Charlottesville/Albemarle simulcast

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Nitsud

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Just looking for some more recent reports: what scanner are you using to monitor this simulcast system and what are you results.

Some of you may remember I have been using a 996xt to monitor this system and have had extremely poor results. I listen while mobile in my patrol vehicle and this system has been horrible with my 996xt. I have purchased the new uniden and expect it here this week sometime and will be sure to post my results. My job takes me all over central va so if anyone wants me to try to track something around here I will be more than willing.

Thanks in advance for your responses.
 

Dafe1er

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Off in a far away place, far from u.......
I am interested in knowing how these new scanners operate on STARS and any other simulcast systems here in VA. My HP is a hit or miss in most places for me and I am holding out as long as possible for a new scanner.

I will be watching for your thoughts.

Thanks.
 

BlueMoon2

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Nitsud, long time no hear! My 996xt works practically flawlessly with all of the stars towers programmed in. I'd love to see you again have a look at your patrol car and maybe try to fix your scanner issue! I think you said your id is 1658 or something like that? Send me a pm if you just want to confirm it between you and me that I totally understand. Good luck with your new hp scanner! I'd love to have one
 

BlueMoon2

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996 Scanner

The Charlottesville/Albemarle simulcast works flawlessly for me most places in charlottesville/albemarle county. That is with the exception of Hydraulic Rd/Emmet St Area and Rio Rd. Other than that it's just fine.
 

kc4jgc

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When I'm in the area I have no problems at all with my RS Pro-106. The areas I'm in includes Pantops, Hydraulic Rd and Rio Hill. This is the exception as other simulcast systems such as Roanoke and Baltimore is a real challenge. Also Virginia Beach (which I believe uses LSM modulation like Baltimore City and Baltimore County) many scanners seem to have some trouble.

Does your 996 have an attenuator you can activate? that could help with your simulcast situation.
 

tglendye

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I have a Pro-197 in my truck and listened for a couple of minutes the other day when I rode through. It seemed to be receiving and tracking well. I'll be back in Charlottesville on Monday and will try to listen longer.
 

Nitsud

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I have a Pro-197 in my truck and listened for a couple of minutes the other day when I rode through. It seemed to be receiving and tracking well. I'll be back in Charlottesville on Monday and will try to listen longer.

OK thanks! I have on occasion borrowed a family member's pro-106 and it actually does pretty well on the system. If the new uniden doesn't do well, I will be looking to purchase a 197. The 996xt, although preferred by me, just isn't up to the task
 

QDP2012

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...I have been using a 996xt to monitor this system and have had extremely poor results....My job takes me all over central va so if anyone wants me to try to track something around here I will be more than willing.

From your description, my first thoughts were possibly an antenna problem or maybe a location-related problem. But the scanner's irregular behavior (good with STARS, bad with Char/Alb) makes me think of something mentioned in some older threads.

Do you happen to have a 90-degree elbow-shaped BNC adapter connected between the scanner and the antenna cable? (Sometimes they get used as an antenna-cable-strain-prevention device.)

Some older threads mentioned that these elbows can fail and act weird and fail sporadically. Other threads mentioned a higher failure rate with certain brand-name adapters compared to others. If this happens to be the problem, I think I can find the threads that recommended replacement parts.

Just a thought,

Hope this helps,
 
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Nitsud

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From your description, my first thoughts were possibly an antenna problem or maybe a location-related problem. But the scanner's irregular behavior (good with STARS, bad with Char/Alb) makes me think of something mentioned in some older threads.

Do you happen to have a 90-degree elbow-shaped BNC adapter connected between the scanner and the antenna cable? (Sometimes they get used as an antenna-cable-strain-prevention device.)

Some older threads mentioned that these elbows can fail and act weird and fail sporadically. Other threads mentioned a higher failure rate with certain brand-name adapters compared to others. If this happens to be the problem, I think I can find the threads that recommended replacement parts.

Just a thought,

Hope this helps,

I was using an elbow bnc adapter. I did hours of searching and never saw any mention of this. I will start looking now though
 

QDP2012

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I thought I had subscribed to the thread(s). So far, I haven't found them, so I'm searching in-general, now. I think it's been at least a year since I read them.

Edit: ...


EDIT2: Found the thread: Pro 197 and 106 each receive differently. The comment I referenced about the 90-degree connector is in Post #7.


