Uniden BCD536HP - P25 Phase II - Spotsylvania County

[xnalf]

I have had this scanner for a few years now. It has never been able to pick up the Phase ii system in Spotsylvania Co, where I live. Which Is why i purchased it in the first place. I can pickup State, Stafford, ect all fine. Just not the county i live in.. I pick up my setup from RadioReference, it just dosn't pick up this system.. Any help would be appreciated...

 

[hiegtx]

I have had this scanner for a few years now. It has never been able to pick up the Phase ii system in Spotsylvania Co, where I live. Which Is why i purchased it in the first place. I can pickup State, Stafford, ect all fine. Just not the county i live in.. I pick up my setup from RadioReference, it just dosn't pick up this system.. Any help would be appreciated...

It's likely that your problems stem from the fact that the system your county uses, Spotsylvania County Trunking System, Various, Virginia, has a Simulcast site. Each of the blue markers on the map represent a transmit tower.


You can find a more complete explanation of Simulcast, and the issues it causes, in the Wiki: Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
All of the transmitter sites, as on the map above, carry the same radio conversation, at the same time on the same frequency. Your scanner gets hammered by these out of sync signals, from various directions and distances, and it cannot properly decode & receive the radio traffic. In some cases, using less antenna (even to the point of using a paper clip) may work, in that the scanner is not being led astray by weaker transmissions from more distant sites. Or, when at a fixed location, such as at your home, you might be able to counter the issue by using a directional antenna, aimed at one specific sub-site (transmitter). Occasionally, using the attenuator may help. Also, Simulcast is extremely location dependent. In some cases, you may find that moving the scanner a few feet in one direction or another, at your location, may make a big different, especially if your house has aluminum siding, or foil backed insulation in the walls. Basically, you want less antenna, not more, A rooftop antenna, other than a directional one pointed at one specific tower, quite often makes things worse.

The only scanners designed specifically to deal with simulcast are Uniden's SDS series, the SDS100 & SDS200. Other than a true scanner, the Unication pagers, and the Blue Tail Receiver can also handle simulcast, though their functions are limited compared to true scanners, Or, if you can use your PC, then one of the SDR dongles, plus (free) downloadable software can handle simulcast, although a PC & SDR are not something of much use other than at a fixed location.