"Simulcast" issues with Uniden BCD996P2 radio

[Mike445]

have radio shack pro 197 - receives simulcast great - buffalo ,ny area - buffalo pd / ecso - crystal clear -had to adjust the expert settings , rf sq fade, dg int prime and couple others , p25 / nac all active reads . also attic antenna hooked in , must have it a sweet spot.

Buffalo and Erie NY are a mix of conventional analog and P25 digital, not simulcast trunk. The only simulcast system in the area in Niagara County Public Safety system.
Mike

 

[W8RMH]

Scanners don't scan talk groups they scan the control channels. The number of talk groups that you have programmed does not effect scan speed.

 

[relicwr]

My past with the scanners haven't been all that well either. I started with the BCD396XT and returned every model up to the 436. I haven't bothered with SDS yet since I've become more accustomed to SDR in the past few years.

 

[K5mow]

I had the BCD996P2 And it worked fairly well here in the Houston area with lots of simulcast. As people stated above some transmissions would chop out or be scrambled. But for the most part it worked decent for me. I decided to upgrade to the SDS200 before the return policy ended on the BCD996P2. Obviously it was double the cost but it works extremely well on the simulcasting here in Houston. I have not had any issue with chop out or garbled transmissions so far. I have only had it a couple of days now. If you have the funds I believe it’s well worth the upgrade if you’re in a simulcast area. If it is just too far out of range on the price. For me the BCD996P2 worked decent here in the Houston area.

Roger



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[hummin24]

Oh ALSO my unification G5 is incredible with the RISCON system. Rugged, easy to program, Small just fantastic!

 

[KK4JUG]

Is that a 996, too?

 

[bobruzzo]

I think I am just gonna go for it and get the BCD996P2 . I have read more positive than negative regarding simulcast issues. I would love to get the SDS but wife would throw it and me out. I COULD sell a guitar and then be able to get an SDS!

 

[jonwienke]

I think I am just gonna go for it and get the BCD996P2 . I have read more positive than negative regarding simulcast issues. I would love to get the SDS but wife would throw it and me out. I COULD sell a guitar and then be able to get an SDS!

Receiving simulcast with a 996 or any other non_SDS scanner is a crapshoot. If you already have a scanner that's having difficulty with simulcast, it probably won't do much better. And until you have a SDS scanner for comparison, you don't really know what you're not hearing.

 

[hummin24]

If you want to listen to RISCON - you get a G4 or G5. I've tried them all. Take my advice.

 

[KK4JUG]

The 996 is not designed to pick up simulcast. G4/5 or SDS100 will do it. If you ultimately want to scan and listen to more than one agency at a time, it's probably the SDS100.

 

[lu81fitter]

Another note.... I have a 996P2. There was a Harris P25 simulcast system that I tried to monitor with very little luck. Reception was horrible. Maybe 15%. That system has since switched over to Moto, and the reception is MUCH better. I was using the P2 mostly in a mobile environment. When I did have it in the house with an 800 Mhz Omni about 20 feet, I could not get any reception on the Harris, but get it now. May want to look at who is supplying radios in your area. Not saying that will make a difference in your case, just letting you know the experience I had.

 

[jonwienke]

All that means is the new simulcast system changed the location of the "bad spots" where conventional receivers have trouble by changing the phase relationship and/or power levels of the transmitters in the simulcast cell. Brand has nothing to do with it.

 

[lu81fitter]

I do not have an "in depth" knowledge of how a simulcast system works. All I know is that I could not pick up the Harris system worth a crap. And now that it is Moto, it comes in 1000% better. Don't know what they changed. I do know that I have heard of more problems monitoring Harris systems than Moto. Maybe there are others that can chime in about their experiences? That's just mine.

 

[GearJammersc]

Simulcast is something that hampers a scanner. I had the pro668 that worked great on a single site system but simulcast lot of garble. The best thing is the new sds Uniden scanners or the Unication pager. The pager I have and its great just like haven a Motorola.

 

[Ronaldski]

See my post 996P2 lousy performance on P25.

 

[WX4JCW]

Single Site any P25 scanner will do and it depends on where you will be in a simulcast system as well, if you are in the middle of the "ring" of sites, you are going to have a hard time, SDS series for more flexibility, or the Unication but they are about the same price

 

[KK4JUG]

The local public safety system has 3 towers simulcasting. I was lucky, though. My 436 had little trouble with it at home. A guestimate would be only about 10%. Away from home, well, that's another story. Other systems with more towers would likely make it worse but it's a hit-and-miss proposition. It's nearly always a matter of location.