Apologies - I responded (too) quickly and now realize you have a scanner without an on-board database/library and EZ Scan programming software. I am today not sure what specifically you mean by "GRE/RS Object Editor" - is that Win500? PSREdit?
Anyway - to make up for my quick (and likely unusable) response, I've written some detailed information about trunk systems and manually programming your scanner. Both should help you even if you're using some programming software. I can't answer specifics about those (expect possibly Win500 which I use from time to time).
---------
This attempts to go into lots of detail to get a basic understanding of trunk radio systems. This is very important information in order have success when programming your scanner.
I didn't have a proof reader so if anyone detects an mistake, please feel free to let me know and I'll correct/update it.
It is HIGHLY recommended that you read the first part about trunk systems - perhaps several times - before trying to program your scanner. There are also lots of other resources out there to learn about these systems in much more detail. This writeup only scratches the surface with basic information and may not fully cover what you need to know to program and use your scanner.
What are Trunking Systems?
Unlike conventional frequencies which are more or less one for one usage, trunking systems have multiple frequencies assigned to a "pool" for all users to use on which are called "talkgroups" (
TGRP). When a user wants to talk on one of these talkgroups (for example "fire dispatch"), the system's computer/controller temporarily assigns that "talkgroup" one of the pool of frequencies. When the conversation is over, the computer puts the frequency back into the pool of available frequencies for use by other users - even users on a different talkgroup (for example maybe "police dispatch").
Trunked systems can be made up of one or more "sites" - each of which has a pool of frequencies assigned to it. This concept only complicates things further so we'll make an assumption that the system you want to program is a single site system that covers an entire area (i.e. a town or city).
So - a "trunked system" (
TSYS) has one of more "sites". Each "site" has a pool of "frequencies" assigned to it. One of the pool of frequencies in each "site" pool is called a control channel (
CC). The control channel, which is typically a constantly transmitting digital data stream, is a way for the radios on the system to talk with the system/site computer that controls which frequency the radio/talkgroup (
TGRP) should use (this time).
There are quite a number of trunked system types - Motorola, EDACS, LTR, P25, DMR, NXDN, etc. As you might expect, each of these types works a little bit differently.
For purposes of this discussion, we'll stick to what his today probably the easiest type to program (most of the time) - that being what is called a Project 25 (P25) system.
For purposes of this discussion, we'll use the following system as an example of what we want to program (click here to look at the
City of Manchester NH P25 system):
Looking at this page, things to look for and be concerned about (you'll need some of this data for programming), include:
System Type: Project 25 Phase I
A key to consider here is that your scanner does process P25 "Phase 1" systems just fine. However, it may not process P25 "Phase 2" systems properly. We can discuss that later.
System Frequencies:
note the RED and BLUE "control channel" frequencies. Also note that this is a SINGLE site system. When programming, if the system lists more than one "site" (and pools of frequencies), you'll typically only want to start/use the site that is closest to you.
System Talkgroups:
These are the "ids" used by the controlling computer and radios which are assigned to each purpose or group of users.
As an example, instead of dedicating 854.0625 to "Fire Dispatch", the system components have been programmed/told that "
TGRP" 10003 is "Fire Dispatch". As described earlier, each time a user transmits on "Fire Dispatch" (
TGRP 10003), the computer will assigned any of the system's 11 frequencies (except for the one currently being used as the active control channel frequency) to carry the voice call.
Another note about system frequencies and the active control channel.... systems typically have a defined "primary control channel frequency" (
RED) and 1 or more "secondary control channel frequencies" (
BLUE). Some systems are very stable and 99.9% of the time only use the primary frequency while other rotate over the control channel frequencies. On the other hand, some systems treat all system frequencies as control channel candidates. Until you know for sure, you may have to assume that ALL system frequencies can be a control channel frequency at some point.
One last thing to keep in mind -- the system information found on Radio Reference is mostly provided by others in the hobby. The information is a "best effort" in most cases based on other users observations. It may or may not be 100% accurate or complete. Additionally, system information can/will change over time and may or may not be submitted by users - at least not right away.
Ok, enough background. I recommend you go back up and read this again - maybe a couple of times. It is critically important to understand these concepts if you are manually programming your scanner.
Programming systems on a scanner will vary greatly from one model scanner to another. Ultimately, the best thing to do is read over avaiable documentation and then taking the time and having the patience to experiement. The more you play, the easier it gets. During the initial "play" and "experiement" phase, don't do "heavy" or permanent programming. Assuming you are going to be programming, learning, making mistakes, erasing everything and starting over again. This will lead to the best long term results and the most satisfaction.
