Basic DMR, Question on trying Freescan 2.19 Beta2

[R7000]

Hello all,

Radio is BCD996P2 w/DMR option. I've been using Freescan for many years.

I'd like to listen to basic DMR w/o trunking and all that. I've got that going on the radio with simple programming.

I'd like to give Freescan 2.19 a try for this as I'm very fluent in Freescan.

I found Freescan 2.19 Beta2 online. Is this the version I should try for basic DMR?

Any advice on installation instructions? I'm currently running Win 10 with Freescan 2.18 Beta6.
I see the 2.19Beta2 zip files has a 3,774 K app called FreeSCAN and a 2k FreeSCAN.exe config file.
Before ruining my 2.18 install, what is the best way to try 2.19Beta2 without screwing up?

Thanks
Tom

 

[hiegtx]

Hello all,

Radio is BCD996P2 w/DMR option. I've been using Freescan for many years.

I'd like to listen to basic DMR w/o trunking and all that. I've got that going on the radio with simple programming.

I'd like to give Freescan 2.19 a try for this as I'm very fluent in Freescan.

I found Freescan 2.19 Beta2 online. Is this the version I should try for basic DMR?

Any advice on installation instructions? I'm currently running Win 10 with Freescan 2.18 Beta6.
I see the 2.19Beta2 zip files has a 3,774 K app called FreeSCAN and a 2k FreeSCAN.exe config file.
Before ruining my 2.18 install, what is the best way to try 2.19Beta2 without screwing up?

Thanks
Tom

I don't recall seeing a 2.19 beta 2. Do you have a link for it?

The 2.19 beta 1 was the last one Assaf (the original author) released, but it was posted on the discussion forum on his site.

Version 2.19 is a version that another RR member released, trying to address some of the issues that FreeSCAN had with DMR. See this thread:

Freescan: - Small Updates to FreeSCAN

Hi everyone! I was getting a little frustrated with programming some conventional DMR channels in FreeSCAN. I made a couple small updates to the program on my Github to allow for that, and updated some of the graphics and information. I'm by no means a true software engineer, but I do some...

forums.radioreference.com

The updated 2.19 version will allow you to create a conventional DMR system, but conventional import from RadioReference does not work. Every time I tried to sign in for a conventional RR import, I get an error message and the attempt fails. However, this version will allow you to enter the color code for a conventional DMR channel, something that could not be done with the last "official" version 2.19 beta 1 from Assaf. The 'updated' 2.19 version allows importing of DMR trunked systems, but imports them as the wrong system type. You can correct the system type to DMR trunked, and you can enter LCNs, but you cannot enter color codes for the trunked system.

You can always just create another FreeSCAN folder, copy the contents of your 2.18 version into the folder, then extract the 2.19 download into the added folder. That's what I did, and labeled the folder (for my purposes) as FreeSCAN 2.

Since none of these versions are fully compatible with the various forms of DMR systems, and still do not support NXDN at all, I use ProScan for my 325P2 (the handheld sibling to your 996P2).

 

[R7000]

I was able to try the 2.19 Beta2 app but unfortunately it malfunctioned on upload, for example, uploading one single system, it would upload multiple copies, like 6 or 7 copies, of the same system. So I never really evaluated the DMR capabilities because the upload feature was out of control. I'll be using Proscan. I really like Freescan and used it since the beginning.

 

[JANFINE]

When you get multiple uploads just cancel. Then go into the scanner manually and delete all but the first one.

 

[INDY72]

Freescan is dead get over it folks. Everyone that has tried to revive it throws it in the trash due to the language used, and the insane time it wastes in their lives. Go ProScan or butel's offering and you will not shed tears.

 

[Chris0516]

Freescan is dead get over it folks. Everyone that has tried to revive it throws it in the trash due to the language used, and the insane time it wastes in their lives. Go ProScan or butel's offering and you will not shed tears.

I agree.

While this is a harsh way of putting it. I still agree. I moved Proscan, back in 2018. I haven't looked back, since.

 

[norcalscan]

Freescan is dead get over it folks. Everyone that has tried to revive it throws it in the trash due to the language used, and the insane time it wastes in their lives. Go ProScan or butel's offering and you will not shed tears.

Yeah, screw tinkering and experimenting and playing around. Screw the small guy. Go big or go home!

Let's stop the gatekeeping in this hobby. This hobby has a serious lack of redundancy potentially taking out entire products and other one-man developers. At least this developer stopped due to school and not health. Keep options open, let the kids play on the lawn, it ain't going to hurt anything. Heaven forbid an obituary becomes the last update to a favorite software that has no competitors or options in its place...

 

[INDY72]

Yeah, screw tinkering and experimenting and playing around. Screw the small guy. Go big or go home!

Let's stop the gatekeeping in this hobby. This hobby has a serious lack of redundancy potentially taking out entire products and other one-man developers. At least this developer stopped due to school and not health. Keep options open, let the kids play on the lawn, it ain't going to hurt anything. Heaven forbid an obituary becomes the last update to a favorite software that has no competitors or options in its place...

Okay your gonna take the program up? You gonna mod it? You can sure try. Freescan was abandoned by it's creator. Twice someone here took it up and pretty quickly dropped it as it's programming language is not very user friendly, and this is an very time intensive project. You want to fix it? If not then let dead horses rot.

 

[norcalscan]

Okay your gonna take the program up? You gonna mod it?

Focusing on Freescan, sure, it's likely a dead horse. I still keep an old iPhone around with the app solely to remote control my streaming shoutcast scanner from anywhere in the world. I'm old-school that way. Good friend developed the Android app for Freescan remote. Due to no remote uniden head, I've taken some old code I found online and compiled it to phone running Windows Mobile, then ran the phone on the vehicle dash with scanner under the seat to remote control. I'm sure the guy I bought the Lumia 940 from in 2019 was laughing at the "sucker" who bought it. It was fun, got into some serial-over-bluetooth stuff I could use on the IT side of things, windows development stuff (not fun), etc. Abandoned it mostly for a BCT-125 on the dash hooked up to a multicoupler in the car so it handles the VHF lo and hi while the otherwise deaf whistler shines on 700 simulcast.

Back to the big scope, bigger than Freescan, if it weren't for these old projects laying around, there would be limited tinkering. What mancow and others are doing with the SDS remote heads is fun. ProScan is tired, works, but tired. We need to promote as much development and tinkering as we can.

 

[dave3825]

On older scanners freescan works just fine without issue. I still use it on my Br330T and still use the Ez grab sometimes with my 436 via the converter.