Intermittent Transmissions

[scnrfrq]

I have two 536's, in different rooms. Our new county system is testing, and on one of the 536's I'm not getting complete transmissions like on the other one. Signal strength looks about the same on both scanners. Are there any adjustments in settings I can try to get better reception on the weaker scanner?

 

[trentbob]

So I'm assuming the new system is going to be a phase 2 simulcast system? If that's so it is not unusual for the X36 to not perform optimally.

What system are you talking about?

Make sure you have the latest firmware installed as some have said it helps with P2 simulcast. Didn't make much difference with mine but I use SDS radios also.

Try taking threshold off of Auto and put it on manual and try 7 instead of 8.

Again, depends on what kind of system you're trying to listen to.

 

[trentbob]

Okay I just looked up the system in Erie Pennsylvania which is the location you put on your profile and the new system is a phase II simulcast system.

Appears as it is still in the testing phase and there are no talk groups except for test talkgroups.

So in a stationary position you may be able to get good results using a yagi antenna or trying different spots in the house. You will definitely have a problem with a mobile application. Too soon to say, looks like it's going to be two sites and I'm sure multiple Towers you will have to pass through causing simulcast distortion secondary to LSM.

 

[trentbob]

Okay so I just read all about your new system. Not much you're going to be able to do about it and you will find it'll work differently in different parts of the house. Overall you are not going to get good results with the x36 which is why Uniden developed the SDS series to begin with.

If you will acknowledge that you saw all of my posts and then I would suggest going to the Pennsylvania forum as I'm sure there will be eventually a lot there.

If you Google LSM or simulcast distortion you will get tons and tons of information on RR starting about 2015.

When my system went Phase 2 simulcast the only thing that worked for us was professional radios and pagers until the SDS radios came out.

Again, if you would acknowledge that you saw my posts, thanks, Bob.

 

[scnrfrq]

Yes, thanks for the info. Since one 536 is working well, I'll try to move the other around to improve reception. Also will try to adjust the threshold down.

 

[tkenny53]

all things being equal, just listen to one system, manual, no scanning, see what happens

 

[trentbob]

all things being equal, just listen to one system, manual, no scanning, see what happens

Yes with these systems it's good to put the entire P2 system on1 favorites list with nothing else on that favorites list. Then just scan talk groups of that system.

If you look it up on Google there were all kinds of gimmicks that were used starting in 2015. Another thing you can do is put a system hold time of 2 seconds on the system. Not to confuse that with delay time on a particular object but this is system hold time.

I actually used one of my 536s just for my P2 system. The entire system on one favorites list and I would put a system hold time of the maximum 255 seconds. That doesn't work in a mobile application because you are moving in between the towers all the time and it locks on one particular Tower and with a hold time that long you actually go out of range of the Tower you began listening on.

Hope that all makes sense but chances are the folks in your area are not going to be 100% satisfied with the 996 P2 or the x36s and you will be buying sds100 + 200s

Simulcast distortion secondary to LSM is a bear.

Time will tell.

 

[scnrfrq]

I am only listenig to this one system. Does the squelch setting matter?
all things being equal, just listen to one system, manual, no scanning, see what happens

I am only listening to this one system. Does the squelch setting matter?

 

[u2brent]

If your only scanning one system (no conventional stuff) and your not getting good results with squelch at 2, It doesn't hurt to try 1 or even 0.. I would recommend only including the active CC frequency for the site while trying this method.. Otherwise the scanner will hang on every frequency included in the sites programing looking for a CC..
This has worked for me in catching those TG's that seem to drop out or not pass audio.. (not withstanding Enc)

 

[Railbender]

I have 2 536s on the same system with no problem and no simulcast distortion. I am using a mast mount Larsen BSA-450K to both, thru a multicoupler. Each has only one favorite list enabled, one for each site, running ID scan and squelch set at 3.

 

[trentbob]

One thing you will find is things are different from system to system. There are many factors that will affect how your radio reacts

Location location location.

My 700 megahertz P2 simulcast tdma system is in Bucks County PA, it has one site called... Simulcast.

There are 24 towers over a 600 + square mile County. The heaviest concentration of towers is in the southern part of the county on the Philadelphia border where I live. I am in the middle of three towers approximately two miles from each one.

As I was saying if you do a search on RR or Google, it will refer you to the scores of threads from 2015. There was quite a bit of denial back then mostly from people who were a thousand miles from the nearest P2 system. LOL.

One of the more effective ways used in our County was a yagi antenna or directional antenna that would be focused on the closest Tower.

System hold time, not to be confused with a delay on an object is your friend.

There were people that used paint cans that they would drill a hole in and stick their antennae to their 436 in the hole. Some people used a Comet CH-32 miracle baby. The less efficient antenna, the better, some people even got good results from a paperclip. Location location location.

There were those because of their location did not have issues but most did.

My co-workers and I got Motorola radios disabled for transmit that of course worked great. Some people got the pagers.

There are so many factors involved including how the individual system itself is calibrated.

Not all P2 systems are the same but simulcast distortion secondary to LSM is a pia, hence the SDS series was created and Brand X tried or didn't try with their vaporware.

As time goes on you will find out what your system is like and the parts of the county that are affected the most.

Enjoy reading up on it, there is so much here on RR from the past.

 

[Railbender]

Switch the scanners. Does the problem move with the radio or stay with the location?
I am surrounded by 5 towers for the Metro site of this system and get no distortion with any radio or antenna.

 

[trentbob]

Switch the scanners. Does the problem move with the radio or stay with the location?
I am surrounded by 5 towers for the Metro site of this system and get no distortion with any radio or antenna.

Yes we have seen similar situations in our County also. It's all about location, there are people in fixed locations who do not have the simulcast distortion but someone on the next block could. Some people get better results in one corner of the room as opposed to the other.

The OPs radios may not be identical in settings and by switching both radios may work well so it's a good thing to try. But it's very common to see it work in one room and not the other.

You are very lucky that in your fixed location you are not affected but others will be.

I'm sure that the Pennsylvania forum will have a lot of discussion about this as the system slowly comes online. I remember the thread we had back in 2015, sounded very familiar to this. I don't think there's been an entry on that Forum in a couple of years?

Reality sets in, hahaha.

PS... I will say this, no one realized the severity of completely missed transmissions until we started using Motorola radios and unication pagers. We made YouTube videos with side by side comparisons of the x36s and the apx 7000s. It was then that we realized complete transmissions, both sides were being missed. Hopefully your system will not be so bad like ours is.