Texas wide area radio Network

[K5mow]

Good morning everyone

Just wanted to get some insight on understanding simulcast issues. I have a Uniden BCD996P2. I live in Alvin Texas and listen to Texas wide area radio network project 25 phase 2. I scan the Friendswood site Galveston County simulcast,Alvin site and Santa Fe. I do not appear to have any issues with simulcasting. I’m trying to understand this issue. I would like to buy a handheld but I don’t really wanna spend the money for the SDS 100. I’m actually thinking I don’t need it because I do not appear to have an issue with simulcasting. After looking at all the sites it appears that there are no simulcast sites that have multiple transmitters on the same frequency. Am I correct or am I looking at it wrong.

thank you Roger

 

[Echo4Thirty]

You will not have any issues on Friendswood, Alvin or Sante Fe sites as they are standalone non simulcast sites. Most of the traffic on these will be transient in nature, however. With the Galveston Simulcast, you are getting lucky and in an area where one tower probably is vastly overpowering the rest of the subsites. With simulcast its all about location location location.

 

[hiegtx]

Good morning everyone

Just wanted to get some insight on understanding simulcast issues. I have a Uniden BCD996P2. I live in Alvin Texas and listen to Texas wide area radio network project 25 phase 2. I scan the Friendswood site Galveston County simulcast,Alvin site and Santa Fe. I do not appear to have any issues with simulcasting. I’m trying to understand this issue. I would like to buy a handheld but I don’t really wanna spend the money for the SDS 100. I’m actually thinking I don’t need it because I do not appear to have an issue with simulcasting. After looking at all the sites it appears that there are no simulcast sites that have multiple transmitters on the same frequency. Am I correct or am I looking at it wrong.

thank you Roger

While, apparently, you are not having Simulcast issues at home with your 996P2, using a scanner when mobile around the area is a different matter. At a fixed location, you might be lucky enough to either be close enough to a transmit site that overrides the out of sync signals from farther away. Or, your scanner (or it's antenna) might be positioned in a spot where terrain (such as hills), a cluster of buildings, or something in your own house, such as aluminum siding or foil backed insulation in the walls, blocks or attenuates the interfering signals.

If you are out & about, mobile, with a scanner, those factors will no longer be in play. Sure, you might be in one specific spot where something allows a scanner other than one of the SDS models to work, but that's only a temporary reprieve, Once you are on the move again, simulcast will rear it's ugly head.

 

[K5mow]

Just wanted to give everyone a little update. I decided to buy a Uniden 327p2 for my handheld. I bought it on Amazon. Purchasing on Amazon I have a 30 day window to return if I had a simulcast issue taking the radio on the go. Well the last week I have taken the radio in the car and different places around the FRIENDSWOOD Alvin League city and Dickinson area. I am very happy with this little radio and I do not appear to have any issues with simulcast even on the Galveston County simulcast site. Maybe the Galveston County simulcast site doesn’t overlap a lot. I don’t know the reason but this radio works great for The areas That I am using it in. Needless to say I have decided to keep this radio. Thank you all for your help.

Roger

 

[hiegtx]

Just wanted to give everyone a little update. I decided to buy a Uniden 327p2 for my handheld. I bought it on Amazon. Purchasing on Amazon I have a 30 day window to return if I had a simulcast issue taking the radio on the go. Well the last week I have taken the radio in the car and different places around the FRIENDSWOOD Alvin League city and Dickinson area. I am very happy with this little radio and I do not appear to have any issues with simulcast even on the Galveston County simulcast site. Maybe the Galveston County simulcast site doesn’t overlap a lot. I don’t know the reason but this radio works great for The areas That I am using it in. Needless to say I have decided to keep this radio. Thank you all for your help.

Roger

Glad it's working for you.

Simulcast issues are very location specific, down to (in some cases) moving a scanner a few feet one direction of another. Since it works for you, that's all that matters.