BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Sentinel question, P25 system, adding based in ZIP

I'm looking at the software before I get a radio.

When I add a zip code prior to adding channels in a range, and set a range of 5 miles, I get ALL the statewide P25 ARMERED sites added across the entire state. I set range control ON. I also get Wisconsin State Patrol and I am in Minnesota.

Does this mean that the system is linked state wide and I can actually listen on a local tower or do all these sites need to be deleted?

Excuse my ignorance; I know just enough to ask stupid questions.

If a user (actual person with a two-way radio that affiliates with the system) has their radio set to one of the channels, then the tower that they have affiliated with will carry all traffic for that channel. If no radios set to a particular channel are affiliated with a specific tower, that tower won't carry that channel's traffic (since, as far as the system knows, there is no one there to receive the channel traffic).

So, if I remember correctly, this allows people to travel the state and use local towers with their radio.

Will my scanning slow down if I leave the Sentinel settings alone or should I delete these out state sites?

Thanks for the help.

This is why zip code setup is not necessarily the best way to go. First you get issues like this, plus you get taxi services and any other crap unless you disable or adjust service types.

Yes. If you have one site of a 20 site system in your selection area you will get all 20 sites set up in your radio for that system.

If you travel a lot to different areas this might be ok, but in sentinel you can put this system into a favorites list along with other stuff you want to monitor and then TURN OFF the full database.

When you scan by favorites lists you have full control. You can go in and delete the sites you don't want or set them up as separate systems you can turn on when desired.

Once you own the radio for a while you probably won't use zip codes or the full database except possibly when traveling with a GPS attached.

I still set up a big favorites list with location control for the trip and use that with GPS in order to keep from having to avoid all sorts of junk that turns on based on GPS. Same problem as zip code.

Mark
536/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/
396XT/PSR800/PRO668/PRO652

Location control will be used with the many sites you are looking at to turn them on/off based on GPS. Something similar could happen with zip. Not sure because I don't use zip.

Mark
536/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/
396XT/PSR800/PRO668/PRO652

It does the same thing when I use Longitude and Latitude instead of Zip code so it looks like I am stuck.

Got to laugh, Sentinel included Ontario Police Commission, 600 miles away.

When you input a zip code, the scanner immediately converts that to a latitude/longitude point (roughly the center of that zip code area) and uses lat/lon to calculate what channels to use.

Ideally, RR will implement rectangles for coverage areas at some point. The scanner supports rectangles. The issue you are having is because everything at RadioReference is defined using circles, but most man-drawn things are more rectangular (like states). So, the circle just encompassing the adjacent state can overlap many, many miles outside the actual state boundary. Draw a circle (not oval, needs to be circular) that fully encloses Tennessee, for example and check out how much of KY, MS, AL, GA, etc are included in that circle.

chas0039 said:

It does the same thing when I use Longitude and Latitude instead of Zip code so it looks like I am stuck.

Got to laugh, Sentinel included Ontario Police Commission, 600 miles away.

Click to expand...

Sentinel does not adjust the database based on any location settings. Its within the scanner that adjustments happen. So adding a zip code or coordinates in Sentinel is not going to do anything for you within the program. The general database is laid out in front of you in Sentinel and an area to edit Favorites Lists. You "Append to Favorites" from the general database or manually enter what you want in the Edit Favorites section. There are also settings for the scanner that can be tweaked and edited. But there are no real-time adjustments within Sentinel that allow you to input a zip code to force the database to be narrowed down (within the program). On a side note, a range of 5 miles means 5 miles extended outside the zip code.

I think others who are responding here may be slightly confused by what you are doing. They think you actually have the scanner right now. You don't. You are just looking at the software. Is this correct?

Triangulum said:

...I think others who are responding here may be slightly confused by what you are doing. They think you actually have the scanner right now. You don't. You are just looking at the software. Is this correct?

Click to expand...

