psr-800 wildcard question

smokestack · Aug 24, 2012

I have read that if i add the Wildcard! to my talk groups it wont scan anything else? So i was wondering if this was true or not. Not to mention what all it would do. I dont fully understand what it does other than search for talk groups i dont have?

JoeyC · Aug 25, 2012

A wildcard is telling the scanner to open up on any active talkgroup in the system. It does not search for talkgroups. Without the wildcard, only those talkgroups you program in will be heard.

troymail · Aug 25, 2012

Wildcard let's us find new stuff -- and then submit that new stuff to Radio Reference....

smokestack · Aug 25, 2012

Ah ok. Thanks for the info. I will try it out then.

simmsrep · Aug 25, 2012

To smokestack: I have a wildcard programmed in my Virginia stars system. When I added the wildcard I noticed the software put it at the bottom of my talk group list. When in scan mode the scanner will scan through the talk groups I have programmed in first and scan the wildcard last. I also used the light function (i used one of the preprogrammed ones, police flashing or something like that) so when it stops on the wildcard I will know. Works great. The Obama motorcade came through my area several months ago and I picked up several new talkgroups that I have not heard since then (sounded like maybe gov people talking to state people)

smokestack · Aug 25, 2012

simmsrep said:
To smokestack: I have a wildcard programmed in my Virginia stars system. When I added the wildcard I noticed the software put it at the bottom of my talk group list. When in scan mode the scanner will scan through the talk groups I have programmed in first and scan the wildcard last. I also used the light function (i used one of the preprogrammed ones, police flashing or something like that) so when it stops on the wildcard I will know. Works great. The Obama motorcade came through my area several months ago and I picked up several new talkgroups that I have not heard since then (sounded like maybe gov people talking to state people)

Thank you. I did the light thing as you said. I have picked up alot of traffic on the 4 areas i listen to. Now i just have to figure out how to log the new channels..or people..... or whatever it is. There is alot of talk on the vigo county on wildcard.

mancow · Aug 25, 2012

It doesn't really work that way in the conventional sense of things. It's a computerized numerical comparison type of system as opposed to chugging through each frequency slot looking for a carrier that's active. The Microcomputer inside looks at the control channel data and checks it against a database. If it's there it grabs it and displays the appropriate data (talkgroup name, lighting option, beep options, record options etc...) if it's not there it doesn't act upon it. The placement of the wildcard in the list might irrelevant. It's "priority" could be anything based on whatever manner they designed it.

simmsrep said:
To smokestack: I have a wildcard programmed in my Virginia stars system. When I added the wildcard I noticed the software put it at the bottom of my talk group list. When in scan mode the scanner will scan through the talk groups I have programmed in first and scan the wildcard last. I also used the light function (i used one of the preprogrammed ones, police flashing or something like that) so when it stops on the wildcard I will know. Works great. The Obama motorcade came through my area several months ago and I picked up several new talkgroups that I have not heard since then (sounded like maybe gov people talking to state people)

simmsrep · Aug 26, 2012

OK Mancow. As Jerry Clower says, it seems you are educated beyond you intelligence. I have several different trunk systems programmed into my 800 and have a wildcard on all of them. The software always puts in at the end of the talkgroups. The only time it stops on the wildcard is when it finds a talkgroup that I dont have programmed in. How does it do this, I dont know. All I know is it works. I can lock out the wildcard and only listen to the talkgroups or I can listen to the talkgroups and the wildcard. Again I dont know how it works but through actual time spent listening to my 800 I know it does. Smokestack asked a simple question and the answers he got was useless. Thats why I shared my experience with him. I see that you and the others have posted on the forums in the thousands of times. I bet that most of them are as useless as this one. I usually dont post on the forums here but when I see a bunch of talking heads screwing around with a fellow scanner enthusiast I try to junp in and help. Why dont you guys go do something usefull and maybe talk to your wives, say hello to your kids. Mom and dad still around? Call'em up and tell them you love them instead of posting usless drivel.

JoeyC · Aug 26, 2012

simmsrep said:
OK Mancow. As Jerry Clower says, it seems you are educated beyond you intelligence. I have several different trunk systems programmed into my 800 and have a wildcard on all of them. The software always puts in at the end of the talkgroups. The only time it stops on the wildcard is when it finds a talkgroup that I dont have programmed in. How does it do this, I dont know. All I know is it works. I can lock out the wildcard and only listen to the talkgroups or I can listen to the talkgroups and the wildcard. Again I dont know how it works but through actual time spent listening to my 800 I know it does. Smokestack asked a simple question and the answers he got was useless. Thats why I shared my experience with him. I see that you and the others have posted on the forums in the thousands of times. I bet that most of them are as useless as this one. I usually dont post on the forums here but when I see a bunch of talking heads screwing around with a fellow scanner enthusiast I try to junp in and help. Why dont you guys go do something usefull and maybe talk to your wives, say hello to your kids. Mom and dad still around? Call'em up and tell them you love them instead of posting usless drivel.

Just because you don't understand how the radio works doesn't mean the rest of us don't. :roll:

Go back to the book and when you learn something about the scanner you can come back and make a useful comment, until then, you don't know what you're talking about and thats obvious from the post you just made.

jackj · Aug 26, 2012

simmsrep, why are you PO'd at Mancow? All he did was to triy to correct a misconception of yours about how scanner's work on Trunked Radio Systems. Everything he stated was gospel. If you don't understand it then ask questions but don't jump down someone's throat with unfounded statements, it just makes you look ignorant and petty.