Manually Programming Your PRO-106
Now, to program one of these systems into your PRO-106, here are the steps.
Press the
PGM button
The last line of the display will show "softkey" values of NEW EDIT GLOB.
To add something
NEW, press the F1 button under NEW.
The last line of the diplay will change the "softkey" values to TGRP CONV SRCH
Press the F1 button to select
TGRP
Press the
LEFT or
RIGHT arrow on the large rocker switch to select one or more Scan Lists to which you'll be assigning some system talkgroups. To "set" the Scan List, press the SEL button (middle of the large rocker switch). Note that when you do this, you'll toggle on and off that scanlist assignment (indicated by the asterisk next to the number).
Press the
DOWN arrow to program the basic trunk system (
TSYS) information.
Assuming you are programming a
NEW system into your radio, press the
LEFT or
RIGHT arrow until you see "TSYS: NEW" then press the
SEL button.
The top of the display should now show "
Trunked System".
At this point you need to tell the radio what type of system you are programming
- MOT 800/900
- MOT VHF/UHF
- P25 MANUAL
- P25 AUTO
For the system we've identified above (and for most P25 systems), scroll RIGHT to "
P25 AUTO" and then press the SEL button.
Press the
DOWN arrow to the line that reads "Tag:System". This is where you can set the name of the system you are adding. Press
SEL, set the name with the keypad, and then press the
DONE (F1) softkey.
Press the
DOWN arrow to the line that reads "Frequencies" and then press
SEL. The top of the display will now read "System Freqs.".
As discussed, for a typical P25 system, you *might* get away with only the site's single system frequency - the (
RED) primary control channel. However, you'll probably want to program in at least all of the primary and secondary (
BLUE) frequencies. In some cases, you may need to program ALL of them (which never hurts - it just takes more time).
Decide for youself which freuqencies you'll be entering. For now, do them all - it's good practice.
Press the
SEL button to select a frequency slot and enter the first frequency (854.0625) and then press the
Done (F1) softkey.
To add more frequencies, press the
DOWN arrow and repeat the process.
Once you have entered all of your frequencies, press the
Save (F1) softkey.
To save all of your programming to this point, press the
Save (F1) softkey again. The system (
TSYS) have now been created and stored.
At this point, you have a system programmed but essentially no "talkgroups" (
TGRP) defined.
Also at this point, the program interface will automatically create for you what is called a "wildcard talkgroup" which you should see on the next line of the display. The wildcard
TGRP will look for and stop on ANY active talkgroup on the system. It's not a bad place to start when you just programmed a new system to ensure you've programmed it correctly.
Note the top line - the scanlist number should have an astrisk next to it - this is (at least one) of the scan lists that you are assigned your system talkgroups into.
Press the
DOWN arrow to the "ID: Wildcard" line and press
SEL. This is where you enter a talkgroup (
TGRP) id. You'll come back to this later when adding (or editing) known talkgroups.
Press the
DOWN arrow once - this is the "Type" of object you are creating. We'll stick to (leave unchanged) "Type: Group" for now.
Press the
DOWN arrow again to the "Tag:" line. This is the label or "Alpha Tag" that will be displayed when the radio stops on this
TGRP. Edit if you wish by pressing
SEL.
To stop programming here and test the system with a wildcard, press the
Save (F1) softkey.
This should put you back at the "Select object type to create" screen.
You have just programmed your first trunk radio system into your scanner.
To test your programming - first and most importantly - you must be in range of the system (obviously).
So assuming you are (or at least believe you are), press the
SCAN button. The display will show "Scanning" and the list of active Scan Lists.
Press (toggle) on and off the Scan Lists with the numeric keypad until the number of the scanlist you used in your programming above is showing up on the display (not a 'dot').
If you are in range and have programmed the system correctly, you should see a blinking interted
"T" near the left side of the top line of the display. Note: when a voice call occurs, the
"T" will disappear and the display will show information about the active talkgroup (just a
TGRP id unless you've programmed some talkgroups and their labels/alpha tags).
Fingers crossed - you are hearing users talking!
One last thing - when the radio stops on a talkgroup that is not programmed (using the Wildcard), the last line of the display will show you some options. The most important option is the one on the lower right - "
STOR". When a wildcard talkgroup is active, you can press the
STOR (F3) softkey. This will save that talkgroup into your programming which can make it easier later to go back and update your talkgroup programming by just adding the labels/alpha tags for those talkgroups.
That's more than enough for now -- good luck!
