Uniden Home Patrol Project 25 reception issue?

[zanexgt]

Hello all,

I am a new owner of a Uniden Hone Patrol (with Extreme Upgrade). So far the scanner is working well and I am picking up all sorts of transmissions. However, I am unable to pickup Fairfax County (Virginia) police from in Fairfax, Virginia.

I updated the Home Patrol with the latest RR database (dtd 07 July 13) and still no luck. I see here on RR that Fairfax County police is a Project 25 system. It is listed as a Phase 1 system and as such, the home Patrol should be able to receive it.

I have upgraded the antenna to a Diamond SRH-789 whih helped quite a bit with reception but didn't yield any difference receiving Fairfax County Police. I am scanning inside Fairfax County and can hear Regan National airport in the next County over so I don't think reception is the issue. I am also able to pickup the Virginia State Police (STARS) system Dispatch very clear.

Can anyone help me fix this issue? I'm not sure what the exact issue is. Thanks for the assistance.

 

[loumaag]

First, welcome to RR.

The HP-1 should be handling that system pretty easily. However, to figure out what is going on, you need to let us know how you selected it. Did you set it up in a Favorites List or did you just use location based scanning and let the scanner figure it out? Did you verify that it is in fact (by watching the display) looking at the system during the scan operation? If you are actually seeing the system, is it picking up anything from the system at all, IOW are you just missing the police or everyone? In that vein, did you set the Select Services correctly? And finally, since you have the extreme upgrade, maybe you could use the advanced menu and monitor the system directly to ensure you are getting it.

 

[zanexgt]

Lou,

Thanks for the response. I first selected it by enterin my zip code, selecting a 10 mile range and only listening to Law and related services. That pulled an incredible amount of channels 1000+ in the HP so I then create a Fairfax County Va list only and that narrowed the channels down to ~200. I've verified that via both methods, the Fairfax County 25 does pop up on the screen for scanning but it never receives signals. Also, not sure if this is relevant, but it seems to scan the Fairfax County channels quickly whereas other agencies in the area take a little longer to scan.

Right now I am just trying to listen to police so I cannot say if its picking up fire/ema but I will add those services to check.

Lastly, last night I entered the advanced mode and went into discovery mode and selects the Fairfax county system. I only got 3 hits all night, so I wonder if there might be an issue? When I listen to Fairfax County on broadcastify it's busy all the time.

As for other systems in the area, I am picking up the VA state police STARS system just fine.

Thanks or the help, I hope I can figure this out!

 

[loumaag]

Hmm, this is going to be somewhat of a guessing game here as it appears that the system in the DB could use a little TLC. It doesn't indicate it, but I am going to guess that the site listed is actually a simulcast site. If so then you have the multi-path distortion issue to deal with, which is impacted by where you are in relation to towers on the site. If you have the unfortunate luck to be located where you receive strong signals from more than one tower then the timing of signals reaching you may be the issue.

Try various things such as changing the position of the radio or the antenna, the object being to try and attenuate the signals in such a way that you are receiving only the signal from one tower. Another solution is to point a directional antenna at one tower. Attenuation of the entire system is also a possible solution. All of these are ways of attempting to get the signal primarily from one location as opposed to receiving it from more than one.

I am going to recommend that you go to your regional forum and seek some advice as to how to handle the situation. First determine for sure that the system uses a simulcast site. Then see if you can determine where you are in relation to towers near you. I am sure there are other scanner folks in your area that can give you some local advice.

 

[UPMan]

I'd also reconfirm (because it is a common error) that after bringing the latest dB into Sentinel, you then did a "Write to HomePatrol" to put that dB in the scanner.

 

[tntjackson]

Still not workingq

I'd also reconfirm (because it is a common error) that after bringing the latest dB into Sentinel, you then did a "Write to HomePatrol" to put that dB in the scanner.

I'm having the same trouble this user was having 3 years ago. I updated my HP-1 with the most recent firmware and DB yesterday but still cannot receive a single transmission from Fairfax County's Fire or Police under the Project 25. Can someone tell me what's going on? Do I need to buy new equipment or is HP-1 sufficient?

 

[rwier]

Just for kicks (about three minutes work) I created a FL and made a .hpe file out of it. It was necessary to "zip" this .hpe file to attached it to this post. Unzip it and Import it into Sentinel then send it to your HP-1(E). If this works at all, then you can go into the FL (Sentinel) and edit it at your discretion.

