Got HomePatrol-1 Today

[bobbyd1018]

OK... I got my homepatrol-1 in today from scannermaster and i must say i was very excited when i hooked everything all up, i have been out of scanning for at leaast 7 years and its all new to me again! Only problem i am haveing is alot of the freqs even the Natchez Adams county mississippi police department is not in the RR database correctly and im not sure what the primary freq is or how to add it to RR if i did, so im not enjoying missing out on my local police at all! (please Help me) But as far as the receive with the stock antenna it picks up GREAT.. I also tested it with a mobile antenna i got from scannermaster as well and it was Night and Day.... Just ordered a Diamond discone and some Lmr-400 coax to stick on my 50 foot push over pole, i will let you know how that turns out by the weekend, lol!

 

[pwscott]

Local PD

So you're saying that Nathchez PD has the wrong freqs listed in the RR DB here:
Adams County, Mississippi (MS) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference ????

If that's really the case then use the SUBMIT button at the top left and send the DB Admins the corrected freqs/PLs etc. Just FWIW...with only a few hours using the Home Patrol, may be it's not the freqs that are wrong?? May be you don;t have the right services selected or the range set correctly? Or you have set an Avoid? Anyway just be sure the freqs are wrong and you can submit the corrections.

Read this thread on how to submit an update /request:
http://forums.radioreference.com/da...out-your-database-submission-please-read.html

OK... I got my homepatrol-1 in today from scannermaster and i must say i was very excited when i hooked everything all up, i have been out of scanning for at leaast 7 years and its all new to me again! Only problem i am haveing is alot of the freqs even the Natchez Adams county mississippi police department is not in the RR database correctly and im not sure what the primary freq is or how to add it to RR if i did, so im not enjoying missing out on my local police at all! (please Help me) But as far as the receive with the stock antenna it picks up GREAT.. I also tested it with a mobile antenna i got from scannermaster as well and it was Night and Day.... Just ordered a Diamond discone and some Lmr-400 coax to stick on my 50 foot push over pole, i will let you know how that turns out by the weekend, lol!

 

[bobbyd1018]

No im sure that the correct frequency isnt listed in the RR database, the thing i was saying was i have no way of locating the correct frequency to see what Natchez PD uses as its PRIMARY!

 

[pwscott]

Freq

So you don't know what their Primary Frequency is, but you're sure it's not listed?? How would you know that? Because you don't hear traffic or dispatch on the ones you do have??
They could be using another town-licensed freq or a county freq, or part of a state system with their town licenses as backup.
You need some local knowledge from someone there who has been listening a while I'd say. Good luck.

No im sure that the correct frequency isnt listed in the RR database, the thing i was saying was i have no way of locating the correct frequency to see what Natchez PD uses as its PRIMARY!

 

[bobbyd1018]

Yeah i need to find someone around here who has been listening a while, thats the hard part, lol!!!!

 

[Utah_Viper]

This is why the HP-1 will fail. People will be buying this scanner advertised to pick up the local PD,FD and what not and find that this scanner wont do it. I expect many returns, and dozens of new members here complaining that WE need to update the RRDB.

If the scanner had a scanning feature (imagine that in a scanner) they could easily find things and then add them to the RRDB themselves.

 

[Viper43]

This is why the HP-1 will fail. People will be buying this scanner advertised to pick up the local PD,FD and what not and find that this scanner wont do it. I expect many returns, and dozens of new members here complaining that WE need to update the RRDB.

If the scanner had a scanning feature (imagine that in a scanner) they could easily find things and then add them to the RRDB themselves.

It would be pretty rare that the DB doesn't have a PD or fire dispatch frequency. If there are returns it's more likely due to a trunked system that no scanner can monitor rather than a missing frequency. And I doubt from what I have seen so far the HP-1 will fail, it's alrready selling better than many thought to novices, who many said wouldn't plop down $500 for it. And those who have seem more than happy so far. In fact I have only seen one who wanted to return their unit but then we fixed the problem and they too are happy now.

The DB issues needed fixed anyway, the HP-1 just forces the issue to a higher level than in the past.

V

 

[bobbyd1018]

Yeah i am very Frustrated with it at this point because of that, i think the feature by just adding your zip code is fantastic, but what happends when there isnt a freq on RR database? It becomes a hassle to submit each freq to the RR database and wait for it to be added to the list and if its not added correctly it gets kicked back, and to somebody like me who is New to the website it is "HARD"!!! Only thing i wish is that this scanner had the option to add a freq manually in these cases that im going through!

Dont get me wrong i love the scanner, the receive is very nice and it is very compact and i can take it anplace, but i really wanted to hear my local police department and now im lost! Wish i had some help but im not sure what to do in this case!

 

[pwscott]

A few thoughts on that post (above at 10:13 by Utah_Viper")-
1- WE do need to update RR DB ongoing. In some places it needs Geotags, in other places new licenses will be issued, systems will re-band- any database is only as good as its administration. I've been scanning CT SP and MA SP for years with various scanners, but when I drove to MA with a GPS attached to the HP-1 I never heard a single MA SP transmission until I make a favorites list manually....the DB does need us to help update it.

If you have doubts about the DB needing input to the admins, read this post by 'ericcarlson' who is
Lead Database Administrator and Manager
RadioReference.com
http://forums.radioreference.com/database-discussion-forum/186365-location-information-airports.html

Eric says [partial outtake]: "....The message you see just indicates that the location has not been set yet in the RR DB. You can help us by submitting updates with the appropriate lat/long and range (a circle approximating the area in which the frequencies are used). Range should be not be the "monitorable" range but should reflect the actual range in which it is used. E.g., the circle should encompass a city limits not anything larger. For an airport, it should just encompass the area of the airport since operations should be contained within that. Air traffic control for the tower would extend a couple miles out (to whatever the FAA-assigned tower control territory is)....."

