MSWIN HELP with BCD436HP

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slayer816

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Modern scanners allow you to setup a system however you want. I programmed the control channels as conventional because this allows you to quickly scan through the different site frequencies than to wait for you to learn how to operate a trunked system, learn how to do holds, figure out which sites were giving you the best data, and THEN pick a site. That way it got you....to tell me....what I needed to know to continue, before you actually learned what it was that I was doing.

You would never use this to monitor because it is impossible to track a talkgroup (channel). Yes you were hearing voice comms (I guess on one of the CC's acting as an alternate, or because the database is wrong) but you had no idea where they were going next. Trunking programing will follow a talkgroup to whatever frequency they go to next by itself.

However, conevntional is a good way to test things sometimes. Site finding, teaching new users, data channel strength, etc etc

Delete the conventional systems (or hold on the latest programming) and then HOLD on the Carrollton site. And you should see a vast improvement.
 

scanphreak

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What is the difference in setting the programming to conventional vs P25? i dont quite fully understand that yet. I appears that its hitting on conventional 2:1 vs P25 using the same frequency. common denominator im seeing BUT, im hearing voice comms on both P25 vs conventional

This statement right here is why you're having so many problems and not hearing anything. You have to forget the knowledge you have of scanners from 20 years ago. We're no longer in the day and age of programming in some 'frequencies' into a 'bank' and scanning them and expecting to hear anything.

Trunking Radio is an entirely different beast, and I am here to tell you that the BDC436HP is a PIA to configure and use until you learn, understand, and comprehend it's architecture. I have the BCD436HP, and a BCD325P2, and an SDS200. I've owned the 436 for about 3 years and I 'hate' having to touch the buttons on it. I will say don't give up, but the 325P2 and 996P2 (IMHO) is much easier to grasp at programming and moving around in it. It's not as complex.

You'll want to go to MANAGE FAVORITES and make a new FAVORITE and call it something like "LOCAL" then go in to the Favorite you made and from there you'll want to select REVIEW/EDIT FAVORITES then select NEW SYSTEM, choose P25 TRUNK then choose EDIT SITE then select NEW SITE then select SET SITE QUICK KEY then put in 1 for the site quick key, then select SET FREQUENCIES and put in only the control channel frequencies for your closest tower in the county you're trying to listen to. It should only be 2 or 3 frequencies, then menu out back to EDIT DEPARTMENT, in here is where you're going to add the TALKGROUP ID's you want for each department. Once you're done with that menu all the way back out to the main scanning screen. *just a thought* you don't even need to put any talkgroups in at this point until you can know it's working. Leave the departments empty and when you go back to the scanner main screen toggle from ID SCANNING to ID SEARCH. That way it's going to let you hear every talkgroup that keys up. Then you can go back and add the ones you want and set it back to ID SCANNING.

You will need to press the 1 button to turn on that site quick key. *This is the area I have the most difficulty using* Because there are so many layers to the programming. It's good, but at the same time until you understand it, it feels like you'll never get the darn thing to work. My best advise is to get on YOUTUBE and search for videos showing you how to program the 436/536 scanner and follow along. Also read the manual everything you need to properly program it and understand the hierarchy of the SYSTEM/SITE/DEPARTMENT quick keys will help out a lot.

This is a screen capture of my version of PROSCAN that is used with the BCD436HP connected to my computer.

You got a good scanner, too bad you have to nearly have a masters degree in computer science to use it. :)
 

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scanphreak

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When you're in the SELECT FREQUENCIES menu of the P25 TRUNK site you're adding, put these frequencies in there 769.46875 769.71875 769.96875 771.60625 and 772.85625. You don't need to do anything special just add them in the list of frequencies for MSWIN site you're creating.
 

Ronnierozier2

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This statement right here is why you're having so many problems and not hearing anything. You have to forget the knowledge you have of scanners from 20 years ago. We're no longer in the day and age of programming in some 'frequencies' into a 'bank' and scanning them and expecting to hear anything.

Trunking Radio is an entirely different beast, and I am here to tell you that the BDC436HP is a PIA to configure and use until you learn, understand, and comprehend it's architecture. I have the BCD436HP, and a BCD325P2, and an SDS200. I've owned the 436 for about 3 years and I 'hate' having to touch the buttons on it. I will say don't give up, but the 325P2 and 996P2 (IMHO) is much easier to grasp at programming and moving around in it. It's not as complex.

