Official BCD996T Post Release Thread

[wm8s]

So reducing the rescan delay did not help?

If that's for me, I'm not talking about the sticky-control-channel problem. I'm talking about the channel delay period. During the channel delay (which is really systemwide, but the delay is per channel... the period after activity on a channel ends during which the scanner delays before resuming scanning.. the traditional "delay" on a scanner) on a conventional channel, you can hit [Scan] to prematurely end the delay period and move on, just like you can when there is activity on the channel. But on a talkgroup channel, you can't do that. You can hit [Scan] when there is activity, but you should also be able to hit [Scan] after activity ends but before scanning resumes, but you can't.

Sorry if that wasn't for me and I explained something that didn't need explainin' !

...R

 

[DaveIN]

If you hit scan during a comm on an active talkgroup, the radio returns to the control channel. If that talkgroup is still an active outbound signal word in the control channel data stream it will continue to track it unless you lock it out.

Another way to listen to a specific talkgroup would be to press hold enter the talkgroup number and hold again.

 

[wm8s]

Err.. I don't think I'm getting my point across. If you hit scan AFTER activity on a talkgroup but BEFORE the scan 5-or-whatever-seconds "Delay" has expired, i.e., while the scanner is sitting there with no activity waiting for THAT TALKGROUP to resume before moving on to recheck the system and then move on to the next system altogether, the radio will NOT move on in any way, as it does if you hit Scan while waiting for the delay time to expire on a conventional channel. It does NOT return to the control channel and look for additional talkgroups; it does NOT move on to the next system; it just gives you the error beep.

 

[DaveIN]

Ok, I'm using the default 2 second delay and if I try real hard, I can get it to beep three times by repeatedly pressing the scan button quickly at the end of a comm in the two second delay period. It could be that the 996 is not updating the display quickly enough as it starts to perform the control channel check and display ID Search or ID Scan. I say this because during the ID Search or Scan display it will beep three times.

Is this really a concern? The 996 is doing what it needs to be doing from what I can tell. It displays the talkgroup, I hear the audio, when the comm is done it continues on to ID Search or Scan until the next talkgroup becomes active. I've not missed anything important. If I want to scan specific talkgroups I just make a Group with those talkgroup ID's and scan them or use the hold enter talkgroup number hold.

 

[wm8s]

I have all 6,000 channels in my scanner programmed (out of about 9,000 in my Systems database). Although they're not all enabled at a time (!), a lot are, so when it stops on a channel, I don't want to wait for it to get back around. So I make the delay 5 seconds for everything. If the conversation is boring, I hit [Scan], and it moves on. But if the channel happens to be a talkgroup [as a lot of my channels are] and I'm not fast enough on the trigger [I'm old, you know ;^], I can't hit [Scan]. I have to wait out the 5-second delay. No big deal, hence my calling it a minor firmware bug. But it is a bug that needs fixed.

 

[JASII]

Data Skip

How well does Data Skip work? For example, if I am monitoring a channel that is encrypted, will it cause the scanner to scan past it?

 

[BOBRR]

Control Channel Limit In MOT II Of 4 Freq's ?

Hello,

I'm new at all of this, and am just about to try and
program in my first MOT II system on the 996.

Have read that there is 4 frequency limit of Control Channels when in "Control Channel Only" mode per System that you can enter. That this is a limit imposed by the Mot protocall, and not the USAD software.

Really confused over this, and how to enter all of my CC's.

My original intention, I guess, was to have a single system for the
Mass State Police (MSP) which is a MOT II sytstem with many different
areas around the state.
I was going to just list all of the CC's for all of the areas (no interest in
talkgroups) in one Sytem and one Site, and see what comes in receivable.
Now, If I understand this correctly, I can't do it that way ?

I was lucky enough that with my old 780 that I was able to pick up
several of these areas. Everything seemed to have worked with CC only
mode, and not bothering about having only 4 systems in the single
"Bank". But, perhaps it wasn't truly working the way I thought it was.

Anyway, I looked at what Uniden provided in their USAD software
database, and under
their "MSP Boston", there is a single Site, with 6 Control Channels !