Hope this helps,
 
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Nitsud

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QDP2012 - Well I got the new uniden in and tried it every which-a-way to get it to work on the albemarle system; it just doesn't. I tried it with and without the right angle connector, I tried it at home with a telescopic antenna, mobile with a 800 mhz 1/4 gain antenna, I tired isolating the CCs. Nothing worked. Im convinced that the uniden's from the 996-996xt-536hp are just not up to working with the albemarle system. While I was out mobile with the 536 I went downtown cville, rio, hydraulic, mall parking lot, up and down rt 29, I-64, as well as many surrounding counties and the 536hp never one clearly decoded voice you could understand. However, I had a pro-106 with the stock antenna right beside the 536hp and it was FLAWLESS. I just can't believe how perfect the 106 did. I was able to get with a local albemarle unit that has the system in his car, and I was able to perfectly pick up and decode all the same traffic that the moto had with the 106.

Needless to say, I'm not sure why, but the radioshack/gre us a real winner for me. I really liked the features of the 536 and it is a very nice radio, but unfortunately, uniden just doesn't work around here.
 

hill2jb

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Just looking for some more recent reports: what scanner are you using to monitor this simulcast system and what are you results.

Some of you may remember I have been using a 996xt to monitor this system and have had extremely poor results. I listen while mobile in my patrol vehicle and this system has been horrible with my 996xt. I have purchased the new uniden and expect it here this week sometime and will be sure to post my results. My job takes me all over central va so if anyone wants me to try to track something around here I will be more than willing.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Rebanded system? Just a thought. Maybe your setting are wrong for the channel width.

http://forums.radioreference.com/un...-type-ii-smartnet-system-receive-problem.html
 
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Nitsud

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Rebanded system? Just a thought. Maybe your setting are wrong for the channel width.

I downloaded the system right from the database into the sentinel software. It is listed in the database as a rebounded system
 

hill2jb

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I downloaded the system right from the database into the sentinel software. It is listed in the database as a rebounded system

If it's any consolation, I have the same problem with that area, but am not up there enough for it to bother me to the point of doing something about it. Same two radios; 996xt has issue with it, pro 106 works much better.
 

Nitsud

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thanks for the link

Yea I guess it could really be anything at this point. I have always used unidens, so Im not that "up" on gre products, but Im wondering if it has something to do with the multisite option that the gee radios have. I understand that with a simulcast system this really shouldn't be a factor, but while monitoring both the 106 and the 996xt and 536 together on the digital simulcast, I notice that the 106 displays a different frequency each transmission, while the unidens are staying on just the first frequency. I adjusted both the hold times and all the other various P25 settings in the unidens and still didn't make a difference.

I spend 8+ hours a day in my vehicle and have the chance to monitor this system entirely during all times of day/weather/season/locations and still, I have yet to have one single day or much less a simple conversation on the system be decoded and tracked correctly with ANY uniden product, since they switched from the few sites, to the simulcast. The GRE however much it pains me to say, has simply nailed it.

I am not a radio buff, and I can't claim to possess much radio theory, but I have done my fair share of reading and studying as to why this system is so complicated for uniden to decode, but I just don't understand it. I do however know, without a doubt, that the uniden is not even in the same ballpark as the gee radios in this area.

I have spent countless hours and $$$ shipping and trading and buying every model/brand of digital radio to try and simply monitor this system. At the end of the day I have sold/traded all my unidens and am in the market for a 197/psr600. I will finally have a scanner to monitor this system.
 

QDP2012

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...Im wondering if it has something to do with the multisite option that the gee radios have.
I have "multisite=off" when I listen with the PRO106. I don't think this feature should be a factor. I might be wrong. I haven't tested with "multisite=on".

...I notice that the 106 displays a different frequency each transmission, while the unidens are staying on just the first frequency.
Is the uniden displaying the control-channel frequency? ...or the voice-channel frequency? The 106 will display the voice-channel frequency by default. But, you can enable "Show CC" to also show the control-channel. The two frequencies then "blink" or "alternate" on the same line during the conversation. The control-channel usually stays the same, while the voice-channel changes as necessary.

At the end of the day I have sold/traded all my unidens and am in the market for a 197/psr600. I will finally have a scanner to monitor this system.

Sorry you're having so much trouble. Given how long Uniden has been producing good scanners, it is interesting that this continues to be a problem. Has Uniden Customer Service been able to suggest configuration changes to try?

Like you, I'm surprised their units, especially the new ones, don't have some way to handle the simultaneous systems. I doubt Chvl/Alb is the first one in the country to be built this way.

Thanks for the update,
 

tglendye

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Took a quick trip to UVA today and my Pro-197 seemed to work well on the system. Plenty of activity across city/ county TG's.

I know you said your scanner handles STARS well, but I don't recall if you commented on other 800 trunked systems other than Charlottesville/ Alb's. Have you been able to scan others, such as Henrico's?
 
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