Information Overload

[ACU1000]

I am a scanner buff from back in the days of crystals, BC101 dipswitches, and 200 channel programmable units. I also used to be a radio tech part-time way back when, so I comprehend input, output, PL, DPL, SMR, etc.

I am new to trunked scanning, P25, etc but I just purchased a 396T and am using software with RR capabilities.

I am experiencing information overload with all the ability to download all the different trunked and conventional systems that are indexed and documented out there online.

My question is, for other folks with a 396T or Pro96 - do you try to load your scanner up with a bunch of systems for everything you might encounter in your immediate and surrounding areas or do you only load up what you want to listen to when you want to listen to it????????

I am spending more time trying to organize everything I possibly can into my scanner, than I am trying to enjoy listening to anything.

Just curious what most others do.

 

[captclint]

I'm from the Xtal era as well, but I don't think that question is any different for conventional systems (It's just that there are a lot more things on the air since the 70's) :wink: It's still a matter of personal choice. My County has many conventional Fire, EMS & Police channels broken into areas, and then there are surrounding counties. There are separate freq's for DPW, Mass Transportation, utilities, etc. Almost sounds like a trunking system(s) with each agency having ID's.
As a base operation, I program most of those only in my county, but listen to only a fraction, depending on the circumstances. As a mobile operation, I would have many more that I could turn on and off with quick keys as I travel.

Since it sounds like you are just getting back into again, you can either:
1. Decide what systems you most want to hear, program in only those TGID's that you want to hear, and listen for a while. Then branch out and eliminate as you learn more about your tastes and needs.
or
2. Program all the most likely things you might want to hear (base and mobile), and then weed out. Assigning quick keys does take a lot of thought and organization, and if you have too many, you will need a cheat sheet.

 

[Slyster]

I use the banks like this... and do a lot of turning banks off and on.. if I don't want much traffic at all.. I just turn on 0.

Bank 0- Local PD (P25)
Bank 1- Local F/EMS (P25)
Bank 2- St. Paul PD (P25/FM)
Bank 3- St. Paul F/EMS (P25/FM)
Bank 4- MPLS PD (P25)
Bank 5- MPLS F/EMS (P25)
Bank 6- AIR/MOA/MTC (Mall of America, airport, busses AM/FM/P25)
Bank 7- All State Patrol (P25)
Bank 8- empty
Bank 9- empty

 

[fmon]

Sitting here in northeast Suffolk VA, my Pro-2096/96 can pick up
1. VA STARS P25 VHF trunking
2. York/James City/Williamsburg 800 P25 trunking
3. Langley AFB 406 Apco25 trunking
4. NavBase 406 Apco25 trunking
5. NavShipYard 406 Apco25 trunking
6. Chesapeake PS 800 Apco25 trunking
7. Suffolk PS 800 Smartnet II trunking
8. Newport News PS 800 Smartnet II trunkibg
9. Norfolk PS 800 Smartnet II trunking
10. Virginia Beach PS 800 Smartnet II trunking
11. Portsmouth PS 800 Smartnet II trunking
12. Hampton PS EDACS Regular 800 trunking
13. VA SPD Div 5 Channels 9 & 10
14. Conventional freqs of 4 nearby counties (1 is in North Carolina)
15. Conventional freqs for Ft. Eustis, Naval Station Norfolk and NavPhibBase Little Creek
16. Gobs of conventional freqs for most of the ER facilities in area.
17. A couple of 400 EDACS private systems
Other then #17, each of the trunking systems above are set into individual banks and are in different groupings in V-Scanner according to needs.

My 785D can pickup all above except # 1 & 2 but can also pickup a couple LTR standard private systems.

I also run continuously during wake hours a 2050, 2 2052's (old and new), 2045 and sometimes a 2067 and 92.
Rarely run Pro's 2020, 30, 31, 37 & 51.
Now and then, a tapped 2046 for trunker or unitrunker - the old 2052 is tapped for these programs also.

My car has an in dash 2096 mounted hooked to a thru glass radio shack antenna. The 96 is with me nearly anytime we are off in the car.

Most of my listening is on the Suffolk system with Fire/EMS on the old 2052, PD/SO on the 785D, STARS on the 2096 and 96 and VSPD conventional on the 2045. The second 2052 and 2050 are located elsewhere in our house. IOW, I mostly scan a single bank and selected scanlist per operating scanner.

