BCD436HP/BCD536HP: BCD436HP low receive rate

[mengels]

Excellent into on the baud rate!...will change that and test, I appreciate it.

 

[dave3825]

Could you provide Radioreference database links so we can get a picture of who operates where

It's a large, populous Texas county, I'm casting the RR programming wide open a

That comment makes me think that there are some basic settings tweaks that I could make to improve my capture rates. Any thoughts?

Your original issue was not receiving that much. Without seeing what trunked systems and knowing how many sites your scanning, it's hard to give tips. If your using the scanner mostly at home, I would scan the site closest to you on each trunked system. If your scanning another site in a different county, your counties talk groups might not affiliate with that tower and that would result in wasted scan times and would limit local activity heard on your scanner.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

What agencies do you want to monitor?

 

[hiegtx]

It's a large, populous Texas county, I'm casting the RR programming wide open and any I'm not referring to encrypted frequencies. Being relatively new-I wasn't aware of Simulcast Distortion. That comment makes me think that there are some basic settings tweaks that I could make to improve my capture rates. Any thoughts?

If you are in a 'large, populous county in Texas, and had reason to spring for ProVoice, it sounds like you are in the Bexar County/San Antonio area. But that ProVoice system is being replaced with a P25 Phase II system.

Alamo Area Regional Radio System (AARRS) Trunking System, San Antonio, Texas

Alamo Area Regional Radio System (AARRS) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

The new system is being discussed extensively down in the Texas Forum:

Alamo Area Regional Radio System (AARRS)

Does anyone know if Alamo Area Regional Radio System (AARRS) is already active?

forums.radioreference.com

The majority of the sites on the new system are simulcast.

 

[mengels]

No, I'm not in SA. The Provoice and DMR additions were due to a trip that I'll be taking, not for local, but as mentioned-

1. I have this issue (lack of reception) with every system in my area-law enforcement, fire, airband, military that I want to listen to-and even stuff just to test like hospitals, railroads and businesses. Every system, band and frequency range has horrible reception.
2. I have the same lack of reception in other parts of the metro area, state, country, on every system that I've traveled to with the radio-even when updating and customizing favorite lists for those areas.
3. The scanner is performing much worse with reception than a lower cost scanner in terms of reception (but the cheaper one has less frequency range) under the same conditions.

So due to the above, system level tweaks would not help the situation as they would logically ruled out-I need either general tweaks or setting changes that will affect all systems/frequency ranges, addressing of bugs or recommendations for equipment improvements like a better antenna. I saw something this afternoon while researching indicating there were a bunch of bugs with the BCD436 when first rolled out but couldn't find much specific information. One would think that those had been addressed at this point(?).

 

[nowires]

The location function is weird. Sometimes it picks up stuff in the database from another state you're not even close to.

Then the multi-site trunking system, I've noticed can have duplicate frequencies that'll hit your local site again and again, making it redundant and slowing down ability to monitor other things. The RS/Whistler scanners would take the CC freqs and wildcard any TGs, but the HP has to be set for ID scanning to do the same. The Whistlers seem to scan faster when you put only what you want. And the RRDB doesn't have everything. To modify anything, you have to copy the full database to favorites and then modify it from there.

 

[hiegtx]

No, I'm not in SA. The Provoice and DMR additions were due to a trip that I'll be taking, not for local, but as mentioned-

1. I have this issue (lack of reception) with every system in my area-law enforcement, fire, airband, military that I want to listen to-and even stuff just to test like hospitals, railroads and businesses. Every system, band and frequency range has horrible reception.
2. I have the same lack of reception in other parts of the metro area, state, country, on every system that I've traveled to with the radio-even when updating and customizing favorite lists for those areas.
3. The scanner is performing much worse with reception than a lower cost scanner in terms of reception (but the cheaper one has less frequency range) under the same conditions.

