396XT & Proscan: not sure how to program Priority Scan

[SuperCraig]

I'm using ProScan to update my 396XT... and I am VERY new to all of this, so this might be a dumb question... but I have no clue.

I'm trying to program a couple of channels for Priority Scan.

From the Systems tab I drill down (SYS EDC/ GRP TGID/ CHN) until I get to the channels I want to be set as Priority and then click on the check box in the "Pri." column.

Then I click on the SYS EDC part of the Tree (related to those channels of course) and I selected "Priority ID Scan" (last option on that screen).

Then I go to the General Settings tab and change the select list of "Priority Scan" to On.

When I upload to the scanner I get a message saying "Priority Scan No Channel"

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks so much for your support!

 

[UPMan]

The General Priority setting is only for conventional systems. Turn it off. The setting for trunked priority is a system-by-system option. I think you just need to turn off the general setting and you'll be ok.

 

[SuperCraig]

Thanks for helping out a newbie UpMan!

Is there a way to test to see if it's working properly (a way that a newbie can understand)?

I can tell you this: when receive transmissions on those channels, there is a big P (dark letter, light background) below the name of the channel and to the left of the numerical data for the channel)... does that mean it's working properly??

Thanks again, I'm clueless now, but am committed to figuring this out (one issue at a time)...

 

[UPMan]

The only way to know on an EDACS system would be to have a 2nd scanner programmed the same way but w/o priority. When 2 or more channels are active on the system, the scanner with priority set should always go to the active priority channel instead of the non-priority channel.

However, note that trunked priority doesn't work particularly well because of how it has to work. The scanner evaluates all channel grants/updates received then goes to the priority channel. However, if a priority channel is active when the scanner hits the system, and there are no channel update messages on the control channel during the time the scanner is looking at the control channel, it will go to a non-priority channel. The only way to have perfect trunked priority would be to have one receiver in the scanner dedicated to monitoring the control channel continuously and a 2nd receiver that tunes to the voice channels.

Preemptive priority works much better, but that only works on Motorola systems. There, the system includes priority TG data as a subaudible data stream on every voice channel. If the scanner sees one of your priority groups go active, it will leave an active comm in favor of your priority comm. However, even then you are at the mercy of several things:

1. Is priority implemented by the communications system administrator? If not, it will only do "normal" trunked priority.
2. Is your idea of a priority channel the same as the communications system administrator? For example, if your girlfriend is the animal control officer for the city, you might assign priority to that channel. But, unless the communications system administrator is also dating the animal control officer, it is unlikely that the system will have animal control flagged as a priority channel, so her talk group info will never be included in the priority subaudible data stream.

So, if your scanner jumps off of a fire channel in the middle of a comm to monitor an animal control call, you and your girlfriend need to sit down and have a talk.

 

[bonus1331]

The only way to know on an EDACS system would be to have a 2nd scanner programmed the same way but w/o priority. When 2 or more channels are active on the system, the scanner with priority set should always go to the active priority channel instead of the non-priority channel.

However, note that trunked priority doesn't work particularly well because of how it has to work. The scanner evaluates all channel grants/updates received then goes to the priority channel. However, if a priority channel is active when the scanner hits the system, and there are no channel update messages on the control channel during the time the scanner is looking at the control channel, it will go to a non-priority channel. The only way to have perfect trunked priority would be to have one receiver in the scanner dedicated to monitoring the control channel continuously and a 2nd receiver that tunes to the voice channels.

Preemptive priority works much better, but that only works on Motorola systems. There, the system includes priority TG data as a subaudible data stream on every voice channel. If the scanner sees one of your priority groups go active, it will leave an active comm in favor of your priority comm. However, even then you are at the mercy of several things:

1. Is priority implemented by the communications system administrator? If not, it will only do "normal" trunked priority.
2. Is your idea of a priority channel the same as the communications system administrator? For example, if your girlfriend is the animal control officer for the city, you might assign priority to that channel. But, unless the communications system administrator is also dating the animal control officer, it is unlikely that the system will have animal control flagged as a priority channel, so her talk group info will never be included in the priority subaudible data stream.

So, if your scanner jumps off of a fire channel in the middle of a comm to monitor an animal control call, you and your girlfriend need to sit down and have a talk.

Disturbing, and yet hilarious analogy;-)