SDS100/SDS200: Not sure if its me or my SDS-100

[wjdevans]

I use my SDS-100 to monitor my local Sheriff's Office Dispatch @ 158.7975 Mhz. I'm pretty ignorant about radios. Our local law enforcement do use a digital system and they can't be picked up on the cheaper scanners.

My SDS-100 worked fine for this purpose for quite some time, until it didn't. It simply quit receiving any signal. I even attempted to pick myself up while using the local CTAF @ 122.9.

As I don't know anything about radios, I convinced myself that I was a victim of the cold solder issue. I put the radio away for a couple of years. I came across it the other day and decided I miss it. I don't remember what happened to the original antennae but I had purchased a Remtronix REM820S to see if that would help in the signal reception when my issues first began.

After finding the radio, I sent it off to Uniden for repair. They replaced the logic board and updated the firmware.

I charged the battery, installed the REM820S, and updated the database.

Still no reception!

What do yall recommend I do next? I really want to get this radio working again.

 

[Nasby]

Check to see if it receives local NOAA weather. That’s a good indicator on if the scanner is receiving or not.

 

[ofd8001]

While you may not be seeing the "Nothing to Scan" message, the items mentioned in this post can give you some hints:

X36 "Nothing to Scan" Checklist

X36HP "Nothing to Scan" Checklist Scanner Checklist: 1. A location has to be set in 'Set Your Location' to monitor the Database. 2. You must enable at least one Favorites List or the Full Database in 'Set Scan Selection>Select Lists to Monitor'. 3. Favorites Lists or...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[hiegtx]

I use my SDS-100 to monitor my local Sheriff's Office Dispatch @ 158.7975 Mhz. I'm pretty ignorant about radios. Our local law enforcement do use a digital system and they can't be picked up on the cheaper scanners.

My SDS-100 worked fine for this purpose for quite some time, until it didn't. It simply quit receiving any signal. I even attempted to pick myself up while using the local CTAF @ 122.9.

As I don't know anything about radios, I convinced myself that I was a victim of the cold solder issue. I put the radio away for a couple of years. I came across it the other day and decided I miss it. I don't remember what happened to the original antennae but I had purchased a Remtronix REM820S to see if that would help in the signal reception when my issues first began.

After finding the radio, I sent it off to Uniden for repair. They replaced the logic board and updated the firmware.

I charged the battery, installed the REM820S, and updated the database.

Still no reception!

What do yall recommend I do next? I really want to get this radio working again.

Which county are you referring to? Just took a quick look at New Mexico licenses for 158.7975, and don't see it licensed as used by an S.O. for dispatch.

 

[wjdevans]

Which county are you referring to? Just took a quick look at New Mexico licenses for 158.7975, and don't see it licensed as used by an S.O. for dispatch.

Lavaca County, TX

 

[wjdevans]

Check to see if it receives local NOAA weather. That’s a good indicator on if the scanner is receiving or not.

Not able to get NOAA.

 

[wjdevans]

While you may not be seeing the "Nothing to Scan" message, the items mentioned in this post can give you some hints:

X36 "Nothing to Scan" Checklist

X36HP "Nothing to Scan" Checklist Scanner Checklist: 1. A location has to be set in 'Set Your Location' to monitor the Database. 2. You must enable at least one Favorites List or the Full Database in 'Set Scan Selection>Select Lists to Monitor'. 3. Favorites Lists or...

forums.radioreference.com

Thanks, I’ll double check everything.

 

[tvengr]

The Sheriff's Office is conventional P25 digital with a 465 NAC.

Frequency	License	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
158.7975	WQAW527	RM	465 NAC	Lavaca SO 1	Sheriff Dispatch	P25	Law Dispatch
154.2275	WQAW527	RM	465 NAC	Lavaca SO 2	Sheriff Secondary	P25	Law Dispatch

Please attach your favorites list so that we can take a look at it. Go to the File tab in Sentinel and click on Export to hpe file (Favorites List). You will need to right click on the exported file and Send to Compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it. Click on Attach files and open the zipped folder. What is the RSSI value showing on your scanner?

 

[wjdevans]

Here's my Favorites List.

I'm not showing any RSSI value. I'm not picking up anything.

 

[phask]

For some reason, Sentinel has mode as FM - RR has P25. Proscan imports with Mode as Auto.

 

[hiegtx]

Lavaca County, TX

Ok. I mentioned New Mexico because that is what is shown on your profile.

Here's my Favorites List.

I'm not showing any RSSI value. I'm not picking up anything.

I took a look at your Favorites list, and don't see anything that, at first glance, appears to be an error. If you had reception, that list should not be the problem.

Not able to get NOAA.

If you tried weather by using Weather Scan from the scanner's menu, and did not get anything, then, unfortunately it appears to be an issue needing repair. You've already noted that you are not seeing any signal indications, RSSI, on any other system also points to a hardware issue, not programming.

Has the scanner been dropped? Also, have you had the scanner near another radio that was transmitting? A very strong, nearby signal, can also damage the scanner.

