BCD 325 P2 no longer receives TRI COM as of 8/1/25
- Thread starter Wolf1956
- Start date
Right on the RR web page for StarCom21:
SIMULCAST sites are listed as such. To properly monitor these, you will need a P25 2-way radio, a Unication pager or an SDS-100/200.
SIMULCAST sites are listed as such. To properly monitor these, you will need a P25 2-way radio, a Unication pager or an SDS-100/200.
I'm very disappointed I just bought the scanner last year paid $330 for it. And now it's pretty much junk for what I wanted for. Thanks for your response anyway. Have a good day
Are there any non-simulcast sites near you that you could use instead? Maybe look at neighboring counties if your county doesn’t have one.
There might be I might explore. I would imagine I'm not the only who wondered why their scanner crawl says Finding Control Channel.
While the area does use simulcast one can sometimes get a 325 to work on it. Try reducing the efficiency of the antenna, by reposition it or the radio.
You can also try unbending a paper clip and inserting the end into the BNC jack of the radio as a less-efficient antenna.
These ideas can sometimes force the radio to hear only a single transmit site of the system and has worked for me in the past. The theory is that the radio is actually hearing more than one transmitter of the simulcast system simultaneously and they interfere with each other. By reducing the antenna efficiency it forces the radio to hear only a single transmitter.
No promises but try it, if it works then you have succeeded. If it doesn't then you are out the cost of a paper clip.
You can also try unbending a paper clip and inserting the end into the BNC jack of the radio as a less-efficient antenna.
These ideas can sometimes force the radio to hear only a single transmit site of the system and has worked for me in the past. The theory is that the radio is actually hearing more than one transmitter of the simulcast system simultaneously and they interfere with each other. By reducing the antenna efficiency it forces the radio to hear only a single transmitter.
No promises but try it, if it works then you have succeeded. If it doesn't then you are out the cost of a paper clip.
No guarantees it/they will carry the traffic you want to hear, but something to try before you use it as a screen door stop.
Welcome to the RR forums @Wolf1956:
Read about simulcast distortion and ways to try and mitigate it in the wiki linked below. You may or may not find a workaround that works for your situation.
wiki.radioreference.com
Read about simulcast distortion and ways to try and mitigate it in the wiki linked below. You may or may not find a workaround that works for your situation.
Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
Exactly what are you trying to receive. There are some sites on Starcom 21 that are not simulcast. While many are (maybe most) there are some that are not.
If the OP is referrimg to Tri- Com in Kane County IL all police comms are encrypted and thus cannot be monitored.
Tri-Com IL
Tri-Com IL
Ya, henceforth I asked exactly what he was trying to hear. I see Kane Co is simulcast but I there might be more at play here. I know I don't use my 536 much any more since getting Unication pagers but on my simulcast here I still received some stuff. My son has my 996xt as his place and honestly it works great there on the simulcast system. Luck of the draw I guess.
My Pro-197 and my 536 both work great monitoring the DuPage County simulcast system. IMO the audio is much better (less base-y) on the 197.
ecps92
Member
You can experiment with a beam pointed toward sites or even go with the old reliable, Paper Clip - lets antenna
Each has worked for different people in different areas
It's all in your location of the Starcom towers, here in Joliet I monitor Tower 113 and it's simulcast but have no problem with my 325P2 or 996P2 signals
wtp
Member
if WOLF1956 comes back,
i sent you a personal message.
look to the top right of this page.
i sent you a personal message.
look to the top right of this page.
Similar threads
