Fayetteville issues, BCD436HP

[buhammot]

I tried to do a quick search but didnt seem to find exactly what I am experiencing.

Have all the latest updates from Sentinel for the BCD436HP, I literally have a favorite just for Fayetteville, turn off all other lists to scan, and it shows

Durham-Fayetteville
Fayetteville Simulcast
ID Scanning...

No matter how long I let it sit, it will not show any signal. However, the moment I press "Dept/Site" or "System" as hold buttons, it immediately identifies a signal and correctly allows the communications to resume.

If I am also scanning the VIPER system, and trying to also have Fayetteville scanned as well, it just skips right over it and never allows communications to come through.

Am I grossly missing something here? A setting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[GMB951]

Fayetteville has their own tower WFNC located in city off bragg blvd,its not that high i have a Yaggie pointed at it from Spring Lake and receive good. they only use the Viper Towers if they switch to viper group. and Fayetteville is not using (ENC) at this time. That may change when the system goes Phase 2 but that will not happen soon.so they are in the clear

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Durham-Fayetteville
Fayetteville Simulcast
ID Scanning.

I think that's your problem right there. The BCD436HP wasn't designed for simulcast (LSM) systems. I have one and my county uses LSM, and mine actually does really well, but signal is almost nonexistent in some places, and every once in a while when I turn on the radio, sometimes I have to hold on a MARCS channel so that it can lock onto the control channel or it will do the very same thing you described. The Uniden Bearcat SDS100s are designed for LSM and should work much better. I didn't get one because I didn't have quite enough money and I didn't know about the simulcast problem then. But I'm content with my 436 until I save up for the SDS100.

 

[Chris0516]

I tried to do a quick search but didnt seem to find exactly what I am experiencing.

Have all the latest updates from Sentinel for the BCD436HP, I literally have a favorite just for Fayetteville, turn off all other lists to scan, and it shows

Durham-Fayetteville
Fayetteville Simulcast
ID Scanning...

No matter how long I let it sit, it will not show any signal. However, the moment I press "Dept/Site" or "System" as hold buttons, it immediately identifies a signal and correctly allows the communications to resume.

If I am also scanning the VIPER system, and trying to also have Fayetteville scanned as well, it just skips right over it and never allows communications to come through.

Am I grossly missing something here? A setting? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I have the 436HP.

I think that's your problem right there. The BCD436HP wasn't designed for simulcast (LSM) systems. I have one and my county uses LSM, and mine actually does really well, but signal is almost nonexistent in some places, and every once in a while when I turn on the radio, sometimes I have to hold on a MARCS channel so that it can lock onto the control channel or it will do the very same thing you described. The Uniden Bearcat SDS100s are designed for LSM and should work much better. I didn't get one because I didn't have quite enough money and I didn't know about the simulcast problem then. But I'm content with my 436 until I save up for the SDS100.

Like he said above, the 436HP doesn't work well with simulcast. In my case, I have no problem getting Cary/Wake25. But Durham-Fayetteville barely comes in. It may be just simulcast or, it may also be distance.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

It may be just simulcast or, it may also be distance.

Yeah, my 436 does pretty good on MARCS in most but not all places even with the simulcast, but when I'm scanning Wood County, West Virginia, it usually gets their SIRN network pretty solid, but there's usually only 1 signal bar and sometimes it doesn't get any signal from it at all. And that's the Parkersburg site, which isn't simulcast, so I think distance is the culprit for that one.

 

[Chris0516]

The Durham PD portion of Durham-Fayetteville comes in fine. But other parts are questionable.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

The Durham PD portion of Durham-Fayetteville comes in fine. But other parts are questionable.

That's weird. Normally if you don't have a strong signal on a trunked network, it affects all of those channels because they all go through the same set of frequencies through the same tower or group of towers.

 

[Chris0516]

That's weird. Normally if you don't have a strong signal on a trunked network, it affects all of those channels because they all go through the same set of frequencies through the same tower or group of towers.

Ditto

 

[Chris0516]

Looking at ProScan, this is what I see in the log:
(I originally just thought PD)

Durham County Sheriff
Durham City PD
Durham EMS
Durham County Fire
NCCU
Durham Technical
and many more....

Since I started using my 436HP. I am getting far more than I was with my 325p2.

 

[buhammot]

When it is normally scanning, powered on and begin on its own, it wont show any signal. When I press Func then Site, immediately it sees a signal and begins receiving. Im in the middle of Fayetteville and it will bounce between full signal, to 3 bars and back again when there is nothing being transmitted

I suppose if I deleted the other control sites It can work better? Ill give that a go and see what happens.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Mine does the very same thing if it's not in just the right spot. I'm pretty sure it's simulcast distortion.