BCD436HP first-month performance assessment

[cellphone]

I don't think I have ever encountered a so deaf radio on VHF

I'm experiencing the same with my BCD436HP. I primarily monitor 700/800mhz and it performs very well. I spent some time this week in central Nebraska where they use a lot of VHF. The BCD436HP was very, very poor on VHF compared to the 396XT.

 

[KC2JS]

My 436 preforms poor on VHF also. I have stated this in multiple forums. Seems like it is fine for some and not for others. I was hoping it would get resolved by a firmware upgrade but I don't see that happening.

 

[jonwienke]

My 436 preforms poor on VHF also. I have stated this in multiple forums. Seems like it is fine for some and not for others.

Performance on one band vs another is mostly determined by the antenna. The receiver sensitivity doesn't change much between one band and another, but antenna performance can vary radically.

What antenna are you using?

 

[SCPD]

436

My 436 preforms poor on VHF also. I have stated this in multiple forums. Seems like it is fine for some and not for others. I was hoping it would get resolved by a firmware upgrade but I don't see that happening.

Did you try firmware 1.02.03?
It works better.
I think everyone needs to call uniden to tell them it works poor on airband and VHF using the current firmware.

 

[mule1075]

Did you try firmware 1.02.03?
It works better.
I think everyone needs to call uniden to tell them it works poor on airband and VHF using the current firmware.

Air band and VHf is as good on my 436 as it is on my 396xt's.

Sent from my Z750C using Tapatalk

 

[woody_46]

My 436 receives just as well as my BC898T on the same antenna using the firmware (as shipped) 1.02.07 version.

 

[kc5igh]

If your 436 is working acceptably with the 1.02 firmware, you may want to avoid upgrading to the 1.03 version.

My 436 is running on 1.03 and is nearly as deaf as a brick on analog VHF compared to all (yes, all) my other scanners.

I'd hoped at one time that Uniden's long-promised firmware upgrade for the 436 might address this issue, but I'm tired of waiting and have really become disgusted with that company's lack of responsiveness.

Johnnie

 

[jonwienke]

This is not the case for me. I'm running the latest and greatest firmware on my 436, and have no trouble picking up air traffic from Dulles in Martinsburg.

 

[kc5igh]

I'm glad to hear that.

How does your BCD436HP perform on analog VHF (FM) compared to your other scanners?

Try making that comparison by tuning in some of the NOAA weather transmitters (162.XXX MHz) in your vicinity.

 

[woody_46]

I updated to the new version 1.03 and started having issues with a mixed mode VHF-HI P25 system. The analog signals on it were really weak. I actually thought the antenna connector had broke loose. Reverting back to the "as shipped firmware" cured the issue.

 

[jonwienke]

I don't have any other scanners at this time. With the stock antenna, I can get 1-2 weather channels, same as my Baofengs wearing Nagoya 771s. With the ST-2 connected, I can get reception on 5 of the 7 weather channels.

I don't have the test equipment to precisely measure receiver sensitivity, but receiving air band traffic from an airport over 40 miles away isn't exactly "deaf as a brick".

 

[lamarrsy]

Hi,

"Air band traffic from an airport over 40 miles away" :

Can you specify if it is comms from transmitters sites situated *at* the airport that you are hearing?
Or is it from planes taking off / arriving there?
This level of precision is important because one can't analyze if he's not measuring, and to measure you need data (and reference).
Thanks if you can bring precision on this ;-)

'Regards!

-Sylvain.

 

[jonwienke]

It's conversations between planes and tower. Flight XXX being told to ascend to 2-9 thousand, pilots reporting chop at xxx altitude, requesting course deviations, that sort of thing. Some of the transmitters are obviously on aircraft, but I don't know exactly where the ground transmitters are. I'm assuming somewhere reasonably close to the airport.

 

[kc5igh]

How well an individual radio is performing is difficult to assess without good test/measurement equipment or similar radios with similar antennas one can use to make reasonably objective comparisons.

We simply can't know what we're not hearing or objectively understand how well the radio is receiving any other way.

My 436 generally performs very well compared to my BCD396XT and PSR-800 on digital systems, but is practically deaf when compared to those radios (and the PRO-106, PSR-500, BC-250, etc.) on analog VHF transmissions. It's as simple as that in my listening environment.

I may try reverting to the 1.02 firmware to see if that helps.

-Johnnie

 

[lamarrsy]

Hi,

How the revert back to V 1.02 is possible? I quickly looked and haven't seen how to do it.

Thanks if you can share

-Sylvain.

 

[kc5igh]

Hello, Sylvain.

Go to message number seven in "The Unexplained Phenomena" string in the "Uniden Tavern" section of this forum for guidance on how to find and install earlier versions of firmware for both the 436 and the 536.

I haven't tried it yet, but I think I will since Uniden doesn't seem anywhere near updating the current 1.03 firmware version.

Good luck!

Johnnie

 

[kc5igh]

Correction!

Sylvain.

I just checked again, and that string I referenced above in the "Uniden Tavern" is actually called "The Unexplained Experience," not "The Unexplained Phenomena."

My apologies.

Good luck.

 

[lamarrsy]

Hey, cool!
Thanks for the link and the effort to find it.
I'll definitely try this, as I can't seriously rely on this radio for analog VHF rx the way it is now. I am curious to see (hear!) the difference.

-Sylvain.

 

[jonwienke]

The other thing to consider is that the radio is only half of the equation. The antenna is equally important, and investigating any reception complaints need to take that into consideration. Before writing off the radio as having bad reception, try swapping an antenna with known good vhf reception.

 

[kc5igh]

You're absolutely correct about the importance of the antenna.

I've made my rf performance comparisons between the BCD436HP and my BCD396XT and BCD396T with identical Comet HT-55's and Diamond SRH-519's mounted simultaneously on each radio.

Running side by side and connected to AC adapters (to avoid introducing battery-charge variations that might impact sensitivity), the 436 could not hear or could barely hear VHF and many UHF signals that the 396's were receiving loud and clear! I even swapped the radios' locations to ensure that three-, six-, or twelve-inch distances between them didn't affect comparative performance.

There is something seriously wrong with my (and many other 436 owners) radio's sensitivity to analog VHF and many UHF signals.