Favorite List - Nothing To Scan???

[greggk]

I often get a message that says the names do not match in Sentinel and the scanner; I just hit the skip button. Once I checked one of the other options , don't recall which one, and it wrote two exact favorites to my scanner. Then, nothing would scan because the original scan list was not correct to start with. It takes both a lot of patience and a willingness to study/learn if you want to master this beast; also a lot of frustration. In the end I think its worth it.

 

[RF23]

Well glad I am not the only defect to roam the earth!

I think in the end the problem was the Service Type because I started a Favorites List from scratch and the Service Type default is Custom 1, but there is also no drop down menu to give me the choice or options.

I reality, I probably missed the frequency and/or Talk Group on the first few passes, but after making sure I was on the right track, after about the 10th upload and being pretty sure I was set up properly and still was getting the Nothing To Scan message, I knew there was something wrong.

I think in the EDIT mode for your FL at the "Channel level" you must double click on the "Service Type" for each channel to get the drop down menu of all "Service Types". You cannot add to, subtract from, or change the name of any of the already defined "Service Types" therefore you must use the drop down list to chance them.

 

[JamesO]

I think in the EDIT mode for your FL at the "Channel level" you must double click on the "Service Type" for each channel to get the drop down menu of all "Service Types". You cannot add to, subtract from, or change the name of any of the already defined "Service Types" therefore you must use the drop down list to chance them.

Keep the comments coming, I will not be the only one to learn from this.

N0DUG, your comment made me look a bit closer.

So what happens when you start a new, virgin, from scratch Favorites List, the Service Type defaults to Custom 1. When you click on the Service Type box, the software does open a drop box, BUT, what you see is ONLY Custom 1- Custom 8. What is happening is the Service Type drop box is scrolled to the END of the list by DEFAULT. The OTHER 30 Service Types are listed, but they are not visible as the stupid drop box is scrolled to the end by default! After fighting with the software and scanner for about 30 minutes, I was not patient enough to think to myself, hey, maybe the software monkeys defaulted a drop box to the end/bottom of the scroll!!!! Well stupid me to not thinking outside the box!!

BAD software design. BAD software implementation.

IF Uniden would have a Service Type "Wild Card" this should be the DEFAULT. This would allow the frequency/channel/Talk Group to be scanned regardless of the Service Type selected.

If this would be implemented, then we would not even be having this discussion and there would be a whole lot of first time users that are not so frustrated..

The end user should not have to "get inside the head" of the software programmers.

Uniden should also color code the "REQUIRED" data fields that are necessary for scanning and the software should alert the user if something is missing. Come on guys, a trunking system without frequencies or Talk Groups will not work. I guess a trunking system without Talk Groups would work if it was in ID Search mode, but come on, if you are programming something, likely you would want to listen to specific users.

I have NO/ZERO tolerance for sloppy and bad software. You release crap, it becomes legacy and EVERYONE has to suffer through and live with it. Just ask the Health Care Website users!! We should not become prisoners and victims of some code jockey that has never had to use the software. My test case is can my mother or wife figure it out easily? If no, try again, not good enough.

Does anyone even Beta test the software or use it, or do they just take the word of the programmers the software is working and ready to go?

It took me less than 2 minutes, using the software the way it was designed to be used to be burned by this stupid little issue. If the software is not supposed to allow you to create a from scratch Favorites List, I should not have been allowed to get as far as I did.

Lock me in a room with the software team, the will have a new outlook at the end of the day, I have been dealing with the daycare center and class clowns for YEARS. No talk, listen and do.

 

[phask]

I know what you are saying, but a wild card just defeats the entire service type (Here in after referred to as ST) idea.

Now if you create your own from scratch - again it's a non-issue - everyone would be custom1, just make sure it's on. As I said before - have all ST on in your profile and your scanner is using wild card.

As many issues where someone does not have the correct ST enabled; I'm sure there would be way more issues if it was everything on by default.

At least for me if you CLICK on the ST box it shows ALL the ST with Custom in the middle. Now if you SCROLL - it goes through the list.

