• To anyone looking to acquire commercial radio programming software:

    Please do not make requests for copies of radio programming software which is sold (or was sold) by the manufacturer for any monetary value. All requests will be deleted and a forum infraction issued. Making a request such as this is attempting to engage in software piracy and this forum cannot be involved or associated with this activity. The same goes for any private transaction via Private Message. Even if you attempt to engage in this activity in PM's we will still enforce the forum rules. Your PM's are not private and the administration has the right to read them if there's a hint to criminal activity.

    If you are having trouble legally obtaining software please state so. We do not want any hurt feelings when your vague post is mistaken for a free request. It is YOUR responsibility to properly word your request.

    To obtain Motorola software see the Sticky in the Motorola forum.

    The various other vendors often permit their dealers to sell the software online (i.e., Kenwood). Please use Google or some other search engine to find a dealer that sells the software. Typically each series or individual radio requires its own software package. Often the Kenwood software is less than $100 so don't be a cheapskate; just purchase it.

    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

    This is a large and very visible forum. We cannot jeopardize the ability to provide the RadioReference services by allowing this activity to occur. Please respect this.

P7100 Group Scan Question

Status
Not open for further replies.

bobbynuts

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 20, 2014
Messages
17
I recently purchased a preprogrammed 'P7100 for use as a receive only radio for my my locals PD P25 phase I system. I am able to scan all groups ( can add or delete from scan list) with no problems, except that I cannot stop on a specific group if I hear something I want to monitor. If I stop the scan mode the radio defaults back to the first group in the system. Is there a programming function that can be set to have this radio behave more like a scanner and puase on the currently active group ?
 

ElroyJetson

I AM NOT YOUR TECH SUPPPORT.
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 8, 2002
Messages
3,687
Location
DO NOT ASK ME FOR HELP PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO. NO.
Nope. Harris radios don't implement a priority scan to follow selected channel" function.

Instead, do you know how to use the priority assignment function?

Stop scan. Select a talkgroup. Press the add/delete scan button(s) until three hash marks appear in the display. This is a bottom priority member of the scan list.

Press the add/delete scan button until the three hash marks become two hash marks.
This the second priority member of the scan list.

Press the add/delete scan button until the two hash marks become one hash mark.
This is the priority member of the scan list.

Repeat the process until all hash marks disappear.
The talkgroup is now not in the scan list.

You can only assign ONE first priority and ONE second priority member to a scan list,
with all other members set to third priority or out of the list.

If you change the priority of a scan list member, then the one that used to have that priority will default to lowest priority in the scan list.

For example, if PATROL is now your first priority member but you want to change your first priority member to TELETYPE, then go to TELETYPE and change its scan priority to first priority. (One hash mark) Now go to PATROL and you will see that it has three hash marks.
 

LMR_Dude

Member
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
115
Id add the if you try to set a TG as priority one and see the message "P1SELECT" the radio is programmed to only allow the TG selected by the Channel knob as the Priority One.
 

CanesFan95

Active Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
3,011
Location
FL
Bumping an old thread with a follow-up question. When scanning talk groups that you've added to your scan list, are you limited to only what is in the zone (or fleet?) you're in, or will the radio scan items from other zones when you put it on scan?

I guess each zone can only have 16 talk groups, since there's only 16 knob positions. So you can only scan up to 16 at a time? And those 16 can only come from within the zone that you're in?
 

Thunderknight

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
2,216
Location
Bletchley Park
Bumping an old thread with a follow-up question. When scanning talk groups that you've added to your scan list, are you limited to only what is in the zone (or fleet?) you're in, or will the radio scan items from other zones when you put it on scan?

I guess each zone can only have 16 talk groups, since there's only 16 knob positions. So you can only scan up to 16 at a time? And those 16 can only come from within the zone that you're in?

You can have more than 16, by using the GRP button. Then you can select the next 16 so that the knob selector is selecting 17-32, etc. I don't know what the limit is, but I have well more than 16 talk groups in scan on my P7100s. But they are all in the same system.
 

CanesFan95

Active Member
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
3,011
Location
FL
This radio doesn't have any "GRP" button. It only has like 6 buttons and not the full keypad.
 

Thunderknight

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 31, 2008
Messages
2,216
Location
Bletchley Park
This radio doesn't have any "GRP" button. It only has like 6 buttons and not the full keypad.

A scan model. You can probably still program a button to be GRP instead of something else. Or probably add it to the menu.
And actually, if you are sure you don't need to edit the list, you can still program more than 16, you just won't be able to add/delete them from the radio (just software). You should be able to nuisance delete them still. I am fairly certain they will still receive even if you can't access them.
 

ElroyJetson

I AM NOT YOUR TECH SUPPPORT.
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 8, 2002
Messages
3,687
Location
DO NOT ASK ME FOR HELP PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO. NO.
Here's the sensible way to set up a P7100 scan model when you have a lot of systems and a lot of talkgroups.

This assumes you know your way around ProGrammer/RPM. I'm not going to tell you where to find all the features of the software.

Set the side buttons above the PTT button to system up and system down.

Set the up/down arrow buttons on the front panel to group up and group down.

Use the a/d (add delete) and scan buttons normally.

You can not have groups from multiple systems in one scan list unless you are using the scan across systems feature. Which I've never done and can offer no detailed advice for.