So due to the above, system level tweaks would not help the situation as they would logically ruled out-I need either general tweaks or setting changes that will affect all systems/frequency ranges, addressing of bugs or recommendations for equipment improvements like a better antenna. I saw something this afternoon while researching indicating there were a bunch of bugs with the BCD436 when first rolled out but couldn't find much specific information. One would think that those had been addressed at this point(?).

Without knowing your actual location (city, or at least county in Texas), there's no way to see if any specific 'problem' systems have been noted in your area. But since you indicate issues with a variety of systems, in various areas, then there is always a possibility there is a problem with your specific scanner. I have two 436HPs. One was 'early production', purchased when these models were first introduced. The second one was purchased a couple of years later.

The initial, "chronic" problems were three-fold'
The initial production units had problems with the real-time clock retaining time & date settings. This was related to the component that is supposed to keep those correct.
At the same time, a number of these scanners were showing signs of the display dimming over time.
Both of these issues were noted in both the 436HP & the base/mobile 536HP.

The other issue that received a fair number of comments were poor Uhf reception due to interference internally generated in the scanner. This was found to be counteracted by placing foil tape on the inside of the battery compartment cover.

The date/time and dim display issues (on both models) were addressed with a service repair that Uniden initiated, paying shipping both to & from for the end user to send them in to Uniden. Those issues were corrected long ago in production, and no more multiple reports of chronic problems on these specific units have been posted since then.

The Uhf interference/insensitivity eventually boiled down to adding a capacitor on the main system board, C-1. This also was corrected during the manufacturing process, and is no longer an issue. The repair process of the date/time & display issues on the 436HPs required the replacement of the main system board, so many (if not most) of those sent for the time/display repair got the updated PC board.

My 'early production' 436HP was sent to Uniden during the service campaign, There have been no further problems with it. My second 436HP, purchased after these specific issues were noted & addressed by Uniden both in the repair process, and later changes in the production process, has had no issues at all.

There have been no other widespread issues on these models since the above issues were resolved. That does not imply that any specific scanner could not have some sort of problem, only that there have been no other recent posts regarding a particular issue on an number of individual scanners.

 

[Ubbe]

The scanner is performing much worse with reception than a lower cost scanner in terms of reception

It could be the RF amplifier transistors that have gone bad. When bad reception have been reported in a 436 and then sent in for repair they usually only replace Q1 and Q2 transistors to restore full reception.

/Ubbe

 

[nowires]

The location function is weird. Sometimes it picks up stuff in the database from another state you're not even close to.

Then the multi-site trunking system, I've noticed can have duplicate frequencies that'll hit your local site again and again, making it redundant and slowing down ability to monitor other things. The RS/Whistler scanners would take the CC freqs and wildcard any TGs, but the HP has to be set for ID scanning to do the same. The Whistlers seem to scan faster when you put only what you want. And the RRDB doesn't have everything. To modify anything, you have to copy the full database to favorites and then modify it from there.

Have to copy to favorites with the use location function on. Then it decides what I need or don't need. Should be that simple anyhow and not have to weed it out with Sentinel.

 

[ninjabonez]

hello all -
im having problems with my 436 as well. - bad signal when should be great.

im in Texas, trying to listen to the LCRA - HAYS Co system - specifically Creedmoor and West Hays systems.

the CC is 773.05625 on my RTL SDR. (screenshot attached).
i use J-Pole setup and have great signal and no drops.

i have stock antenna on my 436 when in hand.
i have a Tram 1199 Glass Mount on my truck.

i saw a post to adj Auto 8 threshold to Auto 7, and it help. but im still missing stuff.
so now im reading that Sim Dist wiki. -- thanks for that!


im also trying to get my BC-SGPS working with my 436 without the Custom Uniden GPS cable...
so im trying to find the pinout to make a new 4pin DB9 cable.
i found the pinout for the 4pin, just need the BC-SGPS serial pinout now... if anybody has that...? lol