BCD396xt Audio Delay

[W4TF]

I am finally getting the hang of this scanner. However I noticed a slight delay before audio is transmitted from the radio when monitoring Broward County, FL's TRS which is a Motorola Type 2 trunked system.

I verified this further by having my pro-106 monitor the same talkgroup as the bcd396xt. The pro-106 would catch someone say "10-4" while the bcd396xt will only catch the "4". Is this normal for this radio?

I turned off the
-AGC,
-priority,
-close call,
-battery save,
-and made sure I'm in analog only mode

..but still no luck. Any other ideas?

Thanks,
Singh AJ4VS

 

[jackj]

My 996T is the same way. I don't know why it is slow as, like the 106, it has to listen to the CC to find out if that Talk Group is active and where it is. The only thing I can figure is that Uniden scanners are slow to decode the Control Channel. I've also noticed that, on analog channels with tone squelch, it is slow to open the squelch switch. It seems to be fine using carrier squelch.

 

[thomast77]

I have noticed the same problem on conventional analog frequencies. The beginning of communications get cut off it gets worse. I put my bc95xlt next to my bcd396xt and noticed that occasionally I even missed whole transmissions. I tried many settings and nothing seemed to fix it. But I never thought It may be related to tone squelch. I am going to have to removed the tones and see if that fixes it. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[davedaver1]

Yep - same thing here and I'm mostly using conventional channels. I think it's the nature of the radio - it has to do some some computer work in detecting activity on the channel, decoding the PL etc. and it's just a bit slow at it. I often have another (non-XT) radio going and delay is always noticeable. I've not observed it missing a transmission entirely though.

 

[thomast77]

An update I removed the tones The delays and missed transmission problems have gone away. So there appears to be a problem with the tone decoding.

 

[W4TF]

my issue is with trunked frequencies though, tones are not part of the equation as for as i know.....great for you, still sux for me :-(

 

[jackj]

Granted that the two problems are different and one doesn't effect the other, but I think they are symptomatic of a basic problem with the Uniden scanners. They don't appear to have enough CPU power to do all the things Uniden asks them to do. I don't think there is anything you or I can do to solve the problems short of buying another brand scanner.

 

[RickLeb]

I noticed a slight delay before audio is transmitted from the radio when monitoring Broward County, FL's TRS which is a Motorola Type 2 trunked system.

Have a look at the section on P25 Wait Time in this WiKi P25 audio decode level adjustment - The RadioReference Wiki.

If your system is analog only, then set the audio type to Analog Only.

 

[W4TF]

Have a look at the section on P25 Wait Time in this WiKi P25 audio decode level adjustment - The RadioReference Wiki.

If your system is analog only, then set the audio type to Analog Only.

Yes sir, as stated in my original post, i did indeed put it to audio only mode with no luck :-(

 

[W4TF]

i'm bumping this back up with the hopes that someone here has an answer

 

[scanningisfun]

i'm bumping this back up with the hopes that someone here has an answer

How close are you to the site? How many bars are you getting? Usually, it gets it faster when I have a stronger signal. When programming PL/DPL, however, it sometimes cuts off the beginning of transmissions.

 

[W4TF]

good idea. however, i am about 30 miles (or less) away from one of the towers. needless to say, i get full strength signal and even a medium strength signal with no antenna attached.

 

[scanningisfun]

good idea. however, i am about 30 miles (or less) away from one of the towers. needless to say, i get full strength signal and even a medium strength signal with no antenna attached.

That really stinks. I only have this problem in low signal strength areas.

 

[jclarkr6]

Try this

AJ4VS, it sounds to me like the problem is that the P25 Waiting Time is set to 100 ms or higher on the site(s) that you are trying to monitor. This would cause the exact problem that you are describing. RickLeb mentioned that you should look into this possibility in his earlier post, but I didn't see you (the OP) address whether or not you verified that the P25 Waiting Time is definitely set to 0 ms on each site that you are monitoring. Even if you think the P25 Waiting Time should not be a problem since the audio is set to analog only, you should still check out what the P25 Waiting Time is set on for each site in the system that you are having problems with to ensure that is not your problem.

When I program a site for a trunking system that is not a pure P25 system into my BCD396XT, the P25 Waiting Time is always set at a default of 400 ms for each site. This delay of 400 ms will always cause a delay in the audio because the scanner will wait 400 ms to try and detect a P25 signal (even if you are monitoring an analog system) before any audio will be heard. I always turn the P25 Waiting Time to 0 ms to prevent the exact problem that you are describing. You should definitely check to ensure that your P25 Waiting Time is set to 0 ms, which will ensure that there is no delay in allowing you to hear audio. The P25 Waiting Time can be changed by selecting a site in the system that you want to change the P25 Waiting Time for and scrolling down the menu until you find the P25 Waiting Time option, then simply set it to 0 ms. You will have to make that change for every site in the system that is giving you problems.

I have a strong suspicion that the P25 Waiting Time is set to 100 ms or higher (it's probably set on the default 400 ms) on each site that is on the system that you are experiencing problems with and that setting the P25 Waiting Time to 0 ms will fix your problem. I hope this helps you and I wish you the best of luck in trying to fix your problem. Let us know if this turns out to be the problem.

 

[thomast77]

I have noticed the same problem on conventional analog frequencies. The beginning of communications get cut off it gets worse. I put my bc95xlt next to my bcd396xt and noticed that occasionally I even missed whole transmissions. I tried many settings and nothing seemed to fix it. But I never thought It may be related to tone squelch. I am going to have to remove the tones and see if that fixes it. Anyone else have this problem?

Removing the tones fixed the problem.

I am in the market for a base but now I need to know if it has the same problem as the bcd396xt? So do the bcd996xt and the bct15x have the same problem with cutoffs and missed transmissions when using tone squelch like the bcd396xt does??

 

[UPMan]

If you are having that issue when tones are being used, then it is likely that you do not have the correct modulation setting for the channel (i.e. NFM instead of FM or vice versa). Slow detect can also occur with weak signals or signals subject to interference.

 

[thomast77]

If you are having that issue when tones are being used, then it is likely that you do not have the correct modulation setting for the channel (i.e. NFM instead of FM or vice versa). Slow detect can also occur with weak signals or signals subject to interference.

I am using nfm which I am pretty sure is what they are using. Would it help to set it to auto? And how can I determine for sure what they are using?

 

[scanningisfun]

I am using nfm which I am pretty sure is what they are using. Would it help to set it to auto? And how can I determine for sure what they are using?

Auto just uses the band default modulation which you can change in band defaults in settings. It would just stay 'NFM'. Try setting the channel to 'FM' modulation and see how it sounds. Set modulation is at the channel edit level. Also, if you want to do it quick, you can just hold on the channel that is currently active or scroll to a channel with the selector knob and press 'Func - Mod' | The modulation button is the number nine function key, it just will 'scroll' through the different modulations.

 

[thomast77]

Ok I will give it a try

 

[UPMan]

Note that another symptom of a mismatch would be that the channels set to NFM are much louder than channels that are being properly demodulated.