TRX-1: TRX-1 vs PSR-800 on simulcast system

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kc5igh

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Greetings,

I've been very happy with my TRX-1, except for one issue . . . it's gone completely deaf on a local simulcast system that its older brother, the PSR-800, continues to receive surprisingly well.

I've set and re-set and loaded, erased, and re-loaded the 400 MHz trunked P25 system and tinkered with every setting available in the scanner (FM, NFM, AGC on and off, audio boost on and off, Advanced DSP Settings, etc.), but it remains silent. The signal-strength meter flickers at full bars when it locks onto a talkgroup, but no audio comes through. And yes, I've duplicated as best I can the PSR-800's programming in the TRX-1.

When I first purchased the TRX-1, its performance on this simulcast system was comparable to the PSR-800's, but something has happened in the meantime that I'm at a loss to understand. One of my current theories is that the transmitters in the trunked system are further out of synch with each other than they may have been previously and that the TRX-1 can't handle the bit error gap as well as its predecessor.

For what it's worth, my Uniden scanners ('436, '325, and '396) do a pretty good job with this simulcast system, but it's hard to compare them to their Whistler/GRE brethren because the Uniden's P25 threshold levels can be set manually--a feature that makes a huge difference in their simulcast performance.

Ideas, anyone?

Thanks!
 

BrianG61UK

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Did the loss of functionality correspond to a firmware update on the TRX-1 ?
If so it could be a bug that will hopefully be fixed soon.
 

budevans

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Check your squelch setting. On my TRX-1 if I turn the squelch up to the 10 O'clock position it kills my P25 reception.

Try turning the squelch down to 9 O'clock or lower.
 

TAbirdman

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Take the card out if the 800 and try it in the trx. Basically swap cards and see if the problem follows the card.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk
 

kc5igh

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Did the loss of functionality correspond to a firmware update on the TRX-1 ?
If so it could be a bug that will hopefully be fixed soon.

I hadn't thought of that, but it could certainly be true. I've kept up with all the firmware updates.

I haven't heard of anyone experiencing similar problems, but I will keep my fingers crossed if that's it and there's a fix on the way someday.

Thanks.
 

kc5igh

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Check your squelch setting. On my TRX-1 if I turn the squelch up to the 10 O'clock position it kills my P25 reception.

Try turning the squelch down to 9 O'clock or lower.

Thanks, I'll give it a try tomorrow. Got too much else going on tonight.
 

kc5igh

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Take the card out if the 800 and try it in the trx. Basically swap cards and see if the problem follows the card.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk

Great idea. Unfortunately, I sold my 800 last week.

It's still going strong at last report.
 

Wackyracer

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Try reinstalling the cpu firmware via the stand alone installer from whistler.
 

kc5igh

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Check your squelch setting. On my TRX-1 if I turn the squelch up to the 10 O'clock position it kills my P25 reception.

Try turning the squelch down to 9 O'clock or lower.

Wow! Turning the squelch down did the trick! Thanks, budevans!

The simulcast system is coming through loud and clear this morning. I've got the squelch turned all the way off at the moment, which means I can't monitor anything else, but I'm thrilled to be able to hear that system again with my favorite scanner. I'll try adjusting the squelch level later to see if I can find a compromise position that will allow me to monitor other signals.

I suppose it's possible that Whistler tweaked the firmware or cpu to handle simulcast signals by turning the radio sensitivity 'way down. That may work if you're right under the transmitters, but it doesn't if you are about 25 miles away like I am.

All this time, the TRX-1 has been receiving all other digital signals just fine, so I'm guessing this issue is specific to simulcast reception.

Thanks again to budevans and the those of you who took the time to share your thoughts and ideas!
 

Ed6698

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Turning the squelch all the way down works for me also when monitoring 2 different P25 simulcast systems, one is Phase I, the other is Phase II. I discovered that about a year or so ago when I happened to just give it a try. This helped my reception of both simulcast systems for some reason with my 1080 and 1095. I do have a few conventional frequencies I monitor also, adding the PL tones to them works when running the squelch all the way down.
 

radio3353

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Turning the squelch all the way down works for me also when monitoring 2 different P25 simulcast systems, one is Phase I, the other is Phase II. I discovered that about a year or so ago when I happened to just give it a try. This helped my reception of both simulcast systems for some reason with my 1080 and 1095. I do have a few conventional frequencies I monitor also, adding the PL tones to them works when running the squelch all the way down.

Interested in knowing what % of simulcast transmissions come thru clear? Thanks.

(Of course, I am referring to the simulcast transmissions the radio actually picks up ;-))
 

Ed6698

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Interested in knowing what % of simulcast transmissions come thru clear? Thanks.

(Of course, I am referring to the simulcast transmissions the radio actually picks up ;-))

I think I am in just a good location also in relation to towers, as my reception from both the P25 Phase I and II systems is fantastic, I would say 95%. Usually if I hear a problem, I hear them say they are also having a problem. I have a couple of videos on YouTube of the Phase II system from a while back of recordings from my 1080 and 1095. I used recording to avoid personal information being played.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnA-QxT5AZnLtNKYtQQYT9A
 
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