996XT GPS programming

[wyomingmedic]

Hello all,

I am purchasing a 996XT for my wife's vehicle. I want to get the remote face and GPS setup as well.

What I am not so sure about is the software. I like the ARC software for my pro-197 and was thinking about it for my new scanner as well.

But I am confused as to how this program goes about setting the GPS boundaries for various systems. I have several hundred TGs I want programed in over 3 states and I want to seamlessly integrate the 996s GPS capabilities. All of this with many multi site trunking systems.

Is the ARC software capable of that? What about the basic compared to the expert?

Thanks,
WM

 

[Butelsoftware]

GPS boundaries are set per group and site ( use the EDIT GPS DATA buttons).
ARC XT also includes search functions for GPS data based on US address, zip and all the USA county GPS center data is already embedded in ARC-XT.
ARC XT also has a GPS 'bulk' editor so you can setup all the GPS data from one screen. I would also subscribe to the webservice so ARC XT can also use the GPS data from the radioreference database.

Gommert
Butel Software

 

[ka3jjz]

I'm not sure whether when you ask about 'basic' vs. 'expert' you are referring to the scanner or ARC-XT. If it's the software, the differences are listed in the webpage.

Before you go jumping into Location Based Scanning, you might want to discover whether what you wish to do is even feasible. The Uniden TWiki has a pretty detailed description of LBS;

LocationBasedScanning < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

With that much of a layout to plan, you might want to get your ducks in a row, get your needs defined, then go see if the scanner - and then the software - can do what you want.

73 Mie

 

[wyomingmedic]

Thanks for the replies. And the link to location based scanning was great. It certainly appears that the Uniden can do what I want.

My only fear is in the software not being able to do what I want effectivly. The website for the softwares like to use words and terms that are cryptic at best and backwards at worst LOL. I am proficient in both digital trunked scanning and the terminology, but I have never used a Uniden scanner and I am finding they like to use their own words and phrases for things.

From my understanding, I should be able to program GPS settings based upon either a central location and circle distance from that point, or in a box format. Of course the easiest would be to have a map where you can drag and drop boxes (or circles) wherever you want, similar to GPS hiking software. But I am not seeing that technology cross over into scanners yet.

Thanks again,
WM

 

[Dewey]

Thanks for the replies. And the link to location based scanning was great. It certainly appears that the Uniden can do what I want.

My only fear is in the software not being able to do what I want effectivly. The website for the softwares like to use words and terms that are cryptic at best and backwards at worst LOL. I am proficient in both digital trunked scanning and the terminology, but I have never used a Uniden scanner and I am finding they like to use their own words and phrases for things.

From my understanding, I should be able to program GPS settings based upon either a central location and circle distance from that point, or in a box format. Of course the easiest would be to have a map where you can drag and drop boxes (or circles) wherever you want, similar to GPS hiking software. But I am not seeing that technology cross over into scanners yet.

Thanks again,
WM

Not exactly... you can't do a box format. You program GPS coordinates as the center of the circle. Then you program by .5's up to 125 miles how large of a radius circle you would like around the center... 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, etc.

Dewey

 

[Butelsoftware]

If you know the zip code, streetname or countyname ARC XT will find the GPS data for you. There's nothing cryptic about that. Also ARC XT links to Googlemaps so you can easily open a map to verify the GPS data.

Gommert
Butel Software

 

[wyomingmedic]

Ok, thanks Dewey. That would actually serve me well for what I do. Almost all repeaters around here are situated on very tall mountains. To have the GPS coordinates of the mountain and be able to designate a circle from there would work well.

But to quote uniden, " <-------------- Probably not Uniden themselves as I learned. Sorry Uniden.
GPS Control of Sites and Channel Groups The GPS feature on the BCD996XT has the ability to control Sites and Groups. Individual Sites or Groups can be turned on or off manually or automatically as you travel. If you travel in an area with a large networked trunked system, such as the statewide APCO25 systems, you can set the radio to turn on and off specific Sites within the System as you travel. You can use it for conventional Groups as well, When you are in one area you can listen to channels assigned there, when you leave those channels can be turned off and another group turned on. [These areas can be set in circles (Distance from a central point) or boxes (set the corners).]"

Does the last sentence mean you cans et the GPS coordinates for each corner of a box and have it scan within that box?

Thanks for the help folks, just like when I was learning the Pro-197 limitations.