The idea, however, you mention of "....if the scanner had a scanning feature (imagine that in a scanner) they could easily find things and then add them to the RRDB themselves...."- can you imagine if every newbie out there in this new and broad market segment that Uniden is addressing were to just add freqs into the DB themselves??

There's a submission process for adding info to the database and a whole forum dedicated to it.

2- *BUT* I also think a lot of people that pick up the HP-1 for the first time, even if it's not their first scanner, are going to have a learning curve. We've already seen a number of posts in various forums where someone says the product doesn't work, it's got bugs, etc only to find out they didn't have LAW DISPATCH selected under services....or they had 'AVOID-ed' the system or county they wanted, or their range is set to zero and the radius of the system they're looking for only reaches to within 8 miles of them.

I'm still very pleased with mine but A) I won't be returning it because it lacks search/scan between capabilities as that's not a feature in the product description. And B) I think people who buy the HP-1 ** and follow the directions** will almost always find it scans their local PD and FD unless they're encrypted.

 

[wb0wao]

The DB issues needed fixed anyway, the HP-1 just forces the issue to a higher level than in the past.

V

I agree 100% with the above statement. However, in defense of the RRDB, I am sure when it was initially created, the thought of having the entire DB on a SD card inside a scanner was not even considered - much less having it keyed to geographical coordinates.


Dennis

 

[Viper43]

And as I say that an admin decides on their own they know better than I do what a channel is used for locally and instead of setting it propely under it's licensed user that admin sets it up under the sheriffs dept who hardly uses it, and then only dealing with the school district it is licensed too! It seems to me that frrequencies should be listed under the licensed user, not just anyone who happens to have it programmed in their radios. In this case it's a school district with ove 100 mobiles and portables. It's used at 5 schools, and the sheriff's dept has it so the deputies who occasionally work security (off duty) and local PD's also have it for the same reason. Additionaly the PD's monito it if busses have problems.
Just seems to me that one of the reasons to have the DB and insist on accuracy and then turn around and do as you want with the admins defeats the whole process.

 

[eaf1956]

Scanning vs SEARCHING

This is why the HP-1 will fail. People will be buying this scanner advertised to pick up the local PD,FD and what not and find that this scanner wont do it. I expect many returns, and dozens of new members here complaining that WE need to update the RRDB.

If the scanner had a scanning feature (imagine that in a scanner) they could easily find things and then add them to the RRDB themselves.

I think you mean a SEARCHING feature.

 

[trido]

If i read it right no scanner will pick up police in adams cty as they are on LTR Passport system.

 

[K4IHS]

Will the Home Patrol find new systems and frquencies on it's own? Or... does it just come preloaded with the RR database? If the second is true... then there has to be a way to update the database in the radio as things change. Does that cost extra? If I send in a correction or a new system... RR updates the database pretty quickly.

 

[bobbyd1018]

I think you are probably right.. Last night i did a update on my HomePatrol and i went to "write to HomePatrol" ... keep in mind i had my range set to 30 miles out and after i did the update yesterday i went from 267 to something like 1472 connections, lol So let me get this right, after i update the firmware and update master HPDB, do i have to go to write to Homepatrol every time?

 

[W2SJW]

Will the Home Patrol find new systems and frquencies on it's own? Or... does it just come preloaded with the RR database? If the second is true... then there has to be a way to update the database in the radio as things change. Does that cost extra? If I send in a correction or a new system... RR updates the database pretty quickly.

RR pushes DB updates to Uniden AT LEAST once a week, and then you use the Sentinel software to update the DB in the unit itself - no charge... :wink:

 

[Viper43]

I think you are probably right.. Last night i did a update on my HomePatrol and i went to "write to HomePatrol" ... keep in mind i had my range set to 30 miles out and after i did the update yesterday i went from 267 to something like 1472 connections, lol So let me get this right, after i update the firmware and update master HPDB, do i have to go to write to Homepatrol every time?

Yes, you need to write to the HP or it won't get updated from Sentinel. Also make sure that Download is selected on each system in the Favorites list and when the check box pops up asking if you want to dl favorites you check it too or they will not be updated.

V

 

[Viper43]

RR pushes DB updates to Uniden AT LEAST once a week, and then you use the Sentinel software to update the DB in the unit itself - no charge... :wink:

Normal updates are available after 9am Central time on Mondays. But there are times, like this week there have been 3 updates, and another coming tomorrow due to all the changes occuring to systems around the state.
As usual Upman is going above and beyond to help people out, and many of the admins here at RR are doing the same.

V

 

[kculver]

Got mine too!

Just got mine yesterday (10/6/2010) from Scanner Master and as advertised, was able to get it up and running within a few minutes! I am in the Jackson, MS area and geting all of the action I'm interested in. The only area I need to check is severe weather to be sure that is programmed in.

One other note - After setting it up and bringing it to my office, a co-worker figured out how to use it within a minute! This is truly next gen and long overdo! Hats off to Uniden!

 

[Viper43]

, a co-worker figured out how to use it within a minute! This is truly next gen and long overdo! Hats off to Uniden!

Yeah, a friends 10 year old daughter figured it out in about 5 minutes, the worst part is I had the screen locked and hoped that would keep her out of it a few more minutes, but that lasted about 10 seconds. Sometimes I think it's too simple!

Uniden does have it well thought out though!

V