ProScan: Many instances at the same time?

[N9JIG]

I have never used ProScan before so I want to get my ducks all in a row before committing a good chunk of change to this project.

After viewing the shack in this forum thread: https://forums.radioreference.com/pictures-your-shack-mobile-setup/350946-my-little-shack.html I am considering converting my shack to almost complete computer control, at least for my regular scanners. I would be using up to a dozen Uniden BCT15, BCT15X, 996XT, 996P2 and 536HP scanners and would devote a PC specifically for the control of these scanners. I would use these mostly for logging activity on MilAir and Civil air bands with ProScan and perhaps a instance or 2 of Pro96Com or Unitrunker thrown in.

Before I invest in a new PC, cables, the application itself and an audio mixer I want to ask a couple questions to see if it is worthwhile.

1) How many instances of ProScan is practical for a single PC? I plan on probably 10-12 scanners. Can I do this on a single PC?

2) If 10-12 instances will work how much RAM would I need? Would it work with 8GB or would I need more?

3) I would probably use Windows 10 but suppose I could use Windows 7 if needed. Would I have any problems with one or the other?

4) Can I run the audio for these scanners thru the computer so I could bring up a specific scanner or two to listen to while the others log activity in the background?

5) If audio thru the computer is not practical can you suggest a decent audio mixer to support a dozen or more sources? There will also be radios not controlled by ProScan that I might want to run thru a mixer.

I would probably use an Intel NUC i7 with 8 or 16GB of RAM with Windows 10. I would expect to use a couple decent 12-port USB hubs since it only has 4 USB ports on it. I would need 12 USB ports for the radios and probably 12 for sound devices if I would pump the audio thru it.

I also have an older HP Pavilion with an i7 and 9 GB of RAM that I could use but I like the small footprint of the NUC.

Am I looking in the right direction here? The idea is to reduce the clutter, by putting the radios, multicouplers, computer and accessories in a (well ventilated) cabinet under the desk and having only a display, keyboard, mouse and a couple Icoms in the desk the wife will be a lot happier and I can recover some more desktop space. I could also access the scanners from other locations so I wouldn't be stuck in the office when playing radio when I could be out by the pool with a cold drink and hot wife.

 

[buddrousa]

Rich I run 8 with line in scanner 1 left scanner 2 right and 6 usb audio cards. Proscan installed 8 times in 8 different folders. My PC is a Dell Optiplex 755 XEON 3363 quad core 8 GB ram win 7 pro. With this setup I am running about 50% resources so your setup may vary. Looking to try a dual CPU with 16 GB ram for my next PC.

 

[JSTARS03]

Proscan

I have an i5 Processor with 8GB RAM running Windows 7 64 Bit computer
that runs 12 instances of ProScan software with 11 little USB sound devices
and the one line in on the motherboard for recording 12 audios. I have a 12
port USB 2.0 hub and a couple smaller hubs for the USB audio dongles and
control of the radios. I then have Unitrunker and 3 GRE PSR-600 providing
inline data to Unitrunker logging three trunked systems.

I want to add more radios, have been looking into different audio devices, but
looks like I may just get more of those cheap USB audio dongle things.
They do get the job done.


JSTARS03

 

[ProScan]

I would be using up to a dozen Uniden BCT15, BCT15X, 996XT, 996P2 and 536HP scanners

The rear serial port is recommended when using BCD996P2 and BCD536HP because if the machine reboots, the scanner front port loses communications. A scanner power cycle is the only way to get the scanners communicating again.

1) How many instances of ProScan is practical for a single PC? I plan on probably 10-12 scanners. Can I do this on a single PC?

No problems at all. Years ago, I did stress testing with 30 instances running on same machine. Each instance needs to be in a separate folder so the config is unique to each instance.

2) If 10-12 instances will work how much RAM would I need? Would it work with 8GB or would I need more?

I don't know the memory requirements. I try to keep it as low as possible with no memory leaks and a few optimizations. Logging History, UID, FTO, and Recordings containing thousand and thousands of rows will consume more memory.

3) I would probably use Windows 10 but suppose I could use Windows 7 if needed. Would I have any problems with one or the other?

No issues at all that I'm aware of. ProScan was developed on a Win 7 machine and now is developed on Win 10.

4) Can I run the audio for these scanners thru the computer so I could bring up a specific scanner or two to listen to while the others log activity in the background?

Yes, the logging and audio are independent. ProScan will log always. The Windows mixer can feed audio from the input side to the speakers. Also ProScan has an audio loopback function.

I could also access the scanners from other locations so I wouldn't be stuck in the office when playing radio when I could be out by the pool with a cold drink and hot wife.

You can access the scanner from remote locations using the Web Server or Remote Scanner Over IP features. The disadvantage of using the Web Server is the Web Browser uses media players that will cause latency around 20 or 30 seconds because of the media player network buffer that prevents dropouts. RSOIP doesn't have any significant latency. If monitor only and no remote control, the RSOIP Free Client will work. For remote control either a Web Browser or full ProScan on the far end is needed