Programming help

[bearcatrp]

Have the 396T. Haven't scanned for awhile. I live by Clearwater and since the new power lines went up along 94, my handheld seems deaf. Just want to clarify my programming skills on this scanner.
The primary and alternate control channels get put in the band plan area of the system I created, right (the red and blue frequencies listed in the database)?
The other frequencies listed (black) get put in the set frequencies area of the system I created (ie. stearns county)?
From comparing what I have in my scanner I imputed a few years ago to what I see tonight, looks like everything has changed. Is this the rebanded frequencies? Any other tips or suggestions would be appreciated.
Also, is it worth upgrading to an XT model or are the T models still good? Thanks in advanced for the help.

 

[NDRADIONUT]

All freqs should be 851-862 mhz... If you have freqs over 862 in your scanner you dont have the re-banded setup... The t model scanner will work fine...
ST CLOUD SITE:
859.0875c
856.9875a
857.4375a
857.9875a

 

[wtp]

try this

the control channel (c) and the alternates (a) are put in a system (folder)
set it for control channel only and that should be it
program system
new system
mot
800 standard (try it first if not then try 800 splinter)
confirm
set frequencies

new frequency
input frequency
(repeat until all are in)


hope it helps also the band plan is for a rebanded system (851-854)

 

[bearcatrp]

wtp, that looks like conventional systems you describe to program. I'm trying to set up for digital. I seem to have it awhile back but now zero since the power poles went up on hwy 94. After looking at my set up, none of the control channels seem to match. Here is what i'm trying;
Program system
new system
MOT
P25
then under edit system options, put control freq's in edit band plan w/6.25 offset.
then put the freq's from chart (in black) in set frequencies
Is this wrong?

 

[bearcatrp]

wtp, that looks like conventional systems you describe to program. I'm trying to set up for digital. I seem to have it awhile back but now zero since the power poles went up on hwy 94. After looking at my set up, none of the control channels seem to match. Here is what i'm trying;
Program system
new system
MOT
P25
then under edit system options, put control freq's in edit band plan w/6.25 offset.
then put the freq's from chart (in black) in set frequencies
Is this wrong?

 

[bearcatrp]

Sorry for the double post.
Seems the way I explained how I do this worked as I'm listening again. Had to put the control channels in the same place as the regular freq's but its working again. Now I have to start looking for an external antenna and maybe a base station.

 

[bearcatrp]

I'm trying different settings but not sure if i'm going backwards or not. Doing ARMER only. Here is what i'm trying:
1. Creating a new system, putting all the ARMER freqs for a particular county where the frequencies go. So I have 3 separate MOT P25 systems. I hear pretty good chatter.
2. Created one P25 system with all the control channels (primary and alt) in the freqs area. Seems ok but heard more chatter with the 3 separate ones.

If there is a better way would appreciate any feed back. BTW, I see the talk group numbers come across the screen when someone is talking. Should these be put into the group folder? This part i'm not understanding very much. Been reading Easier to Read BCD396T/UBCD396T Digital Scanner Manual to learn but still a bit fuzzy on it.

 

[ofd8001]

You might consider using programming software such as FREESCAN or Butel's ARC 396. If you are a Radio Reference premium subscriber, such software will automatically download the information you need to program your scanner.

This makes scanner programming very simple and reduces the opportunity for incorrect settings.

 

[bearcatrp]

Been considering subscribing. How is the database set up to download? By county, city etc? Wouldn't mind filling up the scanner and just lock out what I don't need unless I go down to the twin cities or other places. I downloaded freescan. Little different than what I remember of them. Been awhile using scanner software. Think i Used Butels when I had a AOR handheld awhile back. Which one is better?

 

[RonnieUSA]

Been considering subscribing. How is the database set up to download? By county, city etc? Wouldn't mind filling up the scanner and just lock out what I don't need unless I go down to the twin cities or other places. I downloaded freescan. Little different than what I remember of them. Been awhile using scanner software. Think i Used Butels when I had a AOR handheld awhile back. Which one is better?

My vote goes fro FreeScan.
It's Free!!

 

[ofd8001]

As far as which software is better, there will be lots of opinions. Freescan is great from the price stand point and I'll use it from time to time. My preference is the Butel, but that's because of the comfort factor I have from using it for so many years.

The databases for download are similar to what you see when looking at the RR database section. If the system you are interested in is a wide area system, such as the ARMER system then you'll see two groups of selections to make. One section is the sites and they are listed by location. The other section is the talkgroups. These are listed by either location (such as county or city). State wide "things" such as state patrol are listed in that section too.

With you having a 396T, each site will have to be programmed as its own system. That's the first generation of Uniden scanners with the new DMA programming paradigm. Later models (996T, 396XT and 996XT) have the capability of programming multiple sites for the same system.

 

[wtp]

freescan then

the girlfriend here loaded freescan and did most of the work herself
ok she is an it person at her job but did not know too much about radio
so if she can anybody can

also i don;t know if the band plan thing works higher than 854mhz

the band plan is to assign channel numbers in-between the channels in 851-854
so you don't use it if there is nothing in 851-854 but i guess you could try it

band plan 1 set base lower 851.025 upper 854 set offset 440 set polarity + set spacing 25khz
band plan 2 set base lower 851.0125 upper 868.9875 set offset 0 set polarity + set spacing 25khz

on second thought try it and get back to me

 

[bearcatrp]

Which way is better to listen, by talk group or control channels? Would think control channels as I think its better to add to it, but not sure. How accurate is the database? With the subscription, is there a limit on downloading?