I use my SDS-100 to monitor my local Sheriff's Office Dispatch @ 158.7975 Mhz. I'm pretty ignorant about radios. Our local law enforcement do use a digital system and they can't be picked up on the cheaper scanners.

My SDS-100 worked fine for this purpose for quite some time, until it didn't. It simply quit receiving any signal. I even attempted to pick myself up while using the local CTAF @ 122.9.

As I don't know anything about radios, I convinced myself that I was a victim of the cold solder issue. I put the radio away for a couple of years. I came across it the other day and decided I miss it. I don't remember what happened to the original antennae but I had purchased a Remtronix REM820S to see if that would help in the signal reception when my issues first began.

After finding the radio, I sent it off to Uniden for repair. They replaced the logic board and updated the firmware.

I charged the battery, installed the REM820S, and updated the database.

Still no reception!

What do yall recommend I do next? I really want to get this radio working again.

The REM820S is better suited for 700 & 800MHz systems. While it's also fairly decent at receiving Uhf, Vhf is not it's strong point. (I use that antenna on my SDS100, since virtually everything of interest in my area is either already on a 700 or 800MHz trunked system, or soon will be. (Dallas, both city & county, are in the process of moving from Uhf (Dallas public safety) & Vhf (Dallas County) to NTIRN, which is a P25 Phase II system using 700 & 800MHz.) Even so, since you are not getting even a weak signal on NOAA, that would indicate (to me) that the scanner needs to be sent in for repair. If you had another antenna to try, that would confirm a hardware issue if it did not work, but I suspect that it would not make a difference.

As you indicate that the scanner was not used for a couple of years, because it was having an issue then, is another indicator that repair is called for.

 

[tvengr]

As I don't know anything about radios, I convinced myself that I was a victim of the cold solder issue. I put the radio away for a couple of years. I came across it the other day and decided I miss it. I don't remember what happened to the original antennae but I had purchased a Remtronix REM820S to see if that would help in the signal reception when my issues first began.
After finding the radio, I sent it off to Uniden for repair. They replaced the logic board and updated the firmware.
I charged the battery, installed the REM820S, and updated the database.
Still no reception!

If you had another antenna to try, that would confirm a hardware issue if it did not work, but I suspect that it would not make a difference.

I took a look at your Favorites list, and don't see anything that, at first glance, appears to be an error. If you had reception, that list should not be the problem.

I agree that the programming is OK. You need to have both Download and Monitor set to On for the favorites list when you write to the scanner. If programmed from the database, the service type of weather is Other and it needs to be enabled in the profile. For the rest of the frequencies you have programmed, you need to have Fire Dispatch, Law Dispatch, Law Tac, Law Talk, and Aircraft enabled. If you don't have another antenna, stick about an 18" piece of wire into the center of the antenna connector. It will work just fine for NOAA weather and your other VHF frequencies. Before returning the scanner, try replacing the SD card. Bad SD cards are the most common cause of scanner failure. If a new antenna and SD card do not solve the problem, it sounds like time for another trip to Uniden. It is quite possible that you have the cold solder joint problem and it was not fixed by Uniden. You would not be the first one to have that happen.

Frequency	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
162.40000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.400	Weather Radio 162.400	FM	Other
162.42500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.425	Weather Radio 162.425	FM	Other
162.45000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.450	Weather Radio 162.450	FM	Other
162.47500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.475	Weather Radio 162.475	FM	Other
162.50000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.500	Weather Radio 162.500	FM	Other
162.52500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.525	Weather Radio 162.525	FM	Other
162.55000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.550	Weather Radio 162.550	FM	Other

 

[hiegtx]

I agree that the programming is OK. You need to have both Download and Monitor set to On for the favorites list when you write to the scanner. If programmed from the database, the service type of weather is Other and it needs to be enabled in the profile. For the rest of the frequencies you have programmed, you need to have Fire Dispatch, Law Dispatch, Law Tac, Law Talk, and Aircraft enabled. If you don't have another antenna, stick about an 18" piece of wire into the center of the antenna connector. It will work just fine for NOAA weather and your other VHF frequencies. Before returning the scanner, try replacing the SD card. Bad SD cards are the most common cause of scanner failure. If a new antenna and SD card do not solve the problem, it sounds like time for another trip to Uniden. It is quite possible that you have the cold solder joint problem and it was not fixed by Uniden. You would not be the first one to have that happen.

Frequency	Type	Tone	Alpha Tag	Description	Mode	Tag
162.40000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.400	Weather Radio 162.400	FM	Other
162.42500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.425	Weather Radio 162.425	FM	Other
162.45000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.450	Weather Radio 162.450	FM	Other
162.47500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.475	Weather Radio 162.475	FM	Other
162.50000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.500	Weather Radio 162.500	FM	Other
162.52500	B	CSQ	NWS 162.525	Weather Radio 162.525	FM	Other
162.55000	B	CSQ	NWS 162.550	Weather Radio 162.550	FM	Other

If the weather test was from the menu, it's not going to matter whether or not the Favorites list was set for download and monitor. Plus, service types would not affect trying Weather Scan from the menu.

