1080 and NJICS

[RatRadio]

I'm having a problem trying to receive NJICS (and the Morris County system) on my 1080. It was working fine and then I was out of the area for several months. When I returned, neither system would stop on any talkgroups. The "T" flashes on both systems but no talkgroups are received. Site option is set to Auto Fill on both. I have erased and reloaded the systems twice using EZ Scan. It receives other statewide systems while traveling so I don't think it's the radio. Any help is appreciated.

 

[tvengr]

Please attach your configuration file so that we can take a look at it. Click on Attach files and open the file. Morris County recently had some big changes.

 

[RatRadio]

Please attach your configuration file so that we can take a look at it. Click on Attach files and open the file. Morris County recently had some big changes.

I tried to upload what I believe is the correct folder (CDAT_VS.001), but it won't let me attach it. Is there a specific file I should be looking for?

 

[tvengr]

The Whistler CDAT files are already zipped so attaching them should not be a problem. What I need to see is the configuration file you send to the scanner to program it. If the file won't attach, you must be trying to attach the WS1080/WS1088 EZ Scan programming software file. That file is too big to attach.

 

[Roodog2k]

I'm having a problem trying to receive NJICS (and the Morris County system) on my 1080. It was working fine and then I was out of the area for several months. When I returned, neither system would stop on any talkgroups. The "T" flashes on both systems but no talkgroups are received. Site option is set to Auto Fill on both. I have erased and reloaded the systems twice using EZ Scan. It receives other statewide systems while traveling so I don't think it's the radio. Any help is appreciated.

I'm having the same issue with both Morris and Passaic counties. I think it's because the 1080 has issues with simulcast systems, but I'm far from an expert.

 

[policefreak]

Spoken like a true New Jerseyan, if you have a Whistler WS 1080 and you are not within a mile line of sight of a tower on a P25 simulcast system, then you can fuggedaboudit! It doesn't matter what antenna or paper clip you use, what number your DSP is set at, FM vs NFM, etc. It's going to sound like crap most of the time.

 

[Roodog2k]

Spoken like a true New Jerseyan, if you have a Whistler WS 1080 and you are not within a mile line of sight of a tower on a P25 simulcast system, then you can fuggedaboudit! It doesn't matter what antenna or paper clip you use, what number your DSP is set at, FM vs NFM, etc. It's going to sound like crap most of the time.

I bought a Remtronix 800B. I received it today.

I actually am less than a mile away from the Ramapo tower, can see it from my house.

Anyway, not expecting much I put it on my 1080. It's a noticeable improvement. Still having simulcast issues, but I am receiving more. I can see that the scanner is hearing the control frequency better, because I am getting a solid "T" on the display. If I stop on an object and walk around the house, I can better see where the dead spots are.

I had been using a Diamond RH77CA.

Before I buy a SDS100, I wanted to be sure it'll work inside my house without an external antenna. Looks like it checks out.

 

[policefreak]

I bought a Remtronix 800B. I received it today.

I actually am less than a mile away from the Ramapo tower, can see it from my house.

Anyway, not expecting much I put it on my 1080. It's a noticeable improvement. Still having simulcast issues, but I am receiving more. I can see that the scanner is hearing the control frequency better, because I am getting a solid "T" on the display. If I stop on an object and walk around the house, I can better see where the dead spots are.

I had been using a Diamond RH77CA.

Before I buy a SDS100, I wanted to be sure it'll work inside my house without an external antenna. Looks like it checks out.

Yea go sell that 1080 and get a SDS100. You should notice a marked improvement and very little if any skipping and missing transmissions that comes from the 1080.

 

[mshumeyk]

Before I buy a SDS100, I wanted to be sure it'll work inside my house without an external antenna. Looks like it checks out.

The Remtronix 800mhz SMA specifically for the SDS100 does do markedly better than the stock antenna on 700 and 800mhz systems.

 

[Roodog2k]

The Remtronix 800mhz SMA specifically for the SDS100 does do markedly better than the stock antenna on 700 and 800mhz systems.

