PSR-500 Failure to Track P-25 Systems Thread

[w8jjr]

Judging from the features, ease of operation, and reaction time to upgrades I'd say they are bigger Radio Geeks than the people in here. That's a good thing!

I found most of my no decode issue. It's an EMC problem. Figures an EMC guy suffers from his own issues. There is a table to the right of my chair in the family room. When I leave the 500 there and my laptop is in my lap the radio will hang on TG's and the audio will get choppy in and out the LED will flash on and off as it receives and loses the signal. If I grab the radio it mellows out and either scans or produces chop free audio. So now I leave it on the other side of the laptop and it's fine.

I guess if I find other cases of this I'll finally open the radio up and see if any of my little RF band aids can be used safely.

Now with the latest upgrades this radio just sings. I can't wait to get my PSR-600 now!

Les,

I found the same thing as you. Coffee table with laptop in middle. Placing the radio to the right and It gets choppy . To left and its much better. I too was thinking what a coat of rf reflect paint inside the case would do. It has helped with other radios.

On another note I can decode Detroit 99% of the time and its a joy to listen to DFD again.
Also get Downriver, St Clair County, and Wayne West most of the time. I am in Rochester Hills. So the radio is a rocking for me

 

[proquist96]

I'm sure i will get a PSR-500 someday,with any luck they will come out with a seccond generation that has a dark face, improved/and or more features. I know they will keep getting better.

 

[kikito]

I'm sure i will get a PSR-500 someday,with any luck they will come out with a seccond generation that has a dark face, improved/and or more features. I know they will keep getting better.

You might be waiting a long time....

And by then the next generation will come out with an even lighter face plate....

 

[detroit780]

Color Vs. Performance

Many people loved the Ford Model T. Those who waited for a color other than black waited a long time. Those that bought one loved it. Those that waited continued to walk or ride a horse.

Think of all the fun you're missing discovering how awesome this radio is. The performance outweighs the color as far as I 'm concerend after all it's a scanner not artwork hanging on the wall.

You might be waiting a long time....

And by then the next generation will come out with an even lighter face plate....

 

[RodStrong]

"Many people loved the Ford Model T. Those who waited for a color other than black waited a long time. Those that bought one loved it. Those that waited continued to walk or ride a horse."

No doubt this is a great scanner. I got mine a few days ago, and it works flawlessly on my local 800mhz digital trunked system. I play with radios for a living, and have been playing with scanners all my life. This is a kickass scanner. I am so glad I didn't have the "I'll wait around a while until they get the bugs out and the RR threads show the scanner has no problems". I just nutted up and bought one, and it's by far the best scanner I've ever known. Perhaps I just got a lucky model with no hangups, but I am happy as a pig in sh*t.

 

[njscanmaster]

Can someone help me

I need to put in Jacksom NJ Sys in my PSR-500

Here is the Info : Custom Frequency Table

1 2
Base: 500.0000 507.0000
Spacing: 12.5 12.5
Offset: 380 660

Do I need the Hi & Lo Ch in it

Next is Manchester NJ

Here is the Info : Custom Frequency Table:

Base: 450.00000
Offset: 8192
Step: 12.5

Next is Burlington, NJ

Here is the Info : Custom Frequency Table

1 2 3
Base: 500.3250 502.4250 506.4750
Spacing: 12.5 12.5 12.5
Offset: 380 530 559

Or do I use this setup here

Ch LO 380 - Ch Hi 529 - Base 500.3250 - Offset 380 - Step 12.5
Ch lo 530 - Ch Hi 558 - Base 502.4250 - Offset 530 - Step 12.5
Ch Lo 559 - Ch Hi 759 - Base 506.4750 - Offset 559 - Step 12.5


Plz Write Back !!! Thank Jerry

 

[fmon]

Jackson

	ChLo	ChHi	Offset	Base 	        Step
Table 1	380	659	380	500.0000	12.5
Table 2	660	759	660	507.0000	12.5

Manchester

Table 1	8192	12287	8192	450.0000	12.5

Burlington is correct.

 

[njscanmaster]

Jackson

	ChLo	ChHi	Offset	Base 	        Step
Table 1	380	659	380	500.0000	12.5
Table 2	660	759	660	507.0000	12.5

Manchester

Table 1	8192	12287	8192	450.0000	12.5

Burlington is correct.

