BCD-396 Group QK Lockout Question

[Kirk]

I'm having trouble getting the UASD results I want with regard to Group Quick Key lockouts. For example...

System = Springfield City (Conventional)
Group 1 = Police
Group 2 = Fire
Group 3 = Nuclear Power Plant Security
Group 4 = Mo's Tavern bouncers

What I'm looking for is to write all data to the scanner, have the Springfield system enabled, with groups 1 and 2 active, and groups 3 and 4 inactive.

Here are the results I get:

With nothing special checked and the system not in lockout mode, it comes up and scans all four groups. Pressing F-3 and then F-4 turns off groups 3 and 4 as expected.

In the Config screen in UASD, if I go to Quick Keys, look on the right side of the screen, scroll down to select "Springfield" and double click on the boxes next to groups 3 and 4, the indicator "Disabled" appears on the computer screen. I save the file and write to the scanner. Result is that groups 1-4 are still enabled.

Next I try to "lockout" groups 3 and 4 from within the system configuration for that system. Writing to the radio results in the indicators for groups 3 and 4 alternating between the * and the 3 or 4 numbers. The groups are locked out as I'd hoped. Pressing F-3 changes the indicator to *, pressing again changes it to 3. Otherwise, it flashes between the two symbols. Is this a feature or a bug?

Next I leave the groups "locked out" from within the system screen, and go back to the configuration of the Quick Keys and re-enable groups 3 and 4 on that system. The result is the same as above (the alternating */3 and */4 symbols in the GRP display.

My conclusion is that the Group Quick Key Status under Quick Keys on the Configuration screen does nothing.

My other conclusion is that locking out groups using the L/O box on each system is the method I want to use, but that the GRP line will show the alternating */# symbols.

Any thoughts?

 

[John_M]

Is this the only system you try to write to the scanner with this problem. If you go into the system using the menu and lock out groups 3 and 4 those groups should be locked out and show a *. I always use Func then the number to lock/unlock groups.

 

[John_M]

Kirk Wrote:

I'm having trouble getting the UASD results I want with regard to Group Quick Key lockouts. For example...

System = Springfield City (Conventional)
Group 1 = Police
Group 2 = Fire
Group 3 = Nuclear Power Plant Security
Group 4 = Mo's Tavern bouncers

Next I try to "lockout" groups 3 and 4 from within the system configuration for that system. Writing to the radio results in the indicators for groups 3 and 4 alternating between the * and the 3 or 4 numbers. The groups are locked out as I'd hoped. Pressing F-3 changes the indicator to *, pressing again changes it to 3. Otherwise, it flashes between the two symbols. Is this a feature or a bug?

Next I leave the groups "locked out" from within the system screen, and go back to the configuration of the Quick Keys and re-enable groups 3 and 4 on that system. The result is the same as above (the alternating */3 and */4 symbols in the GRP display.

My conclusion is that the Group Quick Key Status under Quick Keys on the Configuration screen does nothing.

My other conclusion is that locking out groups using the L/O box on each system is the method I want to use, but that the GRP line will show the alternating */# symbols.

This sounds like a bug in the software "USAD". You shouldn't see alternating */Group # if you lock/unlock a group. If the system is in your scanner twice you may see this. Make sure that there is only one entry into the scanner for each system. In ARC396
there is an option to overwrite (Delete) the systems with the same name that you are writing to the scanner.

 

[Kirk]

Function + Number works great to lock/unlock groups. It's just a pain to go through 80 systems and lock out groups each time I make a programming change. The UASD software looks like it does it the right way, but it falls down in practice.

All operations done from the scanner itself work fine. But using UASD results in Groups not disabled when the radio is written. It happens on more than one system. The Springfield system is fictional. I don't think Mo's even has bouncers.

The flags are getting set in the text files, I just think the radio is ignoring them.

Locking them out within a system isn't as ideal as I'd like either.

For example, one of my Systems is California Office of Emergency Services. They have an 800MHz conventional repeater system statewide, which operates on five different frequencies (freq depends on mountaintop location). So for some configs, I'd like a different group of those five active. Locking the groups out on a system basis optimizes performance for one configuration only, rather than on a configuration by configuration basis as you'd accomplish in the Configuration screen labeled "Quick Keys."

It works great for Systems, just not at all for groups. I'm not at all saying that there's no possibility I'm doing this wrong, as I'm certainly learning new things about this radio on a daily basis. But this at least appears to be broken.

 

[John_M]

Has the UASD software always done this? You shouldn't have to go through 80 systems and lock/unlock groups.

 

[jpm]

Whats the defaulet set at on the software? Lock/unlock mode.

 

[Kirk]

Whats the defaulet set at on the software? Lock/unlock mode.

I'm not sure I understand your question. The default on a group setting is unlocked. The default on the configuration "quick keys" is that everything is enabled. When I lock out a group, it does as I'd expect. But in the Scanner Configuration Editor -> Quick Keys -> Group Quick Key Status section, changes appear to have no function.

 

[Kirk]

BTT. Can anyone else confirm this? Or are they getting some functionality out of the Group Quick Keys setup in UASD's Configuration screen?

 

[steve_eg]

If what you're describing is the problem that I think it is, I've noticed this too. There's a fix buried in this thread.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17911

Hopefully it'll get fixed in the hopefully-soon-to-be-released firmware update, or an update to UASD.

Steve

 

[Kirk]

Yup, same bug. It seems like a UASD bug rather than a scanner/firmware bug, but I suppose the latter is possible.

Thanks for the info.