As much as Sentinel does not follow Windows norms, I believe this is the norm for a drop down.

Tested with both versions of Sentinel - HP1 and BcDx version and both perform the same.

I do not know what your issue is - but that is how it works. You also cannot create one with ST blank - can't happen.

As to seeing changes, it's been pretty much the same since day1 with minor changes.

I agree it needs some work, but I would not expect it to be a high priority.

 

[JamesO]

I know what you are saying, but a wild card just defeats the entire service type (Here in after referred to as ST) idea.

Now if you create your own from scratch - again it's a non-issue - everyone would be custom1, just make sure it's on. As I said before - have all ST on in your profile and your scanner is using wild card.

As many issues where someone does not have the correct ST enabled; I'm sure there would be way more issues if it was everything on by default.

At least for me if you CLICK on the ST box it shows ALL the ST with Custom in the middle. Now if you SCROLL - it goes through the list.

As much as Sentinel does not follow Windows norms, I believe this is the norm for a drop down.

Tested with both versions of Sentinel - HP1 and BcDx version and both perform the same.

I do not know what your issue is - but that is how it works. You also cannot create one with ST blank - can't happen.

As to seeing changes, it's been pretty much the same since day1 with minor changes.

I agree it needs some work, but I would not expect it to be a high priority.

The Wild Card would not defeat the purpose of the ST, it would just ignore any ST set to off in the scanner. It actually gives the users another option and likely useful option and can add another useful dimension to the ST feature. Additionally having a firmware hook in the scanner to basically ignore all programmed ST so everything can be scanned is anther powerful feature and adds another useful dimension to the ST idea.

A Wild Care would allow folks coming from the 15/396/996 platforms to continue on as they know the world then implement the ST when they get the hang of it. If everyone coming into these scanners is running into the ST feature causing the scanner to not do its job, scanning, then this is a problem. I would bet that over 75% of the users have been burned by the ST feature.

For folks that have had time on the HP1, the ST may be familiar, but for folks new to the HP platforms, like I am, there will be a RUDE awakening.

As for my issue with the software, why in the world does the ST default to Custom 1and the drop box ONLY display Custom 1 through Custom 8. This is not the norm. If I select Aircraft in the ST, then when I click the box again, it displays from Aircraft and below. If I select any other item it the list, it open from the selected item and shows the other 7 items below it. Really simple fix, have the ST default to Aircraft and color code the REQUIRED fields. Even better, have the ST default to ALL (What I would use for the Wild Card) and if the user does nothing else the scanner will function and scan as expected. Unfortunately All is not alphabetically before Aircraft so the programmers will actually have to think and use their head to solve this one!

Having a drop box open with the scroll to the at the bottom of the list is not the norm. This is part of the reason it is referred to as a drop box, usually they open at the top of the list. Custom 1 meant nothing to me, if I would have seen any other ST, then I would have known what was as I have played with the HP1 a small amount and seen the general listing of ST, had NO IDEA there were 30 ST until I counted them in the drop box.

The thing is many of these changes are very trivial, should be considered and probably should be changed. Might take the writer of the software less than an hour, maybe just minutes, yes some testing will be needed to make sure there are no side effects of changes, but I can tell you after working with programmers for YEARS, there can be far more talk about how and why something can't or should be be changed then just changing the code. Many programmers think they are artists and do not want anyone to question or change their masterpiece.

Again, no tolerance for this foolishness.

 

[tcainbur]

I had the same issue when making a system in Sentinel Software. I went back in and in the options tab, changed Location Control to NO. reloaded and the favorites worked.

 

[JamesO]

I had the same issue when making a system in Sentinel Software. I went back in and in the options tab, changed Location Control to NO. reloaded and the favorites worked.

Another good point, maybe another pitfall that many users can fall in.

I have not even dealt with the Location Control aspect yet as I knew this would just complicate matters for the moment.

 

[freqhopping]

So, are you still getting Nothing to Scan?

 

[JamesO]

No, I just imported/appended the some of the local area systems into the my Favorites List for now and got things working.

It appears, have not gone back to replicate it, that the Service Type may have been the problem.

