BCD436HP: LCN Finder Saving LCN's as "0"

[ScubaJungle]

Im having an issue where I will run the LCN finder, then read to the computer, select to copy the data from the BCD436HP over the existing data, and then see all the LCNs that it "found" were changed to zero. I thought this was because i was trying to check it on the BCD436HP, and thus editing it to zero, but even after immediately reading to computer, they still show as such.

Is there something Im doing wrong, or is this some kind of bug?

Again:
run LCN finder--> function+system--> save LCNS?-->Yes-->Sentinel:read from device---> different info, overwrite? -->yes ---> check LCN on sentinel, says "0"

 

[buddrousa]

Are you saving what is found by LCN before reading the scanner?

 

[ScubaJungle]

Yes - I am doing this:
LCN finder--> function+system--> save LCNS?-->Yes-->Sentinel:read from device

 

[buddrousa]

Look at the lcns in the scanner before downloading to see what was found

 

[ScubaJungle]

when I try that, it shows 0. Originally, I thought this was the reason why this was happening -I got to Edit/Review System, then edit frequency, and press yes to get to the LCN, and it shows 0. I thought that it was maybe changing the LCN to 0 because i was "editing" it, but then when I tried it without doing that, same thing.

 

[hiegtx]

when I try that, it shows 0. Originally, I thought this was the reason why this was happening -I got to Edit/Review System, then edit frequency, and press yes to get to the LCN, and it shows 0. I thought that it was maybe changing the LCN to 0 because i was "editing" it, but then when I tried it without doing that, same thing.

Are getting a prompt, on screen, that all LCNs have been found? Or just exiting the Finder, saving results, and then checking in the scanner or reading into Sentinel?

If you aren't seeing any indication of the number of LCNs that were found, then the scanner did not determine any of them. If it shows "xx of yy LCNs (xx & yy being numbers), then, if saved correctly (sounds like you did from your earlier note), you should see at least that number of LCNs with an actual number instead of zero. The scanner resets all LCNs to zero when the LCN Finder is set up, then replaces the zeros with the ones it established. If the on screen prompt is showing at least some found, but when you try to view by editing the site on the scanner, then apparently they are not actually being saved.

If you are not getting any actual found frequencies, then possibly you have the wrong color code (DMR) or RAN (NXDN) entered. Try running System Status on the system first. Let it run for awhile.

You'll see the color code it is finding (or RAN for NXDN), plus the number of frequencies (that you've programmed into the site) as being used. Something like this for DMR:

For NXDN,


For the DMR system (Megahertz), that site does have 10 frequencies. If, however, I had more than that, say 15, but it's only getting to ten, then maybe those other frequencies are not part of the same system.

The System Status option would at least give you an indication of the RAN or Color Code in use. Make sure that all of the frequencies for the site you are checking have the correct value set. Here in my metro area, so many of these frequencies have more than one user, each using a separate CC or RAN. If you have those as "Search", then possibly the scanner is not seeing them as all being on the same system, so your findings come up blank.

 

[ScubaJungle]

Looks like you got it - this seems to be exactly the problem:

The scanner resets all LCNs to zero when the LCN Finder is set up, then replaces the zeros with the ones it established.

In most cases, I am exiting after finding some of the LCNs. For example, one of the systems has 5 frequencies, but only 2 or 3 are actively busy, and unless I leave it there for hours, I only get 2/5. When I exit, I am exiting with 2/5, or 1/3, etc, and I am prompted to save the LCNs, which I select yes. When the LCN finder indicates that it has found, say, 1/3 LCNs, 1 LCN does indeed show (or however many it has indicated as found), and the rest are 0, so that explains it. The other frequencies are definitely part of the system, but I only leave the LCN finder on for 1-3 minutes, just to verify a few of them, and I had no idea it would delete the ones that I already had verified.

With that figured out - that is a pretty stupid implementation of the tool. In most cases, I already have most of the LCNs, and just want to either find or verify some of them. I figured that it would just add to the existing information, or edit any wrong entries.
I know I could simply take the information the LCN finder has saved, and then manually re-enter the ones that were reset, but that pretty much ruins the whole point of the tool, for me at least since I then have to repeat the process of read/write another time, which means more downtime. It would be easier to use DSDPlus only then, and verify/edit anything missing/wrong.

I guess I will just stick to DSDPlus for LCNs for now, unless I am on the road and dont have access to my computer. In that case, I would probably be better off deleting the less-used frequencies, or risk waiting an hour or more for the whole thing to complete.

Hopefully Uniden sees this and at least makes an option not to reset all the LCNs when using this tool. It would be a lot more useful for people that are just trying to verify certain frequencies on the system they are monitoring.

Thank you for the explanation, I would have been going in circles thinking I had an SD card formatting error or something.

 

[hiegtx]

I agree with you. If you already had some of the LCNs programmed, why reset them. But, it does, There are sites on some of my local systems that, like yours, rarely, if ever, seem to use all of the frequencies.

 

[ScubaJungle]

Yep, well, something to suggest to Uniden I suppose. You saved me a lot of headaches though, thank you.

 

[u2brent]

Always keep a backup copy of the system (LCN's) somewhere else or document the finds so that when finished using the finder you can put the confirmed ones back.. Provided they were not found again during he current session but are known correct.. Some LCN's may take days of running the finder to pin down, If they're found at all.. And some may be licensed but not implemented and will never be found.

 

[HMD]

Some LCN's may take days of running the finder to pin down, If they're found at all.. And some may be licensed but not implemented and will never be found.

That really sucks! I want to listen to my new scanner!

 

[u2brent]

This is why one scanner is never enough...

 

[HMD]

This is why one scanner is never enough...

I'm certainly not going to buy another scanner just for that.

 

[u2brent]

A cheap dongle and some software are a much better tool for that job to begin with...

 

[HMD]

A cheap dongle and some software are a much better tool for that job to begin with...

I have Nooelec, and I wish I didn't. They screwed up my motherboard.

 

[ScubaJungle]

I have Nooelec, and I wish I didn't. They screwed up my motherboard.

Explain?

 

[HMD]

When I start the computer from a shutdown, it hangs. The little dots stop spinning. I press the power button to turn it off, then press it again, and it starts ok. So I've been using Sleep Mode.