BCD325P2 Newbie question

[Dma745]

Using my BCD325P2 am I wrong to believe that I must display a control channel in order to receive my programmed group ID's. Many times I have a good 4 bar signal strength for my site but NFM is displayed where the control frequency is usually displayed and I do notice no traffic at that time.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

If you're trying to bring in the St. Tammany Simulcast on LWIN then simulcast distortion is likely the issue at hand. You can try the multipath mitigation methods proposed in the linked wiki but you may or may not have success. Ultimately you'd have much better luck bringing the system in with a Uniden SDS100

 

[Dma745]

Thanks I must mention that this happens while driving with the BCD325P2 acting as a mobile unit, maybe I encounter dead spots or coverage that requires an antenna that's better than the stock rubber duck antenna

 

[tvengr]

The St Tammany Parish site of the LWIN statewide trunked system actually consists of 8 subsites all transmitting on the same frequency at the same time (simulcast). The signals all arrive at your scanner at slightly different times which degrades the scanner's ability to properly decode the control channel. If you are close to a tower, it can override the out of phase interference from the other towers. The dead spots you are experiencing most likely are caused by simulcast distortion rather than poor signal strength. Believe it or not, turning on the attenuator when you are in a dead spot may improve reception. That can reduce the number of towers you receive and improve control channel decoding. The only scanners specifically designed to receive simulcast systems are the Uniden SDS100 handheld and SDS200 base/mobile. They are the only scanners that will work with my local Baltimore County MD simulcast system. My BCD325P2 fails miserably on that system. The scanner display switching between the control channel frequency and NFM with a strong signal is a typical symptom of simulcast distortion.