HP-1 in Wichita

[Sl4ck3r]

Hi everyone. New member and I noticed by search results that I reached a thread with some Wichita area users. I'm not too savvy when it comes to scanners but a friend of mine bought a Home Patrol 1 to use in Wichita for Police/Fire/EMS channels. He couldn't get it to work even though it's a simple amateur setup.... I however am much more savvy in electronics them him and I had no luck getting anything other than the Highway Patrol traffic. I have done a lot of research trying to find out what might be the problem.... I've read that the recent change in scanner signals went to digital.... I already knew that... but based on a few different things I've read some places claim that Wichita is on P25 Phase II and other claim P25 Phase I. This would either explain my troubles or confirm that the Home Patrol will in fact work in Wichita... Can anyone help with which one Wichita uses? Some good sources of setup if the Home Patrol will in fact work? My friend is a retired Fire Chief and is just interested in having a scanner. He also has a nephew patrolling the highways on the Highway Patrol... this Home Patrol model claims to be so easy but in Wichita it seems not-so-easy. Any thoughts, tips, comments are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jafarm66]

Witchita is P25 phase 2 from what I know. The Home Patrol 1 will not decode P25 phase 2. I am not from Kansas just saw Witchita on a Bcd436hp youtube video receiving witchita and user said it was P25 phase 2

Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk

 

[KAA951]

Witchita is P25 phase 2 from what I know. The Home Patrol 1 will not decode P25 phase 2. I am not from Kansas just saw Witchita on a Bcd436hp youtube video receiving witchita and user said it was P25 phase 2

Sent from my SPH-L300 using Tapatalk

It is not phase 2- it is a phase 1 P-25 system. The HP-1 will work. I am guessing that he has the state P-25 system programmed- not the brand new city/county system. This would explain the KHP traffic.

 

[palmerlake]

Wichita is a phase 1 system not a phase 2 .Home patrol will work when sent in to scannermaster for latest firmware and program updates for the system after 01/23/14

 

[rkm6460]

I bought and HP-1 after the county went digital and my PRO-164 became a useless brick. I am picking up the digital system in Wichita/Sedgwick County, but seem to be in a bit of a dead spot...not near the traffic we had on analog. In visiting with an expert in Derby, he advised being patient as they had 25 years to perfect the old system and will likely continue to fine tune how the digital works.

The scanner is pretty easy to configure, but if you just put in your zip code it is going to try to scan HUNDREDS of channels. It is best to use the Sentinel software that comes with it, set up a favorites list, and only add those channels you want to scan. Sentinel also gets the weekly RR updates and you can update firmware when it is released.

Love the functions of this scanner...just hoping that one day it will start behaving much more like the analog did...but I think that has more to do with my location (smack dab in the middle of three towers with probably signal cancellation) than the scanner itself.

 

[frog760]

"Sent" ??????

Wichita is a phase 1 system not a phase 2 .Home patrol will work when sent in to scannermaster for latest firmware and program updates for the system after 01/23/14

Why on earth would you pay to send it anywhere? Update and program yourself for FREE.

 

[frog760]

I have an HP-1 in my living room and a BCD536HP in my office. They both work on Sedgwick County's new PHASE 1, P25, DIGITAL system. However, remember, it is a SIMULCAST system and there are NO scanners on the market or being released soon that can decode a simulcast system. Several people are trying workarounds--new antennas, location in the house, fridge temperature settings, standing on one leg, etc. The only thing that seems to be working is LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION. You need to try to block all but one tower. Search around and you'll find a map of the 10 towers. My HP-1 in the living room is not too far from a window that faces one tower--the rest of the house blocks the other towers. It works pretty well, but if I move it to the office where the window faces several towers, it won't receive a thing. The BCD536HP was connected to an antenna placed in the window and wasn't working too well, so I swapped it for the factory antenna, collapsed all the way down and placed sideways several feet from the window and under a shelf (trying to block line of sight signals) and it works much better.


Take your friends HP-1 and connect it to your computer. Use Sentinel to update the firmware and master DB. Change the services to what you want to listen to. Find a place to put it and see what happens. It isn't too hard at all. If all fails, I'll consider giving you $100 for it ;}

 

[Sl4ck3r]

I've connected it and updated the firmware and db info. it would make more sense if it was the location causing the problem. I'm in South Wichita west of 135 between pawnee and Lincoln vacinity. I'm learning more and more about the actual location being a factor with this specific scanner. The question I was most interested in is whether it will function on the upgraded Wichita system at all. I've read that the Wichita system is now P25 Phase 2 and I've also read that it is Phase 1. If it is indeed phase 1 then it should work with some more tweaking. Rather than sell it for bottom dollar, my friend has until March 8th to get it running properly or take it back for a full refund as the last valid date for full refund from Radio Shack is March 8, 2014. Are there any shops or anything that may be able to troubleshoot or take a look at it for a cost or anything? I can't seem to get it functioning by doing whatever I can try, but I'm not overly familiar with scanners and things of that nature so maybe I'm just missing something. The system seems to be pretty straight forward though and based on the description should work out of the box after connecting to Sentinel for updates.

 

[bbrush]

Wichita is phase 1. I know a guy who lives around 3100 s meridian and gets nothing with a 396xt. Location is everything.