I have had this scanner for over a year. Programmed it via Freescan and RR with help from a retired communications director who's job it was to outfit the mines on the Iron Range with radios. It worked OK but reception wasn't the best. I added an indoor attic mounted antenna purchased from my friend that helped me. A few days ago it all but quit receiving transmissions. Tried the firmware update and then rebuilding a RR file via Freescan to re-program. Not much success. Biggest problem has always been receiving Duluth Police but for some reason within the past several nights the radio would not pick-up much of anything once the sun went down. Now I'm not far from discovering the aerodynamic properties of the 396XT. I am looking for someone in the Twin Ports area to assist me with reprogramming. I am not a radio guy. I have studied the new ARMER system and set-up of the scanner but when something works well for over a year one tends to forget everything when it comes time to fix a problem or re-program. I seriously would pay for someones time to give me a hand. If someone has one of these units and lives here (Duluth) and is will to help please contact me.
BCD 396XT Duluth Help!
- Thread starter tar1962
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teufler
Member
St louis county
TRY THIS FILE. ITS a Freescan file, zipped per RR requirements.
TRY THIS FILE. ITS a Freescan file, zipped per RR requirements.
Thank-you for the file but I think there is a lot more going on here which is why I am searching for someone to get together with in my area. Unless the file is somehow different than one created from the RR DB which I have created. I think something other than just this is wrong. I reprogrammed the scanner with Freescan and now I just get garbled transmissions. Can't understand one word. At least my deer rife will get some use this year. It will be open season on 396XT's shortly.
If you are right in the Duluth area "proper", it may be an issue of simulcast distortion.
The Duluth sub-system of the ARMER system is simulcast, meaning there are multiple towers/sites operating on the same frequencies. If your scanner is between two (or more) it could be hearing both of them, but the signals are just a tad "out of sync" for your scanner to properly decode.
This condition usually manifests itself by either garbled audio or no audio at all.
Check whether you see multiple bars on the signal strength meter. If you are, then the simulcast distortion seems likely. Also, this time of the year is more conducive to that situation as trees lost leaves which help to "soak up" radio signals.
Simply put, a simulcast distortion situation isn't a signal reception issue, rather it is a signal decoding issue. Essentially the scanner is getting too much signal. It's kind of like two people talking to you at the same time - while you can hear them, it may be difficult to understand what they are saying.
A way to test this would be to take your scanner to about 1/4 mile of a site and give it a listen. If you get crystal clear audio, that confirms simulcast distortion. It also confirms you have programmed your scanner correctly. Below are links to maps which show sites/tower locations for the Duluth sub-system:
WQPG403 (SAINT LOUIS, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details
WQKP287 (MINNESOTA, STATE OF) FCC Callsign Details
I've got a 396XT on a simulcast system and have struggled to get clear audio. Some of the things I've done to make it better, but not perfect, are:
1. Use a regular antenna (in your case having an external attic antenna may actually worsen the condition).
2. Set the Site Attenuation to ON for the Duluth site. (Either via keypad or Freescan).
3. Change the P25 Adjust Mode and P25 Adjust Level values in the "hidden" menu. To do this, turn the scanner off. Press and hold the Hold button while powering the scanning up - you'll se the colors cycle in the display when this happens. Go to Menu>Settings. Scrolling down you'll see P25 Adjust Mode and P25 Adjust Level.
Here's the tough to explain part. I believe the default value for P25 Adjust Mode is 8 and the P25 Adjust Value is 150. I changed my settings to 13 for P25 Adjust Mode an 180 for P25 Adjust Level. However, these settings are variable depending upon the type of system and where you are with respect to the sites/towers. While I use 13/180 and get decent audio, my neighbor with the same scanner uses 13/174.
You might look at the link below where I posted a picture about distortion where someone elsewhere was having a similar issue.
http://forums.radioreference.com/ka...287-uniden-bcd-996xt-no-good-park-city-2.html
Hopefully this will be helpful - please let me know what you find out.
The Duluth sub-system of the ARMER system is simulcast, meaning there are multiple towers/sites operating on the same frequencies. If your scanner is between two (or more) it could be hearing both of them, but the signals are just a tad "out of sync" for your scanner to properly decode.
This condition usually manifests itself by either garbled audio or no audio at all.
Check whether you see multiple bars on the signal strength meter. If you are, then the simulcast distortion seems likely. Also, this time of the year is more conducive to that situation as trees lost leaves which help to "soak up" radio signals.
Simply put, a simulcast distortion situation isn't a signal reception issue, rather it is a signal decoding issue. Essentially the scanner is getting too much signal. It's kind of like two people talking to you at the same time - while you can hear them, it may be difficult to understand what they are saying.
A way to test this would be to take your scanner to about 1/4 mile of a site and give it a listen. If you get crystal clear audio, that confirms simulcast distortion. It also confirms you have programmed your scanner correctly. Below are links to maps which show sites/tower locations for the Duluth sub-system:
WQPG403 (SAINT LOUIS, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details
WQKP287 (MINNESOTA, STATE OF) FCC Callsign Details
I've got a 396XT on a simulcast system and have struggled to get clear audio. Some of the things I've done to make it better, but not perfect, are:
1. Use a regular antenna (in your case having an external attic antenna may actually worsen the condition).
2. Set the Site Attenuation to ON for the Duluth site. (Either via keypad or Freescan).
3. Change the P25 Adjust Mode and P25 Adjust Level values in the "hidden" menu. To do this, turn the scanner off. Press and hold the Hold button while powering the scanning up - you'll se the colors cycle in the display when this happens. Go to Menu>Settings. Scrolling down you'll see P25 Adjust Mode and P25 Adjust Level.
Here's the tough to explain part. I believe the default value for P25 Adjust Mode is 8 and the P25 Adjust Value is 150. I changed my settings to 13 for P25 Adjust Mode an 180 for P25 Adjust Level. However, these settings are variable depending upon the type of system and where you are with respect to the sites/towers. While I use 13/180 and get decent audio, my neighbor with the same scanner uses 13/174.
You might look at the link below where I posted a picture about distortion where someone elsewhere was having a similar issue.
http://forums.radioreference.com/ka...287-uniden-bcd-996xt-no-good-park-city-2.html
Hopefully this will be helpful - please let me know what you find out.
teufler
Member
possibly, go into Freescan and remove or lockout Duluth Simulcast. There are other towers around that are not simulcast.Dulth south or Argus should work, lock out all the sites then bring juxt the closet one as the only one you scan. Try that,
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