I have uploaded some systems from League City, Friendswood, and other Galveston county sites with little to no traffic. Every once in a while I get a fire call but not much else. I am using arc-xt pro and download the sites from RadioRefence no change after restest to factory conditions. Am I missing a setting?
bdc996xt not hearing any channels ap25 Texas wide area rad.
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doctordialtone
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Chances are you are trying to monitor frequencies that scanner will not receive.
Please post a link to the system in question.
Edit:
If it's this system, that scanner will not be compatible.
Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Trunking System, Various, Texas
Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
You'll need a Phase II scanner, such as the 996P2 or SDS series.
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Welcome to the forums Travis. Taking into account the above statement you may experience a phenomenon known as simulcast distortion, perhaps the most discussed issue on these forums while trying to monitor this system. In a simulcast system, a site is not a single transmitter at a specific location, but rather a collection of transmitters spread out over a certain area that all transmit on the same frequency at the same time. It's all those signals coming to your scanner at the same time that cause most scanners to lock up, stutter, miss transmissions, etc. Ultimately the only scanners designed to mitigate the effects of simulcast distortion are the Uniden SDS100 (portable) or SDS200 (base). Yes they are the most expensive but they do the job right. There are a number of workarounds for other scanners mentioned in the wiki I linked but they work in very few cases.
As Whiskey3 has already noted, Simulcast can be a major problem on many of the TxWARN sites. The Pro-106 does not handle Simulcast very well.
Your other issue is P25 Phase II talkgroups. While not every TGID is Phase II at this time, all users for TxWARN will be transitioning from P25 Phase I to Phase II over the next couple of years. Look at the Mode column. Those talkgroups tagged as D are still Phase I, which your 106 can receive if not negatively affected by Simulcast problems. But most of the Galveston area cities are using Phase II on at least a few of their talkgroups. For an example, look at league City.
Also, a fair number of the various cities in the area are using encryption for some of their communications. If there is a capital E in the mode column, full time encryption is in use. If there is a lower case e, then encryption is used at least part of the time. No scanner will be able to monitor encrypted transmissions.
If you have not already, take a look at some of the information in the Wiki for your soon to arrive SDS200:
SDS100 and SDS200 FAQ Page - The RadioReference Wiki
Also, don't forget that you can install Sentinel & get acquainted before your scanner arrives. Install Sentinel & update the database. When your scanner arrives (as well as when you first install Sentinel), the database will be well out of date. Bring it up to the most recent update. Also, review the service types you want to monitor. By default, initially the only Public Safety service types that are enabled are for Dispatch: Law Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, EMS Dispatch, and Multi Dispatch. You should also enable the Tac and Talk service types, i.e. Law Tac, Law Talk, Fire Tac, Fire Talk, etc. You ca use your location, range, and service types, along with the updated database, to begin listening while you create more customized Favorites lists.
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This. GC Simul (1-36) is the only site that carries these TGs (as well as most Galveston Co agencies). Occasionally for some reason they will show up on a roamer down there, but its very transient. Might be some sketchy stuff going on.
There are several listings for DMR in Galveston County for businesses and agencies using DMR. In Harris County, there are quite a few, some businesses, but also some public safety agencies, using DMR or NXDN. I suspect that, if your area is like mine (here in DFW), there are a quite a few others not in the database. Some are unlisted at all. Others still are listed as LTR or Motorola trunk systems, but in fact have transitioned to DMR. Whether any of those interest you is, of course, your call. I elected to upgrade for both DMR & NXDN. Four of the smaller Dallas County cities are on NXDN trunked systems. Most of the larger hotels and hospitals here are now using DMR, as well as quite a few businesses, many of which are not in the database.
The Digital Frequency Search site will help you locate who is licensed for DMR or NXDN. That does not guarantee that the licensee is using one of those modes, but it identifies those that are authorized to use DMR or NXDN, giving you some possible targets to try & identify.
Digital Frequency Search
This thread, here in the Texas forum. concerns someone trying to monitor a DMR system in your area. There is also occasional conversation in the HoustonScan group regarding DMR in your area.
ka3jjz
Wiki Admin Emeritus
Unfortunately Uniden dropped the ball badly with these upgrades in that they never really documented all the ins and outs of DMR and NXDN programming. You won't even find this stuff in the Easier to Read manual. I've attempted to capture links and details from the discussions here via these 2 links...
wiki.radioreference.com
wiki.radioreference.com
Mike
DMR and MOTOTRBO Tips for the BCDx36HP and SDS Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki
NXDN Tips for the BCDx36HP and SDS Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki
Mike
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