Control Chan. quiet ...UPMan, please read..not a basic prob.

[911scanner]

Wanted to post this from another portion of this forum. Speaks to CC "muted" when recieving full strength on a 296D.

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=16163

If this topic has been addressed in the past and I missed it, sorry.

Please don't try to "help" unless you've read the above post and the subsequent pasted link, as the basic answer of "The CC is just inactive" isn't the answer.

Thanks to anyone that can have a true "fix" for this problem.

 

[Voyager]

Re: CC quiet problems...UPMan, please read

Wanted to post this from another portion of this forum. Speaks to CC "muted" when recieving full strength on a 296D.

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=16163

If this topic has been addressed in the past and I missed it, sorry.

Please don't try to "help" unless you've read the above post and the subsequent pasted link, as the basic answer of "The CC is just inactive" isn't the answer.

Thanks to anyone that can have a true "fix" for this problem.

So, your post here is designed to ask people to read another thread? Several possible causes were mentioned, but no reply was given if one of those is the cause.

BTW, when I first read this topic, I though you were talking about Close Call (CC), and not Control Channel.

Truth is, the control channel is ALWAYS muted - you never hear it while trunking. Are you saying the voice channel is muted, too? Does it switch to it?

Joe M.

 

[JoeyC]

The control channel is SUPPOSED to be muted when listening to a trunked system! Thats the way trunking works.

 

[911scanner]

Sorry for not being clear..did you read the other link?

One of the CC's for one of the towers of the system I listen too is completely inactive, i.e. no active ID's, no sound, no traffic, yet shows full 5 bars of reception.

The other CC on a different frequency shows active ID's, sound, etc. while this one is "dead"

2 different CC's for same system, same traffic. One quiet while the other is active. I've been right next to the tower for the quiet one, and still recieved the farther away tower's traffic and the freq/CC from the tower I'm next to shows zero activity.

Please, no more "basic" answers, as I understand the basics quite well and am not a NooBee, just not a programmer or employed by Uniden.

This is a strange problem which may have something to do with the firmware of the Uniden, or may be explained by different sound quality settings from one tower to another (which makes no sense as they are the same system for one county)

P.S. Close Call is not a 296D feature, sorry I wasn't clear there either Voyager. Can I edit the thread title?

 

[911scanner]

Edited thread title...Thx for the heads up Voyager

 

[kikito]

One of the CC's for one of the towers of the system I listen too is completely inactive, i.e. no active ID's, no sound, no traffic, yet shows full 5 bars of reception.

The other CC on a different frequency shows active ID's, sound, etc. while this one is "dead"

2 different CC's for same system, same traffic. One quiet while the other is active. I've been right next to the tower for the quiet one, and still recieved the farther away tower's traffic and the freq/CC from the tower I'm next to shows zero activity.

If it's a Smartzone system, then that's the way it works. You won't hear anything in all the towers at the same time if no one is affiliated to the particular tower that's "quiet".

In other words, I could have 8 CC's active for the same system but the people talking are affiliated and in the vicinity of only one of the towers, then I will only hear them on that particular tower since there's no need to be transmitting over all the rest of the towers.

I might be way off or somebody else can explain it better. One way I could think of testing this is by monitoring conventionally the voice channels for the 'quiet' tower and see if they're being used and go from there....

 

[kikito]

I just remember that I had a similar problem on our P25 9600 VHF system a while ago. It wasn't just one tower but all of them. It would just sit there and not track. Sometimes I could "fool" the BC296D to track by setting a search range to Control-Channel only mode and when it finds a control channel and started tracking then I would quickly switch to a normal trunk search and it'll keep working until I turn off the radio.

What solve the problem? Installing the latest upgrade for the digital card AND radio. The Uniden website describes the problem the update fixes very similarly.

Anyway, the above post and this one are the only two suggestions I have for now.....

 

[911scanner]

Thx for the thought process kikito...I think my problem is closer to your second post.

I can also "re-teach" the quiet CC by maunually dialing in to the other CC for that system, see when that one is receiving activity, then by hitting the scan button the quiet CC is now active.

All of the TG's for this system are above 10000, so I believe I have the right update, unless a new firmware update came out after the first 2.

 

[kikito]

All of the TG's for this system are above 10000, so I believe I have the right update, unless a new firmware update came out after the first 2.

Here's the update I'm talking about:

http://www.uniden.com/rn_productsupport_downloads.cfm?product=BC296d

And a short excerpt about it:

"Some new or trial APCO 25 systems are using unexpected commands. If the scanner receives
such a command, it displays "Invalid ID" and stops tracking properly. If this happens,
change the APCO 25 tracking model from Mode 1 to Mode 2 as follows:"

 

[Voyager]

Sorry for not being clear..did you read the other link?

One of the CC's for one of the towers of the system I listen too is completely inactive, i.e. no active ID's, no sound, no traffic, yet shows full 5 bars of reception.

The other CC on a different frequency shows active ID's, sound, etc. while this one is "dead"

2 different CC's for same system, same traffic. One quiet while the other is active. I've been right next to the tower for the quiet one, and still recieved the farther away tower's traffic and the freq/CC from the tower I'm next to shows zero activity.

Please, no more "basic" answers, as I understand the basics quite well and am not a NooBee, just not a programmer or employed by Uniden.

This is a strange problem which may have something to do with the firmware of the Uniden, or may be explained by different sound quality settings from one tower to another (which makes no sense as they are the same system for one county)

P.S. Close Call is not a 296D feature, sorry I wasn't clear there either Voyager. Can I edit the thread title?

Sounds like a birdie. If there is no sound on the one control channel, it's not a control channel. There is NEVER more than one active control channel on a system per site.