I've heard that and I wanted to validate/verify it'll work inside my house. Very noticeable difference on the 1080. I'll be pulling the trigger soon.

 

[Roodog2k]

Yea go sell that 1080 and get a SDS100. You should notice a marked improvement and very little if any skipping and missing transmissions that comes from the 1080.

So, I bought my wife a sapphire ring that matches her wedding band for our anniversary. I asked for the SDS100.

I just got it today. Huge difference. I was concerned about how well I could hear the towers, but it seems I can hear West Orange in addition to Morris and Passaic.

So, I can now hear tons of stuff I hadn't heard before. Learning Sentinel was pretty easy, the hard part is that the database tree is a little different... the "object-oriented" aspect of the 800/1080 EZ Scan software was always clunky and counter-intuitive.

 

[mshumeyk]

So, I can now hear tons of stuff I hadn't heard before.

Congratulations! As you get more familiar with your SDS100 you may want to purchase the ProScan software if you don't already have it. While most use Sentinel for most favorite lists as well as updating the database and firmware, there are some nice features with Proscan you might find helpful. The Virtual Control with Logging feature is nice with the NJICS, as it provides and records information as to what talkgroups are carried by which sites, always or only some of the time. Logging also allows you to see when a new unidentified talkgroup is received.

Secondly, you've probably noticed that Sentinel groups all talkgroups in a county listing as a single "department. You can set talkgroups you do not want to scan on "avoid", but if you frequently vary which talkgroups in your county you want to scan, you'll have to do a lot of "avoiding" and "stop avoiding". It's much easier if you break up the county into smaller departments, like "my town", "neighboring towns", "south county", etc. You can do this within Sentinel, but I have found subdividing a county department is easier and quicker with ProScan. You turn departments off and on by using the quick key you have assigned.

Finally, while you can use Proscan to modify a favorites list created in Sentinel, you can use also use Proscan to create a completely new favorites list by downloading data directly from radioreference. You download only those sites and talkgroups you want, so you don't have to delete or set avoids on undesired talkgroups.

Anyway, those are just a couple of things that I found helpful. There are plenty of tips out there from more experienced users. Have fun!

 

[Roodog2k]

Thanks for the tip on Proscan. I was surprised that I can receive the West Orange simulcast where I am but not Morris. I'd like to measure that better. Although, it seems that I can only hear the WO site in my bedroom.

A feature I like is the location and range. Playing around with that is how I discovered I can hear the West Orange site. So, I don't have to worry about ignoring towers. If I go to a different location, I can just put in the zip code and it takes care of itself. I've had that 1080 since it came out (again, technically it's an upgraded 800) and before that, a Pro 95 (another GRECOM scanner) I got in 2006. So, I've been in their ecosystem for almost 20 years. I've had Uniden analog scanners since the 90s. I was superficially aware of how the HomePatrol scanners worked, but now I don't have to manually enable or disable sites. (If I understand that feature properly).

With the 1080, I created scanlists for my town, neighboring towns, 2m and 440 repeaters. It also worked for talkgroups too, so I totally follow what you're saying with favorites. Create a group of 10 favorites and then enable the ones you want to hear, sort of like scan sets.

The 1080 has the added complexity of the "virtual scanner." Scanlists, scansets, and virtual scanners overcomplicated things for a lot of people, I think. I'd use the virtual scanner feature mostly to roll back if something went wrong with an update.

I'm going to keep my RR subscription, bc I am going to keep my 1080 anyhow (it does DMR) and I have my 125. I run the 125 for the analog non-trunked stuff and 2m 440 repeaters.

I bought the Arc125 SW for that scanner, which does a great job at extending the features.

I wonder if I bought the Proscan SW if I could use both at the same time?

As a side note, the battery life is quite surprising. It's been running since 8am with my 125. I've had to replace the 125 batteries once (I am Mr. Eneloop). I'm still debating about getting a second battery and a charger.