Of course, a bad SD card is almost always a suspect for just about anything with one of the database scanners, but unless it just flat would not boot up, I don't think a bad card would affect the weather trial, but it never hurts to at least format (or replace) the card and then proceed with 'Clear User Data & Favorites download for a fresh start.

My SDS-100 worked fine for this purpose for quite some time, until it didn't. It simply quit receiving any signal. I even attempted to pick myself up while using the local CTAF @ 122.9.
As I don't know anything about radios, I convinced myself that I was a victim of the cold solder issue. I put the radio away for a couple of years.

Based on the apparent failure some time ago, then the 'put away for a couple of years', the odds would seem to infer the dreaded cold solder joint pandemic. I would concur to try the suggested wire into the antenna connector, just to rule out an antenna failure.

 

[wjdevans]

Ok. I mentioned New Mexico because that is what is shown on your profile.


I took a look at your Favorites list, and don't see anything that, at first glance, appears to be an error. If you had reception, that list should not be the problem.

If you tried weather by using Weather Scan from the scanner's menu, and did not get anything, then, unfortunately it appears to be an issue needing repair. You've already noted that you are not seeing any signal indications, RSSI, on any other system also points to a hardware issue, not programming.

Has the scanner been dropped? Also, have you had the scanner near another radio that was transmitting? A very strong, nearby signal, can also damage the scanner.


The REM820S is better suited for 700 & 800MHz systems. While it's also fairly decent at receiving Uhf, Vhf is not it's strong point. (I use that antenna on my SDS100, since virtually everything of interest in my area is either already on a 700 or 800MHz trunked system, or soon will be. (Dallas, both city & county, are in the process of moving from Uhf (Dallas public safety) & Vhf (Dallas County) to NTIRN, which is a P25 Phase II system using 700 & 800MHz.) Even so, since you are not getting even a weak signal on NOAA, that would indicate (to me) that the scanner needs to be sent in for repair. If you had another antenna to try, that would confirm a hardware issue if it did not work, but I suspect that it would not make a difference.

As you indicate that the scanner was not used for a couple of years, because it was having an issue then, is another indicator that repair is called for.

I agree with your points. I’ll give Uniden a call tomorrow.

 

[tvengr]

If the weather test was from the menu, it's not going to matter whether or not the Favorites list was set for download and monitor. Plus, service types would not affect trying Weather Scan from the menu.

I just checked my SDS100. Scanning weather from the scanner menu works without any of the service types enabled. I don't know if a bad SD card could disable weather using it from the scanner menu. There is the possibility that the firmware could load the weather frequencies onto the SD card when weather is selected. I tend to agree with you that the SD card should not affect scanning weather from the scanner menu.

 

[hiegtx]

I just checked my SDS100. Scanning weather from the scanner menu works without any of the service types enabled. I don't know if a bad SD card could disable weather using it from the scanner menu. There is the possibility that the firmware could load the weather frequencies onto the SD card when weather is selected. I tend to agree with you that the SD card should not affect scanning weather from the scanner menu.

My guess (and only a guess) is that a bad SD card, by itself, would not prevent accessing the NOAA frequencies. Of course, if the card is corrupted enough that the scanner will not fully boot up, then you really could not hear anything, on any frequency. The specific Weather frequencies may be coded as part of the firmware, not based on anything on the card. Of course in the DMA scanners, whether the T, XT, or current P2 series, weather frequencies are not specified in the programming file; yet Weather Scan (in those models) will check the correct channels.

 

[JoeBearcat]

Do you have the OEM antenna to try? As was mentioned, the 820 is not great at VHF. Could the 820 be bad?

 

[hiegtx]

Do you have the OEM antenna to try? As was mentioned, the 820 is not great at VHF. Could the 820 be bad?

In the OPs initial post, he indicated that he could not find the OEM antenna. While it's not impossible that the 820 antenna is defective, the fact that even WX radio does not come across does not bode well. WeatherRadio in his county (Lavaca) shows that while there is no site in his county, ranges of several surrounding sites do overlap Lavaca.

 

[wjdevans]

UPDATE - I've been away for work so I haven't been able to update this post until now.

I purchased a new SDS-100. The new scanner is getting weather and is receiving signal from other communities when I travel.

My original SDS-100 is also receiving weather when I use the OEM antenna that came with the new scanner.

I am still not able to get my local Sheriff's Office dispatch on either radio.

In our small community, the Sheriff's Office handles dispatch for our city, fire, and EMS in addition to the deputies. The Sheriff's office is located about a mile and a half from me.

I use to be able to receive all of their traffic with no issue.

Is it possible the Sheriff's office has upgraded their communication system or made some other changes that aren't reflected in the current database? I'm really not sure what to do next and am open to suggestions.

 

[tvengr]

Lavaca County is also licensed to use 155.97 which shows as Moulton PD in the database. Also check 156.0225.