So, you are saying there is a dead carrier on the one control channel frequency, right? No data - no nothing - just a dead carrier. Again, this sounds like it's not a control channel you are hearing.

Another possibility: It's a malfunctioning system controller.

What is the exact system and frequency?

Joe M.

 

[scanfan03]

So your saying that if you tune to one channel that is assigned to that towerit is an open carrier, but if you tune to another channel that is assined at that same tower as a control channel it is silent? There can only be one control channel going at a time at each tower. So please clear some things up and be more specific. As an answer to a person who posted the site was being used by no one, wouldn't the control channel still be buzzing away, but it just wouldn't be active?

 

[kikito]

As an answer to a person who posted the site was being used by no one, wouldn't the control channel still be buzzing away, but it just wouldn't be active?

If you're referring to my comments, then yes, the control channel will ALWAYS be active but the way it works in some systems is that you won't get voice traffic on that tower unless someone is in range and affiliated to it.

 

[911scanner]

So please clear some things up and be more specific

:idea: Good point. I was thinking of that driving down the road on my way past the said tower with said freq/CC.

The 2 CC's for the Hennepin County, MN system are 867.3625 (East CC) & 867.6125(West CC)

These 2 towers are simulcast for the Henn. Co. traffic, which is the big tidbit I forgot to mention to you all when I brought this to a national vs. local forum.

Now obviously, as would be the case with any system like this, some traffic is heard on one CC/tower that isn't heard on the other. Again though, the main traffic for the owners of this sub-system is simulcast on both towers at the same time.

The problem. While the East CC has traffic, the West CC is not decoding any activity. None at all. Not in search mode looking for other traffic besides this simulcast, not in scan mode looking for programmed TG's, nothing. However, it does show full signal strength and acts as if it's actively scanning. Mind you, it worked fine for the 1st 7-8 months I owned the 296D, which went in service roughly 12-11-03.

The only way I can get the non-decoding West CC to decode properly is this-

-While the unit is "checking" this CC, hit the Trunk button to go to non-trunking mode
-Manually scroll to the L/O East CC freq. programmed into that bank (which I didn't even have in that bank until after this problem occured).
-Holding on the East CC freq (not in Trunk mode) wait for the freq to show activity ID on the screen
-Hit the Scan button
-Viola! The West CC is now actively decoding again. I hear all traffic on both CC's again.

Every time I power down the unit, I have to go through this sequence again.
I also have to go through this sequence if both CC's have been extremely quiet for an extended period of time.

If any of you took the time to read the link in my starter to this thread, one of the guys here locally said that he doesn't have this problem with the Pro-96. For the longest time, I thought it was a system issue until I heard that. Now I know it's a Uniden issue. :!:

I enjoy all of the Uniden products I own, which at current tally I retain 5 scanners and have owned 2 others. I'm in no way saying that I'm mad about the Uniden product, I just want to fix it for a happy scanning experience :wink:

I also want to just say Thanks a ton to those of you taking the time to try & help, and also for being patient with my improper explanation of the problem. I hope this post covers it.

 

[911scanner]

Scanfan03 & kikito:

The way it works here in Minneapolis on the APCO-25 digital system is that the 296D decodes the CC, but it remains silent while there is no activity. No buzzing. The 296D sits on that CC until activity, then the scanner goes to the appropriate freq. where the traffic is occuring.

We do have a local suburb that has an EDACS analog system where this buzzing happens on the CC, so I'm familiar with what you're referencing to.

I suppose if I were to be listening to the "digital" CC freq. with a non-digital decoding scanner, I would hear said "buzzes & clicks"

I do think I have both of the updates kikito, but I will double check to see if a new one came out.

 

[kikito]

I do think I have both of the updates kikito, but I will double check to see if a new one came out.

Also, on the link I posted above for the update, it tells you how to switch the scanner from "Mode 1 to Mode 2". I'm wondering if you tried that yet and if it made any difference....

 

[911scanner]

kikito...

Double checked firmware... ver 3.25 (GOOD!)

Tried Mode 2 as per your suggestion...no help!

Next thought......

 

[kikito]

kikito...

Double checked firmware... ver 3.25 (GOOD!)

Tried Mode 2 as per your suggestion...no help!

Next thought......

Well, I ran out of ideas for now....

All I have left is "basic" ideas like, try attenuator on, no antenna, etc.


Sorry.... :?

 

[AZScanner]

kikito...

Double checked firmware... ver 3.25 (GOOD!)

Tried Mode 2 as per your suggestion...no help!

Next thought......

Sayyyyy....

I wonder if that mode 2 thingie will fix my problem (see my 796 thread). I will try it and report back tonight.

-AZ

 

[Voyager]

The only way I can get the non-decoding West CC to decode properly is this-

-While the unit is "checking" this CC, hit the Trunk button to go to non-trunking mode
-Manually scroll to the L/O East CC freq. programmed into that bank (which I didn't even have in that bank until after this problem occured).
-Holding on the East CC freq (not in Trunk mode) wait for the freq to show activity ID on the screen
-Hit the Scan button
-Viola! The West CC is now actively decoding again. I hear all traffic on both CC's again.

Wait a minute :!: You have BOTH control channels in the same bank? A Uniden WILL NOT TRUNK PROPERLY in that configuration.

Separate the two systems into two separate banks.

Joe M.

 

[AZScanner]

Wait a minute :!: You have BOTH control channels in the same bank? A Uniden WILL NOT TRUNK PROPERLY in that configuration.

I don't know about that. I've done it on every Uniden I've owned since the 780 and never had a problem with multiple CC's in the same bank. It just picks one and runs with it. Maybe I'm missing something here.

-AZ