Made a video showing Uniden 396XT cutting out on Cobb TRS

[opticalserenity]

I'm hoping that awareness to these problems making their way to social media networks will force Uniden to make better equipment. Everyone speaks so highly of this radio, and yet, it is sometimes very difficult to follow what is going on.

I know for most people in the scanner world this is acceptable, but those of us who have spent years on a Motorola radio (or some other subscriber radio) know that things are supposed to be much better. I realize that a $5000 XTS5000 cannot be compared to a $500 Uniden, but things have to get better than this.

Mts2000des has a very good explanation on why this occurs...in this post.

Cobb County P25 trunking radio system on Uniden 396XT - YouTube

UPDATE: Thanks to MTS2000des, I think I've mostly solved what I was experiencing. He suggested I turn off WX Priority, as the radio was leaving the CC of the TRS to go scan for WX. I did this, and now the radio isn't skipping in the middle of the audio traffic. Actually it's working pretty well. I've searched thoroughly and I'm honestly surprised no one has brought this up so far. So, TURN OFF WX PRIORITY.

 

[MTS2000des]

glad I could help.
Priority scan only is effective on conventional systems, anytime your trunking radio leaves the active CC or voice channel, it takes longer to reacquire the data and start decoding again.

Aside, WX alert? mine as well get a cheap $30 standalone WX alert raido. I think this is more of a gimmick than a practical feature.

What would be nice is a front end that properly handles CQPSK-LSM and phase II.:lol:

 

[ButchGone]

I agree, we need either Uniden or GRE to step up to the plate and release a radio that PROPERLY decodes P25 simulcast transmissions. I do feel the 396xt does a better job than the GRE, but in a mobile environment there are more missed than received transmissions.
Also, how about an AMBE decoder, rather than the outdated and inferior IMBE decoders? Those ancient IMBE chips are why Motorola mobile radios sound like crap when transmitting and moving.
I see new scanners are in the works that offer touch screens and wizibang features, but spending hundreds of dollars for new scanners is pointless if you can not HEAR what's going on.
BG..

 

[MTS2000des]

I'm convinced until someone takes Uniden or GRE to court over selling a shoddy, faulty product that doesn't perform to the advertised specifications, they will continue to pump out crap.

There is no excuse. CQPSK-LSM has been part of the phase I standard for over a decade. It isn't as complicated as many on here make it out to be.
Proper receiver design and DSP would clear up the problems people are having.

It just has to be a priority for these manufacturer's engineering team. And engineers who understand this stuff don't come cheap, which I suspect is why they are blowing off the chance to fix existing models, and they're gonna play the same game Motorola does....buy the next product line!

 

[kf4lhp]

The sad part, as the previous post points out, is that LSM isn't anything new. It works in 2003-vintage XTS2500 portables with the old 4 meg controller. It's not only been in the standard for over a decade, it's been implemented in real-world subscriber units.

 

[N8IAA]

I agree, we need either Uniden or GRE to step up to the plate and release a radio that PROPERLY decodes P25 simulcast transmissions. I do feel the 396xt does a better job than the GRE, but in a mobile environment there are more missed than received transmissions.
Also, how about an AMBE decoder, rather than the outdated and inferior IMBE decoders? Those ancient IMBE chips are why Motorola mobile radios sound like crap when transmitting and moving.
I see new scanners are in the works that offer touch screens and wizibang features, but spending hundreds of dollars for new scanners is pointless if you can not HEAR what's going on.
BG..

This is the point I made to Nori, W6GRE, at the Alford Memorial Hamfest in Nov, 2011. Asked him why no keypad on the 900, and will it have better decode than the 500 and 800. Never did answer my question. Believe it or not, the 800 hears P-25 systems better than my 106. But, the audio sometimes is something out of a Star Wars movie. No new digital scanners until things get better.
Larry