The FL I generated from scratch defaulted to Custom 1. Even if it would have defaulted to Aircraft there would have still been an issue. For anyone new to the HP platform, I can see how easily it is to get trapped in this pitfall with the Service Type causing Nothing To Scan or missing specific traffic.

 

[phask]

I had the same issue when making a system in Sentinel Software. I went back in and in the options tab, changed Location Control to NO. reloaded and the favorites worked.

Location is NO by default.

 

[Dafe1er]

No, I just imported/appended the some of the local area systems into the my Favorites List for now and got things working.

This is what we have been waiting for. Now try to please enjoy your new toy my friend!

 

[ofd8001]

Thanks for the response and info.

Here is what I have found. These features only work inside the table and not the tree.

I need to remove, copy and deal with MANY records higher out in the tree.

For example VA State STARS system has like 50 transmitter sites. I only want 1 or 2.

I have to individually delete each transmit site one at a time and even confirm each deletion.

So unless there is something I am missing, the software is missing the ability to fully edit higher level folders in the tree, it only allow modifying individual records at the lowest level of the tree/file structure.

What you are missing is a little guidance and practice/experience with the Sentinel program. Any level of the tree can have things removed from it. It's all there in the right pane. Highlight and click the red X, answer the "are you sure" question and they be gone.

Back in my younger years, I did a fair amount of software writing. No matter how hard I tried to make it user-friendly to every possible user, that was an impossible task. What some folks love, others hate. So Uniden or any other entity writing software probably will be unable to come up with something everyone loves.

 

[JamesO]

What you are missing is a little guidance and practice/experience with the Sentinel program. Any level of the tree can have things removed from it. It's all there in the right pane. Highlight and click the red X, answer the "are you sure" question and they be gone.

Back in my younger years, I did a fair amount of software writing. No matter how hard I tried to make it user-friendly to every possible user, that was an impossible task. What some folks love, others hate. So Uniden or any other entity writing software probably will be unable to come up with something everyone loves.

OK, a few minutes ago I figured out MY problem with editing Departments. I was expanding the Department name, then attempting to batch edit from the expanded list.

What I realized is I cannot expand the Department list, I have to Select the Department List and it will then expand on the right side of the screen, then I can batch edit as I would have expected.

My issue is with all the web based and Excel things I deal with, this is a very different from what I deal with on a daily basis.

So again my bad on this one, but will encouragement/other comments from other users claiming this feature actually was possible, I had to try over and over and over again until I realized I cannot expand the Department list.

Anyway, this was the end result I was looking for, it should not be this darn difficult and I deal with a lot of software and it tripped me up.

 

[greggk]

James, I believe you only had the unit for a few days. This is a new and very complicated piece of electronics. I have owned scanners since 1972...but this one had me stumped. I spent hours and hours and I mean Hours, looking over the sentinel software and, picking up the scanner in hand, pushing buttons to see what they did.

It will not come to you in one week. Sorry, but just my thoughts.

Greg

 

[JamesO]

James, I believe you only had the unit for a few days. This is a new and very complicated piece of electronics. I have owned scanners since 1972...but this one had me stumped. I spent hours and hours and I mean Hours, looking over the sentinel software and, picking up the scanner in hand, pushing buttons to see what they did.

It will not come to you in one week. Sorry, but just my thoughts.

Greg

I agree, it will come in due time, but this is totally ridiculous that anyone has to live through this mess. I am not the only one.

But with firmware changes coming, there may be more learning curves as menus are added, things may move etc, but I can adjust as needed for this.

Interestingly I had posted some of these comments in the Firmware Wish List thread and someone just stated that they see all 30 Service Type and more than 8 Customs. Not sure if there is a different/newer Sentinel software of things are displayed in more ways on different platforms.

I have been playing for a while here and interestingly the drop down tab is not visible in the Service Type UNTIL you click on and highlight and ENTER the Service Type box. This may have also been what lead me astray earlier when playing with the software.

My issue is if it would not be for a community of users some of these issues may take days/weeks/months to figure out.

