Uniden BCD325P2 Help... Please, losing my mind!

[angileri]

Hello RadioReference Land,

I have been on the message board for a while, but have never posted. This is my first time, so please let me know if I have posted in the wrong area or not.

Hoping someone on this fine message board can help me. I have been trying for days to program my BCD325P2 for Santa Clara County, California for trunk system (800 MHz rebanding process ). I am trying to program my scanner for San Jose PD, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to do it. I have been using FreeScan 2.18-beta6 to do the job, but it is not working for me (most likely due to user error). I have been trying the File - Import - RadioReferenced Trunk... and it pulls up the following-



But there are no frequencies associated with any of the groups.

I also changed my Site Setup to look like this



But when I send the information to the scanner, I get nothing.

Can someone please help me on how to get the correct frequencies put into my scanner? I am getting my base antenna tomorrow and would like to use it to listen to local PD. Everything else seems to work Santa Clara County Sheriff, Fire Department, Ambulance, etc. But on SJPD is not working anymore.

Maybe someone with a BCD325P2 that lives in San Jose, CA could export their config file and send it to me <- that would be incredible luck

Thank you all for reading my ramblings and looking forward to any help I might be able to get.

Take care and stay safe,
Ben

 

[n1chu]

Looks like it’s a trunked Phase II system.

Silicon Valley Regional Communications System (SVRCS)

Most of San Jose PD is encrypted as is the sheriffs dept. I also see non-trunked conventional frequencies Listed but I’m guessing the PD migrated to the SVRCS system entirely.

As for a local scanner buff who is in the know, a visit to a local fire station may help. Hopefully they could put you in touch with a local scanner guru or can answer the most common question of if the PD can be monitored.

As far as your mention on rebanding, the BCD325P2 will take the systems that went through rebanding without any changes to the scanner as it was shipped. Uniden advises using a Butel programming software, especially when programming Trunked systems Instead of doing it manually so the software takes care of All settings, frequencies and talkgroups. You simply choose the systems (agencies) you want and the software will load them into the scanner. But as I say, it looks like no one can listen in to the PD because they are encrypted. If there are workarounds such as the PD simulcasting on Conventional open channels I wouldn’t know-I’m not local to you. Your best bet is to visit the area FD’s... there’s usually a scanner guy resident or someone knows how to find one.9

 

[tvengr]

For your info, one of the upper base frequencies on your Motorola Type 2 800 MHz rebanding table is incorrect.

Uniden 800mhz Rebanding Table[edit]

Band Plan	Base Freq (lower)	Base Freq (upper)	Offset	Polarity	Spacing
1	851.0250	854.0000	440	+	25 khz
2	851.0125	868.9875	0	+	25 khz

 

[hiegtx]

Hello RadioReference Land,

I have been on the message board for a while, but have never posted. This is my first time, so please let me know if I have posted in the wrong area or not.

Hoping someone on this fine message board can help me. I have been trying for days to program my BCD325P2 for Santa Clara County, California for trunk system (800 MHz rebanding process ). I am trying to program my scanner for San Jose PD, but for the life of me, I can't figure out how to do it. I have been using FreeScan 2.18-beta6 to do the job, but it is not working for me (most likely due to user error). I have been trying the File - Import - RadioReferenced Trunk... and it pulls up the following-

View attachment 82553

But there are no frequencies associated with any of the groups.

I also changed my Site Setup to look like this

View attachment 82554

But when I send the information to the scanner, I get nothing.

Can someone please help me on how to get the correct frequencies put into my scanner? I am getting my base antenna tomorrow and would like to use it to listen to local PD. Everything else seems to work Santa Clara County Sheriff, Fire Department, Ambulance, etc. But on SJPD is not working anymore.

Maybe someone with a BCD325P2 that lives in San Jose, CA could export their config file and send it to me <- that would be incredible luck

Thank you all for reading my ramblings and looking forward to any help I might be able to get.

Take care and stay safe,
Ben

The system that you programmed is the old Motorola Type II system for Santa Clara County. If you look at it in the database, you'll see that there are no talkgroups assigned.

That's why there were no talkgroups in your download. I suspect that the database page for that system is incorrect, and it should actually be tagged as Deprecated (no longer in use). The Rebanding comment is in this system, and looking at your screenshot of the file, you imported the old Motorola Type II system, not the newer one.

The newer P25 Phase II system that n1chu mentioned is SVRCS. That's the one you should import. That system has several sites. While you can import all seven of them, be sure that you at least import the one(s) closest to your location.

A number of the talkgroups for Law Enforcement, including San Jose, are encrypted. One of your options when importing via FreeSCAN is to skip (noy import) encrypted TGIDs. However, you can deselect that option & import them anyway, in case, at times, they might be used non-encrypted. If encrypted, your 325P2 will either skip them automatically, or pause very briefly until it sees that the transmissions are encrypted.

 

[angileri]

Looks like it’s a trunked Phase II system.

Silicon Valley Regional Communications System (SVRCS)

Most of San Jose PD is encrypted as is the sheriffs dept. I also see non-trunked conventional frequencies Listed but I’m guessing the PD migrated to the SVRCS system entirely.

As for a local scanner buff who is in the know, a visit to a local fire station may help. Hopefully they could put you in touch with a local scanner guru or can answer the most common question of if the PD can be monitored.