This setup allows you to pick your agency (system) quickly and pick your priority talkgroup quickly as well. For scanning purposes, you can generally ignore the rotary control entirely but it can be used to pick your priority talkgroup or channel.

In trunking, a P7100 can have up to, I think, 50 entries in a scan list. Scan lists default to being per system.
 

kb4cvn

Silent Key
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
884
Location
Nowhere near a paved road, away from the maddening
Since we are on the topic of scanning, I thought I would add in a bit:

When scanning conventional channels are trunked talkgroups, you can scan all of the channels/groups in the frequency (or group) set. Up to the set's maximum of 1024. Why would you? That's your business. But the radios hardware will allow it.


Getting more than sixteen on the knob is easy, and has been possible since the M-PA days of the 1980's. You simply swap the Groups on the Knob for Systems, and remap the System UP & DOWN buttons for GROUP UP and GROUP DOWN functions. To allow more than 16 SYSTEMS on the knob now that you have moved it, map an unused OPTION BUTTON for SYSUP and enable RAMP WRAP under KEYPAD OPTIONS.


Finally, when it comes to scan options, you have three ways you can do it: FIXED, PROGRAMMABLE AND LIMITED.

FIXED is just what it says. The radio's scan list is locked by the programming, and cannot be altered by the user.

PROGRAMMABLE is the more popular option, and allows the user full editing privileges of the radio's scan list, and "remembers" the setting though a power cycle.

LIMITED is the most underused option. It allows the user full editing privileges of the radio's scan list, but DOES NOT "remember" the setting though a power cycle, and will always revert back to the originally programming scan list settings after a power cycle.



TRIVIA:
Ever notice when you program a radio, you will see on the Computer's display "...programming fixed personality" then shortly afterward "...programming variable personality" ?

When you first program a radio, the fixed and variable personality files are identical. Mirror images of each other.
When the user edits anything, they alter the VARIABLE personality file. The Fixed stays intact.

This FIXED personality file handles several functions. When the radio is DYNAMICALLY REGROUPED to new data (for a special event, etc.), it uses the new data transmitted to it over the air. When the radio is DYNAMICALLY UNGROUPED (or reverted to normal), it uses the Fixed Personality data to get back were it belongs. Another function of the Fixed personality data is in the LIMITED scan list, to revert the radio back to original data during a power cycle.


My humble 2¢ worth....
 
Last edited:

TDR-94

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
1,271
TRIVIA:
Ever notice when you program a radio, you will see on the Computer's display "...programming fixed personality" then shortly afterward "...programming variable personality" ?

That's an interesting tidbit.

I always thought it was a back-up in case the radio crashed during programming lol!
 

ElroyJetson

I AM NOT YOUR TECH SUPPPORT.
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 8, 2002
Messages
3,687
Location
DO NOT ASK ME FOR HELP PROGRAMMING YOUR RADIO. NO.
The engineers simply did not believe that mid-programming crashes would be enough of an issue to build a full copy of the radio's firmware and copy of the codeplug into the radio.

I say it's common enough that maybe they made the wrong decision.

Honestly I question several things about the way that ECP/OTP protocol radios are engineered.

A radio should be built smart enough that it'll reset to normal operating mode on a power cycle,
as long as its internal code is valid and complete enough to work.

The usage of the JUMP button in the radio maintenance tools should NEVER be needed, in fact,
there should not BE a JUMP button. (Which is used to take the radio out of service mode and back into operating mode.)
 

kb4cvn

Silent Key
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
884
Location
Nowhere near a paved road, away from the maddening
The engineers simply did not believe that mid-programming crashes would be enough of an issue to build a full copy of the radio's firmware and copy of the codeplug into the radio.

I say it's common enough that maybe they made the wrong decision.

Actually they did address this issue. They archived the data to recover a radio in the safest place the could: The computer programming the radio!

If the data for whatever reason in the radio gets corrupted, the connected computer BEFORE the programming sequence begins copies the FEATURE DATA and TRACKING DATA out of each and every radio, archiving it in the BACKUP folder. It is assumed that if the radio becomes corrupted, any and all data in the radio would be considered bad. By having an external archive, the reliance on the radio's internal storage is removed.

Radio gets corrupted, do a forced recovery of the radio, erasing the EEPROM, and reload the original (and known valid) configuration information back into the radio to return it to service.
 

W4KRR

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 1, 2001
Messages
3,434
Location
Coconut Creek
A question about the "Hang Time" shown in post #11 above:
Mine is set to 3.00. However, there doesn't seem to be any hang time at all, it reverts back to scanning as soon as a conversation is over.

Also, the selected channel always seems to be the priority channel, even though all scan list members are set as the "bottom" priority; i.e., three hash marks.
 

TDR-94

Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2014
Messages
1,271
A question about the "Hang Time" shown in post #11 above:
Mine is set to 3.00. However, there doesn't seem to be any hang time at all, it reverts back to scanning as soon as a conversation is over.

I'm having a similar issue to this with a VHF P7100 on conventional channels.I have the delay set to 5sec and all analog channels will dwell for the 5sec delay after traffic has ceased.However,most of the channels set for P25,whether set to monitor or a specific NAC, will immediately revert back to scan after a transmission ends resulting in missed traffic.Only a handful of channels will dwell for 5sec no matter what settings I change under the P25 conventional settings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top