BC796 Odd behavior

[AZScanner]

OK, here's one for ya...

BC796. Latest and greatest updates from Uniden installed. Mesa/Phoenix TRS. CC only scanning, plan 4.

Every once in a while the scanner loses the control channel. It will flip thru all the control channels I have programmed, and then report that it cannot CC trunk because it can't find the control channel. I manually tune to it and it's still going great, 4 or 5 bars of signal. And the PRO-96 confirms that the CC is working fine, as I also only have control channels programmed in that scanner as well.

Now, if I hit scan at this point the scenario repeats again and again until about the fourth or fifth iteration, then all is well and it works again. If I instead turn off the scanner and then back on (a reboot basically) then it immediately works fine again until the next time (usually hours later).

Anyone else experiencing that one? Or is it just a result of this oddball TRS we have? I could go on about how the voice settings keep changing from day to day, but that's another rant.... I should also mention that the sheriff's astro system works totally flawlessly on this scanner, so I don't think it's the scanner (at least I hope it's not).

Weird.... :?

-AZ

 

[seamusg]

Yes, but only on one system (Detroit STA). No problem on any others.

 

[911scanner]

AZ-

Sounds similar (but different) to my issues w/ my 296.

I've found that if my sound quality settings don't match well, I'll get the same/similar results. Kinda' like being out of range, so it just keeps scanning & scanning & scanning.....you get the point :roll:

Maybe it's because the sys tech (or whomever) keeps changing the sound quality type settings so regularly (I sure hope someone at Uniden sees this and my post as well so they can fix it next time 'round. The Pro 96 doesn't seem to have this issue, so I'm told, but I love my Uniden products)

 

[AZScanner]

Yes, but only on one system (Detroit STA). No problem on any others.

One question: Does the system you mentioned have a VHF link for the fed's? Ours does and I think that may be part of the problem, as it was with the now famous "Phoenix Bug". Something about that link seemed to send the scanner into convulsions whenever a fed channel got assigned.

-AZ

 

[AZScanner]

AZ-

Sounds similar (but different) to my issues w/ my 296.

I've found that if my sound quality settings don't match well, I'll get the same/similar results. Kinda' like being out of range, so it just keeps scanning & scanning & scanning.....you get the point :roll:

Maybe it's because the sys tech (or whomever) keeps changing the sound quality type settings so regularly

As you said, this is different, MUCH different that what is happening to you. I have 11 control channels programmed in the bank along with 12 intellirepeaters. The scanner goes thru them ALL and can't aqcuire a data channel on any of them. It eventually times out, and sits in conventional scan mode on the first active channel in the bank.

If I reboot the scanner, it works. If I just hit scan it will time out again, and again and finally after 4 or 5 tries, it starts working again. All the while my PRO-96 doesn't even burp - just keeps right on going.

As for the voice settings changing, I don't know about that. I think it's more a result of adjacent channel interference on cellular than some engineer changing things. Engineers tend to live by the philosophy of "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Plus I think that strictly a uniden thing - the actual radios automatically adjust voice decoder settings like the PRO-96 does.

-AZ

 

[seamusg]

You have the only multi band trunked APCO 25 system so far.

 

[AZScanner]

You have the only multi band trunked APCO 25 system so far.

Hmmm. Lucky me. :roll:

I just read about that mode 2 thing on Uniden's upgrade page - shows how well I read the instructions when I installed the upgrades huh?

Anyway, I'll give that a try and see if it still happens. I'll report back to the group if that fixes it.

-AZ

 

[kikito]

You have the only multi band trunked APCO 25 system so far.

Not quite. Our ALMR system here in Alaska is primarily VHF with at least one full-blown 800MHz site that's part of the system.

BTW, this is a Statewide VHF APCO 25 9600 Trunked Smartzone Omnilink system.

Here's the link, check out how many sites already and there's going to be plenty more by the time it's done:

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=TRSDB&sid=2447

 

[seamusg]

do they have the same system id on the control channel?

 

[911scanner]

AZ-

I realize that the situation/system/problem are different between us, but there IS one important similarity-

-Doesn't happen on the Pro96

This, in my infantile wisdom, leads me directly to the sound quality issue, which is (as far as I understand) a non-existant issue with the Pro96, which would explain why it (Pro 96) works fine for both of our Uniden problems.

Just thinking out loud I guess.....

 

[kikito]

This, in my infantile wisdom, leads me directly to the sound quality issue, which is (as far as I understand) a non-existant issue with the Pro96, which would explain why it (Pro 96) works fine for both of our Uniden problems.

Just thinking out loud I guess.....

Well, I can share another anomaly/observation of my BC296D on our local system.

There's about 8 active control channels for the system that are in my vicinity. At any given time or place, the radio can receive and decode about 5 of them on average.
I have programmed all 8 CC's in a separate bank, each by themselves and let it do it's thing. Many times and that's MANY times, as it goes from one CC/Bank to another, I notice that even though it's locked on to a particular CC, when it decodes a voice transmission, it switches to a voice channel assigned to the previous or different site. This system doesn't transmit the same traffic over ALL the towers like other systems, so that's what makes it even weirder.

Related to the above, sometimes when it briefly stops on a CC, it'll show TG's that are active on another site.

Maybe the Uniden is decoding more info from the CC than it should or it needs and in some systems it's exactly what could be confusing it.

Anyway, when the time comes to get beta testers for the next Uniden digital, many of us on this thread could be very good candidates for that..... *hint, hint* :wink: :lol:

 

[luke-1]

I am having the same (or atleast similer) problem here in Colorado. This has just started in the last month or so. I am monitoring the State of Colorado Apco-25 9600 system. I only have one CC in bank #1. It scans fine for awhile, then the traffic just stops. The screen shows the correct CC, and full bars. Everything appears normal, but no traffic. The only way I found to correct it is to turn it off and back on. I think it may have something to do with the digital however, because if I switch to an anolog bank, it will scan fine.