SDS100/SDS200: SDS100 Location Settings ??

[Ubbe]

If someone has “fool” the scanner, then you wonder if a firmware update is in order.

Then it will probably work as it did before it was changed to not annoy the user by doing too much "house keeping". Uniden probably did it in this way as it will work for 99% of users configuration and it's only when you try to do something "fancy" and advanced that it will break the functionality and the flaw are revealed.

Maybe @jasonhouk can get some more information of when in time the department location lookup and departments rectangle areas are checked and will eventually switch in and out different GPS controlled departments.

/Ubbe

 

[xusmarine1979]

Then it will probably work as it did before it was changed to not annoy the user by doing too much "house keeping". Uniden probably did it in this way as it will work for 99% of users configuration and it's only when you try to do something "fancy" and advanced that it will break the functionality and the flaw are revealed.

Maybe @jasonhouk can get some more information of when in time the department location lookup and departments rectangle areas are checked and will eventually switch in and out different GPS controlled departments.

/Ubbe

Yeah, still a little new to the location stuff but didn't stress too much because I know Uniden is great at listening and updating stuff.

In fact, I'm so pleased with the 150 I've purchased a second one lol...

 

[jasonhouk]

I am closely monitoring this thread. I am currently testing location control in my area using two departments with overlapping rectangles, while the site is set to circular to cover the entire county. Should I identify any bugs, I will escalate the findings to the beta team for reproduction and report them to Uniden should a confirmed issue persist.

 

[J-Wrock]

I am closely monitoring this thread. I am currently testing location control in my area using two departments with overlapping rectangles, while the site is set to circular to cover the entire county. Should I identify any bugs, I will escalate the findings to the beta team for reproduction and report them to Uniden should a confirmed issue persist.

Thank you. I am curious to hear the results of your testing. I still haven't fully ruled out user error on my part in some way.

 

[dave3825]

I am closely monitoring this thread. I am currently testing location control in my area using two departments with overlapping rectangles, while the site is set to circular to cover the entire county.

Almost positive @J-Wrock went A to B in both circle and rectangle site with undesired results.







And in at least one, did not even have overlap but rather a 100 foot gap in-between departments. Lamar Ave itself was not in either dept, but was encompassed in sites circle/rectangle.

 

[xusmarine1979]

I have finally been able to get the radio to switch between Departments. What I did was add a Favorite List that contained a single conventional Freq . I would use any Freq that doesn't have any traffic on it. This forces the radio to check/update its location when it switches between the FL's. By doing this I have the Transmitter Site as a circle which covers the area I want to listen to and then I used rectangles for the Departments. Some had 1 rectangle others had multiple. Thanks @J-Wrock @Ubbe and @dave3825 !

This worked for me as well. I even played around and created an additional site with an unused frequency attenuated and the radio seems to do that "housekeeping" feature I've seen others mention. So it now switches as it should while using the location setting.

 

[J-Wrock]

This worked for me as well. I even played around and created an additional site with an unused frequency attenuated and the radio seems to do that "housekeeping" feature I've seen others mention. So it now switches as it should while using the location setting.

Glad to hear this work around is, well, working! I am in contact with Uniden's tech support and I am trying to figure out if there is a way to get the radio to switch departments without needing to use this work around. I will ask the tech if the "housekeeping" feature is an issue.

This last weekend I did a test without the work around and drove through four different departments (one was on a different site all together) and the scanner did not instantly switch departments. However, if I was stationary long enough (about 5 minutes or so) then the scanner did switch so it is also possible (at least on the 150) that the internal GPS is having trouble recognizing its exact location from inside a car while moving. Will provide more updates as they become available.

 

[dave3825]

I just set up my 436 again with rectangle depts and sites. In the next day or so I am going to test. 1 system with a handful of departments. If I get gps working on my 200 I will run the same fav. The original system I did this on was smartzone, not that it should make a difference.

 

[RMason]

I will ask the tech if the "housekeeping" feature is an issue.

The firmware for the 436/536 was updated in April 2019 (BCDx36HP Firmware Update 1.26.00) to disable housekeeping when scanning only one site. I believe this change was carried over to the SDS series firmware. Before this change, the control channel would drop every 2 seconds (unless a long hold time was programmed). Housekeeping includes checking for a location change.

 

[J-Wrock]

The firmware for the 436/536 was updated in April 2019 (BCDx36HP Firmware Update 1.26.00) to disable housekeeping when scanning only one site. I believe this change was carried over to the SDS series firmware. Before this change, the control channel would drop every 2 seconds (unless a long hold time was programmed). Housekeeping includes checking for a location change.

Makes sense. If that is indeed what’s causing my issues then I will chalk if up to a limitation of software and move on.

 

[Ubbe]

Makes sense. If that is indeed what’s causing my issues then I will chalk if up to a limitation of software and move on.

Just do that copy of a single site into several, the same amount as departments, and set their locations to exactly match the department locations to fake a site change.

