GRE PSR-600 no receive P25 trunk, but weather works

[ryonmyarm]

I have a used GRE PSR-600 that I'm trying to program for Niagara County Public Safety in NY. I used the ARC500 PRO software to successfully connect to radioreference and download the talkgroup and data info. I successfully uploaded that data to the scanner. When I scan it shows all the talkgroups scanning by, however, it doesn't stop on any talkgroup If I manually stop it and go to LE Dispatch, I hear nothing. They are talking (Verified by live feed online).

The WX works fine.

The signal strength shows it's receiving full bars when the T is flashing, indicating it's receiving data from the trunking control channel.

I have not tried any conventional frequencies, I haven't played with it that much.

I do not know the firmware version (just read today how to find it, will make sure it's the latest version when I get home from work.)

Any thoughts?

 

[ecps92]

Can you go to "Tune" and find the current control channel.
Does it properly decode the Sys CT/NAC Site # ??

Note - I have seen 500/600's go DEAF in the 900/800/700 bands
Yet work very well [my Fed monitor is a 600] for the VHF and UHF [non T-Band]

I have a used GRE PSR-600 that I'm trying to program for Niagara County Public Safety in NY. I used the ARC500 PRO software to successfully connect to radioreference and download the talkgroup and data info. I successfully uploaded that data to the scanner. When I scan it shows all the talkgroups scanning by, however, it doesn't stop on any talkgroup If I manually stop it and go to LE Dispatch, I hear nothing. They are talking (Verified by live feed online).

The WX works fine.

The signal strength shows it's receiving full bars when the T is flashing, indicating it's receiving data from the trunking control channel.

I have not tried any conventional frequencies, I haven't played with it that much.

I do not know the firmware version (just read today how to find it, will make sure it's the latest version when I get home from work.)

Any thoughts?

 

[Swipesy]

Is your System Type set to P25 Auto? It should be if not.

 

[N8IAA]

Can you go to "Tune" and find the current control channel.
Does it properly decode the Sys CT/NAC Site # ??

Note - I have seen 500/600's go DEAF in the 900/800/700 bands
Yet work very well [my Fed monitor is a 600] for the VHF and UHF [non T-Band]

400 MHz system.

 

[tvengr]

I have a used GRE PSR-600 that I'm trying to program for Niagara County Public Safety in NY.

I suggest that you click on Report and request that your thread be moved to the New York forum. There will be members in your area who may have a solution to your problem.

 

[jaspence]

I have had a couple of times after loading a code plug where I had to run a search of the 800 band before the radio would scan normally. Haven't had it recently, but was a strange fix.

 

[N8IAA]

I have had a couple of times after loading a code plug where I had to run a search of the 800 band before the radio would scan normally. Haven't had it recently, but was a strange fix.

Please read Post #4. It's a 400 MHz system. Not an 800 MHz system.

 

[ecps92]

and ??
Doesn't answer if the OP can manually tune to the control channel or not.

400 MHz system.

 

[tvengr]

I use ARC500 also. I tried entering the control channel frequencies in the database and found that the frequencies were rounded off 2.5 KHz low, which could affect P25 decoding. Click on Global Settings and the Expert tab. Check the box to enable Flexstep. The frequencies will go in correctly. You will need to remove the check from the Lock box to make the change.

 

[N8IAA]

and ??
Doesn't answer if the OP can manually tune to the control channel or not.

Since the OP hasn't responded since posting on Saturday, maybe they figured out the problem.
I'm gone.

 

[west-pac]

It's a 6-site simulcast system. That likely has something to do with it.

 

[tvengr]

It's a 6-site simulcast system. That likely has something to do with it.

While I agree that simulcast is a definite issue with GRE designed scanners, having the proper frequency is critical for proper P25 decoding. The PRO-96 frequently needed to have VR4 adjusted to receive 800MHz P25 systems. It's worth a try to make sure the frequency is correct before chalking it up to simulcast.

 

[west-pac]

While I agree that simulcast is a definite issue with GRE designed scanners, having the proper frequency is critical for proper P25 decoding. The PRO-96 frequently needed to have VR4 adjusted to receive 800MHz P25 systems. It's worth a try to make sure the frequency is correct before chalking it up to simulcast.

Hopefully the OP will check that.

I have a PRO-2096, that's probably approaching 20 years old, that I've used continuously on a P25 Phase 1 system, even without doing the rebanding; and it seems to work fine. I'll tell ya what though, I do love that GRE audio better than Uniden audio.

