Can you hear me now? *Squelch break* How about NOW?

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mikemsu1

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Hey Guys

Another newbie starting with another newbie question....but judging by the wealth of information in here and the very talented hobbyist's involved I felt if anyone could help it would be RR!!!.

I live in the NW suburbs of Chicago, IL and as such have purchased the prem membership and use either Butel or freeSCAN to program my BCT15. I have programmed Lake County, McHenry County, Cook County as well as Kenosha County and all trucked systems associated per the software and am receiving all sorts of calls on various freq's, systems, etc. My issues are not area specific in regards to scanning particular locations or geographic areas but general scanning and reception (I did want to include what I am trying to hear though in the event it helps you guys).

I have a brand New BCT15 which has been a joy to listen to...what I have been able to piece together.

Here is my issue: When receiving a call, regardless of signal stregth I get the first 2-3 seconds of the call, then it appears to drop out atleast voice does (although channel still shows it's actively receiving and SS is good), and then jumps back in with voice to hear the last few seconds of the call. To make a long story short I am having to piece together the info (heard at beginning of call and end of call) to make sense of the middle that I'm missing...i.e. make sense of the full context of the call.

It does not seem to matter whether it's a conventional system (Municiple PD or FD), a trunked system (Lake Country Sheriff), etc.

Where am I going wrong and or what is wrong with my scanner? Is the location of my scanner possibly the issue or some type of interferance? Other then missing the middle of a call the thing works great but it sure is getting frustrating as the info I seem to miss is always the good stuff...an address or location, the detailed nature of the complaint, etc.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks again in advance!
 
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mikemsu1

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I have tried various priority settings to no avail as I too was going along that line at first.

I assume it came in the box with that setting off...always had the issue from the start. I then went to priority DND which I understand to act like the priority setting only if there is no other traffic being listened to, i.e. would only default to priority for listening while scanning and not if another call was active and being heard. Funny thing is I have no channels or freq's set as "priority"...so what would it be giving priority too?

I do believe there is even a priority off option and I do believe I have tried that but will give it one more whirl tonight. If priority was the issue wouldn;t another call break in? I never lose the call I'm trying to listen to (SS always very strong)...I just lose the most important thing, audio after 2-3 seconds...gone for 2-3 seconds and then it's back for the rest of the call.

Anyone else have any thoughts or intimately familiar with the BCT15 or an issue similar?
 

qlajlu

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I'm not familiar with that scanner but it sounds like you might have priority on.

Yep! That would be my guess, too. That is a classic example of how Priority works and is the #1 suspected culprit in this case. Check your weather settings for Priority also.
 
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mikemsu1

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qlajlu - If that was the case wouldn't another call be coming in/replace the call I'm listening to? Isn't that how priority works? I never lose the original call (always shows receiving, always shows good SS)....just a few seconds of audio and it's always a few seconds into the call. I would think if it was priority and the scanner was picking up another call my lose of audio would be more sporatic time wise during the duration of my current call...I always drop audio a few seconds into the call and no other time during.

Also, wouldn't I have had to designate certain programed freq's or systems as priority for it to work?
 
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qlajlu

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Not necessarily. All Priority does is put the current communication on hold while it samples the Priority(ies), if you have any set. If there is something incoming on the Priority, it will drop the hold on the other communication otherwise it picks it back up again.

All I'm saying is check them all. I'm not familiar with the BCT15, but in my BC780, you could set priority by placing a frequency in the first slot of a Bank's frequencies.

I could very well be wrong, and if I am I apologize for the wild goose chase.
 

mikemsu1

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OK from the manual....

Priority Plus - This option let's you scan and hear "only" priority calls.

Priority Scan - This options let's you designate conventional channels as priority so during "scnning" they are checked every 2 seconds.

Scanner Display:

Priority Plus shows a PRI icon (not found on my display).

Priority Scan flashes the PRI when it has a priority signal...again no PRI icon on my display.

P (Priority Channel) - Icon appears when channel set to priority on

C (Close Call Priority) - Icon appears when CC is in CC PRI mode???? We may be on to something...

C (CLose Call DND) - Icon appears when CC is in CC DND mode

Any other possible thoughts as to what could be going on? Note in the description of priority scan "every 2 seconds" caught my eye as I seem to be losing the audio within a few seconds of listening to an active call...but the lack of icons, designating any channels as priority and the scanner just scanning along threw all my programmed systems as normal is really throwing me for a loop making me think something else is going on and it's not a priority issue....