 

[nozzlenut83]

The 396 is a huge step from the 200 channel programmables of the past. It can be very overwhelming at first. The complexity of some systemsis crazy sometimes!. But you will soon find the ability to explore these systems to one of the best features of the 396.

So you don't waste time programming and not listening, I might suggest quickly programming your local police/fire (or whetever your primary interests are) and listening to that while you sort through and organize all the other stuff in your area.

There are a lot of good references here at RR and programming software is a huge benefit.

Enjoy your new radio!

Hope this helps,
nozzlenut83

 

[bonus1331]

Program your locals first and then later on program additional systems while you monitor your area.
I enjoy setting up new systems from time to time if I have something to listen to while working.

 

[mikeydcg2003]

in My 396, i normally keep all my locals programmed in that i listen to as i work throughout the day. I keep a few areas where i get to from time to time l/o and unlock them when i get in range. If i go to far away lands, i leave the config in my software and program it in as needed. My area has a mix of trunk and conventional, more conventional than trunked.

 

[ACU1000]

Here is a question. I have a lot of local systems (conventional) that end up with similar fire, rescue and mutual aid freqs. Do you leave those in each system (or group) with tone encoded or do you delete them out or each locality and have a seperate conventional system for common like, MED channels, VHF fire, vhf rescue, hostpials, air-lifts, etc all with tone search on. Or do you do both?

I had deleted and made one mutual aid bank, but now I am thinking about doing both?

What do most people do?

 

[captclint]

I had deleted and made one mutual aid bank, but now I am thinking about doing both?

I don't think you were completely truthful in your original question. You DO really enjoy programming more than listening It really depends on what you DO & DON"T want to hear most of the time. If you are going to listen to FIRE, EMS, & Police most of the time, the all you need is ONE quick key. You can make many systems have ONE quick key, and still have them divided into separate systems for later "separation". If you are more interested in SOME areas, regardless of type of comm. then make you systems and quick keys around areas. There is really no good or "most popular" answer to this question, but for the record, I do it by area with most all agencies in an area.

 

[ACU1000]

I don't think you were completely truthful in your original question. You DO really enjoy programming more than listening

No, thats not the problem. The problem is I like to be VERY organized. Sometimes too much so.

 

[rockag41]

I have meny systems loaded in my scanner. They are organized by quick key. For local freqs I use 1-10. This covers local PD, FD, schools, media and the airpoirt.

I travel and have specific routes I travel. When I travel from San Antonio to Houston, I have the quick keys set up so that I toggle through as I drive. I do the same when I travel from San Antonio to other directions.

You can also use the Profiles to set up the same way and just download the profile for the appropriate trip.

I love dynamic memory.

 

[nexus]

Dynamic Memory over Banks is AWESOME! It just takes some time to understand the hierarchy layout.

Like in computers.... Root folders, sub-folders, and then group folders with sub-folders.

 

[gcgrotz]

Hi lemish:

I have a '396 that I think is like an iPod in that I can put pretty much anything in it that I want and never fill it up. If only the 396 had a scroll wheel!

I tend to have the mutual aid channels in all groups, that way if there is an incident in Nelson County I will be able to scan it all with just the one group turned on. One freq I have in all the surrounding county and state analog groups is the Pegasus helicopter on MED-9 462.950. I can monitor them responding to a call as well as the local LZ command. I don't know what they use up your way, I'm sure the guys back on the VA forum will know.

 

[gmclam]

Here is a question. I have a lot of local systems (conventional) that end up with similar fire, rescue and mutual aid freqs. Do you leave those in each system (or group) with tone encoded or do you delete them out or each locality and have a seperate conventional system ...

When there are different agencies on the same frequency and the only thing that sets them apart (beside perhaps distance) is the CT/DC tone, then I program them each so that the text tag IDs them correctly. I will also group them all together.

Unfortunately it will take some work to organize how you want things to be. What I did was program stuff I wanted to hear, then while listening worked on an update. Then download the update, continue listening and work on the next update until I got things organized in a manner than works for me. This is one beauty of using PC software to organize and download into the scanner rather than tying up the scanner while manually programming it.