Thanks alot

 

[Statevillian]

The latest CPU and DSP upgrades..... as well as the beta releases of the same (0.2 and 0.3) have been fantastic for the Illinois Starcom P25 system. Without that upgrade I'd still be wondering what was being said when those comms were dropping out. I've tested Chicago areas as far north as Niles. IL. and as far south as 55th & the lake shore drive and as far west as Aurora and southwest as Joliet. I have also driven through forested areas and every majot highway and tollway in the Chicagoland area. Side by side with Uniden 396 and each did very well. All areas with muti-site stat tracking have been great. Good improvements. Thanks GRE!

 

[MarcInIllinois]

The latest CPU and DSP upgrades..... as well as the beta releases of the same (0.2 and 0.3) have been fantastic for the Illinois Starcom P25 system. Without that upgrade I'd still be wondering what was being said when those comms were dropping out. I've tested Chicago areas as far north as Niles. IL. and as far south as 55th & the lake shore drive and as far west as Aurora and southwest as Joliet. I have also driven through forested areas and every majot highway and tollway in the Chicagoland area. Side by side with Uniden 396 and each did very well. All areas with muti-site stat tracking have been great. Good improvements. Thanks GRE!

I don't mean this in any bad way --- but come down south of I-64 and try starcom..

whole different animal here with a HH. (yea I was in Chicagoland for 3 days w/ my 396t in mid-october and very different than here).

 

[Statevillian]

No offense taken...but lots of questions

I don't mean this in any bad way --- but come down south of I-64 and try starcom..

whole different animal here with a HH. (yea I was in Chicagoland for 3 days w/ my 396t in mid-october and very different than here).

Do you have a GRE500?..... I am only going to assume so since this is a thread for the GRE500. If this is related to only the 396 and has nothing to do with the firmware upgrade or failure to track P25 reception issue then you should probably be consulting the Uniden threads and let UPMan know.
I was only prefacing the Chicago area since that is the area my job, home and family take me to. I am only expressing my appreciation for my designated area. If you have a 500 and your reception is poor in your area, express it to GRE....that the latest version still isn't good enough. They won't know if the latest upgrade is working or not unless we, the consumer, say so. So, I feel in my roughly 2 to 3 weeks of a lot of travel the issue here is resolved. It took the upgrade to get my 500 tracking properly on both 700 and 800Mhz sites. I also played with various expert settings to optimize my overall performance.

I sympothize with your frustration. These 700Mhz sites and simulcast sites had me very frustrated with the GRE500 when i first got mine. But, I can't say I ever had a bad experience in the Chicago area with the 396. I did have some poor reception in some areas of downtown with the 396 in a couple areas where I was between skyscrapers and below street level while monitoring Starcom. I have heard the GRE people read this and my message was directed at the people who own one in this area and may not have decided to try the upgrade and to GRE reps directly. If you have a 500 then I guess we all now know that south of I 64 the P25 Starcom system is either out of phase, lacks additional towers for site coverage or some other 'system' issue that the upgrade hasn't corrected. Try the carmachicago yahoo group and post that issue there. Many members do travel all over and maybe one of them can help you make sense of the issue you are having where you are at. They have been very helpful with local issues and info. Hope it gets better!

 

[MarcInIllinois]

Do you have a GRE500?..... I am only going to assume so since this is a thread for the GRE500. If this is related to only the 396 and has nothing to do with the firmware upgrade or failure to track P25 reception issue then you should probably be consulting the Uniden threads and let UPMan know.
I was only prefacing the Chicago area since that is the area my job, home and family take me to. I am only expressing my appreciation for my designated area. If you have a 500 and your reception is poor in your area, express it to GRE....that the latest version still isn't good enough. They won't know if the latest upgrade is working or not unless we, the consumer, say so. So, I feel in my roughly 2 to 3 weeks of a lot of travel the issue here is resolved. It took the upgrade to get my 500 tracking properly on both 700 and 800Mhz sites. I also played with various expert settings to optimize my overall performance.