WM

 

[geoff5093]

I wish you could program GPS boundaries by city/county/state lines, since quite often circles don't work. For instance I only want to hear NH SP when in NH, now if I want to rely on the GPS turning the system on and off, the circle would include most of VT, a good chunk of ME, and parts of MA.

 

[wyomingmedic]

If you know the zip code, streetname or countyname ARC XT will find the GPS data for you. There's nothing cryptic about that. Also ARC XT links to Googlemaps so you can easily open a map to verify the GPS data.

True, the way you described it is not cryptic.

Online, I find it described as, "GPS US address lookup utility". That essentially means nothing to me. Makes me think I can look up an address and get driving directions or something. When I look at the ARC XT site itself, it has a description similar to yours. But none of the vendos sites do. Just the, "GPS US address lookup utility".

So folks who go to vendors sites to get info on any software they may want, are having to also surf the web to get translations of what the vendors are saying. In my case for example, I have come here and asked these questions in an attempt to understand because I am so happy with my ARC500 software for my Pro-197.

But had I been a brand new scannist who had no brand loyalty, I may have been turned off by the apparant lack of info and would have moved on to a software that I can "understand" what they are saying. In my line of work, folks ONLY look at vendors sites, and if the info is not there, they will move on to another product. Customers want 1 stop shopping IMO.

But thanks for the description. I do love your groups software.

WM

 

[geoff5093]

FreeSCAN is also a great program, and is capable of many of the same features as the ArcXT software (except it's free). Personally I find it easier to use as well.

 

[UPMan]

. [These areas can be set in circles (Distance from a central point) or boxes (set the corners).]

Where do we say that? (So I can fix it...it only does circles.)

 

[wyomingmedic]

Where do we say that? (So I can fix it...it only does circles.)

UPMan, I got that exact quote from Scannermasters description, but I have seen it on several other vendors websites in their product descriptions. I dunno where they exactly copied it from. Do they get those from Uniden themselves or from an outside source? I read my previous post and apologize, it looks like it does not come from Uniden directly.

Like any good rumor, it has a ring of truth first, then gets propagated to the masses


WM

 

[UPMan]

That is from Rich Carlson's (n9jig) review, not from Uniden.

 

[JStemann]

I'm sure there is an easier way to do this, and I may try the google maps lookup feature. However, what I've been doing so far is using street & trips software. I use the location sensor and the radius tool to find what will work best for the area I'm traveling through. I've programmed routes from Cincinnati to oklahoma city to miami this way, and it works pretty good. It can be a bit time consuming depending on how much detail you want to put into it. Also, when I started this project, you couldn't import the coordinates. Keep in mind, too, you can customize the radius and offset the center of the radius to get coverage of just the area you need. I have even created duplicate systems with different names(MO-DPS-1, MO-DPS-2...) and gps coordinates to get statewide coverage or more precise coverage, as needed.

I have the 996T version, so I can't have EVERYTHING programmed in at the same time. I can cover all of my local stuff IN, OH, KY + 2 routes to florida OR 2 routes to Oklahoma City. With the 996XT I could probably fit it all in there at the same time.

Jeff S.

 

[geoff5093]

I'm sure there is an easier way to do this, and I may try the google maps lookup feature. However, what I've been doing so far is using street & trips software. I use the location sensor and the radius tool to find what will work best for the area I'm traveling through. I've programmed routes from Cincinnati to oklahoma city to miami this way, and it works pretty good. It can be a bit time consuming depending on how much detail you want to put into it. Also, when I started this project, you couldn't import the coordinates. Keep in mind, too, you can customize the radius and offset the center of the radius to get coverage of just the area you need. I have even created duplicate systems with different names(MO-DPS-1, MO-DPS-2...) and gps coordinates to get statewide coverage or more precise coverage, as needed.

I have the 996T version, so I can't have EVERYTHING programmed in at the same time. I can cover all of my local stuff IN, OH, KY + 2 routes to florida OR 2 routes to Oklahoma City. With the 996XT I could probably fit it all in there at the same time.

Jeff S.

Similar to what I did as well, I programmed in all of the local and state frequencies for NH and MA, and all major cities and state frequencies for all the north east states, down to Virginia. The problem I find is that one, it takes forever to manually program them all with GPS coordinates, and two, frequencies change so often when you have hundreds to thousands of different groups. I wish I had a single "update" button like the new Uniden scanner does.