 

[rwier]

To make sure of coverage:

Menu>Select Service Types>Tap on all the bright white entries to turn them orange.

 

[rwier]

Since you have the (E) option, the Analysis features are your best friend.

While scanning, wait for the scanner to stop scanning and lock onto a transmission. Tap the top line (it will turn yellow). Tap the "<" at the far right of the yellow line.

Select: Advanced>Analyze System>Trunked System Analyzer>Select System>Use Current System>Tap on System Name>System Load/Reception Status

This screen (Red, Yellow, Green Bar Graphs) is responsible for near perfect reception of complex Multi-Site Trunked Simulcast Systems with ALL OF MY SCANNERS.

From experience, the RED Bar Graph is the key to your successful listening.

At about 3.0 you will hear about 25% of transmissions and have very few (if any) lock-ons that last more than 5 seconds (scanning hell). At about 4.5 you will begin to enjoy frustrated scanning. You will hear about 50% of transmissions with lock-ons usually between 5 and 9 seconds (before dropout). Above 4.5 your success rate will increase exponentially!!! At the higher readings (above 5.0) the Yellow Bar Graph rarely leaves 100% and can be ignored. The Green Bar Graph does not indicate reception success, only frequency of transmissions, and is nearly worthless. I typically see fluctuation between 8.0 and 9.5 on the Red Bar Graph. I enjoy unlimited lock ons (no drop outs as long as the transmitter's mic is keyed.

Even though I have Hold/Delay set to ZERO on ALL my scanners/TGs/Frequencies, a little miracle occurs at about 9.0 on the Red Bar Graph. The scanner will STAY LOCKED on a TG/Channel, even though neither party to the "conversation" is keying a mic! Sometimes the unexpected "hold" is as long as 5-7 seconds!!! It is my belief that the "System" issues an unheard transmission that "holds" the conversation on frequency so that is no Trunk/Switching occurs during the back and forth. I have no proof of this other than the shocking unexpected holds on frequency that only occur with near perfect signal Strength (Red) and Quality (Yellow).

You may have to make (sometimes costly) experiments with your setup to achieve 9.0 and higher signal strength (as measured by the HP-1(E). I went through at least 18 antennas, and now use a power antenna splitter (4 outputs) in my vehicle, near my computer, and bedside.

I believe each user has their own "difficulties" that can best be addressed by personal experiment. I have found most of the "conventional wisdom" that is rife on RR to be a detriment to my scanning success.

 

[tntjackson]

Thank you very much. I'll try it and report back. It may take a few days to figure it out since it doesn't make sense off the bat.

Cheers

 

[rwier]

Thank you very much. I'll try it and report back. It may take a few days to figure it out since it doesn't make sense off the bat.

Cheers

Just noticed you are at Post #2 Welcome to the RR Forums!
Let's take it step by step.

Copy the attached zipped hpe file to your desktop.
Unzip it to your desktop.
In Sentinel, create a new FL with the name of your choosing.
In Sentinel, open (click on) your new FL (It will have no data) Then (click on)
File>Import from hpe file.....
Select your new FL (it highlights blue)
Click OK
Windows Explorer opens in a popup screen
Click on the Unzipped hpe File on your desktop.
You should see confirmation of the import. Click OK.

Back in Sentinel:

Edit>Edit Profile>Favorites Lists
Make sure Monitor Full Database is unchecked
Make sure ALL FLs are set to Download On
Set only your new FL to Monitor On
Click on the Service Types Tab
Check ALL Service Types
Close this screen
Back in your Profile Screen
Home Patrol>Write to HomePatrol
When the "Write" is finished, remove the programing cable
The scanner should start scanning the new FL.
Observe the results to check for improvement over previous tries.

 

[cpetraglia]

I cant say his programming is correct or not. He is likely suffering from LSM distortion. I too am in the middle of Fairfax County and it took me two years of experimenting with Yagi setups and locations before I finally got it right. It is very frustrating and can get expensive for all these roof antenna experiments. I would pick up a small Yagi and try it indoors pointing out a window if possible at the closest tower from your location. Many people have reported this to be a decent solution. There are many good posts here explaining Linear Simulcast Modulation.