Simulcasts?

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joeyperillo

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Greetings - Extreme Newbie Alert - have a 536 and have read that the SDS is much improved (non garbled) audio - IF YOU ARE HAVING SIMULCAST ISSUES.....? How do I know if my issues are simulcast related? How do I find out if my P25P2 agencies are simulcast? Lost in the woods.....(with the deer which comprise most of the action in my 'hood). Grazie.
 

nessnet

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The Radio Reference database should tell you this info. Look at the system's sites you want to monitor and I'll bet if they are simulcast, it'll say XXXX simulcast... Or, tell us the system you have a question about and someone here can assist.

Remember, with digital, there is no static like analog. With digital, when the signal gets weak, it gets garbled. You may have a weak signal problem?
 

joeyperillo

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The Radio Reference database should tell you this info. Look at the system's sites you want to monitor and I'll bet if they are simulcast, it'll say XXXX simulcast...

Or, tell us the system you have a question about and someone here can assist.
Thank you - will look it up - system is Bucks County (PA) Public Safety P25P2 on BCD536HP - I have read (here somewhere) no reason to spend $ for SDS 200 unless my audio problems are simulcast related......thanks so much. :
System Name:Bucks County Public Safety Radio Network
Location:Bucks County, PA
County:Bucks
System Type:Project 25 Phase II
System Voice:APCO-25 Common Air Interface Exclusive
Last Updated:February 19, 2020

The Radio Reference database should tell you this info. Look at the system's sites you want to monitor and I'll bet if they are simulcast, it'll say XXXX simulcast... Or, tell us the system you have a question about and someone here can assist.

Remember, with digital, there is no static like analog. With digital, when the signal gets weak, it gets garbled. You may have a weak signal problem?
Also didn't know about the weak signal as the possible problem - thank you so much!
 

hiegtx

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The Bucks County system definitely is simulcast.

The site for the system is labeled as Simulcast, and if you click on that descriptive name, that gets you to a page with more details.

The details on the site's page indicate that it is a 24 site simulcast system. Here's a map of the transmitter locations, derived from licensing details:
89355

While it's possible that you have a signal strength issue, depending on your distance from the closest towers, simulcast is also likely a factor. Are you seeing a decent signal strength (a number of bars showing in the upper right corner of the display)? If so, then you are likely getting enough signal.

More specifics on simulcast are in the Wiki.
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

I would suggest that you request your thread be moved to the Pennsylvania forum. To do that, do not create a new thread. Instead, click on the Report in the lower left corner of one of your posts, and request that a moderator move your thread to the state forum. Someone in the area would be more likely to see it there.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Hello I live in Bucks County and have been monitoring here for many years. It is a Phase 2 simulcast system with one site called simulcast and then a large number of towers very close together all transmitting the same thing simultaneously that your radio is calling for.

When the system was introduced in 2015 we quickly realized the X 36 series wasn't going to work well due to simulcast Distortion secondary to LSM and we used Motorola radios. Now we have the SDS radios with an SDR chip and they work great all through the county mobile or fixed. Your luck with your 536 is going to be mixed depending on your location. Some people do well with non SDR radios oh, it is about location location location.
 

joeyperillo

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The Bucks County system definitely is simulcast.

The site for the system is labeled as Simulcast, and if you click on that descriptive name, that gets you to a page with more details.

The details on the site's page indicate that it is a 24 site simulcast system. Here's a map of the transmitter locations, derived from licensing details:
View attachment 89355

While it's possible that you have a signal strength issue, depending on your distance from the closest towers, simulcast is also likely a factor. Are you seeing a decent signal strength (a number of bars showing in the upper right corner of the display)? If so, then you are likely getting enough signal.

More specifics on simulcast are in the Wiki.
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

I would suggest that you request your thread be moved to the Pennsylvania forum. To do that, do not create a new thread. Instead, click on the Report in the lower left corner of one of your posts, and request that a moderator move your thread to the state forum. Someone in the area would be more likely to see it there.
Thanks so much. Looking in vain for REPORT on my post to ask to be sent to Pennsylvania....
 

joeyperillo

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Hello I live in Bucks County and have been monitoring here for many years. It is a Phase 2 simulcast system with one site called simulcast and then a large number of towers very close together all transmitting the same thing simultaneously that your radio is calling for.