As far as your mention on rebanding, the BCD325P2 will take the systems that went through rebanding without any changes to the scanner as it was shipped. Uniden advises using a Butel programming software, especially when programming Trunked systems Instead of doing it manually so the software takes care of All settings, frequencies and talkgroups. You simply choose the systems (agencies) you want and the software will load them into the scanner. But as I say, it looks like no one can listen in to the PD because they are encrypted. If there are workarounds such as the PD simulcasting on Conventional open channels I wouldn’t know-I’m not local to you. Your best bet is to visit the area FD’s... there’s usually a scanner guy resident or someone knows how to find one.9

Thank you so much for the information. I will definitely talk to the local FD, they are about 5 blocks from my house.

 

[angileri]

The system that you programmed is the old Motorola Type II system for Santa Clara County. If you look at it in the database, you'll see that there are no talkgroups assigned.
View attachment 82560
That's why there were no talkgroups in your download. I suspect that the database page for that system is incorrect, and it should actually be tagged as Deprecated (no longer in use). The Rebanding comment is in this system, and looking at your screenshot of the file, you imported the old Motorola Type II system, not the newer one.

The newer P25 Phase II system that n1chu mentioned is SVRCS. That's the one you should import. That system has several sites. While you can import all seven of them, be sure that you at least import the one(s) closest to your location.

A number of the talkgroups for Law Enforcement, including San Jose, are encrypted. One of your options when importing via FreeSCAN is to skip (noy import) encrypted TGIDs. However, you can deselect that option & import them anyway, in case, at times, they might be used non-encrypted. If encrypted, your 325P2 will either skip them automatically, or pause very briefly until it sees that the transmissions are encrypted.

Thanks Steve, much appreciated. I will definitely work with this information this evening.

Take care,
Ben

 

[angileri]

Well I imported the above list from Steve, but I am still unable to hear anything. So I think I need to go and talk to one of SJFD guys and see if they might be able to help me out. Although with this whole pandemic thing going on, they might not want anyone just walking up to the station and asking for scanner help.

 

[hiegtx]

Well I imported the above list from Steve, but I am still unable to hear anything. So I think I need to go and talk to one of SJFD guys and see if they might be able to help me out. Although with this whole pandemic thing going on, they might not want anyone just walking up to the station and asking for scanner help.

Two suggestions: If you want to post your programming file, one or more of us could look at it and make suggestions. To do that, <right> click on your file in Windows Explorer. A menu will pop-up. Click on the line labeled 'Send to' and then select 'Compressed (sipped) folder. You can then attach that zipped folder to a post. (You can't directly post a FreeSCAN file; you'll get a wrong format' error.

Or, request that your thread be moved to the California 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.

 

[angileri]

Here is a saved config file from my scanner, I only have one trunked system (5), the reset are conventional. But when I only turn 5 on the scanner, I don't hear anything. All of the conventional work without any issues.

 

[Eng74]

San Jose PD is encrypted. They just made or are making the switch to the SVRCS. Almost all cities in Santa Clara County are moving to it. SJFD has not made the switch yet but will be soon. The city of Santa Clara was the first ones on it. There is a thread here on the SCRCS that is keeping up to date on the changes so you might want to look at that.

 

[scannerboy02]

Try this updated file, I found a few errors in your file and fixed them for you. As has been mentioned several of the talkgroups you are trying to monitor are encrypted so you will NOT be able to hear them.

 

[angileri]

Try this updated file, I found a few errors in your file and fixed them for you. As has been mentioned several of the talkgroups you are trying to monitor are encrypted so you will NOT be able to hear them.

Thank you Scannerboy02, can you elighten me as to what I did wrong so I have it for future programming?

Thank you,
Ben

 

[hiegtx]

Thank you Scannerboy02, can you elighten me as to what I did wrong so I have it for future programming?

Thank you,
Ben

Ben, looking at your original file, you still had the site entered as a Type II system (rebanded), not as a digital site.


Also, looking at the Site on your original file, you had the primary and alternate control channel frequencies from the various sites, all wedged into one site. You can't treat it that way with Uniden scanners. The scanner will stop scanning after it finds the first control channel frequency that it can receive and decode. It will not check the rest of the frequencies, even though one or more of them have a better signal at your location, until it can no longer use the first one it had found. So, after it shifts to using a different control channel frequency, it hangs onto the that one until it loses it completely. And it sits there even if, again, a different control channel frequency has a better signal.


Since there are multiple sites for the system, it needs to be set up on the scanner, as well as in FreeSCAN, as multiple sites.

The modified file from scannerboy has the sites set as Pe5 Standard (Digital XT), which is correct for this system.


scannerboy also has the sites entered individually, which is how they need to be shown, with only primary and alternate control channel frequencies specific to each site.



As already noted, you won't receive encrypted transmissions, even though the talkgroups are there. Your scanner will skip over an encrypted transmission, but if, occasionally, the TGID is used in the clear (not encrypted), you would hear that.

If you had not already been advised, there is a User Guide for FreeSCAN in the Wiki.
FreeScan User Guide - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[Blackink]

I have to say after reading through this thread that I am very impressed with the support that Ben received from several members here.
Nice work!!!