SDS100/SDS200: Number Tags & Quick Keys

[TheQuisto]

I'm slowly wrapping my head around how quick keys and number tags work. I've been reading the manual/Easier to Read Manual and various forums and one thing I don't understand is it seems like you can not configure a number tag for a department? I have 3 or 4 departments across two or more systems that I'd like to quickly set to monitor and was hoping I could assign a number tag to them to quickly monitor just those departments. I suppose I can just set up a favorites list with just those departments but this had me wondering:

1. Why would you not be able to assign a number tag to a department?
2. Are there any places/posts with use case examples on how people setup their favorite lists/quick keys/tags? I'm sure everyone has their own unique needs but I thought it would be helpful to see what others are doing.

 

[RandyKuff]

Channels use Number Tags... Favorite Lists and Departments use a Quick Key number...

To switch on or off Dept's...

Example: If a Fav List has a Quick Key number of 2...
And in that Fav List a Department has a Quick Key number of 6...

On the scanners keyboard enter...
2.6 then enter to toggle that Dept on or off...

 

[mc48]

Favorites, System and Departments use Quick Keys to toggle an item on or off.
Favorites, System and Channels use number Tags to take you directly to a channel.

Easier to Read SDS100/200 Digital Scanner Manual

 

[RandyKuff]

N'A

 

[TheQuisto]

Thanks for the responses. I'm pretty new to this scanner and scanners in general so I'm just trying to conceptually understand a good way to use favorite lists/quick keys/tags. It feels like quick keys are used to quickly exclude a favorite/system/department you don't want to hear and number tags to quickly monitor one favorite list/system/channel.

I think I understand how they work but what I was wanting was a number tag to go directly to a department but it sounds like they can only be used to go directly to favorites, systems, and channels. I was wondering why departments were excluded. If I were to try to do this with quick keys any my favorites has many departments and I only want to monitor one then I have manually enter the quick key for each department I don't want to hear to disable them.

 

[RandyKuff]

Whoe wait... I made a mistake... Sorry about that... Thanks @mc48 for pointing that out... Forgot about the system QK#...
Have to assign ...
FavList QK#
System QK#
Dept QK#

Then you can use the scanners keypad to...
X.X.X
Enter the FAV QK#. SYS QK#. Dept QK# then Enter to toggle on or off

 

[RandyKuff]

Also... The scanner has to be scanning when you enter the X.X.X

 

[hiegtx]

Thanks for the responses. I'm pretty new to this scanner and scanners in general so I'm just trying to conceptually understand a good way to use favorite lists/quick keys/tags. It feels like quick keys are used to quickly exclude a favorite/system/department you don't want to hear and number tags to quickly monitor one favorite list/system/channel.

I think I understand how they work but what I was wanting was a number tag to go directly to a department but it sounds like they can only be used to go directly to favorites, systems, and channels. I was wondering why departments were excluded. If I were to try to do this with quick keys any my favorites has many departments and I only want to monitor one then I have manually enter the quick key for each department I don't want to hear to disable them.

Try this:
With the radio scanning your active lists and systems, press the Channel key
Enter your Number tag:
Favorites list tag.System tag.Channel tag
Then press Channel again.

This should take you to a tagged channel.

The scanner is now holding on that single channel.
Leave Channel on hold for now
Press the Department key
That should leave Channel Hold, as well as now holding the Department.
But, if you press the channel key again, to remove the channel from hold, the scanner will be scanning all the channels in that Department.

When you are ready to resume scanning, release the hold by pressing the Department key. The scanner should return to normal oration.

I had not tried this before, but it does work on my SDS200, for both conventional and trunked systems.

 

[RandyKuff]

Try this:
With the radio scanning your active lists and systems, press the Channel key
Enter your Number tag:
Favorites list tag.System tag.Channel tag
Then press Channel again.

This should take you to a tagged channel.

The scanner is now holding on that single channel.
Leave Channel on hold for now
Press the Department key
That should leave Channel Hold, as well as now holding the Department.
But, if you press the channel key again, to remove the channel from hold, the scanner will be scanning all the channels in that Department.

When you are ready to resume scanning, release the hold by pressing the Department key. The scanner should return to normal oration.

I had not tried this before, but it does work on my SDS200, for both conventional and trunked systems.

Yep... Another way to play with it... Provided you have number tags assigned...

 

[TheQuisto]

Try this:
With the radio scanning your active lists and systems, press the Channel key
Enter your Number tag:
Favorites list tag.System tag.Channel tag
Then press Channel again.

This should take you to a tagged channel.

The scanner is now holding on that single channel.
Leave Channel on hold for now
Press the Department key
That should leave Channel Hold, as well as now holding the Department.
But, if you press the channel key again, to remove the channel from hold, the scanner will be scanning all the channels in that Department.

When you are ready to resume scanning, release the hold by pressing the Department key. The scanner should return to normal oration.

I had not tried this before, but it does work on my SDS200, for both conventional and trunked systems.

That's an interesting work around. Thanks for the idea

 

[RandyKuff]

That's an interesting work around. Thanks for the idea

All kinds of different ways to do things on these radio's...

After rereading your post again... Now I see what your trying to do...
Running in a full scan mode, but wanting to stop and monitor only a certain Dept...
@hiegtx 's way will do that for ya!

 

[ofd8001]

Well....

Hiegtx's method works only if the Number Tagged channel is associated with the desired Department. So if you have Police Channel 1 number tagged but you want to hold on the Fire Department, it won't work because you'd be holding on the Police Department.

Basically you are wanting to use a tool meant for one thing (jumping to a certain channel) to do something else (jumping to a department).

That said, I'm sure if properly motivated, the engineers could design a means of jumping to a certain department. Its that "proper motivation" that might be hard to come by.

 

[hiegtx]

Well....

Hiegtx's method works only if the Number Tagged channel is associated with the desired Department. So if you have Police Channel 1 number tagged but you want to hold on the Fire Department, it won't work because you'd be holding on the Police Department.

Basically you are wanting to use a tool meant for one thing (jumping to a certain channel) to do something else (jumping to a department).

That said, I'm sure if properly motivated, the engineers could design a means of jumping to a certain department. Its that "proper motivation" that might be hard to come by.

That's true. But why would you only use a Number tag on a PD channel if what you actually wanted to hear was the FD? Tag at least one channel in each Department, if there might be times when you really did want PD, not FD (or vice versa).

 

[ofd8001]

That's true. But why would you only use a Number tag on a PD channel if what you actually wanted to hear was the FD? Tag at least one channel in each Department, if there might be times when you really did want PD, not FD (or vice versa).

I absolutely agree. I do something very similar - number tag a channel in the more "important" departments so I can do the department hold.

This was one of those times where you knew exactly what you meant, but someone looking at the response "clean" would not have seen/known that the tagged channel had to be in the desired department. Otherwise, they would have thought "any old number tagged channel" could have been used. So I was looking at this from the perspective of the "proverbial newbie".

 

[TheQuisto]

Thanks for the replies all. I've been doing what some have suggested and tagged a channel in the more "important" departments I know I might want to jump to and it's been working well for me.