BCD325P2/BCD996P2: Finding Control Channel BCD996P2

[Matt9638]

Good Evening,

After an afternoon of reading various threads i have decided to ask my question. I am trying to program my scanner (BCD996P2) with a new system that went online. link attached. I am using ARCXT Pro and the radio reference program feature. After programming I receive no transmissions and the message Finding CtrlChan appears. I know there are several threads but i also realize every system is different. help is greatly appreciated.

Westchester County (P25) Trunking System, Westchester County, New York

Westchester County (P25) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

What you may experience when trying to monitor this type of system on a 996P2 is a phenominon known as simulcast distortion, perhaps the most discussed issue on these forums. In a simulcast system, a site is not a single transmitter at a specific location, but rather a collection of transmitters spread out over a certain area that all transmit on the same frequency at the same time. It's all those signals coming to your scanner at the same time that cause most scanners to lock up, stutter, miss transmissions, etc. Ultimately the only scanners designed to mitigate the effects of simulcast distortion are the Uniden SDS100 (portable) or SDS200 (base). Yes they are the most expensive but they do the job right. There are a number of workarounds for other scanners mentioned in the wiki I linked but they work in very few cases. It all depends on your location relative to the range of two or more simulcasting towers

 

[doctordialtone]

Two things:

Finding Ctrl Channel means you are too far away from the tower.

Any group with an E in the MODE column is encrypted.

 

[Matt9638]

What you may experience when trying to monitor this type of system on a 996P2 is a phenominon known as simulcast distortion, perhaps the most discussed issue on these forums. In a simulcast system, a site is not a single transmitter at a specific location, but rather a collection of transmitters spread out over a certain area that all transmit on the same frequency at the same time. It's all those signals coming to your scanner at the same time that cause most scanners to lock up, stutter, miss transmissions, etc. Ultimately the only scanners designed to mitigate the effects of simulcast distortion are the Uniden SDS100 (portable) or SDS200 (base). Yes they are the most expensive but they do the job right. There are a number of workarounds for other scanners mentioned in the wiki I linked but they work in very few cases. It all depends on your location relative to the range of two or more simulcasting towers

Does a specific antenna play a role in this?

 

[Matt9638]

Two things:

Finding Ctrl Channel means you are too far away from the tower.

Any group with an E in the MODE column is encrypted.

Antenna play a different role in this?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Antenna play a different role in this?

Click the "simulcast distortion" link I provided. It describes the role an antenna plays

 

[Nascar18]

Matt,
Try just loading the site closes to you. I also get that when a site is out of range on my 996P2. If you scan and notice the sight is getting one to two bars chances are good you won't receive them.

Looking at your location you would benefit from a SDS scanner. I believe that site uses a LSM system.

 

[wtp]

where are you located, Matt9638 ?

 

[Matt9638]

where are you located, Matt9638 ?

Westchester NY

 

[tvengr]

Antenna play a different role in this?

If you are in Westchester County, you may be receiving too much signal. Try turning on the attenuator. Also try removing the antenna and replacing it with a paperclip. If you reduce the number of the simulcast towers you receive, it may improve the control channel decoding. Not detecting the control channel is a classic symptom of simulcast distortion. Also, try moving the scanner around the room and varying the length and orientation of the antenna.

 

[buddrousa]

Or you could buy a receiver/scanner designed to work in SIMULCAST areas.

 

[wtp]

tvenger, it is called the rabbitear antenna dance from eons ago.

my 396XT on a 700 digital simulcast system works better after we moved it from the middle of the window to the edge on a cell phone holder and set up horizontal. the wife hates the look now, but it works !

 

[ofd8001]

The message "Finding Control Channel" is not a simulcast error. It can happen with single site trunked systems too.

It occurs when you are Holding on a talkgroup and the scanner is not receiving a Control Channel The scanner will then continue to look for a Control Channel and let you know it is looking for one, as in it is "trying to find a control channel".

This situation can occur for other reasons in addition to being too far from the site it is attempting to receive:

The system has had to switch to a different Control Channel frequency, as in using an alternate control channel, but you may not have it programmed in your scanner.

You may have an antenna issue - broken coax, connectors all of a sudden going bad, antenna all of a sudden going bad and so on on. (You can unscrew the antenna from the scanner and in a few moments, you will see the error message.)

Lastly your scanner could be on the fritz, like if you key up a transmit radio in very close proximity to the scanner, thus blowing the protective diode.

 

[tvengr]

tvenger, it is called the rabbitear antenna dance from eons ago.

Don't forget the aluminum foil.

 

[tvengr]

The message "Finding Control Channel" is not a simulcast error. It can happen with single site trunked systems too.
It occurs when you are Holding on a talkgroup and the scanner is not receiving a Control Channel The scanner will then continue to look for a Control Channel and let you know it is looking for one, as in it is "trying to find a control channel"

That is incorrect. My BCD996P2 cannot detect the control channel of the Baltimore County system at my residence due to simulcast distortion. If I hold on a talkgroup, I get the Finding CtrlChan message. It can also be due to insufficient signal strength.

 

[Matt9638]

Or you could buy a receiver/scanner designed to work in SIMULCAST areas.

I am using Bcd996p2

 

[tvengr]

I am using Bcd996p2

The Uniden SDS100/200 scanners and the Unication G4/G5 pagers are the only radios that will receive the Baltimore County simulcast system at my location. My BCD996P2 fails miserably. The Unication pagers can receive only 1 system and 1 site at a time. The Westchester County system has 2 sites. I would recommend the Uniden SDS100 handheld and SDS200 base/mobile scanners. They are the only scanners designed to receive simulcast systems.

 

[werinshades]

The Unication pagers can receive only 1 system and 1 site at a time. The Westchester County system has 2 sites. I would recommend the Uniden SDS100 handheld and SDS200 base/mobile scanners. They are the only scanners designed to receive simulcast systems.

The SDS scanners also switch between sites quicker than the beta version of the Unication pagers that allows multiple sites to be scanned. I don't think that specific beta version is publicly released.

 

[Matt9638]

Ok so here is an update. I have 2 BCD996P2 scanners. One is picking up just fine no issues. It is installed in the car with with a Larsen 470 puck no issues picking it up very clear. I have copied that exact same program and uploaded to the scanner in question. same issues. One thing i noticed. the list i downloaded through butel and RR is different then the current list on there. the old list works and new one does not seem to work. thoughts?

 

[wtp]

so a radio in a different place works better....
that is just a bigger version of the antenna dance.
you are proving that it is a simulcast problem.
thank you.