The program that is sold by Butel for programming this scanner is really good. It takes a little getting used to, but it is quick and effective at programming the scanner. If you have multiple systems that you monitor, as it seems you do, you can assign quick keys to each one, and turn them on and off with the corresponding number key on the scanner. This makes it easy to scan a lot of systems or a few systems with the push of a few buttons. The other nice thing, besides the fact that it pulls the frequencies and names straight from this website, is that you can assign color and sound schemes to any channel in the systems. So if you want all the police to flash blue and beep a certain way, its just a few mouse clicks while programming.
You can even assign multiple systems to what is called a startup key (if I remember correctly). Lets say you have 10 systems for one town that you live in, but you travel to another area frequently, and also want to monitor their systems. You can assign all your area to one start up key number, and all their systems to another. When you turn the scanner on, you hold down the number key that corresponds to the area that you are in, and it loads only the systems on that start up key (the ones for the area you want).
I would suggest getting the software. The basic version is 39.95 and the pro version is around 60. Basic is all you really need, but if you want to record from the scanner, or log IDs of stations that call into a system, the pro might be what you want.