I sympothize with your frustration. These 700Mhz sites and simulcast sites had me very frustrated with the GRE500 when i first got mine. But, I can't say I ever had a bad experience in the Chicago area with the 396. I did have some poor reception in some areas of downtown with the 396 in a couple areas where I was between skyscrapers and below street level while monitoring Starcom. I have heard the GRE people read this and my message was directed at the people who own one in this area and may not have decided to try the upgrade and to GRE reps directly. If you have a 500 then I guess we all now know that south of I 64 the P25 Starcom system is either out of phase, lacks additional towers for site coverage or some other 'system' issue that the upgrade hasn't corrected. Try the carmachicago yahoo group and post that issue there. Many members do travel all over and maybe one of them can help you make sense of the issue you are having where you are at. They have been very helpful with local issues and info. Hope it gets better!

Yes I do. Main problem in this area is the lack of towers, heard from a relative over the weekend that is now an "I" officer with ISP (D-chgo), recently transferred from this area into it. He said it was like night and day going from this area down here to upstate communications-wise. He really liked playing with both the 396 and 500, had never seen a p25 *scanner*.

 

[Statevillian]

Man, that stinks. There was some problem with the simul sites up here. Better now. Site 113 in Will County was giving one user (Plainfield) fits for a while. I use the stock antenna on the 500 and have the G on the display. Huge difference from not having it on and using the Radio Shack 800 antenna. Tracked much smoother. Doesn't sound like any kinda upgrade is gonna help. Only more towers or them turning up the juice. I have felt your pain.

 

[DaveIN]

Just a reminder Bobby. Having the "G" on the display only means global. You need the "A" for attenuator, along with the "G" if you want "global" attenuation. You can turn the attenuator on via the keypad or in the global settings.

 

[Statevillian]

Global helps!

Just a reminder Bobby. Having the "G" on the display only means global. You need the "A" for attenuator, along with the "G" if you want "global" attenuation. You can turn the attenuator on via the keypad or in the global settings.

Hi Dave! Yes, I only need gloabal to keep the BEAST in line. If I hit A I end up minimizing my control channel power.....not worth that.

 

[MarcInIllinois]

Man, that stinks. There was some problem with the simul sites up here. Better now. Site 113 in Will County was giving one user (Plainfield) fits for a while. I use the stock antenna on the 500 and have the G on the display. Huge difference from not having it on and using the Radio Shack 800 antenna. Tracked much smoother. Doesn't sound like any kinda upgrade is gonna help. Only more towers or them turning up the juice. I have felt your pain.

So you find the stock duckie and G is better than the RS 800 without then I take it?

 

[Statevillian]

May be subjective.......

So you find the stock duckie and G is better than the RS 800 without then I take it?

For where I am it works best....and I have experimented with just about every setting and combo since I got the 500. The front end is powerful and the RS800 is too. It just makes my trunking go haywire and I get tons of intermod. Especially on 867.xxxx freqs.

 

[RoninJoliet]

Bobby, as Dave said having the "G" on is just the beginning of turning on the "Global", the "A" is what does the attenuation...So its the same receive with the "G" on or NO "G", its the "A" that matters....Have a good day Bobby!!

 

[Statevillian]

Thanks Bro!

Bobby, as Dave said having the "G" on is just the beginning of turning on the "Global", the "A" is what does the attenuation...So its the same receive with the "G" on or NO "G", its the "A" that matters....Have a good day Bobby!!

Gotcha. I meant the global Att.

 

[Russell]

Austin Update.

While the latest firmware upgrades are a significant help to the Austin P25 system, there are still multiple locations in Austin where the radio begins flipping from VC to DG, audio dropping out, etc. The problem is I can't tell if it's being overdriven or if the signal is too low. I just term them as 'bad' signal areas. Unfortunately, one is my Austin apartment. While using the ducky and an external antenna shows no improvement, removing the the antenna completely makes the signal go away completely and attenuate tends to make it worse.

What is really throwing me is that the external antenna vs the ducky makes no difference. This tends to make me believe the radio is being overdriven by either the frequency I am listening to or some other signal as there are other towers within a mile of that 'bad' location.

Moving the radio to different locs within the (ground floor) apartment makes a big difference, as well, with a wide variance between good copy to no decode at all. I would be interested in hearing other experiences of the PSR500 and the Austin system.

Russell