And, under their "MSP Statewide", one site again, they have 14 freq's
listed, 11 of which are CC's. Take a quick look, and you'll see what
I mean.

a. Did they do this incorrectly ?

b. When I do mine, do I have to set up a whole slew of Sites for the
MSP, with each Site having no more than 4 CC's
(but all in 1 System is O.K. )?

c. Or, is it limited to 4 CC's in any one SYSTEM ? Or,... ?

d. What is meant by Active CC's ? Is it that you can have more than
4 CC's in one System, but only 4 are being monitored at any one time ?

If anyone can explain all of this for an elderly,
beginner like me on this topic, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

 

[DaveIN]

How well does Data Skip work? For example, if I am monitoring a channel that is encrypted, will it cause the scanner to scan past it?

Data skip will only continue to scan when a frequency has a birdie (radio internally generated signal) or an unwanted continuous data signal. It most likely would not work for encrypted data because it is not continuous.

 

[DaveIN]

Hello,

I'm new at all of this, and am just about to try and
program in my first MOT II system on the 996.

Have read that there is 4 frequency limit of Control Channels when in "Control Channel Only" mode per System that you can enter. That this is a limit imposed by the Mot protocall, and not the USAD software.

Really confused over this, and how to enter all of my CC's.

My original intention, I guess, was to have a single system for the
Mass State Police (MSP) which is a MOT II sytstem with many different
areas around the state.
I was going to just list all of the CC's for all of the areas (no interest in
talkgroups) in one Sytem and one Site, and see what comes in receivable.
Now, If I understand this correctly, I can't do it that way ?

I was lucky enough that with my old 780 that I was able to pick up
several of these areas. Everything seemed to have worked with CC only
mode, and not bothering about having only 4 systems in the single
"Bank". But, perhaps it wasn't truly working the way I thought it was.

Anyway, I looked at what Uniden provided in their USAD software
database, and under
their "MSP Boston", there is a single Site, with 6 Control Channels !

And, under their "MSP Statewide", one site again, they have 14 freq's
listed, 11 of which are CC's. Take a quick look, and you'll see what
I mean.

a. Did they do this incorrectly ?

b. When I do mine, do I have to set up a whole slew of Sites for the
MSP, with each Site having no more than 4 CC's
(but all in 1 System is O.K. )?

c. Or, is it limited to 4 CC's in any one SYSTEM ? Or,... ?

d. What is meant by Active CC's ? Is it that you can have more than
4 CC's in one System, but only 4 are being monitored at any one time ?

If anyone can explain all of this for an elderly,
beginner like me on this topic, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
B.

You just need the four possible control channel frequencies for each tower programmed in the "site" of your system. The control channel of Motorola systems can change to one of four frequencies in most systems as programmed in the site controller. This usually happens at midnight to releave the 100% duty cycle on the repeater in use. Each tower in the system will do this, so for each site you need to do this to be sure your radio captures the correct frequency with the control channel data.

 

[BOBRR]

From OP: Re 4 CC Max In MOT II System

Hi,

Thanks for help; appreciate it.

But what do you do when you have more than 4 CC's listed in any/all of the commonly available databases for
a particular e.g., MSP area or Troop ?

As I tried to explain in my questions, do you put in all of them, or... ?

No practical way that I know of to know which 4 are exclusively used
by a particular "tower".

Thanks again,
Bob

 

[DaveIN]

Hi,

Thanks for help; appreciate it.

But what do you do when you have more than 4 CC's listed in any/all of the commonly available databases for
a particular e.g., MSP area or Troop ?

As I tried to explain in my questions, do you put in all of them, or... ?

No practical way that I know of to know which 4 are exclusively used
by a particular "tower".

Thanks again,
Bob

Just put all the frequencies in. As long as the frequency does belong to that tower and is an active control channel it should track just fine.

Update: If you look at the database for the Massachusetts State Trunked systems you will see that each tower has four frequencies that are in color, red or blue. Red are the primary control channels and blue are alternate control channels. Put the colored frequencies into a site for each tower you want to track. http://radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR&sid=736

 

[UPMan]

With all site control channels programmed into a single "site" in the scanner, the scanner will stop on the first control channel it detects. If you will be located in an area where more than one control channel is receivable, you'll likely want to put each set of control channels in seperate sites so that control channels will each be individually checked for traffic.

 

[woodyrr]

Another Power Supply Gone Bad

Quote:
Originally Posted by rkdahl
Hi,
I just got my BCD996T today and plugged it in. After about 10 min the radio starts cycling on and off and then eventually dies with no screen or display. After trying this a couple of times I discovered that it appears the AC adapter is overheating and putting out incorrect voltage. It gets quite warm. I measured the DC power at the plug and with no load it's 18.55 VDC. Sounds pretty high to me.