A Wildcard will match ANY talk group. You could put a TRS system together with only a Wildcard in it and you would hear everything on the system.

mancow · Aug 26, 2012

What a strange response.

If you take the time to try to comprehend what I said you will see that I'm not disagreeing with you. Nobody is saying you are incorrect. I am discussing the way that it works and the question of whether placement in the EZScan list makes any difference in actual use or whether the radio prioritizes the wildcard based on some other factor due to its design (as in it exhausts the comparison of all known objects first then goes to an open wildcard function).

Your computer scans your keyboard looking for closed inputs. Can you tell me which has a higher priority, the 1 key or the M key? I don't know and I doubt anyone would without looking at the design specs but physically one row or column has to come first at some point. That's similar to how the trunking radios work. It's lightning fast. But, it does make you wonder if list placement has any actual bearing on operation. My question was basically how do you know it scans the others first and leaves the wildcard function for last since you can't see anything but the rolling scanlist on the screen.

:roll:

simmsrep said:
OK Mancow. As Jerry Clower says, it seems you are educated beyond you intelligence. I have several different trunk systems programmed into my 800 and have a wildcard on all of them. The software always puts in at the end of the talkgroups. The only time it stops on the wildcard is when it finds a talkgroup that I dont have programmed in. How does it do this, I dont know. All I know is it works. I can lock out the wildcard and only listen to the talkgroups or I can listen to the talkgroups and the wildcard. Again I dont know how it works but through actual time spent listening to my 800 I know it does. Smokestack asked a simple question and the answers he got was useless. Thats why I shared my experience with him. I see that you and the others have posted on the forums in the thousands of times. I bet that most of them are as useless as this one. I usually dont post on the forums here but when I see a bunch of talking heads screwing around with a fellow scanner enthusiast I try to junp in and help. Why dont you guys go do something usefull and maybe talk to your wives, say hello to your kids. Mom and dad still around? Call'em up and tell them you love them instead of posting usless drivel.

kruser · Aug 26, 2012

mancow said:
What a strange response.
:roll:

My thoughts exactly when I read that shortly after he/she made the post.
He/She woke up on the wrong side of the bed or something I guess.

I looked at your reply that set him/her off and I saw nothing wrong with it at all! All fact based and accurate.

As far as I know, the Uniden scanners work the same way with wildcards and an internal database lookup that is done when a TG pops up in the control channel datastream.
If it is found in the radio's database, it is displayed as you entered it. If not found, it is displayed with the TG info and whatever parameters you set for displaying WC's when they are found. Just like you said!

As to the OP's question, setting a Wildcard will NOT prevent your already programmed talkgroups from being displayed and monitored. Those will still work plus any talkgroups not programmed will be displayed and monitored.
You can lockout already programmed talkgroups and they will not be displayed or monitored even when a wildcard is set.

simmsrep · Aug 26, 2012

Well......I went back and looked at what the question was originally, the answers given and then my tirade and I'm at a loss myself at what I was thinking. I guess I could call it old age, dementia, or the onset of alzheimer's. I think the biggest problem was the rum and coke I downing at a steady rate last night. Any ways there is no excuse for my actions. Looking over what I did I feel like a complete fool. To all the people here on the forums I apologize, and especially to mancow I beg forgivrness. Even after what I did he was a complete gentleman and a standard for us all. So lesson learned - rum and public forums dont mix. So again I publicly apologize.

mancow · Aug 26, 2012

No worries at all. I've been there (literally) and have been guilty of the same thing. As far as I'm concerned it never happened.

simmsrep · Aug 26, 2012

Thank you mancow. Again you are a true gentleman and a standard for us all. I'm usually a happy drunk. I think what happened I usually mix my rum with diet coke but started out yesterday with mountain dew. Must've been a shock to my system.

kinfolk · Aug 26, 2012

Thanks for being a gentleman and apologizing.

smokestack · Aug 26, 2012

Sorry i got some users worked up. And im sorry to say it but im still lost... Should i move the wildcard up in the list or keep it at the bottom? Or just not use it at all? And thanks for the help so far guys!

simmsrep · Aug 26, 2012

Not your fault smokestack, my own stupidity. One suggestion is when you get some hits on your wildcard, hit pause, then menu and scroll down to set scan list and save it on another scanlist. That way you can lock out the scanlist your wildcard is on and just monitor your hits and it will be easier to find out what they are. A far as where the wildcard is it dosent really matter.

jackj · Aug 26, 2012

The position of the wildcard in the list doesn't effect the operation of the scanner since there isn't a talk group called wildcard. A wildcard in a list of talk groups means that you really don't have a list at all. A list implies that some are excluded. Because the wildcard will match any and all talk groups, the scanner will receive anything on that system. If that is what you want then leave it in but if you don't want to hear everything then take it out. I have wildcards in my scan lists but they are normally locked out. If something special is happening then I'll unlock them to be sure I hear all of the traffic.

smokestack · Aug 26, 2012

Thanks. I understand how it works now. Thanks again.

psr-800 wildcard question

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