G5 PPS Issue (Site ID Wrong)

[Jimco]

I'm posting this in case someone else sees it. Hoping to save you some heartache.

I was getting no traffic on one of the sites programmed in a system I monitor. I double-checked everything and it was still dead silent. I did notice on the G5 display that the site that was displayed seemed wrong (it showed 2, but the site ID of this site is actually 3), but I assumed that the site displayed on the G5 was from the # column in the site list and not actually the site ID.

After nothing else would work, I enabled "Site Trunking" on my system and programmed the pager again. Everything immediately started working, but I also noticed that the site on the G5 display was now showing Site 3. Just to be sure, I disabled Site Trunking (David recommends this be disabled) and reprogrammed the radio again. Everything still works fine and the site ID is still correct.

Apparently, PPS did not program the pager with the site ID that was entered into my table. By forcing a small change to the system and saving it, the bad data PPS was using was apparently corrected and all is well. (Just my guess.)

By the way, I'm coming from a Uniden BCD436HP and I'm monitoring a site that has terrible problems with multicast distortion. The Uniden was never able to get good results. It was sometimes okay, but I'd still miss words in transmissions on the best days. The G5 is absolutely perfect! Crystal clear with no distortion at all. I'm quite impressed with this little radio.

Jim

 

[Jimco]

Hmmm, it gets weirder. I turned off the pager and left it in the charging base. A little while later, I came back and it was fully charged, so I took it out of the charging base and turned it on. Now my site ID has changed again somehow and it says site 1.

I just now removed the second two sites in PPS (it won't let you have zero sites) and added them all back. After programming, it now shows the correct site ID again.

Has anyone seen this kind of thing happen before? Very strange.

 

[Thunderknight]

Are you sure it wasn't "roaming" to those other sites? Are you within RF range of them?

 

[Jimco]

Are you sure it wasn't "roaming" to those other sites? Are you within RF range of them?

Yes, I am within range of all of them. I have several zones programmed, and each zone has TGIDs from one site in it. Example:

Zone 1 : Site 3
Zone 2 : Site 2
Zone 3 : Site 2
Zone 4 : Site 1

What I'm finding is that after I program the radio, Zone 1 shows Site 3 correctly. However, when I switch to Zone 2, it's also showing Site 3 instead of Site 2. Therefore, I pick up nothing at all on Zone 2.

It's my understanding that this is a supported way of programming the radio. I'm at a loss as to why it's doing this.

Jim

 

[Jimco]

Thunderknight,

Thanks for your response. It led me to what I believe is the solution.

As you pointed out, I think what's happening is that I have it in Zone 2, but it's picking up a signal from a control channel from Site 3. Therefore, it shows Site 3. Here's what I did to fix it.

Instead of using one system with all three sites, I created three systems, one for each site. I then added the control channels for the appropriate site and then edited my zones with the correct system. That seems to have fixed everything. I don't know if that's how you're supposed to do it, but works for me.

Jim

 

[APX8000]

Jimco....Your last post is the correct way for what you want. That's how you "force" a site. If you want to "roam" to other sites automatically then program it as one system with all control channels and sites together. The unit will pick the closest site and roam as you travel. I force site because some sites carry specific talkgroups while others do not.


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[Thunderknight]

Glad it did the trick. I have 2 multi zone systems near me and I use separate "systems" for each and manually chose what I want.

 

[Jimco]

Thanks, guys. I’m really enjoying this radio. All of my multicast issues are completely gone! This was a good purchase for sure.

Jim


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[IAmSixNine]

Glad things worked out for you.
Years ago i got in the habit of programming my radios the same way. With some departments only using certain sites i simply created each site as its own system. Never had problems with it, then when i got my G4 i did the same and it just worked. Recently had to do the same with my KNG2-P800 although its smart enough to roam to sites i dont program so i had to enable site lock on it.

 

[troymail]

I do pretty much the same --

I have a zone that allows for roaming. I then replicate that zone into X additional zones with the same programming where only a single site is enabled in each zone but the rest of the programming is the same. This gives me the flexibility to drive an let the radio decide which site to monitor or give me control by switching to the other zone(s).

 

[eorange]

Thanks, guys. I’m really enjoying this radio. All of my multicast issues are completely gone! This was a good purchase for sure.
Jim

It absolutely is. I came from a 396XT with the same LSM issues. Now I enjoy perfect P25 reception with my G4. It's amusing how this little radio makes the Uniden "flagship" scanner seem hollow by comparison. Fortunately for me the 396XT is still awesome for analog.

 

[Jimco]

It absolutely is. I came from a 396XT with the same LSM issues. Now I enjoy perfect P25 reception with my G4. It's amusing how this little radio makes the Uniden "flagship" scanner seem hollow by comparison. Fortunately for me the 396XT is still awesome for analog.

In my area (north Texas), the BCD436HP does fine on some sites on the P25 system I usually listen to. However, my main interest is Site 3 (Northeast Tarrant County) on the Fort Worth Regional Radio system, and reception on it is terrible with the Uniden radio. It's absolutely perfect on my G5.

I didn't even know these radios existed until I saw a post on the Uniden forum from a guy who has the same issues with the NE Tarrant site that I do. He mentioned that his G4 and G5 were picking up that site perfectly, so I looked into them. Glad I did.