Apco 25 motorola II Decoded Audio Quality Question

[Jkmarc]

Radio in question 2096
The audio quality from my receiver always has the underwater effect even when I'm receiving a very strong signal. This seems especially noticeable when decoding digital
signals in the Summit County { Akron].Ohio system. I'm a theatre sound technician
and this is exactly what happens when decoding digital to analog when your digital
source is corrupted or the stream is weak. Is this normal with strong reception ?
Thanks for any help or comments!

 

[rdale]

That's a function of the Pro96/2096, you'll hear a sound much more like that of the real Motorola radios with the Uniden 396.

 

[n4voxgill]

ohh brother

 

[grem467]

It has been beaten to death that the vocoders of any scanner are nothing compared to a true apco25 radio.

 

[rdale]

I don't think this was intended to be a fight - if you put a Pro96 and BCD396T next to a W7 (which I've done) I think it is VERY clear (at least on Michigan's statewide system) that the 396T sounds much more like the W7 than the Pro96. I did NOT say which one is better (I think that is entirely personal prefence.) The Pro96 does have a more muted sound, which you can fairly easily match with the latest 396T's firmware to duplicate if that's what you like!

 

[Josh]

Ya know it's really tough to discern audio quality differences when you're comparing two portable scanners to a mobile commercial radio.

Even my astro portables take a back-seat to my Astro Spectra in terms of audio quality, even when they're receiving the same transmissions.

It's the same way with analog, mobile radios sound better than the portables... it's all in the curcuitry. Now, if you were talking about comparing the scanners to an XTS3000 or Astro Saber- then they'd both be on the same playing field.

-Josh

 

[Al42]

It might also help to turn AGC off on systems that sound like they're underwater. That sound is quite common when the transmitter and receiver both use AGC.