SDS100 Trunking Reception

[pjbracing]

I agree, a wrong NAC blocks site reception regardless of your location. If you can ever receive a site, your NAC setting for that site is OK.

Your case sounds like some type of RFI issue. Have you tried looking for the source?

If you have a SDR dongle, a USB extension cord, and a laptop with SDR#, it's easy to trace the source of interference. Connect an antenna to the dongle (any small whip will do). Tune to one of the middle site frequencies so all of the site frequencies are visible on the band scope. Turn the RTL AGC on, and the tuner AGC off, and set the RF gain so that the noise floor is around -40. Walk around and try to find where the noise floor goes the highest. As you get closer to the noise source, you may need to turn down the RF gain.

Jon,


Thank you and all the others on the Forums for the help on the SDS 100 including mine. I had a very early production unit and despite all the firmware and settings, I just could not get it to receive MPSCS at my house. When I left my house and got a couple miles away, it worked far better than any scanner I've had in over 40 years. Unfortunately, I was not in a position to continue to spend so much time trying to debug the scanner nor afford to have an expensive scanner I could use only a small portion of time. I sent it back and received a refund.



I think the beta testers, Upman, the forum users and the Uniden team have done an outstanding job of developing a great scanner. I will continue to monitor the forums and hopefully in the nearer future, I will meet someone near me that believes the issues I was having have been solved and we can do a real world test. Maybe it is firmware, maybe a manufacturing glitch, maybe a large tree in my back yard or probably some weird combination! I really want to buy an SDS100.



So please keep working on improving the SDS100, it has great features, is easy to use and for most, it provides great scanning pleasure. If anyone ever can help demonstrate that the SDS100 can work for my situation, please bounce a message my way.



Happy scanning and thanks!
Pete (Clarkston, MI)

 

[DaveIN]

The SDS-100 is extremely sensitive and will overload with WiFi, cell tower (700/800MHz), NOAA weather radio, FM wide and, pager broadcasters, and computers and monitor RF noise. Keep it away from signal sources, including nearby scanners and amateur radios where IF signal sources can affect reception. External antennas can make the problem worse. Take the SDS to various locations (inside and outside your home) and you can see a difference in reception. This this the first handheld “scanner” with IQ vs IF coil reception. Think of it as an updated DSP dongle with RF modes and memory management.

The SDS is outperforming all my Whistler and Uniden radios, and is about equal to the Unication G5 on the Allegan MPSCS simulcast system.

 

[buddrousa]

Dave I do not see the SDS100 overloading you see. My SDS100 is a little hotter on 700 trunking than my x36's and as far as my TRX's the SDS100 hears way far better at P25 NXDN and DMR even in Downtown Memphis no inter mod hears great FL or GPS either one.

 

[DaveIN]

That would depend on your location and surroundings. You can also use the IF exchange to help with some interference, but this will not help with locally generated RF noise.

 

[Hooligan]

The SDS-100 is extremely sensitive and will overload with WiFi, cell tower (700/800MHz), NOAA weather radio, FM wide and, pager broadcasters, and computers and monitor RF noise. Keep it away from signal sources, including nearby scanners and amateur radios where IF signal sources can affect reception. External antennas can make the problem worse. Take the SDS to various locations (inside and outside your home) and you can see a difference in reception. This this the first handheld “scanner” with IQ vs IF coil reception. Think of it as an updated DSP dongle with RF modes and memory management.

Assuming you're being facetious, don't forget to throw-out the microwave oven too!

 

[DaveIN]

Assuming you're being facetious, don't forget to throw-out the microwave oven too!

Not at all. I can assume you’re having issues in Nevada?