You'll want to go to MANAGE FAVORITES and make a new FAVORITE and call it something like "LOCAL" then go in to the Favorite you made and from there you'll want to select REVIEW/EDIT FAVORITES then select NEW SYSTEM, choose P25 TRUNK then choose EDIT SITE then select NEW SITE then select SET SITE QUICK KEY then put in 1 for the site quick key, then select SET FREQUENCIES and put in only the control channel frequencies for your closest tower in the county you're trying to listen to. It should only be 2 or 3 frequencies, then menu out back to EDIT DEPARTMENT, in here is where you're going to add the TALKGROUP ID's you want for each department. Once you're done with that menu all the way back out to the main scanning screen. *just a thought* you don't even need to put any talkgroups in at this point until you can know it's working. Leave the departments empty and when you go back to the scanner main screen toggle from ID SCANNING to ID SEARCH. That way it's going to let you hear every talkgroup that keys up. Then you can go back and add the ones you want and set it back to ID SCANNING.

You will need to press the 1 button to turn on that site quick key. *This is the area I have the most difficulty using* Because there are so many layers to the programming. It's good, but at the same time until you understand it, it feels like you'll never get the darn thing to work. My best advise is to get on YOUTUBE and search for videos showing you how to program the 436/536 scanner and follow along. Also read the manual everything you need to properly program it and understand the hierarchy of the SYSTEM/SITE/DEPARTMENT quick keys will help out a lot.

This is a screen capture of my version of PROSCAN that is used with the BCD436HP connected to my computer.

You got a good scanner, too bad you have to nearly have a masters degree in computer science to use it. :)

thanks for the information I’m going to try what you have told me right now.

let me ask you this. Would I have a better result if I were to get a SDS100 scanner?

I’m confused as to why I can’t hear anything on a trunking P25 favorites list but if I use the same frequencies and choose conventional at least I can hear some traffic. Most of the time I’m hearing half the conversation and some times I can hear both sides of the conversation. A lot of time the audio seems distorted like, how do I describe it, it’s not decoding or something about the audio 1/2 the time it’s crystalclear and the other half the time it sounds like the frequency is off a little. I wish so bad that I can get this working for Greenwood police department.

Earlier in the week I added the Greenville police and sheriff talkgroups and the Greenville site and I heard everything and the audio was so clear. I could hear both sides of the conversation. When I got home I programmed greenwood pd talkgroups with sites Morgan city, Carrollton, and north Carrollton and I could maybe hear half a conversation once an hour and I know they are talking more than that. The scanner kept stopping on the GPD talkgroup 54440 and would show a LNK and NAC Id at the bottom of the scanner many times like it was picking up the traffic but could t decode the audio. From my understanding nothing in greenwood is encrypted.

like I said I’m trying what you have advised right now, I’ll report back soon. I wish one of you professional would call me and walk me through it. I’m so frustrated I’m about to send this thing back.

thanks for your help, I’ll report back soon
 

Ronnierozier2

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When you're in the SELECT FREQUENCIES menu of the P25 TRUNK site you're adding, put these frequencies in there 769.46875 769.71875 769.96875 771.60625 and 772.85625. You don't need to do anything special just add them in the list of frequencies for MSWIN site you're creating.


I cant get it programmed correctly, is there any way possible you could set this up for me and post it to the forum for me to download and upload to my scanner? please.....
 

Ronnierozier2

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When you're in the SELECT FREQUENCIES menu of the P25 TRUNK site you're adding, put these frequencies in there 769.46875 769.71875 769.96875 771.60625 and 772.85625. You don't need to do anything special just add them in the list of frequencies for MSWIN site you're creating.

I think i have the programming put it correctly but im still missing traffic. ive heard several dispatch to officer then i will hear dispatch only or officer radio only no dispatch. I do see where it's id searching and showing different talkgroups. so far proscan has logged 3 talkgroups with 4 different UID's

what am i doing wrong to be missing this traffic? are there control channels that could possibly be missing from the database?

right now i have the control channels programmed for three sites close to me Morgan City, Carrollton, and North Carrollton
 

Ronnierozier2

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This statement right here is why you're having so many problems and not hearing anything. You have to forget the knowledge you have of scanners from 20 years ago. We're no longer in the day and age of programming in some 'frequencies' into a 'bank' and scanning them and expecting to hear anything.

Trunking Radio is an entirely different beast, and I am here to tell you that the BDC436HP is a PIA to configure and use until you learn, understand, and comprehend it's architecture. I have the BCD436HP, and a BCD325P2, and an SDS200. I've owned the 436 for about 3 years and I 'hate' having to touch the buttons on it. I will say don't give up, but the 325P2 and 996P2 (IMHO) is much easier to grasp at programming and moving around in it. It's not as complex.