I am going to verify priority settings as soon as I get home...anyone with a BCT15 had this issue?

I wonder if CC Priority is on as I was messing with CC a few days after I got the scanner.... Hmmm...

More to follow...
 
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FLRAILMAN

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Can you hear me now? *Squelch break* How about NOW?

qlajlu is right, check the following on both your trunked & conventional systems:

Priority scan
Set delay time
Control channel priority (Trunked system only)
Dropout delay

If that doesn't work, can you initialize your scanner without wiping out your Butel or Freescan software downloads? If you can without messing anything up, do it & reprogram everything, if that doesn't work, dump the software program & start over as if the scanner just came out of the box, if that doesn't work, then the scanner has a problem that tech services should address. I had that scanner for two weeks before I realized my limitations with it, so I guess you are a better man then me, good luck & please keep us informed of your progress even if it means you having to see a shrink.

FLRAILMAN
 
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mikemsu1

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ok all systems do not show a priority set.

In the scanner options there is a setting for priority...that is off and was when I got home.

I did find the CC (Close Call) mode was set to CC DND....which
I thought was only a hit on a CC priority if a call was not actively being listened to (that's the way the manual made it sound but I am learning these manuals are kind of useless in some regards). I have now set CC (close call) mode to off. I'll give this a try for a day or two and report back. Note no P or PRI on the display anywhere....nor have I seen any of those icons when a call comes in and we sit on a freq for a bit.

In the meantime, if there is anyone who has some experience with the BCT15 that can shed light on some standard operation by all means chime in. I feel like I'm soooo close..yet so far away. Not one to give up but a shrink is out of the question! :)

More to follow....

Thanks again to you all for your time, input and help. RR has a really good group of people here!
 
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mikemsu1

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FOUND IT!

Let me first start out by saying thank you all for your persistence to the obvious! How dare the newbie doubt or even question his elders!!!! You have to know when someone knows more then you!

You'll never believe it but nothing was marked as priority as previously indicated....nothing other then WX or weather. Doh! WTF :) I just went into the WX or weather options and low and behold when I set this thing up I had put the WX as priority...hoping that should an alert occur in my area that it would be a priority over my hobby listening. It appears as if I must be in somewhat close proximity to a tower used for weather (162.5500). I can only guess as this is all beyond me at this point but that WX priority was picking up that signal during every transmission I received/was listening to (every 2 seconds) and it would cause the call I was listening to be put on hold. Just killed the WX priority and everything seems to be rolling along....actually hearing entire calls as well as transmissions in response that went unheard previously!

You guys are awesome!

FLRAILMAN - Without RR, RR Database, and software to program this thing it would be wayyyy beyond me, much more so then it already is. With the software to program it's "manageable" and actually a great scanner! Now if I only had a digital scanner so I could hear ISP and all the other digital traffic here in Illinois.....
 
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FLRAILMAN

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Thank God for small miracles

See, patience & persistence does pay off, as I stated in my earlier post, you are a better man then me, as I didn't have any software program to deal with & no trunking systems either, the scanner was just too high tech for me & the manual was totally useles. Check out some eham reviews of your new toy. Again, good luck & happy scanning.

PS: We all put our pants on, one leg at a time no matter who we think we are, only Wallace can jump into his britches two legs at a time when Gromit pulls the lever.

Uniden BCT15 Product Reviews

FLRAILMAN
 
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qlajlu

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Well, I feel vindicated, too. In post #4 (above) I had said to check your weather settings. Maybe what I said wasn't exactly clear but it does make me feel better knowing that is where the problem was. I was feeling pretty dejected when none were found...or so I was told. Good deal!

Enjoy! Always makes it nicer to listen when things go right.
 

kb2vxa

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Well, following along here I was about as mixed up as a bowl of cake batter, thank goodness you hit upon the problem. Ain't that usually the case after exhausting all avenues and find yourself stumbling through the parking lot of an invisible 7-11?

"Not one to give up but a shrink is out of the question!"
Good for you, but too late for me.......
 
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SCPD

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Ok, I have the same problem with my pro 106. Mpls, Mn area. Any ideas?
I have the same scanner and had that problem. It is WX. Using scanner software it has an option saying interrupt trunking to check it. That was a big kick in my face!!!
 
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