When the system was introduced in 2015 we quickly realized the X 36 series wasn't going to work well due to simulcast Distortion secondary to LSM and we used Motorola radios. Now we have the SDS radios with an SDR chip and they work great all through the county mobile or fixed. Your luck with your 536 is going to be mixed depending on your location. Some people do well with non SDR radios oh, it is about location location location.
Thank you very much - I have time to return 536, looks as if I should upgrade to SDS, yes? Have good signal...what to do...thank you.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Thanks Joey oh, I can give you some tips that are valuable to anybody with a 536 trying to pick up simulcast. Exactly where do you live?
 

joeyperillo

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Thanks Joey oh, I can give you some tips that are valuable to anybody with a 536 trying to pick up simulcast. Exactly where do you live?
Yardley Borough....if you can save me from spending $200 more I'll certainly appreciate it!
 

joeyperillo

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The Bucks County system definitely is simulcast.

The site for the system is labeled as Simulcast, and if you click on that descriptive name, that gets you to a page with more details.

The details on the site's page indicate that it is a 24 site simulcast system. Here's a map of the transmitter locations, derived from licensing details:
View attachment 89355

While it's possible that you have a signal strength issue, depending on your distance from the closest towers, simulcast is also likely a factor. Are you seeing a decent signal strength (a number of bars showing in the upper right corner of the display)? If so, then you are likely getting enough signal.

More specifics on simulcast are in the Wiki.
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

I would suggest that you request your thread be moved to the Pennsylvania forum. To do that, do not create a new thread. Instead, click on the Report in the lower left corner of one of your posts, and request that a moderator move your thread to the state forum. Someone in the area would be more likely to see it there.
Found - requested to be moved to PA - thank you.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Yardley Borough....if you can save me from spending $200 more I'll certainly appreciate it!
Found - requested to be moved to PA - thank you.
Well Joey I don't think I'm going to save you the $200 if you're serious about listening to the system for a good reason then really your answer is a unication professional pager or an SDS radio. As I explained you have multiple Towers all simultaneously broadcasting the same thing that your radio is calling for so one thing you can do is desensitize or reduce reception on your radio so that you try to isolate just one Tower which is very hard to do when they're this close together, mobile application it's impossible.

Try using a paperclip, you can bend it in a right angle and just insert it carefully in the center hole of the antenna connection. Some people used to use a comet CH 32 miracle baby antenna. The whole idea is to reduce and get less efficient reception so as to isolate one Tower. Good luck with that. With the 436 people would actually drill a hole in a paint can and put the rubber duck into the hole. Ridiculous. Maybe it'll work but...

Another thing you can try is a yagi antenna. It's a rooftop antenna but you can mount it on a broom handle using low loss coax, some people will say on that short of a run it doesn't matter you can use RG58 oh, I disagree and as long as you're going to all the trouble. The idea of a yagi antenna or a directional beam antenna is to point at the closest Tower to you again trying to isolate the signal.

You can also go into system options and add a 2 second system hold time on the system. Don't confuse this with a hole time on a channel this is called system hold time. You can also switch from nfm to FM.

For those that the radio works great on simulcast it's about location location location

Personally I think this thread should have stayed on Uniden tech support as these are methods that can be used anywhere in the country not just Bucks County but whatever.
 
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joeyperillo

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Well Joey I don't think I'm going to save you the $200 if you're serious about listening to the system for a good reason then really your answer is a unication professional pager or an SDS radio. As I explained you have multiple Towers all simultaneously broadcasting the same thing that your radio is calling for so one thing you can do is desensitize or reduce reception on your radio so that you try to isolate just one Tower which is very hard to do when they're this close together, mobile application it's impossible.

