I've had my scanner scanning for the last 2 hours and haven't heard a thing! I checked the live info on SCHP.com and they've had calls for service out but I haven't heard them! Did they go digital?
I'd start troubleshooting by ruling any possible problems on your end first:
- Can you hear the control channel for the site you're trying to monitor? If you're hearing transmissions from other talkgroups on the same site, then the answer to that question is yes.
- Did you accidently lock out the talkgroups you're trying to listen to? That happens to me occasionally.
- Do you have the scanlist/bank/system/quickkey containing these talkgroups enabled?
It's certainly possible, but less likely, that SCHP has switched to the P25 system or to a digital talkgroup.
A more likely explanation is that they've changed talkgroups. SCHP and some other agencies have been changing some of their talkgroups to new talkgroups in the last several months. Those that have been identified are listed in the RR database on the Palmetto 800 page, including one for Charleston SCHP dispatch. Add those to your scanlist/bank/system/quickkey and see if that solves your problem.
If not, try adding a wildcard/switching to ID search mode/switching to open mode. This will allow you to hear ALL active talkgroups on the site you're monitoring, and maybe you'll catch a new talkgroup. If you do, please submit it so that we can add it to the database.
SCHP employs talkgroup patching and multi-selecting frequently on some talkgroups. This is when they "merge" two or more talkgroups together as one, so that someone transmitting on one talkgroup can be heard by radios affiliated on any of the other talkgroups that are part of the patch/multi-select. SCHP typically employs this when they have one dispatcher who is responsible for monitoring multiple channels at one time. In the Upstate, this is very common in Troop 2. This has been more common in other locations as the new talkgroups referenced above are phased in and are frequenctly patched to the old talkgroups.
When a patch or multi-select is established, the first talkgroup to be added to the patch is the "super-group" and this is the talkgroup that you'll most likely see active on your scanner. Different talkgroups can become the supergroup at different times, and there's no way to predict which it will be at any given time.
Depending on how your radio handles "status bits" will determine how you should handle this situation. The best, most full-proof method is to ensure you have ALL the talkgroups for your troop programmed and enabled. This will ensure that if/when the the talkgroups are patched, you'll hear the transmission.