close call

[mainetrunk]

I cannot seem to get my bcd396xt to get any hits on close call. Meanwhile, the pro 106 sgnal stalker is perfect! I donot know whats wrong. It also does a rotten job searching the vhf range. I have been figuring out this scanner manually, directions/marks scanner page does not help. So, I put my faith of signal stalking and searches in the pro 106 until I get this 396xt figured out. Anyone got any ideas? P.s- I do like the fact that I can store a radio station in it.

 

[awattam]

I cannot seem to get my bcd396xt to get any hits on close call. Meanwhile, the pro 106 sgnal stalker is perfect! I donot know whats wrong. It also does a rotten job searching the vhf range. I have been figuring out this scanner manually, directions/marks scanner page does not help. So, I put my faith of signal stalking and searches in the pro 106 until I get this 396xt figured out. Anyone got any ideas? P.s- I do like the fact that I can store a radio station in it.

If you werent over an hour away, I could bring my BCD396xt and laptop and help you program that sucker.

One thing to try is to adjust the squelch settings (FUNC and volume button). Mine is set at 3 but I often change it to 2.

 

[scannerman5555]

go to progam > settings > band defaults .......> turn them all off and the close call will work ....did it on my BC 346XT scanner !

 

[awattam]

There isnt a Band Default off option on my BCD396xt. All it will let me do is to change the modulation..

 

[davidmc36]

Not sure if scannerman was trying to see if you have the CC bands on or off?

FUNC>Close Call>Set CC Bands> and see which ones are ON or OFF

 

[scannersnstuff]

i've been saying this for year's. gre's version of close call,spectrumsweeper, and signalstalker are more sensitive than unidens. this could be good or bad depending on what you want to do.

 

[Anderegg]

In 5 years of using 5 different 396/996 scanners, in Los Angeles and San Diego, I have NEVER been able to receive a close call hit.....ever!

Paul

 

[rbm]

I have a lot of Uniden scanners and more than twenty of them are set for Close Call DND.

They're all connected to outside antennas.
Even then, almost never do they all get CC hits at the same time.
Typically five or ten of them get a hit at the same time.
Sometimes only one does.
It depends on what other frequencies are active and which antenna I have them connected to.

The only time I get a CC hit on most of them are with a very close & strong signal when there is little other activity.
Even then it's rare for all of them to get a hit.

I'm not far from an airport and during busy times I'll get 10-20 CC hits per hour

Here's a short video of 'most' (but not all) of them getting a hit from a nearby HT.
Uniden Close Call - CC DND - YouTube

(From my car with a mag-mount antenna, most hits are no further away than 1/8-1/4 mile.)

Rich

 

[awattam]

Could the Unidens shortcomings have anything to do with the squelch. I remember having to turn the squelch down on the Pro-106 for it to receive anything on Signal Stalker. I am going to turn my down to say 2 on the way home tonight and see if anything changes.

 

[mainetrunk]

Holy sheepdip batman! What a display in that video. I acn do the same-but with the 106. Put 2 handhelds together with the blue flashing light on when an entity talks. In the dark it looks like 2 mini cops. lol

 

[scannersnstuff]

adoys. <absolutely drooling over your shack> LOL. i have a bct15,bcd996xt and a psr-410 hooked up to a multicoupler, hooked to an attic mounted decent antenna. i can NEVER recall ever getting a close call hit from an aircraft on the unidens. yet, the gre constantly pick's them off. i'm pretty much under the approach/departure path for newark,jfk and laguardia. at various time's of the day,noticeably around 16:00 or so, my gre light's up like a christmas tree.

one reason i don't get hooked on scanner brand loyalty. then you never know what you're missing. although i have to say that i give the scanner brand edge to uniden.

 

[rbm]

Here's how I have my Close Call set up on my BCD396XT's.

The 25-30 MHz broadcast setting is to eliminate CB band hits. Otherwise I get overwhelmed with them.

The 108-137 broadcast setting is so I can block air band CC Hits from 'some' of my scanners.

CTCSS/DCS is OFF so the scanner will 'decode' P25 audio.

Rich

 

[mainetrunk]

Well rich, seems like alot to signal stalk. Here, I will now hit my pro 106 signal stalker manually. O.k, I push function , then push scan-BOOM signal stalk in less than 4 button pushes. Now, thats turning it on. Lets say it is stalking vhf by default. To stalk uhf- t-uhf, push #5, then push 2 to stalk uhf only. How many pushes is that? 4. I dont have to go inside to get that going. 1 touch for other searches, push search...So easy to do that program, however, 2 pushes on a uniden-function-scan, searches at the freq it stops on. Dont get me wrong, I love ANY scanner that works-trunk- and p25..BUT, if you got a stalker in a scan bank, and you want to edit its stalk banks, you have to go to the bank and scroll. THATS a pain as well, but worth it.. Oh, not to jinx anyone, but that 12-21-12 is coming up and I am going to scan/stalk like crazy.lol....Ron

 

[mainetrunk]

I just got a hit on my 396xt! Got a school 150 ft away, it picked up the uhf input freq to a bus. 1 hit in 2.5 years. Granted, I'm not AT a repeater sight with 50 entities conversing at once, but it took a hit less than 200 feet away. 2nd closest repeater is exactly 3 miles away-as the crow flies-.. Never a hit from that. Pro 106 did. I do have outside antenna's. 1 ferret-goes to bct15x, Marine vhf antenna-10 footer, Thats dedicated to the pro 106 desktop. SENSITIVE AS ALL HECK. 1 footer rubber duckie attatched to the same pole as the vhf. Its not the height,as I am 145 feet above sea level, and get ALOT. Next year-higher poles for scanning. Next---

 

[captclint]

I just got a hit on my 396xt! Got a school 150 ft away, it picked up the uhf input freq to a bus. 2nd closest repeater is exactly 3 miles away-as the crow flies-.. Never a hit from that.

CC is specifically designed to ONLY hear things Very close by so you can "see" or quickly guess who is talking such as your bus. It is not a search function. Getting something 3 miles away would defeat the purpose, as you would not really know who or what it was, just as you don't when you do a normal search. I would say it typically gets an 1/8-1/4 mile, and so if you get a hit, you can probably figure out who it is. Very useful at the scene of an incident, mall security, courthouse security, School bus, Hospital, etc. While the Pro 106 is able to hear further away, I would consider that a disadvantage.

 

[mainetrunk]

Thanks cappy-got tired of relying on 396xt for stalking. Though, its still best to stalk with a pro 106, and scan with the 396xt. It may be a sepparate subject--its easy to push 1--9 on changing 396xt banks--you have to memorize what sub-bank has the entities you want to hear. Just another 1 of unidens GREAT functions.
Capt. Ron---lol remember the movie?
happy holidays!

 

[mainetrunk]

I got a 2nd hit. Havent looked yet, stored it- 123.075. I am semi near peas. Well, guess it works, just not too sensitive--but we like it like that.

 

[scannersnstuff]

I am semi near peas

why don't you hit a bathroom then ?.

 

[mainetrunk]

My bad, I am semi near pease Air Force Base..

 

[scannersnstuff]

i just could not resist LOL. the most exciting thing,bar none that i ever found with spectrumsweeper was when i found the frequencies used by a swat team. i had a hit the other day on what was probably a uscg aux. aircraft. could not get to it in time to see the frquency. it was probably a marine channel.