Help, BCT15X Trunk problems

[lj1488]

I have been messing with my new Uniden BCT15X and have gotten all the conventional bands to receive with no problem. I have the Salisbury/Rowan County North Carolina trunking system programmed in as it came directly from RR through FreeSCAN using my premium account. I simply imported it as a trunked system. It won't receive any traffic at all. I can hear the EMS traffic through my radio but not the scanner. I did add the Receive Frequency column found at Rowan County - NC: Telecommunications - Radio Frequencies to the frequency list. After messing around with it for a few days now I think that perhaps its due to the fact that it imported as Mot 800MHz Standard (TypeII) and our station talk groups are now digital so it should be Mot Custom/Reband Type II. I am completely lost though when it comes to the system reband plan.

For reference
Salisbury / Rowan County Trunking System, Salisbury, North Carolina - Scanner Frequencies

 

[ka3jjz]

According to the RR link, this system is not rebanded, so stick with Mot II/ P25 as the type, and use those frequencies.

Obvious question: are you able to hear the control channel? It will sound like a loud motorboating. If you can't hear the control channel, the radio can't trunk. Just using a little whip on the radio may not be enough...Mike

 

[lj1488]

I do hear the motorboat on the control and I have it hooked up to the discone in the attic. The reband is the last thing I could think of. As for the frequencies I add to what was there. I am at a loss as to what could be the problem.

 

[avdrummerboy]

Don't worry about adding in the lower frequency frequencies, those are the repeater inputs, as to the trunked system, the uniden 15X model, you only need to program in the trunking control channel frequencies. The only issue you are going to run into listening to that system is that it is a mixed digital/ analog system and the 15X isn't a digital scanner, so you'll only hear what's analog on the system, the digital will sound like motor boating.

 

[hiegtx]

I have been messing with my new Uniden BCT15X and have gotten all the conventional bands to receive with no problem. I have the Salisbury/Rowan County North Carolina trunking system programmed in as it came directly from RR through FreeSCAN using my premium account. I simply imported it as a trunked system. It won't receive any traffic at all. I can hear the EMS traffic through my radio but not the scanner. I did add the Receive Frequency column found at Rowan County - NC: Telecommunications - Radio Frequencies to the frequency list. After messing around with it for a few days now I think that perhaps its due to the fact that it imported as Mot 800MHz Standard (TypeII) and our station talk groups are now digital so it should be Mot Custom/Reband Type II. I am completely lost though when it comes to the system reband plan.

For reference
Salisbury / Rowan County Trunking System, Salisbury, North Carolina - Scanner Frequencies

If your main interest is the talkgroups used for Rowan County Fire Dept's, the majority of those are labeled as digital. That's shown by the D in the Mode column of the talkgroup ID's. If that is the case, then the BCT15X is the wrong scanner to track those. While your system of interest IS a Motorola Type II, if you look at the System Voice line for that system, you see Analog and APCO-25 Common Air Interface. That means that some of the talkgroups are using digital communications, which was also indicated by the portion of your post I have marked as boldfaced, and in Red.

If programmed correctly, and presuming you are in range (hearing the 'motorboat' sound is an indication that you can receive the system), you could hear the other talkgroups on the system that are analog (labeled with an A in the mode column), but not the digital ones. For those, you would need to upgrade to a digital scanner.

 

[lj1488]

Yeah I am really not concerned with the digital groups. Those are the fire departments training groups. I am mainly interested in the analog dispatch and ops channels. I turn my radio on and can hear the dispatch fine through the radio but nothing through the scanner.

 

[Voyager]

Just add the control channel frequencies (and alternates) and use the Control Channel Only option. You already have CCO checked, so remove all the frequencies except those in red and blue on the RR listing. Specifically:

857.21250
858.21250
859.21250
860.21250

Those four are all you need when using CCO.

As was mentioned, it's not a rebanded system.

The reason it's not working is because you have it set as a custom system with no bandplan tables. Set it as a Motorola Type II system (not rebanded or custom).

You will not be able to decode any TGs marked as D on the RR listing, as the 15X is not a digital scanner.

 

[lj1488]

Well I have tried everything recommended and everything I can think of up to and including deleting the entire system and starting over. Only 2 things I haven't done is the reband which I shouldn't need (I have left it Moto type 2) and entering it all by hand in the very small case it's in the software. Perhaps a fresh outlook tomorrow will help.

 

[Voyager]

It would be trivial to enter it as a new system manually, add the four frequencies, set it to CCO, and use ID SEARCH to test that.

If you get it working that way, read it into the SW and see what is different.

 

[lj1488]

Ok after trying everything else with no luck, and after hearing a conversation a few days ago on my local repeater about Rowan County had in fact been rebanded I feel my only course now is to try the custom/reband type II. That being the case can someone help me with the system reband plan? Let's suppose the system has been rebanded what would I set my lower, higher freq to and what step and offset would I use. I think I have tried everything else with no luck at all getting voice on the A groups.

 

[lj1488]

Thanks I sent you a private message

 

[Voyager]

Rebanding simply means entering the control channels 15 MHz lower and (if it's a Motorola Type II system) entering the two rebanding tables:

Band Plan Base Freq (lower) Base Freq (upper) Offset Polarity Spacing
1 851.0250 854.0000 440 + 25 khz
2 851.0125 868.9875 000 + 25 khz

Make sure Control Channel Only is enabled.