Just curious if anyone here is near South Dakota? They changed over to the P25 system and I loaded Sentinel software for the Home Patrol 2 and did the complete Database Update as it showed there was an update. After entering my Zip Code, the scanner does not pick up anything like it did new out of the box. I also did the Firmware Update as it showed that was available too. It's my understanding that Sentinel gets its database from RadioReference? If so the database on there should be correct as I did the database updates to my 3 BCD996P2 scanners without fail. Any help or ideas would be appreciated! Thanks! Hope I posted this in the correct area of this Forum.
HP-2: Updating Database on Home Patrol 2 after State Change to P25
- Thread starter timbuktu
- Start date
Did you select Force Full Write Database when you wrote to the scanner? If you did not, then Sentinel has updated data but the scanner does not. Do you see the system in Sentinel ?
Yes, did the Force Full Database. I did as I looked over some of it and it had the updated DEC numbers for the different agencies. I did mess with it long enough to get some local stuff to come across but it's belongs to a friend and I wanted it to work just like it did out of the box, by entering the zip code and it should work. Thinking it has something to do with the Site Tower for our area.
What is the date of the database version in Sentinel, and on the scanner itself?
Also, when did you try to do this? Today? Or some other time in this last week (or even earlier)?
See the comments in this thread, started by someone else in your state: Sentinel: - My town just went P25
For your county, Madison, the site on the statewide P25 system was entered into the online RR database last Monday (10/23). But that was after the database update for that week. (Uniden gathers the changes noted on Sundays, and the database updates for Sentinel & the scanners are scheduled to be released the following Monday). So, if you were trying to do this any time earlier than mid-morning today, you still have the old database version, and the Madison site was not there. That's similar to the issue in the thread I noted above. The OP in that thread was trying to receive Clay County, also on the new system. But the site for that county was not entered into the online database until last Monday, so it also was not present in the Sentinel (& scanner) database until today's update. It is now present in the database dated 10/29/2023.
The Lake County site (Madison) was not in last week's Sentinel database, but it is in the update released today. Since you are a Premium Subscriber, you can import the corrected details via import is you have Butel's ARC Patrol. ProScan does not support the HP-1/HP-2 series scanners. But if you do have ProScan, as well as the Sentinel version for the x36HP & SDS series scanners, you can import the system into the version for the newer scanners, then export it into an *.hpe file that can then be imported into Sentinel for the HP-1/-2.
You can, of course, append the system into a Favorites list in the HP-1/-2 version of Sentinel. But if you had already done that, you cannot. directly, append a site into a system already in place. What you can do, though, is delete the system & then append the corrected system. You can also, temporarily, rename the P25 Phase II system to something other than the same name as in the database. Then, you can append the Phase II system so that you can get the site details to use in the system already created.
I tried doing it on Saturday, and yes, I wasn't able to see the updated Madison Site so hopefully that was the issue. I will get the scanner back again and do a Reset on the scanner then do the Sentinel Force Update and try punching in the zip code and see what happens.
I used FreeScan on my 3 BCD996P2 scanners using RR and they all 3 work perfect. The Home Patrol 2 isn't mine and so I used the software that it comes with, Sentinel, and did the Full Force Update. Reading other posts here I think Uniden didn't have the Site I need in the update so will get the scanner back and start over. Thanks for the help.
If you look at the change history for the system, you can see that the site for your county (Lake) was updated last Monday, 10/23. It is in the database version released today. So, for your friend's HP-2, you can append what you want after doing the database update. It would also scan if using the main database, along with location control & the service types of interest after today's update.
Note that you can have Sentinel (including the version for the HP-1/-2) create a list for you. Set your desired location & range. (More on how location works can be found here: How it Works: Location, Location, Location) Verify that you have the desired service types enabled, When the scanner is first shipped, as well as when Sentinel is first installed, only Dispatch service types for Public Safety are enabled: Law Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, EMS Dispatch, and Multi-Dispatch. You should also enable the Tac and Talk service types for these: Law Talk, Fire Tac, etc. Service type Custom 1 is also enabled, and is the default type used whenever you are creating Departments & channels manually'
With the location, range, and service types in place in Sentinel, select the drop-down Edit menu. On that menu, select "Add Channels in Range".
You'll get a pop-up menu to verify the location, range, & Service type settings you are using, and once you click OK on that, Sentinel will ask whether to add these to an existing Favorites list, or if a new list is wanted, for a name for that new list.
Once you proceed, Sentinel will create a Favorites list based on what you've selected. The list created can be used as a starting point, and then edited to concentrate on exactly what you want. That at least gives you a starting point to familiarize how a Favorites list can be set up.
If your friend is only using full database (zip code) and not favorite lists, then next Monday afternoon, read scanner into sentinel, update sentinel database, write to scanner, select force full write database. That's it.
If fav list is in use or wanted, definitely do the Add Channels On Range that Steve described above. That is the fastest and easiest way to create a favorites list.
Doing the Reset of scanner and redoing the Force Update solved the problem. As stated above, RR might have been up to date but going through Sentinel wasn't till Monday, last night the 30th. Works as normal now. Thanks to all that responded!!!!
