc. The previous posters were right. So I have the 4 dispatch channels and the Douglas simulcast in there now.
To answer your questions, yeah I meant OPD and yes I'm using the rubber ducky.
I'd also like to thank you for your comments. If I hadn't figured it out myself I would have been back and saw your posts.
KEEPIN IT!!!

 

[Fields2grand]

I don't know guys. Reception is lackluster.
I ordered the RS 800 today and threw that on and I'm not seeing much difference.
I figure I'm about 6 miles to the Southwest of this.
WPWE526 (DOUGLAS, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details
It torques me off ActiveHat has such good reception on his stream.
I hear bits a pieces. I'll hear the first and last parts of sentences. ActiveHat will have a converstaion going and my radio is silent.
I read where the firmware updates on these 436's can cause p25 reception issues. I'm wondering if i'm in that group.
Love to hear your thoughts.

 

[troymail]

Here's something to try:

Pick the site that is best/closest for you - Simulcast? Elkhorn? Omaha?

Determine which frequency is the active control channel for that ONE signle site and enter that - remove all all frequencies from the site. Remove all other sites.

Scan that and see if the receptions is any better.

Also - have you enabled all SERVices? I believe dispatch talkgroups are the only ones enabled by default

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

I wish I was up there to help ya. If you ever want to sell it let me know! I want more of these scanners
!

 

[krd400]

I don't know guys. Reception is lackluster.
I ordered the RS 800 today and threw that on and I'm not seeing much difference.
I figure I'm about 6 miles to the Southwest of this.
WPWE526 (DOUGLAS, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details
It torques me off ActiveHat has such good reception on his stream.
I hear bits a pieces. I'll hear the first and last parts of sentences. ActiveHat will have a converstaion going and my radio is silent.
I read where the firmware updates on these 436's can cause p25 reception issues. I'm wondering if i'm in that group.
Love to hear your thoughts.

This is the exact same issue I'm having when scanning ORION on my 996xt. So it sounds like I wouldn't see any improvement by upgrading to a 536hp or 436hp.

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

I could swing up there to eat at Anthony's or the boat and get a longer test this week

Sent from my SM-N900V using Tapatalk

 

[SCPD]

The reason I have perfect reception is because I am using an XTS2500 for my online feed (non-affiliated scanning for those wondering or curious). I've given up on scanners and probably won't look back except for one that I can use outside of ORION. Sorry to disappoint but scanners are not quite there. They are more worried about adding features instead of changing the reception to handle more than C4?? (can't remember the letters)

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