 

[wtp]

you are new

control channel is how the radio operates
before the best you could do is lockout the control channel
it was a constant buzz with channel information (it tells the radio where to tune for a group)
the talk group id's are who is who (like 1616 for sheriff 3216 for fd)
that is how the computer separates everyone
if you put in all the channels on a motorola system you will find a channel that hums constantly
it changed on some systems daily. now with control channel set that noise is gone and you can follow talkgroups (agency)
hope it helps

 

[bearcatrp]

Thanks for the help. Does make better sense. Thanks. I plan on upgrading my subscription soon. Make life a bit easier on the scanner.

 

[ofd8001]

The only limits on downloading is what your scanner is capable of holding. I don't believe the subscription service has a a limit on how many times you can do downloads. I've done a ton of downloading and haven't seen any problems.

There is a learning curve when it comes to digital trunked radio systems what is what you wish to monitor. They are much more complicated than the old conventional analog systems with many more settings to make.

In a simplified nutshell, you program the control channels in your scanner and they pretty much run in the background. You really are not "listening" to a control channel - it's the talkgroups on which your attention should be focused.

Unfortunately my Minnesota residency ended years ago and my specific knowledge of your area is limited, so some of my assumptions may need refinements from the local folks.

Presuming you are in the St. Cloud area, you'll want to program in the following frequencies as control channels:

859.0875 (the primary control channel)
856.9875 (an alternate control channel that may be used from time to time)
857.4375 (another alternate control channel)
857.9875 (another alternate control channel)

You'll then next program in the appropriate group area of your scanner, the talkgroup ID numbers for the folks you want to listen to. For example, the Saint Cloud police dispatch talkgroup ID is 24444.

What will be happening in the radio system is this. A St. Cloud police user keys up his radio. The controller sees this request to talk and "tells" all those having their radios on talkgroup 29444 to switch to an available voice channel (for example 852.30000). The radios automatically make this switch and the conversation proceeds.

Your scanner will pretty much do this same thing - it will be receiving the voice channel that has been assigned by the controller (via the control channel) to the selected talkgroup which we used 29444 as the example.

The bottom line is that you have to do some tinkering and through trial and error, you'll ultimately end up with having what you want. Using programming software and a subscription service will make things simpler.

The thing to bear in mind is that with the 396T is different than the other Uniden digital scanners. It is only capable of one system/site. If you have the ability to receive more than one system/site, these will have to be programmed as additional systems in your scanner. By that I mean if you are close enough to hear the Hennepin West system, you'll have to program that separately from the St. Cloud system.

I'm taking the phrase "I haven't scanned for a while" to mean that you might have been in the hobby years ago and are now picking it back up. A lot of things have changed. Scanners are more complicated and they have a learning curve. Plus the Minnesota Armer system is a complicated system with lots of ins and outs with it. So that adds more learning.

The bottom line is to have faith and patience - pretty much everyone gets the hang of both.

 

[bearcatrp]

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I picked up the 396T almost 2 years ago. Was on my back due to a back surgery so figured I would have plenty of time to learn the newer system. Yes, I have older ones that go back to the 80's. Sure has changed. I take it that a programmed system, control groups go into the "edit group" area. What i currently have is 4 systems. 3 have there own areas (st cloud, kimbal, and wright sherburn). The appropriate control channels and the freq's in black from RR are in the freq's area. The 4th system is just all 3 control channels in one spot. Just trying different setups to see what I like better. I did do a search and record one night just to see what I got. Filled up with a bunch of talk groups. Since I don't know who they belong to, deleted them where they were saved. When using search and store, I had to designate a place to store them. Does that scan all the systems I currently have in the scanner or just the system where I stored them? Again, thanks for the detailed help from everyone who responded. Am learning more.

 

[ofd8001]

It's always a good sign when you hear "stuff". That tells you that the programming is correct.

If you note the TGID numbers that you discover during the search mode, you can go to the RR database and see which they are.

Another side benefit of being a RR premium subscriber is that you can download the ARMER system as an excel spreadsheet. That can be helpful in determining who you are listening to.

 

[bearcatrp]

Been matching up TGID today against what is listed in RR list. Don't find half of what I see so far. Have done a search too. Do they change allot to keep scanning ears on our toes?
Also, since doing the search and store, and then deleting where they were stored, seems I cannot do it again as I get system full. Are they stored in other locations too or should I reset the scanner to start over? If I reset, will I have to do the updates again too? Thanks in advance.

 

[NDRADIONUT]

WELL IF THEY ARENT IN THE DATABASE SUBMIT THEM OR LIST THEM HERE... SOMETIMES ITS HARD TO FIND TGS UNLESS U DOWNLOAD THE WHOLE LIST IN TG ORDER FROM HERE:

Allied Radio Matrix for Emergency Response (ARMER) Trunking System, Various, Minnesota - Scanner Frequencies