Help with ProVoice upgrade

[curtisa]

Good morning all,
Two weeks ago I had purchased the Home Patrol II for the sole purpose of listening to the San Antonio Fire Department. I wasn't receiving anything and after explaining my situation on this forum, you all informed me that SAFD is on ProVoice and the HPII can't receive those transmissions. So I sent it back and got the BCD436HP, purchased and installed the ProVoice upgrade and I'm still not receiving any SAFD transmissions. I verify that by turning on my scanner app on my phone. The scanner also says that the upgrade is complete.

So, anybody have any ideas as to what I'm overlooking? Do I need to get the frequencies from RR and program them into the scanner? Super frustrated!

Also,are the Sentinel software versions that I downloaded onto my PC for both the HPII and the 436 the same? The 436 software says that I need to download a new version(Sentinel)2.0) before I can update the data base. Thanks for any input from you all!
Curtis

 

[phask]

Yes 2 versions, and you will not receive any PV untillyou update the DB, and that depends on if it is in Sentinel.


Link to the system - no idea what SAFD is.

 

[jonwienke]

Get the latest version of Sentinel (follow the prompts in the existing version), and install it.

Then update the database and write to scanner.

The database that ships with the scanner is basically a placeholder until you download the most recent one. It's several years old.

 

[curtisa]

Well I don't know how I managed it but I got everything working now. I have checked the database over and over and never saw all the frequencies that I was wanting until I somehow stumbled onto them. Tried writing them over to the scanner and, Voila!! I'm so out of touch with technology so this was quite an accomplishment for me! My previous scanner days goes back to the time when you had to insert the crystals!

phask, jonweinke, thanks for responding! It's much appreciated!!

 

[jbella]

If I programmed a PV system prior to buying the upgrade, then apply the upgrade, will I be able to monitor after the upgrade or will I have to reprogram the system? It is set as EDACS wide (which it is).

I'm traveling and not taking my programming computer.

 

[ChrisABQ]

If everything was programmed correctly, it will automatically work. However, if the system is programmed wrong (i.e. wide or narrow/standard), it will not work. Wide is a 4800 baud rate control channel and narrow/standard is 9600 baud rate. It must match the system that it is.

 

[jbella]

Hah. Funny you should reply. That's where I'm headed (at least for a day). It's set as wide in Sentinel.

 

[Go-West]

I've had mine working since February when the frequencies went down 15 Mhz. It sounds very quiet and works well for one of their activities. Look for talk groups with 02-130 // 140 in that range.

 

[ChrisABQ]

My apologies, after looking again, it's wide/standard and narrow. If it's set to wide, it will work. Lot's of activity on the system. Have fun while you're here.

 

[jbella]

How much is encrypted on the ABQ system?

Seems I'm only hearing AFD Alarm and Intercom. No TACs and no PD either. Getting hits on the Foothills dispatch but no voice.

I'm out by the airport for a few days.