Scanner advice for Montgomery County TXWarn P25

[iloverf]

Hello all,

We recently lost a really great broadcastify.com feed about 3 weeks ago (Was labeled Montgomery County Sherrif Dispatch 5 and the broadcastify.com feed page used to say it was a simulcast feed from a tower in Magnolia? using a GRE scanner). It was a great feed with excellent reception and decode quality and I enjoyed listening to it for well over a year.

I am now looking to purchase a scanner (heavily learning towards the Uniden 536HP) to use as a base to receive the Montgomery County TX P25/TXWarn simulcast system.

I've seen lots of videos, threadss, etc. about the poor quality and difficulty in reception, decode quality, etc. with simulcast systems. Does anyone in the area have any tips for someone wishing to receive this system only? I'm also aware that I may need to purchase a yagi antenna and mount externally/on my roof in order to increase the gain of the tower I want to receive from and reject interference from the adjacent towers on the same system.

Like anyone else, I don't want to drop 600$ on a scanner, another 150-200+ on a nice antenna + LMR-400 coax if I don't think I'll end up with high quality reception of the system I wish to monitor.

Many thanks for any tips, anecdotal experiences, etc. for users in my area. BTW I'm Just a few miles off of I45 in between the Rayford and Woodlands parkway exits. It looks like the closest tower is behind the Portafino shopping center near Tamina Rd.

If I'm able to get a high enough quality reception working I'd seriously consider setting up a broadcastify.com feed to support 30+ streaming clients.

Thanks!

 

[tunnelmot]

I see you haven't received any responses yet, so I thought I'd share some experience as far as what direction to go. Simply put, there are a few choices you have.

1) You can get any regular P25 scanner(Uniden 396t, 396xt, 996t, 996xt or HomePatrol or GRE/Radio Shack PSR500, PSR600, etc) but be aware that they do not handle the simulcast issue well. I had a PSR500, and I could find the sweet spot for simulcast reception in my home, but any kind of mobile or even pedestrian operation was out of the question. Other testing with any of the Uniden x96 series were even worse. On non-simulcast sites however (of which TxWarn has plenty of, it's just a matter of whether YOUR particular talkgroups of interest regularly affiliate with those sites) those radios do in fact perform well.

2) I have not tried any of the new Uniden 436/536 radios yet. I am actually curious as to performance, but am withholding my possible purchase as of current. You may purchase one and find it does well. (If so, I would be extremely interested in your reports, as I am trying to get real-world local reports)

3) I personally went with an actual Motorola radio. I do not currently own it anymore, but can steer you in the right direction. It performed absolutely flawlessly and worked like a radio should. That is another hobby unto itself, and the right person with some patience can do it. There are pitfalls (legal and otherwise) for the impatient. Research is a virtue with this option.

4) You can make a visit to Command Communications off of Rayford Rd.They can properly assist you with a real Motorola radio, properly and legally programmed if you don't want to embark on a whole new facet of the scanning hobby. It will be expensive, but you can basically tell them what you want, and they can deliver.

I can go more in depth, but I don't know what direction and how far you want to follow this, so if I can be of any help just let me know.

 

[teknishun]

Hello all,

....I am now looking to purchase a scanner (heavily learning towards the Uniden 536HP) to use as a base to receive the Montgomery County TX P25/TXWarn simulcast system.

I've seen lots of videos, threadss, etc. about the poor quality and difficulty in reception, decode quality, etc. with simulcast systems. Does anyone in the area have any tips for someone wishing to receive this system only? I'm also aware that I may need to purchase a yagi antenna and mount externally/on my roof in order to increase the gain of the tower I want to receive from and reject interference from the adjacent towers on the same system.....Thanks!

In spite of what anybody tells you, your own personal experiences with monitoring P25 digital trunked transmissions depends on three things - 1) Who you are monitoring 2) Your location and 3) the type and quality of antenna you are using (rubber duck vs outdoor). Changing any of those factors will give you either a more positive or a more negative experience.

Having said that I highly recommend the 536HP as a base scanner. It is very user friendly, easy to program and easy to use. I much prefer the 536HP over the 996XT and the PSR-800. The 536HP also comes in a handheld model 436HP. I use an outdoor antenna about 20 feet high on a collapsible tripod mast that is lashed to a couple pf points on the house to prevent it from being blown over. The 536HP has a good sound quality and it can be used as a base or a mobile unit.

One of the things I use the 536HP for is to monitor HFD and HPD. I am pretty far out from the city so that is why I use an outdoor antenna. The P25 digital trunked reception is usable but not perfect, based on my location. Your results may very.

If you want a high quality base station scanner I highly recommend the 536HP.

KF5OPQ
Martin

 

[Ensnared]

Concur, Uniden 436/536

In spite of what anybody tells you, your own personal experiences with monitoring P25 digital trunked transmissions depends on three things - 1) Who you are monitoring 2) Your location and 3) the type and quality of antenna you are using (rubber duck vs outdoor). Changing any of those factors will give you either a more positive or a more negative experience.

Having said that I highly recommend the 536HP as a base scanner. It is very user friendly, easy to program and easy to use. I much prefer the 536HP over the 996XT and the PSR-800. The 536HP also comes in a handheld model 436HP. I use an outdoor antenna about 20 feet high on a collapsible tripod mast that is lashed to a couple pf points on the house to prevent it from being blown over. The 536HP has a good sound quality and it can be used as a base or a mobile unit.

One of the things I use the 536HP for is to monitor HFD and HPD. I am pretty far out from the city so that is why I use an outdoor antenna. The P25 digital trunked reception is usable but not perfect, based on my location. Your results may very.

If you want a high quality base station scanner I highly recommend the 536HP.

KF5OPQ
Martin

When I used to run my PSR 500 in Montgomery County on TxWarn, I had fairly decent reception with a small degree of simulcast distortion. I have monitored TxWarn near one of the towers near Dallas and Bryan-College station with great success using my 436HP. My 436 works much better on P25 trunking like TxWarn. I've only heard one Phase II digital working at this was in Irving, Texas. It sounded great. Of course, this was not on TxWarn P25, but I expect good results when I travel to Houston soon.

I will be going to the Houston area toward the end of this month to monitor Phase II in that city. I once watched a You Tube video comparing the PSR 800 and 436HP with the same location and antenna. The PSR 800, although an improvement over the PSR 500 for simulcast distortion, paled in comparison on P25 trunking. I love my 436. There is one issue on my 436HP that bothers me. VHF does not come in near as strong as my PSR 500. If you can live with that, I recommend the 436 since you can strap it on your belt or throw it in the vehicle & roll.