Try using a paperclip, you can bend it in a right angle and just insert it carefully in the center hole of the antenna connection. Some people used to use a comet CH 32 miracle baby antenna. The whole idea is to reduce and get less efficient reception so as to isolate one Tower. Good luck with that. With the 436 people would actually drill a hole in a paint can and put the rubber duck into the hole. Ridiculous. Maybe it'll work but...

Another thing you can try is a yagi antenna. It's a rooftop antenna but you can mount it on a broom handle using low loss coax, some people will say on that short of a run it doesn't matter you can use RG58 oh, I disagree and as long as you're going to all the trouble. The idea of a yagi antenna or a directional beam antenna is to point at the closest Tower to you again trying to isolate the signal.

You can also go into system options and add a 2 second system hold time on the system. Don't confuse this with a hole time on a channel this is called system hold time. You can also switch from nfm to FM.

For those that the radio works great on simulcast cast it's about location location location

Personally I think this thread should have stayed on Uniden tech support as these are methods that can be used anywhere in the country not just Bucks County but whatever.
Thank you so very much for this incredibly detailed response. The fact is I do not need to listen for any professional reason but rather just as a longtime scanner freak who is stuck in the analog world. Although there is not much activity in my neck of the woods I am disappointed at the quality of the audio. I have learned much from you and from the sources you have sent me to to understand that it is just the nature of the digital system which I completely do not understand. I do however understand that it looks as if I will have to buy the SDS system from uniden in order to get more clear audio because of the nature of the radio. It certainly is difficult to justify spending so much money on a simple hobby. It will also be a challenge convincing my wife that I have always had this radio! ... Thank you so very much for all of your time and effort and sharing your expertise.
 

trentbob

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Oh I almost forgot, make sure you put the system on its own favorites list. Don't have anything else on the favorites list.
 

trentbob

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No problem, I lived through this in 2015 when the system was first introduced and we finally decided to get Motorola radios. You might want to check in the archives about simulcast reception with the x36 radios. Tons of information.

What was funny about that time is there were very very few P2 tdma systems in the country and there was a tremendous amount of denial that distortion from LSM existed. All the fanboys would claim how great their radios were working on their type II smartzone systems and denied there was any issue.

I remember stating then that if the scanner companies didn't come up with a simulcast capable scanner soon they would go out of business and one company did come up with them. LOL.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Why put it in a separate fav list
That was something Paul had recommended and I believe it was because you won't interrupt reception as the radio leaves your system and tries to monitor a conventional Channel or another system.

If you monitor more than one system on a favorites list then you have what's called housekeeping come into play. Paul had introduced a firmware update that eliminated housekeeping if you just monitored one system. Housekeeping was an interruption of reception briefly to do an inventory or check on other systems in the radio.
 

shirsch101

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For those local to West Chester, how would I program East Goshen/Westtown Regional PD 1 & 2 into a seperate favorites list using Sentinel. I did try to do it but it did not work.
Thanks
 

maus92

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For those local to West Chester, how would I program East Goshen/Westtown Regional PD 1 & 2 into a seperate favorites list using Sentinel. I did try to do it but it did not work.
Thanks
Set up a second Favorites list that only contains the Chester TRS, and avoid all tgs except the ones you want to hear.
 

joeyperillo

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@trentbob - well, I went ahead and traded up to a SDS 200....only had it a couple days, using a long rubber antenna I bought long ago for a multiband analog radio....my problem (as stated above) with the 536 was 50% or so garbled or muffled audio - I learned the system here is all simulcast with many towers.....so......the SDS is so far not really better at all! Well, maybe a bit better but.....not what I expected - I'm gonna try all the tricks you suggested for the x36 and maybe even get a yagi and point it to the southern most, most isolated tower (does that make sense?).....also someone on the Facebook page suggested I fiddle with the "filters." I will do so as soon as I figure out what and where a filter is! - I do wish this were as simple as the analog days but then again, this is a new world to learn, yes? Thank Zeus for folks like you! (and the youtube videos). Thanks for all your help, trent......
 
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