Got a BCD996P2 today and programmed in Coweta county Police, Fire and EMS from Radio Ref. Premium. After about an hour of monitoring I have not received a single transmission. Anyone that monitors Coweta able to help me out? I feel like I should have heard something by now...
Coweta County Police?
- Thread starter thatguyj
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I should mention I have the WARRS programmed in also, heard zilch.
Simulcast distortion may likely be the issue. The only scanners designed to monitor simulcast sites are the Uniden SDS100 (handheld) and SDS200 (base). Yes they are the most expensive but they get the job done right!
Even if its a simulcast issue there shouldnt be zero transmission, right?
You can try the suggestions in the wiki I linked above. However they work for very few people
Everyone's simulcast struggle is different depending on where your location is in relation to two or more repeaters broadcasting the same traffic at the same time on the same frequencies. Some scanners lock up, going totally silent. Others sputter, studder, miss transmissions, etc. The engineers certainly don't design these systems with the hobbyist in mind, that's for sure. I have numerous simulcast sites in my area which I struggled to monitor for years with a 436HP & TRX-1. So I sold both scanners for an SDS100. The clouds of simulcast distortion vanished and I was finally able to hear every transmission
In the last few minutes with my initial setup I recorded a couple of transmissions from the simulcast clear as day. Do you think enabling attenuator will help this P25 system?
I put in the main frequency for the simulcast and after a few minutes received no transmission.
I put in the main frequency for the simulcast and after a few minutes received no transmission.
Coweta county Police was disbanded in the 80's from what I recall. I have a few different Coweta Co. PD patches from back then, but the Sheriff's office has assumed all duties from the County Police.
Of course, Newnan, Grantville, Senoia, and a small portion of Palmetto have police departments still in service as well.
Of course, Newnan, Grantville, Senoia, and a small portion of Palmetto have police departments still in service as well.
Simulcast can be extremely location specific. At times, moving the scanner (and/or it's antenna) a few inches or feet to a different spot may make a huge difference. Or maybe not.
Read the Simulcast Distortion Wiki page that Johnny Mike linked in post 3. The issue with simulcast is that you have two or more transmit locations at various directions & distances, all transmitting the exact same radio traffic, on the same frequency, at the same time. While the time differentials between those signals may be minuscule, they are still enough out of synch to impair, if not destroy, the ability of your scanner to correctly monitor the signals.
In some cases, using the attenuator may help. Or, maybe using "less" antenna, even a paper clip, night help. You can use a directional antenna, such as a Yagi, aimed at one specific site, to get a stronger signal from it that overrides the transmissions from other sites. But the downside of using a directional antenna is that you are pretty much limiting yourself to only transmissions from that one site. It may make it difficult, if not impossible, to monitor a different system or site that is in a different direction from you.
Other than an SDS series scanner, your other choices might be one of the Unication pagers, or the Blue Tail receiver. But neither of those are true scanners, and there are limitations on what you can hear.
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