BC396XT Tone Squelch

[crevatis]

My BC396XT seems to have trouble detecting the 127.3Hz PL tone from a couple stations. It tends to be in and out a bit. I thought it might be the transmitters, but all my other capable radios (2x BC780s, BC296D, Kenwood TMG707A, and Yaesu VX7R) have all detected it with no problem. So far it just seems to be this one tone. Has anyone else had any issues with this or any other tone? I'm wondering if its just a defect in just this particular scanner or common with this model.

 

[UPMan]

What modulation do you have the channel set for in the scanner? What modulation is being used on the actual tranmission?

 

[crevatis]

The behavior is the same with either FM or NFM. Also Tone Squelch is working fine with this station with both my 780's and my 296D whether the modulation is FM or NFM.

Thanks
Keith

 

[policefreak]

I can't believe it! I finally came on here to post that same problem that I've been having with my XT for a long time now. I started noticing it in Camden County, NJ on 151.865 which has a tone of 192.8 as do all other frequencies in the county. It has a very strong signal so I know thats not the problem because I live 3 miles from the tower. And I have to program the CTCSS tone because there are two other agencies on the same frequency that annoy the crap out of me. So I can't do just do CTCSS lockout. But lots of times transmissions cut out or are missed altogether. I have the exact same situation and same problem with another frequency in the county. 154.355 also has a tone of 192.8 and it always cuts out on me whenever I have it programmed in. The 500 Mhz Delaware County, PA freqs all do that with both my XT and 396T models too. There are various frequencies with various tones.

 

[kc2rgw]

Just keep in mind, if you have two very strong transmissions on the same frequency, using different PL tones....the PL tones can still collide on scanners and ham gear, so because of the capture effect you might still have trouble. If they are both transmitting at once, the PL difference won't stop the struggle for capture in the receiver either. The PL will help, but it's not digital encoding. All the PL will do is selectively open the squelch...but once it's open, you get the interference goodness of two stations transmitting at the same time in some cases.

 

[crevatis]

Just one station in the area on the frequency in my case. I listen on other radio's I have at the same time and they were doing fine. However a Kenwood mobile 2m/70cm rig I have has difficulty receiving the PL from my friends 2m repeater, so this isn't something unique to this Uniden radio.

 

[kc2rgw]

PL deviation level is a very very fine adjustment between having it so hot that you hear it even after CTCSS decode and not having enough to trigger PL detection. Not that uncommon to have it a bit out of whack as a lot of people just set it with a screwdriver on the board while keying a portable. It's one of those things where a service monitor ($30k new) is a pretty necessary tool to get it right.

It gets tougher when you have RF linked systems too as the PL can deteriorate as the signal is reprocessed.