Finding CtrlChan

[radiochuck]

396xt Number Tagging Design Flaw
I believe there is a design issue with number tagging. If I tag a MOT trunked system as "1" and a TGID in the system as "1", when I enter "1.1" from another system (trunked or conventional) the 396 goes to the correct TGID but the only site selected is the first site in the system (even if there are multiple sites in the SQK). This is regardless of the SQK(s) which are currently selected. So in my case since I can't receive the control channel in the first site, rather than receiving traffic on the TGID I've jumped to, I get the infamous "Finding CtrlChan" message.

It seems like either the SQKs should determine the currently enabled site(s) as they do in scan mode, or, the tag should be by site and not system. I'd prefer the former, but the later will work as well.

Seven years later, the same issue exists on the BCD325P2. Is there any chance of a fix for this? If not, the Number Tag feature is fairly useless on multi-site trunked systems.

 

[BenScan]

It's not a fix, but a work-around, I don't program my systems with multiple sites. It's a lot easier to lock in what I want to hear that way.

It would be nice if it worked differently, but I'm not sure that could be done without also adding a number tag to the sites.

Seven years later, the same issue exists on the BCD325P2. Is there any chance of a fix for this? If not, the Number Tag feature is fairly useless on multi-site trunked systems.

 

[radiochuck]

Right. But then what's the point of having a multi-site-capable scanner, if you can't program it that way? You can imagine what a mess that would be in the case of a statewide system with a hundred or so sites.

The point is really that Uniden should fix this by either...

1. Allowing the scanner to recognize when a site is locked out and ignoring it for the purpose of number tags. (The site I'm getting stuck on is one that I have never used, but keep it programmed in case I travel to that area.)

2. Allowing the scanner to realize that when there's no active data channel on a given site, it will move quickly to the next.

Option 1, in my opinion would be preferred as option 2 could slow things down.

It seems pretty simple. I can't imagine why in all this time Uniden hasn't listened to this feedback and released a fix for the various radios that have this feature that's rendered unusable by a simple bug in the firmware.

 

[ofd8001]

Just chiming in. . .

I think scenario 1 is sending mixed signals to the scanner. On one hand the site is locked out, probably intentionally. On the other you are saying you want to go to a channel for a site that is locked out. The scanner may have difficulty knowing what you really want.

So it's really a two step process. One is to unlock the site. Then use number tags to jump to a channel associated with that site.

With the 396 models being "old" its unlikely that any firmware upgrades will be coming. Uniden typically supports only the latest models, for better or worse.

 

[radiochuck]

Just chiming in. . .

I think scenario 1 is sending mixed signals to the scanner. On one hand the site is locked out, probably intentionally. On the other you are saying you want to go to a channel for a site that is locked out. The scanner may have difficulty knowing what you really want.

So it's really a two step process. One is to unlock the site. Then use number tags to jump to a channel associated with that site.

Maybe I didn't explain that correctly. If there are multiple sites, the scanner should ignore the ones that are locked out and only looks through the ones that are unlocked. That is, of course, the purpose of locking/unlocking sites in the first place, right? When I monitor the statewide system, I only unlock the ones that are within range, either by hand or by GPS.

Unfortunately, my scanner goes to the first site on the list (which is out of range and locked out) and gets stuck there. That's the problem. The radio needs to ignore the locked out sites and move on.

Don't know about updates for other radios, but the BCD325P2 is still relatively new and should be supported.