Thank you all so much for working to understand this new system!
Just wanted to add my experience with it in NNE Raleigh so far. I'm running a GRE PSR-500 with Jetstream JTD1 discone antenna in a second-story attic. I have programmed the new system in the scanner and removed the old Motorola Type II system, since I noticed the control channel had gone silent. (That's actually what made me find this thread and make an account!)
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If I manually tune to the control frequency, it is clearly picking up the system. However, it would seem I am getting some simulcast distortion... Reception and decode rate of VIPER and the prior system has been excellent, strong signal with 99% decode. But for this new P25 system, I have had to carefully position the antenna to even manage a decode rate ~70%. When scanning I can tell it's jumping to voice channels, but a decent amount of audio is understandably missing or garbled.
Ultimately it sounds like a more modern scanner may be in order, but in the mean time I am hoping the system characteristics may change over the coming months. Maybe I can explore a more directional antenna to focus on one tower...
If anyone has any suggestions for how I can improve my setup, or how I can help contribute to understanding the system, I'd be glad to hear! And in case you're curious, my scanner is online here:
https://live-scanner.abstractbarista.net/