436/536 Scanner Monitor App for both Mac and Windows

[AA6IO]

Jeff (deskins)
Wow, how did I miss this thread? Just started reading it. Put app on my Chrome browser (took maybe 10 seconds). Put on my 536HP with null modem cable on rear port running to serial adapter card on my Dell XPS Windows 7 and works great. Will try it on 436HP later. Glad I took a look at this thread.
Thanks a lot Jeff.
Steve AA6IO

 

[AA6IO]

Also now working with my 436HP with USB cable in serial mode. What I never realized before doing this is that you can use the USB cable both to power the 436HP from the computer and get serial data function at the same time.
Working very well. Only thing I note is that with voice prompts enabled, I'm missing about 10-15% of the voice prompts even though the display is accurate 100% of the time. Wondering if 115200 is the optimum data rate.
Thanks for a great program Jeff.
Steve AA6IO

 

[deskins]

Help Help i would love to make this work , but it will not
with the USB Cable that comes with the radio do i have to buy a new cable and what kind is it
thanks for any help

scannerbuff999,

I am using the USB cable that came with my BCD436HP with no other setup. If you can provide more info to what part isn't working and which scanner model - either myself or other members on the forum may be able to assist.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Jay911]

The USB cable that connects the scanner to the computer is a generic A to mini-B USB cable. You probably have two dozen of them (or if you don't, they're less than $5 at any computer, electronics, or similar retailer).

 

[deskins]

Also now working with my 436HP with USB cable in serial mode. What I never realized before doing this is that you can use the USB cable both to power the 436HP from the computer and get serial data function at the same time.
Working very well. Only thing I note is that with voice prompts enabled, I'm missing about 10-15% of the voice prompts even though the display is accurate 100% of the time. Wondering if 115200 is the optimum data rate.
Thanks for a great program Jeff.
Steve AA6IO

sshermanmd,

I have the voice prompts filtered to not repeat if the next hit on the scanner is the same as the previous. This is to avoid situations where you could hear the same message repeated every few seconds.

Maybe this counts for some of the misses in the voice prompts you were hearing. I will monitor that some myself to make sure it is working properly.

Jeff

 

[mitbr]

Using this software now for the 436hp. Connects ok the first time if I unplug the scanner and plug it back in it comes up with unable to find scanner. The only way to resolve it is to reboot the scanner. Then it works fine is this normal behavior?
Thanks Jeff
Tim

 

[deskins]

Using this software now for the 436hp. Connects ok the first time if I unplug the scanner and plug it back in it comes up with unable to find scanner. The only way to resolve it is to reboot the scanner. Then it works fine is this normal behavior?
Thanks Jeff
Tim

I got the same behavior when I disconnected my 436HP with a live serial connection and then connected the cable back with the scanner still powered on. Clicking the disconnect and reconnecting in the app couldn't re-establish that connection. It seems in this case, once that connection is broken, the scanner needs to be powered down and back up to make the connection again.

Whether that is normal or not - I'm not sure, but I will look into making the app a little smarter to detect some of these issues. The app could possibly display prompts to the user for the best way to correct some of these issues if the app can't reconnect by itself.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[mitbr]

I got the same behavior when I disconnected my 436HP with a live serial connection and then connected the cable back with the scanner still powered on. Clicking the disconnect and reconnecting in the app couldn't re-establish that connection. It seems in this case, once that connection is broken, the scanner needs to be powered down and back up to make the connection again.

Whether that is normal or not - I'm not sure, but I will look into making the app a little smarter to detect some of these issues. The app could possibly display prompts to the user for the best way to correct some of these issues if the app can't reconnect by itself.

Thanks,
Jeff

Thanks for confirming this Jeff.
I also use the app with my s3 phone but after logging in it keeps saying waiting for connection. Is there a reason it wont connect?

 

[deskins]

Thanks for confirming this Jeff.
I also use the app with my s3 phone but after logging in it keeps saying waiting for connection. Is there a reason it wont connect?

You may see this if your browser is holding onto an old cached file from the website. Try clearing the browser cache to see if that fixes any issues with your phone not connecting.

If that doesn't resolve your problem, you can let me know either through this forum or by clicking the Feedback link on the website to provide details specific to your account. I haven't seen any issues with devices not connecting to the scanner from the website. I will add some logging to the server to help troubleshoot any browser issues that may come up.

