Going on long trips

[nepatitan]

Not a new member but I guess this would be a new member type question.
I've never taken my scanner on long trips before. I'd like to tomorrow though. We are traveling from the Poconos to South NJ. The Poconos does not have many systems, fairly easy to program etc. Looking at the NJSP systems is like trying to find a needle in a haystack....
I was thinking about loading the NJSP and interoperability communications systems then going through and locking out anything I don't want to or wont be in the area to listen to.
Is this the best way of programming for long trips?
My one other issue is NJSP is such a huge system, we will also be by Fort Dix and Mcguire so I'd like to have that scanning as well but I have a feeling its going to be scanning so much that I will miss a bunch.
Any help would be great.
Uniden HP2

 

[jonwienke]

GPS is the ONLY practical solution for scanning on long road trips.

Set Range to 5 miles or less, pare active Service Types down to the bare minimum, and scan the Full Database. That's what it's designed for. Trying to make Favorite Lists for a long trip is too complicated, and if you have to make a detour on your route for any reason, you've basically wasted your time.

 

[nepatitan]

GPS is the ONLY practical solution for scanning on long road trips.

Set Range to 5 miles or less, pare active Service Types down to the bare minimum, and scan the Full Database. That's what it's designed for. Trying to make Favorite Lists for a long trip is too complicated, and if you have to make a detour on your route for any reason, you've basically wasted your time.

Thanks for the reply. I don't have the gps for the HP2, guess I should get one, I finally put it in my truck. Not sure if I ever used the find my location feature. I'll try that when we leave tomorrow.

 

[jonwienke]

All you have to do is plug in the GPS, make sure you have the correct baud rate set, and say yes when the scanner asks if you want to use GPS. Don't use auto locate, that has nothing to do with GPS.

 

[jonwienke]

An alternative to the Uniden GPS kit with fewer cables:
https://www.radioreference.com/apps/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=8927&cat=13

 

[nepatitan]

All you have to do is plug in the GPS, make sure you have the correct baud rate set, and say yes when the scanner asks if you want to use GPS. Don't use auto locate, that has nothing to do with GPS.

I guess I could have my gf put in zip codes ever 10 mins lol. Ill look into the gps addition.
I though the autolocate used radio towers or something to kind of triangulate where you are. I'll try it tomorrow but as I said I don't have the gps piece for it (yet)

 

[nepatitan]

An alternative to the Uniden GPS kit with fewer cables:
https://www.radioreference.com/apps/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=8927&cat=13

thats pretty cool, built one for my adsb reciever.

 

[jonwienke]

I though the autolocate used radio towers or something to kind of triangulate where you are.

It spends a few minutes doing a band scan to find trunked sites, then uses the IDs of the sites it finds to estimate a location with a 20-30 mile error. It's not suitable for use when traveling, unless you want the scanner spending more time running auto locate than actually scanning. Having a passenger enter zip codes every 5-10 minutes is actually a much better strategy.

 

[ofd8001]

I guess I could have my gf put in zip codes ever 10 mins lol. Ill look into the gps addition.

That's a "rubber band" solution until you get a GPS device. Tedious but workable.

I though the autolocate used radio towers or something to kind of triangulate where you are.

Auto-locate is a feature that works only on certain types of systems - not every type of system you might come across. For those it does (Motorola and P25 Trunked), it will note the system it receives and will check internal data tables and set the location based on the site received. It isn't very practical when you are on the move however.

 

[nepatitan]

That's a "rubber band" solution until you get a GPS device. Tedious but workable.



Auto-locate is a feature that works only on certain types of systems - not every type of system you might come across. For those it does (Motorola and P25 Trunked), it will note the system it receives and will check internal data tables and set the location based on the site received. It isn't very practical when you are on the move however.

well I'll be looking at the gps, for the time being I wrote down all the zip codes we will be going through.. lol ugh

 

[Ensnared]

Zipcode Book

I guess I could have my gf put in zip codes ever 10 mins lol. Ill look into the gps addition.
I though the autolocate used radio towers or something to kind of triangulate where you are. I'll try it tomorrow but as I said I don't have the gps piece for it (yet)

In a pinch, I have been desperate to get my radio to work, particularly when I did not have enough time to program Favorites. So, if you don't have GPS yes, this method works fairly well. Find the appropriate range for your travels. I set my range between 30-60 miles and go. Eventually, you will hear when the zip needs to be changed.

 

[nepatitan]

In a pinch, I have been desperate to get my radio to work, particularly when I did not have enough time to program Favorites. So, if you don't have GPS yes, this method works fairly well. Find the appropriate range for your travels. I set my range between 30-60 miles and go. Eventually, you will hear when the zip needs to be changed.

my only issue with 30-60 miles is the amount of channels it picks up even using say a 3 services. I tried Morristown, NJ with a 5 mile radius and it still added 300+ channels lol.

 

[jonwienke]

You can't enter a Range value greater than 50 miles.

You don't want to enter a Range value greater than 5 miles, or the scanner will be swamped trying to scan way too much stuff. The number of channels you scan is roughly proportional to the square of the Range value.

 

[ofd8001]

I agree a large Range value in densely populated areas may "grab" a lot of channels - many more than desirable/manageable. On the other hand, when in sparsely populated areas, such as Montana, North Dakota, etc., one may need a large value just to have something to hear. Otherwise, owing to what Service Types are selected, a "Nothing to Scan" condition may arise.

 

[jonwienke]

On the other hand, when in sparsely populated areas, such as Montana, North Dakota, etc., one may need a large value just to have something to hear. Otherwise, owing to what Service Types are selected, a "Nothing to Scan" condition may arise.

The exception, rather than the rule. It's also worth considering that entities in those areas generally have larger service radius settings than typically found in densely populated urban areas.

 

[markjrenna]

You can put in the entire NJSP. Just avoid the calls that come through that are not in your area. You will mostly want Troops C (Central Jersey) and A (South Jersey) as well as the Toll Roads. Parkway and Turnpike if you are on those.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=6452

All you need is the A and C Simulcasts

You may want to avoid the NJICS for anything as it may be hit or miss as to what you can or can't receive on the HP2. Location really matters with this and the LSM issues.

 

[nepatitan]

You can put in the entire NJSP. Just avoid the calls that come through that are not in your area. You will mostly want Troops C (Central Jersey) and A (South Jersey) as well as the Toll Roads. Parkway and Turnpike if you are on those.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=6452

All you need is the A and C Simulcasts

You may want to avoid the NJICS for anything as it may be hit or miss as to what you can or can't receive on the HP2. Location really matters with this and the LSM issues.

I pretty much did that, I waited until I saw new jersey state police as the system and locked it then locked "toll roads patrol" worked pretty good. I just got the gps today, if you or anyone that has responded, do you use two lighter plugs or did you wire in the gps unit to the fuses?

Thanks

 

[jonwienke]

The GPS runs on 5V, so if you cut the lighter plug off and wire it directly to 12V you will fry it.

 

[nepatitan]

The GPS runs on 5V, so if you cut the lighter plug off and wire it directly to 12V you will fry it.

so you use two lighter sockets?

 

[jonwienke]

I used a Y-cable with 2 12V sockets, until I modded my scanner with an internal GPS.