 

[tvengr]

Hopefully the OP will check that.
I have a PRO-2096, that's probably approaching 20 years old, that I've used continuously on a P25 Phase 1 system, even without doing the rebanding; and it seems to work fine. I'll tell ya what though, I do love that GRE audio better than Uniden audio.

The audio on my PRO-197 sounds great. I programmed a PRO-96 for a firefighter. I went through the entire alignment procedure using professional test equipment and it still would not receive the Harford County MD P25 800MHz system until I detuned VR4. Unfortunately, Harford Co was incorporated into the CMARCS system which added 700MHz frequencies and made that scanner obsolete. The corresponding adjustment for the PRO-2096 is VR3.

 

[scannerX]

I have a used GRE PSR-600 that I'm trying to program for Niagara County Public Safety in NY. I used the ARC500 PRO software to successfully connect to radioreference and download the talkgroup and data info. I successfully uploaded that data to the scanner. When I scan it shows all the talkgroups scanning by, however, it doesn't stop on any talkgroup If I manually stop it and go to LE Dispatch, I hear nothing. They are talking (Verified by live feed online).

The WX works fine.

The signal strength shows it's receiving full bars when the T is flashing, indicating it's receiving data from the trunking control channel.

I have not tried any conventional frequencies, I haven't played with it that much.

I do not know the firmware version (just read today how to find it, will make sure it's the latest version when I get home from work.)

Any thoughts?

I have the same problem with my GRE PSR600. Works fine on VHF FM such as weather, but P25 nothing. I hear the control channel but very noisy. I am only about 3 miles from one of the towers. P25 works fine on two Uniden scanners. I'd like to obtain a service manual or alignment instructions. The signal meter shows 5 and 6 bars. In analyze mode the bottom line reads 20% N40F W:BEE07.

Dale j.

 

[tvengr]

I have the same problem with my GRE PSR600. Works fine on VHF FM such as weather, but P25 nothing. I hear the control channel but very noisy. I am only about 3 miles from one of the towers. P25 works fine on two Uniden scanners. I'd like to obtain a service manual or alignment instructions. The signal meter shows 5 and 6 bars. In analyze mode the bottom line reads 20% N40F W:BEE07.

Is it the ARMER statewide trunked system.? What is your city and county? Please attach your programming file and I will check it for problems. You will need to right click on the file and Send to Compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it. Click on Attach files and open the zipped folder. I have ARC500, Win500, and PSREdit500 software.

 

[scannerX]

I am a Apple OSX user, I use a Windows laptop just to program these scanners. I am not sure as to how to send using Windows. I'd like to but not sure how. I'll investigate and if I can I'll for sure post it attached. Any help is appreciated. Yes, it is the ARMER trunked system for Hennepin county and my city is Bloomington.

Dale j

 

[tvengr]

Yes, it is the ARMER trunked system for Hennepin county and my city is Bloomington.

All 4 sites in Hennepin County are simulcast and the GRE scanners are prone to simulcast distortion. If Multi-Site for the system is set to Roam, you may be locking to the site with the best signal which may not be carrying the radio traffic you want. Set Multi-Site to Stationary to scan all of the sites.

 

[scannerX]

All 4 sites in Hennepin County are simulcast and the GRE scanners are prone to simulcast distortion. If Multi-Site for the system is set to Roam, you may be locking to the site with the best signal which may not be carrying the radio traffic you want. Set Multi-Site to Stationary to scan all of the sites.

Yes, I have it set to stationary. I found some troubleshooting information here in RR and I went though some checks, the PLL's seem to be ok and went further to more checks and I have only one conclusion is that the 800 mhz part of the scanner has either an alignment issue or a blown front end. It receives excellently on VHF but nothing on the P25 800mhz band.

Dale j.

 

[tvengr]

It receives excellently on VHF but nothing on the P25 800mhz band.

That could entirely be due to simulcast distortion. Before you send the scanner in for repair, I would suggest that you find someone nearby with a similar scanner set to the same sites as your scanner to see if it works at your location. Simulcast distortion is very location specific. A simulcast site actually consists of multiple subsites all transmitting on the same frequency at the same time. The signals all arrive at your scanner at slightly different times which degrades the scanner's ability to properly decode the control channel. That results missed transmissions, dropouts, and garbled audio. Severe simulcast distortion can also result in receiving nothing at all. If you are very close to one of the subsites, it can override the out of phase signals from the other subsites. I would take the scanner for a ride. You may find that it works at some locations and not others. That is a typical symptom of simulcast distortion. The Uniden SDS100 and SDS200 were specifically designed to receive simulcast systems. They are the only scanners that will receive the Baltimore County Simulcast site at my home. All other scanners fail miserably and I have tried them all.