You'll want to go to MANAGE FAVORITES and make a new FAVORITE and call it something like "LOCAL" then go in to the Favorite you made and from there you'll want to select REVIEW/EDIT FAVORITES then select NEW SYSTEM, choose P25 TRUNK then choose EDIT SITE then select NEW SITE then select SET SITE QUICK KEY then put in 1 for the site quick key, then select SET FREQUENCIES and put in only the control channel frequencies for your closest tower in the county you're trying to listen to. It should only be 2 or 3 frequencies, then menu out back to EDIT DEPARTMENT, in here is where you're going to add the TALKGROUP ID's you want for each department. Once you're done with that menu all the way back out to the main scanning screen. *just a thought* you don't even need to put any talkgroups in at this point until you can know it's working. Leave the departments empty and when you go back to the scanner main screen toggle from ID SCANNING to ID SEARCH. That way it's going to let you hear every talkgroup that keys up. Then you can go back and add the ones you want and set it back to ID SCANNING.

You will need to press the 1 button to turn on that site quick key. *This is the area I have the most difficulty using* Because there are so many layers to the programming. It's good, but at the same time until you understand it, it feels like you'll never get the darn thing to work. My best advise is to get on YOUTUBE and search for videos showing you how to program the 436/536 scanner and follow along. Also read the manual everything you need to properly program it and understand the hierarchy of the SYSTEM/SITE/DEPARTMENT quick keys will help out a lot.

This is a screen capture of my version of PROSCAN that is used with the BCD436HP connected to my computer.

You got a good scanner, too bad you have to nearly have a masters degree in computer science to use it. :)


I have programmed the scanner like you have instructed and I can tell you the audio quality has definately improved for some reason. I'm picking up several talkgroups i wasn't hearing before. im still sometimes, only hearing one side of the conversation. Could this we because im missing some control channel frequencies? please advise.

thanks again for helping me out!! i really appreciate it sir.
 

scanphreak

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I have programmed the scanner like you have instructed and I can tell you the audio quality has definately improved for some reason. I'm picking up several talkgroups i wasn't hearing before. im still sometimes, only hearing one side of the conversation. Could this we because im missing some control channel frequencies? please advise.

thanks again for helping me out!! i really appreciate it sir.

No... not because you're missing some control channels. Really you only need one control channel. Just pick the tower closest to you and put only the frequencies in red in your frequency list. If you have too many towers control channels in, it could possibly be skipping traffic. I cannot speak for the area you're in, never been there, don't know the lay of the land. I'm on the coast. Where I'm at there are probably 6 towers across the coast. But I only have frequencies for one tower. I usually can hear everything I want to listen to down here.

So you're usng proscan? I can see what I can make for you.


Also the SDS100 would be the same situation. It's a home patrol type scanner that has the zip code feature in it with the entire database. The BCD325P2 or the BCD996P2 would be considerably easier to program and manipulate.
 

Ronnierozier2

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No... not because you're missing some control channels. Really you only need one control channel. Just pick the tower closest to you and put only the frequencies in red in your frequency list. If you have too many towers control channels in, it could possibly be skipping traffic. I cannot speak for the area you're in, never been there, don't know the lay of the land. I'm on the coast. Where I'm at there are probably 6 towers across the coast. But I only have frequencies for one tower. I usually can hear everything I want to listen to down here.

So you're usng proscan? I can see what I can make for you.


Also the SDS100 would be the same situation. It's a home patrol type scanner that has the zip code feature in it with the entire database. The BCD325P2 or the BCD996P2 would be considerably easier to program and manipulate.

I have the fully functional version of pro scan demo for now I just purchased ARC536PRO last night. I really like it
 

Ronnierozier2

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OH GOOD!

I use Butel it's a lot easier to deal with. Let me try to make something in ARC and see if this helps.

thanks Sir. I appreciate all the help. The Morgan City site is about the same distance from me as the Carrollton/North Carrollton site so I have no idea which I should use. What do you think?
 

scanphreak

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thanks Sir. I appreciate all the help. The Morgan City site is about the same distance from me as the Carrollton/North Carrollton site so I have no idea which I should use. What do you think?

You should use which ever has the strongest signal to you. Because all of these sites are linked together. That's the point of the MSWIN system, the entire state is linked together. So if a person travels through the state their talkgroup will follow them wherever they are. So if the greenwood pd or leflore county sheriff are using any of those sites you should be able to hear them all on those sites. Even if they are talking on the carrolton tower, you should hear them on morgan city as well. As long as some of their radios are affiliated with the morgan city tower.

Its a bit to confusing, but if morgan city is the closest to your county then it should work. Check your private messages.
 

scanphreak

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Make sure you go into your Menu and scroll down to SELECT SERVICE TYPES and make sure you have all of those ON once you upload the favorite list you're getting. This is most likely going to be one of the main reasons why you can't scan anything.

Watch this video:
and this:
and this: Uniden BCD536HP/BCD436HP Service Types
 

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Ronnierozier2

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Make sure you go into your Menu and scroll down to SELECT SERVICE TYPES and make sure you have all of those ON once you upload the favorite list you're getting. This is most likely going to be one of the main reasons why you can't scan anything.

