Question regarding setting avoids with Sentinel

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GregOH

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I've wrote the MARCS system to an SD card once before and when I did avoids for departments, I opened up each county and avoided the departments I didn't want to scan. My question is, do I have to do it that way, or if I don't want to scan any departments of a county can I simply right click on the county in the side pane and avoid it all that way?
 
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hiegtx

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I've wrote the MARCS system to an SD card once before and when I did avoids for departments, I opened up each county and avoided the departments I didn't want to scan. My question is, do I have to do it that way, or if I don't want to scan any departments of a county can I simply right click on the county in the side pane and avoid it all that way?
Yes, you can set Avoids in either the Favorites List Editor, or on the main screen of Sentinel.

If the ones you want to select for 'Avoid' or delete are shown consecutively, click on the first one, then hold down the Shift key & select the last one in the list. Then, <right><click> on one of the selected items & choose delete or avoid. If they are not listed consecutively, hold down the Control key as you select the candidates to be avoided or deleted, then right click & choose the action desired.
 

elijam1

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GregOH, when I program MARCS, I set up favorites that have varying ranges or geographical areas. For each one, I “avoid” all of the county talkgroup groupings at what I believe you are calling the county level. I do the same with the sites. Then I go back for each favorite list and remove the avoids for just those counties or agencies I want to listen to. Then only in those un-avoided groupings do I have to avoid specific departments inside the county grouping. I do the same with tower sites. I only monitor a few sites in each favorite list. I hope this helps.
 

a388sig2

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Another suggestion is to add Quick Key numbers to departments and deselect the numbers you don’t want.
 

GregOH

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Yes, you can set Avoids in either the Favorites List Editor, or on the main screen of Sentinel.

If the ones you want to select for 'Avoid' or delete are shown consecutively, click on the first one, then hold down the Shift key & select the last one in the list. Then, <right><click> on one of the selected items & choose delete or avoid. If they are not listed consecutively, hold down the Control key as you select the candidates to be avoided or deleted, then right click & choose the action desired.
That's what I did the first time but I noticed I can avoid a county in the side pane and it will become red text in the side pane because I avoided it there rather than in the main field. I figure if I can do it this way, I won't have to highlight the first department, hold shift, highlight all of them and left click avoid.
 

GregOH

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Another suggestion is to add Quick Key numbers to departments and deselect the numbers you don’t want.
I don't use QK's, I've found it to be much easier (for me) to permanently avoid everything I don't want to scan which is a huge chunk of the system.
 

GregOH

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I'll just keep the whole system onboard with only sites avoided and add a Tuscarawas county favorite and avoid the sites I don't wish to scan and some departments I don't want to scan this time around.
 

buddrousa

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Upman posted the limit but I do not remember the number. I will see if I can search it out.
Search Avoids – You can temporarily Avoid up to 250 frequencies and permanently Avoid up to 250 frequencies in any Search mode or Close Call mode.
 
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hiegtx

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Upman posted the limit but I do not remember the number. I will see if I can search it out.
Search Avoids – You can temporarily Avoid up to 250 frequencies and permanently Avoid up to 250 frequencies in any Search mode or Close Call mode.
I believe that that limit would only apply to 'Avoids' of unwanted channels when Searching, or unwanted hits found by Close Call. I could be mistaken, but I don't think that limit applies to avoids in a Favorites list; only to Search or Close Call hits.
 

phask

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I just remember it had a limit that is why I looked it up and posted the answer.

I don't remember any mention of a limit, at least on the SDS, but I could be wrong. I will say I do similar avoids on Ohio Marcs and probably have close to a 1000. This includes parts of W VA and Nationwide systems. I have a geographical large area in a fav. list. Using avoids helps when updating from the full DB.
 

Ubbe

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It's only temporary avoids you normally do while scanning or searching, and can also be done in the Search/CloseCall tab in Sentinels profiles, that have that 254 limit. Permanent avoids you do are always stored in the favorite file and have no limits.

/Ubbe
 

a388sig2

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I don't use QK's, I've found it to be much easier (for me) to permanently avoid everything I don't want to scan which is a huge chunk of the system.

I find it easier to got into a spreadsheet, assign everything I don't want to QK "0," if I need it for some silly reason they're quickly available.
 

GregOH

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I find it easier to got into a spreadsheet, assign everything I don't want to QK "0," if I need it for some silly reason they're quickly available.
Avoids can also be removed easily. I guess it comes down to personal preference.
I just think it's pointless to scan sites and Tg's that are located in counties I haven't been to and may never go to, so I see my avoids as a "set and forget" approach and it's worked out well.
 

GregOH

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Anyway, back to my original question. I'll use Adams County for example since it's at the top of the list. I open up Adams County in the side pane and I go to the main field and avoid all TGID's. However, I can also right click Adams County in the side pane also without avoiding any TGID's in the main field.

I don't remember using Edit Favorites List the last time I wrote to an SD card and I only remember using it to set alert lights. Just wondering if by avoiding the County in the side pane will avoid all the TGID's for the County without having to do anything in the main field, or Edit Favorites list for that matter?

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