New BCD996P2 is programmed but not hearing Columbus Police

[rickv]

Dear Smart People,

I recently purchased a new scanner and programmed it without any issues. I can find the Radio Reference channels that I want to hear but I never hear Columbus Police citywide dispatch like I can using "Broadcastify".

I need help trying to figure out what I am missing so that I can listen to the same feeds on my scanner as I hear on Boradcastify.

My Broadcastify is = US - Ohio - Franklin "Columbus Zone 1" & "Columbus Police Dispatch Citywide"...

All of the zones would be great but I figure that if I am able to listen to Zone 1, I can figure out the other zones.

I am asking for help for when I lose Internet access, I can still listen locally.

Any help is appreciated.

Please email me if you have suggestions or recommendations at rickv@insight.rr.com

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums. Are you getting any bars of signal? How many? Are you able to track other talkgroups on MARCS aside from Columbus Police? The 996p2 isn't the best scanner at tracking simulcast cells which Columbus City Simul consists of so simulcast distortion could be the issue at hand if you're within listening range to two or more towers on the cell (reference map here). There are a number of multipath mitigation methods you can try in the simulcast distortion wiki I linked but they work in very few cases. Ultimately a Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 are much better choices for tracking simulcast systems as is well documented here on the forums

 

[phask]

What site(s) do you have programmed?

 

[tvengr]

Please attach your Ohio MARCS rsf programming file so we can take a look at it. I use ARC-XT also. You will need to zip the file to be able to attach it. Click on Attach files and open the zipped file.

 

[rickv]

Thanks for the replies. My expectations were low. As far as the programming app is concerned, I do use ARC-XT. (bought and paid for)
Also know that I tried downloading every Ohio frequency just in case of emergencies. However, I am specifically focused on Columbus and the attached file has a lot of CPD but Broadcastify's Zone 1 / citywide dispatch is totally different than what my scanner captures.
Any help is appreciated.
I will start checking here more frequently.
Thank You all for your replies.

 

[rickv]

Welcome to the RR forums. Are you getting any bars of signal? How many? Are you able to track other talkgroups on MARCS aside from Columbus Police? The 996p2 isn't the best scanner at tracking simulcast cells which Columbus City Simul consists of so simulcast distortion could be the issue at hand if you're within listening range to two or more towers on the cell (reference map here). There are a number of multipath mitigation methods you can try in the simulcast distortion wiki I linked but they work in very few cases. Ultimately a Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 are much better choices for tracking simulcast systems as is well documented here on the forums

I am getting good bars and I am able to track talkgroups on MARCS. Thank you for the recommendations. After reviewing the map, I am within the red circle. When I review the *.rsf file, I do not see all of the 800 channels. Is there a process for filtering the simulcast distortion?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Is there a process for filtering the simulcast distortion?

From the "simulcast distortion" link I gave you in post #2...
2.1 Multipath Mitigation for Scanners

May or may not work

 

[tvengr]

I am getting good bars and I am able to track talkgroups on MARCS. Thank you for the recommendations. After reviewing the map, I am within the red circle. When I review the *.rsf file, I do not see all of the 800 channels. Is there a process for filtering the simulcast distortion?

I don't see any programming problems. You have the correct frequencies for both sites. All you need are the 4 control channel capable frequencies for each site. All of the frequency info for the voice channels is carried on the control channel. I highly suspect that you are experiencing simulcast distortion. Both sites are simulcast. If you see NFM on the 3rd line from the bottom on your scanner display, your scanner is having problems finding the control channel. Simulcast distortion results in missed transmissions and garbled audio. You can try turning on the attenuator, varying the length and orientation of the antenna, and moving the scanner around the room. You may find a sweet spot where it works. If you have an outside antenna, disconnect it and use the back of scanner antenna. When dealing with simulcast sites, less signal is more.

 

[wtp]

my county moved to 700 Mhz simulcast.
my 396T and 396XT would give 1/4 second of audio and then 1/4 second of silence.
so the wife and i bought a 325P2...and got the same result, but it worked fine around the rest of the county.
so we then used points on a credit card to buy an SDS100. it worked fine from day 1.
when we go out she gets the 100 and i use the 325. there is peace in our time !
and the bars on the 325 would stay at 5 or sometimes go from 2 to 5.
we did find a sweet spot by laying it on its side and stuck in the corner of an aluminium window with a stubby race antenna, but it still had dropouts.

 

[Nasby]

The Columbus area is one of the most difficult areas in Ohio to scan due to simulcast issues. It seems the sites there are especially troublesome. A unication pager or an SDS scanner is the only real solution.

 

[tvengr]

Unfortunately, the Unication pagers can scan only one system and one site at a time. You will miss radio traffic if you don't scan both sites in Franklin County. You cannot scan conventional frequencies and a trunked system at the same time. Also, the G4 is limited to 700/800 MHz only. The G5 can scan UHF and 700/800 or VHF and 700/800 depending upon the model. It cannot scan both UHF and VHF.

 

[rickv]

Dear Team,
Thank you for the recommendations. I will review the simulcast article and will look into the other recommendations. As far as the scanner that I chose is concerned, my challenge will be to get it working to the best of my ability. Your feedback was very helpful. I should be good unless the Internet goes offline. I will have larger issues to focus on if that happens.