Watch this video:
and this:
and this: Uniden BCD536HP/BCD436HP Service Types


check your private messages.

when i go to service types there are no off/on to set all have sideways lines. i do have ID search set to on maybe that why no service types are available??
 

scanphreak

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check your private messages.

when i go to service types there are no off/on to set all have sideways lines. i do have ID search set to on maybe that why no service types are available??
No that has nothing to do with ID SEARCH or SCANNING.

Go into your menu. You'll see Set Scan Selections you need to make sure you have Select Lists to monitor set to ON for the favorite you'll be using with all of the information in it. Also when you go to select service lists you should see what the picture looks like attached. You need to go through those and make sure at the least the all of the public safety ones are turned on and not have :--- beside each one.
 

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Ronnierozier2

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No that has nothing to do with ID SEARCH or SCANNING.

Go into your menu. You'll see Set Scan Selections you need to make sure you have Select Lists to monitor set to ON for the favorite you'll be using with all of the information in it. Also when you go to select service lists you should see what the picture looks like attached. You need to go through those and make sure at the least the all of the public safety ones are turned on and not have :--- beside each one.


im hearing very little traffic but im hearing 3 different talkgroups but "select service list" all have the 3 lines no on or off
 

scanphreak

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look at your select service types, do ANY of them say on at all? If not they need to be turned on in the scanner. That's going to be a major issue with not being able to hear stuff. All of the public safety ones need to say ON and not : ---


I emailed you the .hpd file. go ahead and get that loaded and lets see if that makes a difference.
 

scanphreak

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Also reference this:
 

scanphreak

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im hearing very little traffic but im hearing 3 different talkgroups but "select service list" all have the 3 lines no on or off

Were you able to upload the .hpd file on the scanner? What happened when you did? The display should be showing MSWIN in the top section with the word Carrollton-MSWIN right below it, and the middle section should say MSWIN, and the third section should be saying ID SEARCH until someone keys up and talks.

Take a look at this image I attached. This is what should be showing up on your screen after you've loaded the .hpd file I sent you. Focus on the areas I framed in red. The upper right corner is the signal strength of the MSWIN Tower. If you don't see bars there then you're not in range of that site. Also bottom right corner should say DAT if it's receiving the control channel data. Please confirm what you see. Take a picture of it or something and post it here.
 

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Ronnierozier2

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Modern scanners allow you to setup a system however you want. I programmed the control channels as conventional because this allows you to quickly scan through the different site frequencies than to wait for you to learn how to operate a trunked system, learn how to do holds, figure out which sites were giving you the best data, and THEN pick a site. That way it got you....to tell me....what I needed to know to continue, before you actually learned what it was that I was doing.

You would never use this to monitor because it is impossible to track a talkgroup (channel). Yes you were hearing voice comms (I guess on one of the CC's acting as an alternate, or because the database is wrong) but you had no idea where they were going next. Trunking programing will follow a talkgroup to whatever frequency they go to next by itself.

However, conevntional is a good way to test things sometimes. Site finding, teaching new users, data channel strength, etc etc

Delete the conventional systems (or hold on the latest programming) and then HOLD on the Carrollton site. And you should see a vast improvement.

Slayer,

I've been doing some testing and wanted to run my results by you for your thoughts about what is going on. On my BCD435HP i currently have Leflore County (42) and sites Carrollton, North Carrollton, and Morgan city with ID SEARCH turned ON so I will hear all tgid's im in range of. I spoke to a friend of mine and he told me there are 3 tower/antenna locations in Leflore county and non are in Carrollton, North Carrollton, or Morgan city. Actually Carrollton and North Carrollton are towns in a neighboring county......anyway. I live in the exact middle of all three of the Leflore County antenna locations. Which puts me dead center in Greenwood Ms which is where my home is located. While at my home or walking around the block I hear very little broadcast. maybe 4-5 an hour. So my scanner is in range of all three antenna sites......... Here is what I cannot understand. Same programming as mentioned above....... If i drive 15 miles to the north of Leflore county only in range of 1 antenna/tower site I start picking up every single broadcast hearing both sides. Tons of traffic im hearing, both sides. Once i get back into the center of all three sites which is in the middle of GReenwood MS i get back to only 4-5 broadcast an hour. Earlier today I tested this theory again and drove to the county line on the East side of leflore county in range of only 1 of the 3 sites and again started hearing tons of trafficfrom 13 different tgid's even in neighboring counties. Drove back to the city center where my home is located and back to 4-5 broadcast an hour....im confused.

does my scanner have an issue when in proximity of multiple sites broadcasting the same traffic? I'm not sure what is going on here.

last question: when im hearing traffic i see several things at the bottom of my screen, can you tell me what each means. I know what the P25 is but what about PT0,PT1,LNK,DAT ? these pop up when im listening to people talk.

hope my test tells you something so I can figure out what is going on.

Thanks Slayer!!
 
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