BCD396XT/BCD996XT: Loss of sensitivity on 800MHz

[GTO_04]

I have a BCD396XT that has all of a sudden lost sensitivity on "800." It won't pick up anything unless I am within a mile or two of a tower.
This happened all of a sudden. Uniden wants a minimum of $94 to repair it. I ma trying to decide if it is worth fixing or if there is something else I'm doing wrong.

GTO_04

 

[StoliRaz]

I have a BCD396XT that has all of a sudden lost sensitivity on "800." It won't pick up anything unless I am within a mile or two of a tower.
This happened all of a sudden. Uniden wants a minimum of $94 to repair it. I ma trying to decide if it is worth fixing or if there is something else I'm doing wrong.

GTO_04

Before sending it away for repair, I would try a factory reset on it. Wipe it back to factory new settings then try a fresh reprogram of it (i.e. straight from the RR database, not from a saved file that was previously loaded onto the scanner). It's possible it isn't your scanner but rather something with the system you're trying to listen to changed as well, such as they're using new antennas that concentrate the system to a smaller area. If you have another scanner to compare reception with might help troubleshooting.

 

[hiegtx]

I have a BCD396XT that has all of a sudden lost sensitivity on "800." It won't pick up anything unless I am within a mile or two of a tower.
This happened all of a sudden. Uniden wants a minimum of $94 to repair it. I ma trying to decide if it is worth fixing or if there is something else I'm doing wrong.

GTO_04

Your county, apparently, uses this system:

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Trunking System, Indianapolis, Indiana

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

The site for your specific county is simulcast.

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Site: Hamilton County Simulcast (System 3)

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Site: Hamilton County Simulcast (System 3) Details

www.radioreference.com

Simulcast can be a serious problem for scanners other than Uniden's SDS series. See the linked Wiki page (if you haven't already taken a look) and see if any of the suggestions work for you.

The scanner not working well, until you get close to a tower, is one aspect of simulcast issues. If you get close enough, the stronger signal from the close proximity site may be enough to override the other, out of sync signals, from more distant sites. It's possible that the system admin made changes to the sites. Other than adding an additional site, or changing transmit power, they may have adjusted the direction of the transmit towers, altering the pattern of reception.

 

[GTO_04]

Your county, apparently, uses this system:

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Trunking System, Indianapolis, Indiana

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

The site for your specific county is simulcast.

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Site: Hamilton County Simulcast (System 3)

Metropolitan Emergency Services Agency (MESA) (Formerly IDPS) Site: Hamilton County Simulcast (System 3) Details

www.radioreference.com

Simulcast can be a serious problem for scanners other than Uniden's SDS series. See the linked Wiki page (if you haven't already taken a look) and see if any of the suggestions work for you.

The scanner not working well, until you get close to a tower, is one aspect of simulcast issues. If you get close enough, the stronger signal from the close proximity site may be enough to override the other, out of sync signals, from more distant sites. It's possible that the system admin made changes to the sites. Other than adding an additional site, or changing transmit power, they may have adjusted the direction of the transmit towers, altering the pattern of reception.

Yes that is all true, and it is not a very good scanner for simulcast systems. However, I am having trouble with the ISP District 52 Tower in Indianapolis and the tower in Hortonville (near Sheridan) neither of which is simulcast.

GTO_04

 

[hiegtx]

Yes that is all true, and it is not a very good scanner for simulcast systems. However, I am having trouble with the ISP District 52 Tower in Indianapolis and the tower in Hortonville (near Sheridan) neither of which is simulcast.

GTO_04

If you are having issues with non-simulcast sites, then that is, of course, a different problem. Maybe someone can suggest a tweak that you can try, but offhand, I don't have any suggestions as to what you could try.

Of course, the repair cost from Uniden, @ about $94 (including shipping) is hard to justify on older scanners. I have a couple of older scanners that either are not working, or working poorly. I no longer use them, since I have a number of other scanners that cover the bands and frequencies of interest, so spending money on a scanner that (in my case) would not really be used much at all in a waste.

Hopefully, someone has a suggestion of something you can try.

Good luck.

 

[wtp]

sound like a broken antenna or antenna connection .
taking the antenna off is one way to find closeby transmitters.
make sure there are little metal spikes on the BNC and SNA connectors.

that gold part on the left side is the male part that usually breaks
but since it is a portable the solder connection inside could be broken.

 

[Ubbe]

It's difficult to get any electronics repaired for lower than $100. I suggest to contact the local HAM club.

They are often interested in doing all sorts of electronic repair projects for fun and to learn from it and it might just cost you a box of donuts. They usually have all the tools needed for antenna work so if you need some coax cables with connectors being done you can just ask them. The same if you need help with scanners being programmed as they often have files with all the local frequencies and TG's ready to be programmed in a scanner.

/Ubbe

 

[GTO_04]

sound like a broken antenna or antenna connection .
taking the antenna off is one way to find closeby transmitters.
make sure there are little metal spikes on the BNC and SNA connectors.

that gold part on the left side is the male part that usually breaks
but since it is a portable the solder connection inside could be broken.

Good point. I had to repair that once already. So I should re-check that.

GTO_04