Can the 50 max be increased using Butel SW w/GPS control?

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W4UVV

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I am trying to program my new 536 scanner. Thank heavens I am intimately familiar with the 396XT/996XT using Butel ARCXTPRO software otherwise I would have had more frustrations. I do not understand why Uniden set a maximum 50 mile reception range. For example, in Virginia some of the statewide STARS vhf trs repeater sites are located on mountaintops easily received at a 75 air mile range. I know because using my 996XT mobile with GPS control I can receive them when traveling across the state at least 75 air miles away or further..

My Butel ARC536PRO software allows me enter a 100 mile range for a site. My question is if I am mobile and my 536 is under GPS control and my Butel ARC536PRO range setting is "100" range for whatever sites in my Favorites List I am scanning will my 536 scanner accept the "100" mile range or I am I constrained to a "50" mile range because someone at Uniden thought that was the maximum a user should have.

We already have seen that there were complaints about an original "30" mile restriction and it was changed to "50" when it should have been changed to "100".

Am I Uniden 536 OS constrained to a "50" mile range max or will the 536 GPS control recognize a "100" mile range max setting? If not where do I go to complain to Uniden about it. A better common sense design question is why didn't Uniden design a user selectable range, i.e., 5.10,.....etc. to 100?

John

W4UVV
 

UPMan

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If the distance from you to the site is less than (site range) + (scanner range setting) then the site will be scanned. Whether you can receive it will depend on signal conditions.

For example, if the site range in the db is 100 miles, and the scanner's range setting is 0 miles, the site will be scanned any time you are within 100 miles of the site. If the scanner's range setting is 50 miles, then the site will be scanned any time you are within 150 miles of the site.
 

W4UVV

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I think I understand

If the distance from you to the site is less than (site range) + (scanner range setting) then the site will be scanned. Whether you can receive it will depend on signal conditions.

For example, if the site range in the db is 100 miles, and the scanner's range setting is 0 miles, the site will be scanned any time you are within 100 miles of the site. If the scanner's range setting is 50 miles, then the site will be scanned any time you are within 150 miles of the site.

I think I understand your example. Please correct me if I don't. I am a slow learner. Currently in the 536 I manually set the range for all systems for "50". In Sentinel software I successfully created one Favorites List called "VIRGINIA FL" with appended selected Nationwide, Statewide and Virginia counties, cities, etc., I wanted to monitor. One of radio systems is the "STARS" statewide vhf system. All the STARS sites were selected for monitoring. Using Butel ARC536PRO software with my "VIRGINIA FL" favorites list opened for editing one site I selected was the "STARS VSP Division 6 Salem Site "Long Mountain" and I changed the range to "100". I saved the FL and wrote the updated "VIRGINIA FL" to the 536.

If mobile with the "VIRGINIA FL" favorites list selected and my GPS is on controlling the 536 and I am 175 miles from the lat/long of the "STARS Division 6 Salem "Long Mountain" site my 536 WILL NOT scan for that site. However, when I am 150 miles or less from that site my 536 WILL scan for that site. Is this a correct interpretation of your reply? If not please correct me. Tnx.

John
 

UPMan

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Currently in the 536 I manually set the range for all systems for "50"

I don't know what you mean by the above in light of your later statement:

Using Butel ARC536PRO software with my "VIRGINIA FL" favorites list opened for editing one site I selected was the "STARS VSP Division 6 Salem Site "Long Mountain" and I changed the range to "100".

By "the scanner's range setting" I mean the setting selected after you press the RANG button.
 

W4UVV

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I had difficulties creating a Favorites List

I don't know what you mean by the above in light of your later statement:



By "the scanner's range setting" I mean the setting selected after you press the RANG button.

I had difficulties using Sentinel software in creating a Favorites List. Although at initial setup I successfully entered a range of "50" somehow I did something(s) wrong later doing file transfers and kept getting "Nothing to Scan" displays after attempting to create a Favorites List to load correctly. Troubleshooting as to what I had done wrong, which I never discovered, when manually checking the 536 menu options settings I noticed "range" somehow had reset to "0". So I changed the value to "50". I finally was successful in getting the Favorites List to load and scan. Subsequently I read the file into Butel ARC536PRO and have edited and made updated hpd file transfers to the 536 with no problem.

John
 

eaf1956

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I think he means he set the scanner to a 50 mile range. Can't see why he would set the tower ranges of everything to 50 miles. I have the opposite problem, my scanner tries to scan things way out of range for 800 MHz. I set all my tower ranges to 10 miles and the scanner range to 0 miles and pick up everything I can pick up. Did have to add more range to the Kentucky State towers in the 400 MHz range. No big deal though, waiting to get the scanner (BCD536HP) back from UNIDEN.
 

eaf1956

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Ok, that value does not affect sites/departments ranges at all. You should probably review the following explanation from the HomePatrol-1 (works the same on these models): How it Works: Location, Location, Location

I your reply was for me, my 536 is on a GPS and without changing the tower ranges it tries to pick up towers on IN SAFE-T that I can't even pick up on my base antenna. I set each tower range to 10 miles and the scanner range to 0.0 miles and it scans the towers I can pick up. ie Henderson, KY, Evansville, Marrs Center. Without changing the tower ranges it tries to scan Santa Claus, Princeton, Boonville, and a bunch of other SAFE-T towers which I don't even get the control channel reception on.
 

W4UVV

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That is what I attempted to say

I think he means he set the scanner to a 50 mile range. Can't see why he would set the tower ranges of everything to 50 miles. I have the opposite problem, my scanner tries to scan things way out of range for 800 MHz. I set all my tower ranges to 10 miles and the scanner range to 0 miles and pick up everything I can pick up. Did have to add more range to the Kentucky State towers in the 400 MHz range. No big deal though, waiting to get the scanner (BCD536HP) back from UNIDEN.

That is what I attempted to say. My 536's range is set to a 50 miles maximum. I use the Butel ARC536PRO to set the ranges for those radio systems with which I wish to have a greater monitoring mileage range than 50 miles. I did not know whether or not my Butel SW FL updated file writes to the 536 overrode i.e., modified the scanner's maximum range value to greater than 50 miles or whether the 536 ignored whatever greater mileage ranges I had entered in Butel SW and the maximum range still would be 50.

John
 

W4UVV

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Thanks for your help

I your reply was for me, my 536 is on a GPS and without changing the tower ranges it tries to pick up towers on IN SAFE-T that I can't even pick up on my base antenna. I set each tower range to 10 miles and the scanner range to 0.0 miles and it scans the towers I can pick up. ie Henderson, KY, Evansville, Marrs Center. Without changing the tower ranges it tries to scan Santa Claus, Princeton, Boonville, and a bunch of other SAFE-T towers which I don't even get the control channel reception on.

Thanks for your reply and help. I think the changes I made will work as expected. I previously had programed most of the state of Virginia radio systems for my 396XT and 996XT. I did not purchase the Home Patrol model for a couple of reasons and therefore am not familiar with its' unique features. I bought the 536 primarily because of the APCO 25 Phase II demodulation feature. A few counties are already Phase II and most new trs in VA will be Phase II capable. After seeing this Virginia database, which was no surprise to me, I will be quite busy making adds/changes/deletes to incorrect and missing frequencies/talkgroups, etc.to many of my FL radio systems using Butel ARC536PRO to import selected 996XT files for editing and subsequently transferring to my 536.

John
 
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