HP-1: A "mobile scanning with GPS" question.

Status
Not open for further replies.

Heidi750

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
305
Location
Kimberley, BC
GPS & BCD996XT

Thought I would pop in and pick the brains of those who are operating the BCD996xt coupled with their GPS ...

I tried a separate quick key for each site ...
But when I turned on the quick key ... nothing happened.
Or does it only work with the GPS connected?

I have the system on quick key 1 and the sites on 97, 98 ,99

Suggestions?

Thanks Again



I'm not sure if the following answers your question but, I have made FLs for travelling between: Phx and LA, Phx and SD, Phx and LV, SD and LA, LA and LV. My proficiency in each endeavor increased rapidly. The 1st took me about 45 minutes, with the last taking less than 15 minutes.

These FL's contain exactly what I would be listening to if I lived at any given location along these routes (and nothing else). With the GPS in operation, the desired frequencies/channels/groups appear, and disappear, from the screen (like magic). As I travel, I hear ALL/ONLY the exact radio entities that I would select if I lived at the current location on the trip.

For those that believe making FLs is too cumbersome, too difficult, and too time consuming, I state the following: I made the above FLs, ALONG WITH my local main FL (Phoenix and vicinity) while I was waiting ~three days for my ordered HP-1 to arrive.

I have, early in my HP-1 ownership era, messed with the full database, but for experimental (curiosity) reasons ONLY. I have NEVER considered using the full database for actual monitoring pleasure.

I have posted similar to the above several times over the last few years. In general, this was not well received by the RR community. That's OK, for if this helps ONE reader/listener, I believe it was worth it.
 

UPMan

In Memoriam
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2004
Messages
13,296
Location
Arlington, TX
GPS does not control the QK function. It locks out sites that are out of range and unlocks in-range sites.
 

ofd8001

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
7,891
Location
Louisville, KY
Thought I would pop in and pick the brains of those who are operating the BCD996xt coupled with their GPS ...

I tried a separate quick key for each site ...
But when I turned on the quick key ... nothing happened.
Or does it only work with the GPS connected?

I have the system on quick key 1 and the sites on 97, 98 ,99

Suggestions?

Thanks Again

I believe with 996XTs programmed to receive systems having multiple sites, there isn't a "System Quick Key", with sites falling under that System Quick Key. Rather, the quick keys associated with sites act, more or less, as system quick keys. So I'm wondering if the programming may not be right.

Something else to check is the Lockout status of sites and groups. If sites and/or groups are locked out, enabling/disabling quick keys has no effect - they are still locked out.

Now for the delicate part. I kind of feel like the college freshman chiming in on something the old, wise professor (as in the Upman) has said. In addition to turning off sites that are out of range, GPS will also turn off groups that are out of range, presuming you have location data programmed for groups. This is true for both trunked and conventional groups.
 

Heidi750

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
305
Location
Kimberley, BC
BCD996XT Sites & GPS

Well I finally got the GPS function running on my BCD 996XT
Now I'm trying to download a complete P25 system.

Since the System has around 25 sites ... and each site has a different GPS location:

1. Do I have to program a different quick key for each site?
2. Can I lump all the sites in one county to the same key?
3. With GPS, can I put all the sites in the same quick key and leave the sorting out to the GPS?

I've almost got this GPS tracking down ... still a few GREY areas :)
Thanks Again



GPS does not control the QK function. It locks out sites that are out of range and unlocks in-range sites.
 

ofd8001

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
7,891
Location
Louisville, KY
1. No - you can set your site quick keys however way you wish. One site per quick key or several sites per quick key.
2. Yes.
3. Yes, but. If you mean "sorting out by GPS" to mean "Let the GPS decided which site needs to be turned on or off" - that is correct.

Be sure that whenever you use GPS based scanning, all relevant quick keys (System or Group) are enabled. Over-simplifying this a little: When you turn off a quick key you are telling the scanner you do not want to listen to whatever is associated with the quick key. The GPS device will not supersede your wishes and turn something on which you have turned off.

Once you get this up and running, by doing some tinkering around to see what happens a lot of your questions will be cleared up. Real life experience is one of the best teachers around!
 

Heidi750

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 20, 2006
Messages
305
Location
Kimberley, BC
GPS Location Data Editor

Thanks for the info ...

Currently I am using the ARC-XT PRO software for the BCD996XT ...
For those who use the software ... Maybe you can answer this question?

When I click on a site ... it displays the info ... along with that it has a box at the bottom "Edit Multiple Sites"

It then lists all the Sites and the current Quick Key associated with the site ...
I would like to group the sites by County ...
Once I change the QuickKey number, select the Sites to group I'm not sure where or what to click on in order to transfer these changes into the System Sites?

Any Help on this ???

Once again Thanks
(Still Learning and Experimenting)


1. No - you can set your site quick keys however way you wish. One site per quick key or several sites per quick key.
2. Yes.
3. Yes, but. If you mean "sorting out by GPS" to mean "Let the GPS decided which site needs to be turned on or off" - that is correct.

Be sure that whenever you use GPS based scanning, all relevant quick keys (System or Group) are enabled. Over-simplifying this a little: When you turn off a quick key you are telling the scanner you do not want to listen to whatever is associated with the quick key. The GPS device will not supersede your wishes and turn something on which you have turned off.

Once you get this up and running, by doing some tinkering around to see what happens a lot of your questions will be cleared up. Real life experience is one of the best teachers around!
 

ofd8001

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 6, 2004
Messages
7,891
Location
Louisville, KY
That's easy. . .

What I would do is use the Quick Key Editor. It's the "QuickKeys" menu on the very top row. When you click on that item, select Quick Key Overview. a pop-up window opens. Be sure the combo box at the top that says "Select" has "All System Quick Keys".

If Quick Keys have not been assigned, you'll see them in the No Key Assigned Box. If you have assigned QKs, then you'll see them in the other boxes. You can highlight the given site(s) to "Grab" them, the drag and drop them as you wish.

See the screen shot below:

After arranging the Quick Keys, hit OK then the Save button to save your changes. You can then Send them to your scanner.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top