I tried the scanner using the DC cord in my truck and it worked just fine. So it appears I am having a failure with the AC adapter. I saw one other post about this same issue. I'm curious if this is a failure point that needs to be looked at. I hate returning the scanner and everything just to swap out the stupid adapter. Any other suggestions? Anyone else have this issue? Has anyone else measured the non load voltage on their adapter output?

Thanks!

This is the EXACT same thing that happened to me with the AC adapter (display cycling on and off). I sent Uniden an email about it. They have instructed me to fax them my sales reciept and the part number of the adapter. They will replace the adapter at no charge after recieving the fax. Until I recieve the new adapter, I will use the one from my BC898, as it works just fine. Take care!

Matt

Right after I got my 996 filled with data, it started acting up in a similar way. When plugged in, the display is readable through thin "vibrating" horizontal lines and the unit makes a soft buzzing sound. The unit then restarts and and begins cycling every few minutes. The power supply does not get hot, though. It worked flawlessly today in the car and is working fine now on the power supply that came with my BC9000.

Thanks for posting your experiences so that I was able to determine that it is not the radio itself that has a problem.

I guess I'll visit with Uniden tomorrow.

This is an excellent scanner! I am glad that I bought one to complement my 396.

 

[ICLRK625]

I'm having trouble programming a "Smartzone" type area.

Grosse Point, in Michigan, operates using the Moterolla Type II Smartzone, and uses ACPO-25/Analog for voicing.

However, whenever I program the area, I get a hit on the scanner, and it is muffled and snowy sounding.

I'll step by step how I programmed it, I would be much obliged if you could tell me what I did wrong.

1st- I make the Area, call it Grosse Point, and select Moterolla Type II.
2nd- I make the site, I select 800 Mhz standard, as it seems to be the only one that works, and input the frequencies, command and all.
3rd- I make a group, and input all the command frequencie that I want.

Is there something wrong about what I did, or is it possible I accidently changed a setting? I'm very new to scanning, and am having a difficult time making the adjustments I need.

On a side note, the rest of the areas I programmed work great, I can get any P25 and analog system that I have programmed, but the Smartzone seems to be different.

Thanks in advance!

 

[DaveIN]

I'm having trouble programming a "Smartzone" type area.

Grosse Point, in Michigan, operates using the Moterolla Type II Smartzone, and uses ACPO-25/Analog for voicing.

However, whenever I program the area, I get a hit on the scanner, and it is muffled and snowy sounding.

I'll step by step how I programmed it, I would be much obliged if you could tell me what I did wrong.

1st- I make the Area, call it Grosse Point, and select Moterolla Type II.
2nd- I make the site, I select 800 Mhz standard, as it seems to be the only one that works, and input the frequencies, command and all.
3rd- I make a group, and input all the command frequencie that I want.

Is there something wrong about what I did, or is it possible I accidently changed a setting? I'm very new to scanning, and am having a difficult time making the adjustments I need.

On a side note, the rest of the areas I programmed work great, I can get any P25 and analog system that I have programmed, but the Smartzone seems to be different.

Thanks in advance!

Is this the system? http://radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR&sid=609
Did you just use the control channels and set it to control channel only?
It looks like the system has digital talkgroups only. I'd try setting the automatic digital threshold setting to 8 or 7, press the function then turn up/down until the digital voice sounds clear. You can also turn the digital AGC on and adjut it if needed using the prcedure described in the Wiki: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/AGC_Tweak_Procedure.

 

[ICLRK625]

I put in both control and regular, but everything else is correct, yes?

Oh, and yes, that is the correct system.

EDIT: Also, how do I change the automatic digital threshold, sorry for the stupid questions : (

 

[ICLRK625]

Also, Control Channel only is on, however I turned it off, and it may have actually made it worse.

 

[BOBRR]

Max No. Of Sites In A System ?

Hello:

Using the USAD software.

Is there a limit on the number of Sites you can have in a
single System (for MOT II, CC-Only mode) ?

Thanks,
B.

 

[UPMan]

256
(just typing to make the message long enough to be accepted, now...)

 

[STiMULi]

256
(just typing to make the message long enough to be accepted, now...)

Tons o'spaces and a period will trick it