Fauquier County System setup for BCD396xt

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quick67coupe

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I am trying to set up the Fauquier / Culpeper / Rappahannock System in my Uniden BCD396XT with no luck so far. It seems like I'm getting a strong signal but no audio when it scans the system i loaded. I set up Prince William County in a similar way and pick up plenty from their police dispatch. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong and any advice would be appreciated. I'm completely new to digital scanners.
 

ka3jjz

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There are a number of things that could be wrong; quick keys, system type, etc. Let's start with this...

Fauquier / Culpeper / Rappahannock Trunking System, Various, Virginia - Scanner Frequencies

This shows that the system is rebanded, and mixed mode, so it will need a custom table. That is discussed here...

Software Support for Uniden Rebanding - The RadioReference Wiki

You didn't say whether you're using an app to program it but if you do, and get a premium subscription, the custom table settings will be set up for you. Otherwise you would need to do it manually. If the latter, this should help...

Easier to Read BCD396XT Digital Scanner Manual

best regards..Mike
 

quick67coupe

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thanks for the help. To answer your questions here is a run down of my setup.
I use OS X so i plan on using BCProgTool to program my system however i needed to order a RS232 to USB adapter that has OS x drivers. That's on order so until then I'm manually entering everything.

On the radio I followed the details of the link for "Fauquier / Culpeper / Rappahannock Trunking System, Various, Virginia - Scanner Frequencies" closely.

I set up a new System called FCR with two Sites. One Site contained all of the Frequencies for Fauquier and the other Site Contains all of the frequencies for Culpeper. I did have a couple of talk groups programed in but removed those in troubleshooting.

If i hold on what is considered the control frequency for Fauquier i have 5 bars of signal an hear a what sounds like feedback or buffering of some kind. Otherwise in scan mode i hear nothing.
 

brownlab

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We had this issue back in May this year. DTSCHO posted the table,

Here are the trunking tables you'll need (for the BCD396XT):

Lower Freq: 851.0250
Upper Freq: 854.0000
Step: 25.0
Offset: 440

Lower Freq: 851.0125
Upper Freq: 868.9875
Step: 25.0
Offset: 0

I am not sure if we are supposed to cross-link in these discussions but if you do a search on RR for Fauquier Rebanding, you should find the discussion. Fauquier is hard for me to pick up in far southwestern Loudoun County but if you are receiving a strong signal, then may guess is your trunking table is incorrect. Let us know what happens. Good Luck
 

quick67coupe

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I found the old thread just prior to your reading your response. I wish i had realized this earlier but t was exactly what i needed to fix my issue. Thank you all very much.


To be honest i really don't understand where the values for band plans table come from or how to figure them out. I'm scouring the forums as i write this but if someone could point me in the right direction for how to know when a custom band plan is needed and how to determine what values to enter i would appreciate it.


Again Thanks for all the help
 

brownlab

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Happy that you got the unit to work! A lot of the Uniden users ran into this same issue. Between PW and Fauquier, you should be able to monitor a lot of traffic including ATC in Vint Hill. Have you programed STARS yet? That can be trickey as well. Let us know if you have problems with that. You may also want to add Statfford Fire too since they run a lot into Fauquier quite a bit. You may also consider becoming a premium member of RR and then you can use Freescan. Freescan may not be the best programming software but it is easy to use and reliable. Good luck!

Take care, Jeff
 
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c5corvette

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I am going to hijack this thread - does anyone know if the shared system is truly simulcast in all three counties on both sites listed in the database?

I want to set up my 396 for GPS scanning, but not sure what coordinates to associate with which site. It appears the lat/lon/range in RRDB is different for each site but overlaps alot and both are set to 25 mi radius which may be too large.

Please - anyone, please reply.
 

smwincva

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I am going to hijack this thread - does anyone know if the shared system is truly simulcast in all three counties on both sites listed in the database?

I want to set up my 396 for GPS scanning, but not sure what coordinates to associate with which site. It appears the lat/lon/range in RRDB is different for each site but overlaps alot and both are set to 25 mi radius which may be too large.

Please - anyone, please reply.

I can monitor only the Fauquier Frequencies. I tried programing in Culpeper's but I am too far away to receive it. Rappahannock County uses towers in the original system, then added 1 of their own. I know Rappahannock is simulcast on Fauquier, & I would suppose on Culpeper as well. Fire units in Culpeper & Fauquier can use the other's frequencies without patches. Several years ago I heard some fire channel transmissions from the Culpeper side on the Fauquier side.

Steve
 

c5corvette

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Would someone who knows about this system(s) please reply!

I know Rappahannock is simulcast on Fauquier, & I would suppose on Culpeper as well.

Can someone confirm the above?

Fire units in Culpeper & Fauquier can use the other's frequencies without patches.

I assume above you mean they can use each others talkgroups?

Several years ago I heard some fire channel transmissions from the Culpeper side on the Fauquier side.

Also confusing.
 

pogbobo

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Originally Posted by smwincva
I know Rappahannock is simulcast on Fauquier, & I would suppose on Culpeper as well.



The Culpeper and Fauquier sites are not simulcast, they are independent of each other, but they are indeed interconnected

fwiw I hear Rappahannock FD on the Fauquier site all the time ... not sure if they have their own tower(s) now ?



Originally Posted by smwincva View Post
Fire units in Culpeper & Fauquier can use the other's frequencies without patches.


and

Quote:
Originally Posted by smwincva View Post
Several years ago I heard some fire channel transmissions from the Culpeper side on the Fauquier side.



Not frequencies, but the two sites in Culpeper and Fauquier are interconnected, and sometimes they patch talkgroups from one site into the other and vice versa... not often, but it does happen
 

smwincva

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I can monitor only the Fauquier Frequencies. I tried programing in Culpeper's but I am too far away to receive it. Rappahannock County uses towers in the original system, then added 1 of their own. I know Rappahannock is simulcast on Fauquier, & I would suppose on Culpeper as well. Fire units in Culpeper & Fauquier can use the other's frequencies without patches. Several years ago I heard some fire channel transmissions from the Culpeper side on the Fauquier side.

Steve

Just to clarify, Rappahannock has their own license WQJU912 (using Fauquier's freqs and 851.200 added. Control point in FCC data lists Warrenton, but tower is in Culpeper County. Another tower has been applied for, also in Culpeper County per file number 0004937601. According to FCC license info, there are no towers for the system in Rappahannock County. However a few years ago I read a newspaper story that RC wanted to add a tower for coverage.

What I meant by hearing simulcast transmissions, a few years ago I heard routine traffic from Culpeper County, mostly fire and some some sheriff, on the Fauquier side. At the present time, I hear only Rappahannock & Fauquier on the Fauquier system. If there is a fire call that brings Culpeper to Fauquier county, I will hear that traffic on the respective talk groups on the Fauquier system.

Steve
 
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gcgrotz

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FWIW: By simulcast, it usually means that all towers in the system transmit the same frequency at the same time, i.e. the control channel on 851.xxxx would be on the same frequency at the same time on all towers, as would a talkgroup assigned to a frequency when active. An example of non-simulcast is STARS where a talkgroup is active on several towers in a division but they use different frequencies per tower.

Having said all that, I don't know which applies to this system since my travels normally only take me to the edge of Culpeper County.
 
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