BCD396T in the Valley on RWC

[mnsrefer]

Folks,
I hesitate to post herein as it is not my desire to begin a "range war", as such things often do.
It is my intent to relate my experience if it be of any possible assistance to others.
I will be the first to agree that the 396T audio quality in sumulcast (really the ability to decode the signal for our use) is not good. As observed in this forum, coming from Southeastern Michigan, the same was true there (in sumulcast, Mount Clemens area). I have heard a GRE here in the Valley and it appears superior in sumulcast. For now I have the BCD396T, and unless it craps out (which it shows no sign of doing), I intend to stick with it.
Now, after much adjustment and patience, the following set up is working for me;
a. My location is in the Northwest quadrant of 44th St and Van Buren.
b. I am using the stock Uniden ducky, as all of the others brought with me from Michigan are overwhelmed
by the signal. What we need is less gain, not more, for this unit in the Valley, as I understand it.
c. I am using Firmware Version 3.02.02 (their latest, as I understand it).
d. Delay and Hold Times = 2 sec
e. MANUAL P25 level of 9 (not AUTO or DEFAULT) Anything else (at least where I am located) misses alot of the action.
f. Squelch = 3
g. Digital AGC Response time and Reference gain = +0
h. I always SCAN my pre-sets, NOT SEARCH.
All of this results in a fairly constant content with (what I feel to be) around 90% decode rate for the RWC that is captured.
In closing I add that the Maricopa Sheriff is superior in Auto P25 level and all of my listening on Valley Fire Service is in conventional (not RWC as it is non existent in Digital). I can hear all dispatch and most Fireground in N.E. PHX, North Mesa and Tempe.
Just my experience.
If anyone can add, most appreciated.
Regards to all,
Mike

 

[mnsrefer]

Additionally

Folks,
I forgot to mention that I am utilizing Control Channels Only for all of my digital frequencies.
This, after trying many combinations, resulted in more hits and much better automatic assignment of frequencies.
Regards,
Mike

 

[elephant]

Folks,
I hesitate to post herein as it is not my desire to begin a "range war", as such things often do.
It is my intent to relate my experience if it be of any possible assistance to others.

<snip>

Mike, Thanks for you suggestions. I, like you, have been very disappointed in the 396's ability to decode the Phoenix system. A week ago, the was an incident not more than 100 yard from my front door and I could barely listen to what was going on. My neighbors wanted to hear the scanner traffic, and I was so
embarrased at the amount of drop-outs.

Anyway, I'm at 43rd Ave and Glendale and I'm going to try your suggestions. Including, going back to the stock antenna. Also, I'll check to make sure I have only the control channels. I'm hoping I get the same success rate as you do. Again, thanks for the suggestions.

Doug

 

[mnsrefer]

396 in the Valley

Doug,
Great. Thanks for the reply.
Your experience at 100 yards might have been the (lack of) control channel only thing. Maybe the frequency was locked on a previous hit that you had programmed but couldn't handle the local one. I noticed that, when using the control channels only, when any given hit occured, a random (on the RWC list but not programmed by me into the 396) was assigned to the transmission. Basically, I guess the control was assigning instead of me.
The two settings that made the difference for me here (at this location) were the control channels only and the Manual P25 setting of 9.
The latest Firmware of 3.02.02 allowed for a greater range and impact of various settings. I've begun to wonder if it isn't the Firmware for the XT (or something), but it made a difference too.
Please let us know the outcome and / or if a diferent variation worked better for you.
Thanks and regards,
Mike