Loudoun system and changing threshold setting?

[cowboywildbill]

I read somewhere that someone changed the low threshold setting on their scanner to a lower setting. And claimed it helped improve the voice quality by clearing up some of the distortion that happens occasionally where you can't understand what is being said.
My question does it really help and if so how would I change it? I am using a PSR 800. I noticed that when I go to the Loudoun trunk system and site menu it doesn't highlight the threshold tab, so I can't change it. If it does really help, how do I change it ?
But if I choose a different county's trunking system it will allow me to make changes. Thanks.

 

[c5corvette]

GRE says not to touch it, but it does make some difference if you can get the exact setting you need. It does impact all systems though. You can find it from the MP3 style menu by looking at the advanced settings, but dont change it more than one or two at a time (say from 68 to 66, etc.)

 

[cowboywildbill]

Thanks I'll give that a shot.

 

[mikev]

First... you guys are referencing two different settings...

The settings that the OP is looking at are the "Multi-site Threshold" settings. Those settings are for systems that have multiple sites, like STARS, where you can either receive multiple sites from your location, or you will be moving between areas that use different sites. These settings determine when the scanner will look to another site to receive control data from, based on how much of the data it can decode. These threshold settings don't apply to Loudoun's system because while there are multiple sites, the system is a simulcast system, where the same thing is transmitted on the same frequencies from both sites.

The setting that the OP is most likely looking for is what c5corvette mentioned. This isn't labeled as a threshold value, but is instead the "DSP Level Adapt" setting on the Advanced Settings tab. As mentioned, it is global, so it has the ability to affect all digital decoding in your current VScanner configuration. However, changing it just a small amount also has the ability to greatly enhance the decoding of digital voice signals, if your voice quality by default is good, but not great.

BTW, I changed it from the default (64) to 66, and it has greatly improved the voice quality I'm getting from my scanner on the Loudoun system. Digital artifacts happen much less often now!

 

[cowboywildbill]

Thanks, that explains why I couldn't change the threshold settings on Loudoun. I have changed the DPS setting. I'll let you know how it works. Thanks again.

 

[c5corvette]

BTW, I changed it from the default (64) to 66, and it has greatly improved the voice quality I'm getting from my scanner on the Loudoun system. Digital artifacts happen much less often now!

This is the kind of info we need to share more of! Thanks.

 

[mikev]

I would imagine that a lot of this setting may also have to do with your environment, and how well it's able to receive the digital signal. Someone with super-strong reception may notice less of an effect by changing this setting in small amounts... or it may be more of a "fine-tune" setting... while someone with a weak signal may find that changing it one or two marks results in a drastic change.

I did a quick experiment last night, dropping it down to 59 just for grins... I was still able to largely understand what was being said, but digital "artifacts" were definitely more prevalent, and voice definitely sounded more digital than regular. And my signal is always 5 bars on the scanner display.

 

[cowboywildbill]

I changed mine from 64 to 66 and it seems to help quite a bit with voice clarity. I'm using it in the car with the RS 800 MHz antenna. I am usually in the Ashburn Village area. I can tell a difference just driving around a couple of miles with the reception. This area seems to wreak havoc on cell phones and Nextel push to talk. I guess the area may also affect the reception of my scanner. It might even be better if I were using a trunk mounted antenna. Thanks again for all of the help.

 

[mikev]

I'm going to be giving a mobile setup a try soon... I have one of these antennas - Wilson Electronics Magnet Mount antennas; the 301103 - and ordered some FME to BNC adapters to hook it up to my scanner. I originally bought the antenna to help with 3G/4G cellular reception, but the bands it performs well in happen to overlap with some areas of interest in scanning. So I thought I'd spend a couple of bucks to get the adapters and see if it serves a second purpose or not.

I'll let ya know how it works and where I got it from after I've given it a test.

 

[fredva]

I don't suppose the DSP Level Adapt setting is available on the Pro-197, is it? I haven't found anything about it in the manual, at least not yet. We have the digital simulcast problem with Stafford's system down here.

 

[cowboywildbill]

I'm using a motorola 800 mgz can type ant on ther trunk lid. It seems to pick up a lot more traffic now.

 

[c5corvette]

I'm using a motorola 800 mgz can type ant on ther trunk lid. It seems to pick up a lot more traffic now.

Exactly what antenna and what mount are you using?