You can use either method, copy a single site into several, or use a favorite for each department, and the scanner will work differently depending of method. Using forced site switching it will work as a normal scanner, when it has stopped monitoring a TG it will go to the next system without checking any more TG's in the system.

If using multiple favorites it will restart the monitoring of the same system with each favorite change. If you monitor a police TG and that conversation ends then it will start to monitor the Fire department in the next favorite, and so on and stays 4-5 times longer in that system due to the hold time set in each favorite, but that might be what you want to do.

A problem with that are if you have 5 favorite lists with one department in each, and a TG gets active that belongs to the last FL, then it will stay for the hold time in all previous lists, a minimum of 1,5 sec in each, until it reach that last FL, a delay of 6 sec or more of silence in that system.

/Ubbe

 

[jasonhouk]

I will submit a report to UJE. I had configured the system P25 site to a 15-mile radius, my local police department to a rectangular area encompassing the city limits, and the county sheriff’s department to cover the entire county. I initiated the SDS150 in the county, scanning the designated site. Once the SDS150 acquired GPS lock, the scanner began receiving the county sheriff’s TGID and rendered the local police department inactive. When I entered the city limits, where the local police department should have become active, it did not. I had to activate another site before the local police department became active. I concur that the “housekeeping” sweep is responsible for activating departments, sites, and TGIDs.

I will respond to this thread with UJE’s findings and resolution to this issue.

 

[J-Wrock]

I will submit a report to UJE. I had configured the system P25 site to a 15-mile radius, my local police department to a rectangular area encompassing the city limits, and the county sheriff’s department to cover the entire county. I initiated the SDS150 in the county, scanning the designated site. Once the SDS150 acquired GPS lock, the scanner began receiving the county sheriff’s TGID and rendered the local police department inactive. When I entered the city limits, where the local police department should have become active, it did not. I had to activate another site before the local police department became active. I concur that the “housekeeping” sweep is responsible for activating departments, sites, and TGIDs.

I will respond to this thread with UJE’s findings and resolution to this issue.

Thank you! I think this confirms that it is not a hardware issue with my SDS 150 nor something I am doing wrong when programming my favorites. Therefore, I will await for the response from UJE.

 

[RMason]

I will submit a report to UJE. I had configured the system P25 site to a 15-mile radius, my local police department to a rectangular area encompassing the city limits, and the county sheriff’s department to cover the entire county. I initiated the SDS150 in the county, scanning the designated site. Once the SDS150 acquired GPS lock, the scanner began receiving the county sheriff’s TGID and rendered the local police department inactive. When I entered the city limits, where the local police department should have become active, it did not. I had to activate another site before the local police department became active. I concur that the “housekeeping” sweep is responsible for activating departments, sites, and TGIDs.

I will respond to this thread with UJE’s findings and resolution to this issue.

Perhaps an alternative approach would have been to increase the interval between housekeeping cycles to a reasonable value larger than 2 seconds - rather than disabling it altogether when scanning only a single site.

 

[jasonhouk]

Perhaps an alternative approach would have been to increase the interval between housekeeping cycles to a reasonable value larger than 2 seconds - rather than disabling it altogether when scanning only a single site.

I believe the user selectable hold time would suffice.

 

[Ubbe]

I believe the user selectable hold time would suffice.

But hold time are a fixed timer that always run at the start of monitoring a new system and ends in the middle of a conversation and the TG delay takes over to keep the scanner in the system. It will then work as it initially did and interrupt the monitoring process.

You do not need to do any GPS related functions during an active conversation but when the TG delay ends would be the proper place in time to do the housekeeping as it then either will go to the next system or if you have made a manual hold it will do house keeping before monitoring the next conversation.

/Ubbe

 

[jasonhouk]

But hold time are a fixed timer that always run at the start of monitoring a new system and ends in the middle of a conversation and the TG delay takes over to keep the scanner in the system. It will then work as it initially did and interrupt the monitoring process.

You do not need to do any GPS related functions during an active conversation but when the TG delay ends would be the proper place in time to do the housekeeping as it then either will go to the next system or if you have made a manual hold it will do house keeping before monitoring the next conversation.

/Ubbe

My apologies, I meant to say site hold time.

 

[dave3825]

Headed East yesterday with my 436 (Firmware 1.28.14). Was scanning dept I was in at power up gps batts died on the way to destination. When I got there I put new ones in and it located me and scanned the appropriate dept.

Came back West to start point and it did not open the three depts that should have opened and it never shut off the dept I was no longer in.

1 Site as a circle covering whole area. Would guess the 200 will fail the same way so its not just the 150.

I will submit a report to UJE.

 

[Ubbe]

My apologies, I meant to say site hold time.

Is that some undocumented feature in the latest firmware?
I can only find system hold time.

/Ubbe

 

[jasonhouk]

Is that some undocumented feature in the latest firmware?
I can only find system hold time.

/Ubbe/Ubbe
System held time, auto correct has stricken me on my iPhone. When scanning only one site, the hold time seems to be ignored. UJE has requested a file for further testing should an issue persist.