PRO 97 Help

[chrischris]

Hi Everyone,

My relative has asked me how to program his Radio Shack Pro 97 scanner.

He requested that I add:
MAIN Dispatch / Operations Countywide TG: 9232 King

Is there a quick and easy way to do this without disabling any of his preset frequencies? He has local agencies organized by banks so that he can select 1, 2, or 3 to select or deselect a particular agency and he would like me to rename bank 9 and add the above frequency.

It has been a while since I have done this. Would someone be able to help me with this task?

Thanks,

 

[gmclam]

Pro-97

My relative has asked me how to program his Radio Shack Pro 97 scanner.

He requested that I add:
MAIN Dispatch / Operations Countywide TG: 9232 King

It helps to know hat country, state, city, agency .. although this sounds like you are just adding a TG to a trunked system already programmed in the scanner.

Is there a quick and easy way to do this without disabling any of his preset frequencies?

Yes, probably. Are there vacant channel slots to add in new frequencies or talkgroups? Since it looks like you are adding a TG, that scanner has a limit of 150 TGs per bank. So as long as there is an open slot, it can be added.

He has local agencies organized by banks so that he can select 1, 2, or 3 to select or deselect a particular agency and he would like me to rename bank 9 and add the above frequency.

If the 3 (or 4) banks all select the same system, that is a HORRIBLE idea. That model scanner does not do well when you "split" one system across multiple banks. That's why they created sub-banks. If each of those banks uses different control channel frequencies (different sites or different systems), then of course that IS the way to do it.

But considering that you only want to add a TG .. I am assuming it is to an existing system. If the user want to be able to use ONE of the above banks at a time to scan the same system, that will work fine. But you WILL MISS CALLS if you have the scanner scan the SAME trunked radio system at the same time in different banks.

It has been a while since I have done this. Would someone be able to help me with this task?

To add a TG by hand, navigate to the bank in MAN mode. Press FUNC T to get into the TG viewer/editor. Use the T, UP & DOWN keys to find an open TG slot, hopefully in an ideal sub-bank. Enter the data for the new TG. Press FUNC T or SCAN or MAN to exit the TG view/editor.

 

[chrischris]

Hi,

Thanks for the help! I am basically trying to add the University of Washington Police Department to my relatives scanner. I believe the correct scanner info (from google) is:

University of Washington Police

MAIN Dispatch / Operations Countywide TG: 9232 King

Right now my relative's scanner allows him to select which ever agency he wants by pressing a number for the particular agency he is interested in listening to. From the scanner mode, 0 is Kent PD, 1 is Auburn and so on. I would like to replace 9 (state patrol) with the UWPD.

I tried to follow your instructions to enter the frequency but I wasn't able to get it to work. Does the additional info above give you a better idea as to what my relative is after?

Thanks again for the help. I am quite lost with this process.

 

[DickH]

Hi
University of Washington Police MAIN Dispatch / Operations Countywide TG: 9232 King

That is a talk group on the Seattle-King county trunked system. Does he have that system in his scanner? If so, you can easily add that talk group. He probably also wants the TAC channel. 9264 UW PD 2 UW Police TAC

 

[gmclam]

Why are "hot keys" needed?

Thanks for the help! I am basically trying to add the University of Washington Police Department to my relatives scanner. I believe the correct scanner info (from google) is:
University of Washington Police
MAIN Dispatch / Operations Countywide TG: 9232 King

It looks like you are actually monitoring THIS system. 9232 is a TalkGroup (TG) on that system. A TalkGroup is a "virtual channel" and is associated with frequencies. The PRO-97 will scan the "active control channel frequency" to decode a TG, and if that TG matches what the user wants to hear, it will track to the voice channel so it can be heard. Voice channels are dynamic and change with every transmission, this is called "trunk tracking" and the reason the scanner (only) needs the control channel.

Right now my relative's scanner allows him to select which ever agency he wants by pressing a number for the particular agency he is interested in listening to. From the scanner mode, 0 is Kent PD, 1 is Auburn and so on. I would like to replace 9 (state patrol) with the UWPD.

Auburn PD uses TGs on the same system (such as 36944). Kent is another set of TGs. However, WASP uses conventinal VHF frequencies and is not part of the trunked King County System.

I tried to follow your instructions to enter the frequency but I wasn't able to get it to work. Does the additional info above give you a better idea as to what my relative is after?

Yes it does. I am concerned that the radio is presently programmed as it is. As I previously wrote, your friend is MISSING CALLS because of the method the scanner is likely programmed.

I know it makes it very easy to operate to have those "hot keys" to turn stuff on and off, and there are some clever ways to program it so he gets what he wants and have it work reasonably well. But the method that should be used is to put that one trunked system (King county) into a single bank, then use "sub-groups" in that bank to enable different agencies on that system. So Kent could be sub-group 1, Auburn sub-group 2, UofW sub-group 3 and so on. It does make it a PAIN to operate; but that is far better for me than missing calls like you do when spreading one trunked system out across several banks -- UNLESS you are only listening to ONE of those agencies at a time. In other words, as long as you are ONLY monitoring Auburn OR Kent OR UofW. Make sense?

The best way to do this programming is with software. I use WIN97. It can be done by hand - and you could easily add UofW to Kent, Auburn or another agency (you have programmed) that's associated with the King county system. Simply go to that bank, press FUNC T, find a blank position, program in the TG (and alpha tag) and that's it.

Do you know how your friend listens to these agencies and why each one needs its own "hot key"? If I understand that, then I can best suggest a best method for all. Also, note that the King county system has not yet rebanded. When it does, it is likely the PRO-97 will no longer pick it up properly (but not a guarantee). Three systems in my area have now rebanded and can't be trunk tracked by a PRO-97. Scanners which use "scan lists" rather than banks, like the PSR-310 would be a solution to all these issues.