 

[Erik4510]

Scanner Monitor Issue

I have downloaded the google app, and followed the instructions when prompted however I am unable to connect my 436HP. The version that I downloaded is 1.5.10, I have a Windows 8- 64 bit system. I have rebooted my computer, unplugged the scanner launched the software plugged the scanner in and still cannot see my scanner. I have also tried the Debug option with no success, nothing in the drop down list for the port selection, will not refresh or connect. What might I have missed or am doing wrong?

 

[deskins]

I have downloaded the google app, and followed the instructions when prompted however I am unable to connect my 436HP. The version that I downloaded is 1.5.10, I have a Windows 8- 64 bit system. I have rebooted my computer, unplugged the scanner launched the software plugged the scanner in and still cannot see my scanner. I have also tried the Debug option with no success, nothing in the drop down list for the port selection, will not refresh or connect. What might I have missed or am doing wrong?

If the ports are not displaying, the serial drivers are probably not installed on your computer. Other users have said you can downloaded and install the serial port drivers from this page:
BCD436HP < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

User Jay911 also said in an earlier post...

When you connect your scanner to the computer and put it in Serial mode (hit the ./no key), it will search for drivers. When given an option, tell it you want to install manually and point it to the place where you unzipped the files to.

You won't be able to connect to any software on your computer (except Sentinel) until you install the drivers.

 

[Jay911]

Hey Jeff,

I've started using this program again now that I have a 536 permanently connected to my computer. Noticed a couple of oddities in the logging.

(excuse the large image)

Notice the LTR talkgroups are coming up with "-05-117" for example. Those should be preceded with a zero.

The blank line immediately below that LTR talkgroup I mentioned above was a Search with Scan hit. That appeared on the PC's "Channel" screen as -772.9062 or something similar, with a minus sign preceding the frequency. Looks like something is causing the program to drop the data in that situation. (There are other Search with Scan hits on my log that saved properly.)

I intend to run this as often and as long as I can, so if you need any beta testing done, let me know.

A few other comments/suggestions..

Would you consider making it possible to see the keypad AND the log at the same time?

On the keypad, it appears like the "Replay" button is missing. When I start my scanning session, I want to start recording immediately with Func+Replay.

What is the function of the ^ key and the "Scan Mode" key? The "Scan Mode" key just turns green on my screen and very briefly displays the menu on the scanner, then resumes scanning. And the ^ key appears to display number tags in place of time/favorite list on the top center of the screen.

 

[joeuser]

A few other comments/suggestions..

Would you consider making it possible to see the keypad AND the log at the same time?

On the keypad, it appears like the "Replay" button is missing. When I start my scanning session, I want to start recording immediately with Func+Replay.

Good suggestions! Maybe an auto record option?

 

[deskins]

Jay911 - I will check into the formatting of the LTR talkgroups that you mentioned. There will be another release of the app soon with some additional features. I will see about getting some of these requests into that release too.

Thanks for the input.

 

[smokkeyy]

So in theory I could use another piece of software to stream my audio and then could use Teamviewer (remote desktop) to remote control my device while away from home! I run teamviewer on my Android device and can access my PC's at home.. this could maybe work!

 

[deskins]

So in theory I could use another piece of software to stream my audio and then could use Teamviewer (remote desktop) to remote control my device while away from home! I run teamviewer on my Android device and can access my PC's at home.. this could maybe work!

smokkeyy - You are correct. However, the app does most of that for you.

In the Scanner Monitor Chrome app, you can click the button to enable remote control from another computer or mobile device. You just need a free user account on scannermonitor.com website and you can control your scanner directly from the website. Simply log into the website from your phone and you are good to go.

The next release will also allow audio streaming to some devices, including andriod phones.

Jeff

 

[swanson2255]

I think it could be beneficial to log the error rate for the P25 threshold settings so they could be later analyzed to find the optimum setting for the system you are listening to.

 

[joeuser]

And I can tell you the streaming, for me, is less lagged than using Dongles, Unitrunker, & DSD+. Its nice & smooth, sounds great, & doesn't hog CPU or bandwidth! Very stable also...

 

[joeuser]

Noticed an update to the beta app this morning, could be an update to the main release soon!
Audio streaming in this upcoming release!

If you haven't got this app yet, now is the time - also, please, consider a donation for his efforts... Please?

 

[deskins]

Noticed an update to the beta app this morning, could be an update to the main release soon!
Audio streaming in this upcoming release!

Very observant! I still need to add some help files to make it as easy as possible to setup and stream audio from the 536/436 to mobile devices (primarily andriod for the moment) and other computers.

Will update on the board when it is available for everyone.