Right. As one of the major points of decision is figuring out the software, I figured I would start there first. I had a GRE 800 a few years back and it was no where near as complicated as this is turning out to be. However, I have heard great things from local media people using Uniden so I figure the time spent on the software will be worth it.

Thanks. I see the issue with overlapping circles. It never came up on the GRE.

It may seem difficult at first, but after a short-while you will realize Sentinel is very simple. Here are some videos of it.

basics:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECOUceSdVCo

a little more detailed once you understand the basics (quick keys, number tags and settings)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9LkKpqIsn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgz7heeOUKY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_L4RUs9YFTk

Keep in mind, you don't even need to grasp the the more complex parts at first. Quick keys, number tags, etc....they aren't necessary so don't let that confuse right now. The first video is a good example of how Sentinel works on a bare-bones level.

GRE just figures out what county you are probably in, then loads everything in that county (no matter if there are systems nearby but in another county or if there are systems way over on the other side of the county). Using precise locations is potentially (and usually) going to result in more relevant channels being selected. As location data improves, the selection gets even better. You can adjust location info in Favorites Lists (for example, add your own rectangle-based coverage areas) for better selection results.

On a side note since you talked about zip codes, coordinates, etc.....

Pretend you get the scanner and don't even want to set up Favorites List right away or program the scanner on the computer, then all you do is enter the zip code like you said. You could enter a range of 0 just for that zip code and then change the Service Types to narrow down whatever you want. Fire-related, Law-related, Aircraft, etc etc etc.

And like mentioned earlier.... right now without the scanner, you are not going to notice anything within Sentinel when changing location settings or anything like that. Sentinel will always show the main general database and whatever Favorites List have been created.

If you haven't had a chance yet, make sure to at least watch that first video on Sentinel. Its just an example of how simple it is to create a Favorites List.

You guys are awesome! I really appreciate all the help and support. A lot has changed since I started in the early 1970s and it keeps changing.

I really wanted to get a 536 or 436 but there seem to be re-occurring problems while the 996P2 seems to be building on a proven system. I'll likely wait until they get the Phase 2/ conventional conflict resolved and spend my time studying Freescan.

Thanks again.

Since some of the OPP chanles have 637.80148905 miles , you need to be greater than that with a zero range to exclude.

chas0039 said:

When I add a zip code prior to adding channels in a range, and set a range of 5 miles, I get ALL the statewide P25 ARMERED sites added across the entire state. I set range control ON. I also get Wisconsin State Patrol and I am in Minnesota.

Does this mean that the system is linked state wide and I can actually listen on a local tower or do all these sites need to be deleted?

Click to expand...

The scanner will Load all of the Minnesota ARMER System (Sites and Departments), the Wisconsin WISCOM system (Sites and Departments), probably some conventional frequencies from Wisconsin and the Canada stuff too.

After all this "stuff" gets loaded into the scanner memory, the scanner begins scanning. The scanner will compare your location to the location values for the sites (and departments) that have been loaded. Any site (and department) that is "out of range" is then turned off and not scanned.

Thus with you being in Minneapolis, it will leave on the ten or so sites in that area (depending on your range setting) and turn off the remaining 277 sites. So the scanner will be "listening" for metro area sites, but not sites in places like Duluth or Rochester.

The scanner loads the Wisconsin State Patrol because the Eau Claire post has a 100 mile range. Since that 100 mile range ring overlaps your Minneapolis 5 mile ring, it gets loaded and scanned. There is a WSP tower in Baldwin and I have heard comms from that tower while I've been in Minneapolis.

Note that "scanning" additional trunked channels adds virtually no overhead to the scanning duration (as opposed to scanning additional trunked sites). When "scanning" a trunked site, the scanner simply sits on one frequency (the control channel) and watches for channel grants and updates for 1-2 seconds (long enough for a complete cycle). It compares the grants/updates to the channels enabled for scanning and only jumps to a voice channel if there is a match. If you have 1 talk group (channel) enabled, it will take 1-2 seconds to scan the site. If you have 10,000 talk groups enabled, it will still only take 1-2 seconds to scan the site.