I am still pissed about the stupid and incomplete implementation of the Service Type. This is a great feature, it just needs 2 things added to make it a fantastic and far more flexible feature and would eliminate the pitfalls of users missing traffic due to Service Type restricting the ability to scan things not correctly configured.

No Help feature the software. Nowhere have I found a simple example with screen shots of how to set up a trunked system with screen shots and notation of required/important fields.

We have all become accustom to hacking trough life due to lack of documentation and or instruction or examples.

This is why/how I finally figured out how to append/import something from the MDB so I could look at how a working system would appear and what the key fields are.

 

[JoeyC]

The Sentinel software has its limitations but most software packages do. Despite the limitations, the scanner is very flexible and many of the complaints about the things it can not do can be accomplished with a little creative thinking. There is no Service Types ALL button but you certainly can select all service types (or as Uniden calls it, Typses) to scan, as a default. When there are times you want to exclude certain services from scanning, duplicate the FL into another and edit it appropriately. Change FLs when the urge hits you to limit your scan choices, or utilize creativity when it comes to all the Quick Key options.

I still don't see what your complaint about editing Service Types is and only being able to see the Custom lists. I click on the dropdown box and it opens with I believe 28 options and a verticle scroll bar for the rest.

Are there things in the software and firmware I would change? You bet but just about everything you can imagine can be accomplished as is, if you work at it. You may sacrifice scanning speed and/or create a lot of duplication in the programming, but most everything is attainable.

 

[JamesO]

I still don't see what your complaint about editing Service Types is and only being able to see the Custom lists. I click on the dropdown box and it opens with I believe 28 options and a verticle scroll bar for the rest.

My complaint is it that it is unclear that the Service Type is such a controlling factor in the scanner by default.

The software does not have anything highlighted that indicates things are critical or important.

The Service Type drop box does not show the down arrow until you actually enter the box.

When I actually clicked on the box and expanded it, my software/computer ONLY shows 8 lines and since the Service Type defaulted to Custom 1, I was only able to see Custom 1 - Custom 8.

It was not until I went back for about the 30th time to look everything over did I realize that the Service Type box is scrolled to the bottom by default and once I started to scroll back up the drop box, I started to see about 30 specific Service Types.

So anyone that is setting more than 8 lines in the Service Type drop box, please speak up with your Sentinel software version and computer OS.

Something is up either different version of Sentinel software of the software plays differently on certain OS?

I think many of us have wasted a good part of a day pecking around needlessly with the software and I think basic improvements can and should be made for both the HP1 and x36HP Sentinel programs.

Attached a screen shot of what I see, only 8 lines of the Service Types

 

[ofd8001]

Computer software is like a new pair of shoes: Uncomfortable at first and some times downright painful. But once you get past the break-in process . . .

I too was a little frustrated in the beginning and wished there was a manual or help feature. Then it dawned on me my help feature was this forum which is even better. I can explain what I want to do and get input from others. Manuals are "one way communication".

 

[ofd8001]

"It was not until I went back for about the 30th time to look everything over did I realize that the Service Type box is scrolled to the bottom by default and once I started to scroll back up the drop box, I started to see about 30 specific Service Types."

When you click on the Service Types dropdown box in the right pane, you can type a lettter, such as "F" for fire, or "L" for Law enforcement and the cursor will "jump" or move toward the particular thing.

 

[JamesO]

"It was not until I went back for about the 30th time to look everything over did I realize that the Service Type box is scrolled to the bottom by default and once I started to scroll back up the drop box, I started to see about 30 specific Service Types."

When you click on the Service Types dropdown box in the right pane, you can type a lettter, such as "F" for fire, or "L" for Law enforcement and the cursor will "jump" or move toward the particular thing.

I know these tricks, but what totally threw me for a loop is Custom 1 - Custom 8, did not give me ANY idea that there was anything useful and important in this box. I was somewhat familiar with the Service Type tag from the HP1 and I knew there were usually options like Dispatch, TAC, Talk and so forth, but Custom, did not mean beans to me, so I moved on. FATAL mistake.

But come on, fix this stupid software and/or write a Sentinel Quick Start guide.