BCD436HP Programming Help -- Specifically AWIN

[dwacaster]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but the wiki said to post in your own state if unsure...so here goes. I just got a BCD436HP and trying to get it programmed. Have finally mostly figured out Sentinel software, but I don't want it scanning a whole bunch of stuff I don't need. On AWIN I'm not sure what I can turn off/delete without losing anything. Example is ASP...there are troops, counties and sites. I'm not sure what to do with all these...or just leave them alone.

Thank you in advance for any help or insight you can give.

 

[safetyobc]

I would make sure you avoid any sites that aren't close to you. You can avoid any troops and or counties you don't want to hear also. You can do that in Sentinal or via the menu on the scanner.

 

[dwacaster]

Thanks for the quick response. I understand what you're saying, but I don't know what's close and what's not just by the names. I can figure out Shinall because it's right near where I live. Are they all the same and you just use the closest?

Sorry if the questions seem basic...I'm not a scanner newbie but just a casual user trying to figure this out.

Thanks again!

 

[safetyobc]

Check out this map. Look and see which towers are close. Also the Little Rock Metro tower if you want to hear LR PD etc assuming you are near LR.

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/AWIN_Tower_Map

The towers have different frequencies. So if you don't avoid the ones that aren't close the scanner will check them all and will make it seem slow.

 

[dwacaster]

Got it -- that's great. Thank you! Exactly what I needed.

 

[sadave]

So, your BCD436HP is displaying Unknown in the Depatment window.

For the first few days of monitoring with my new BCD436HP, I was seeing "Unknown" displayed in the Department window upon receiving transmissions when monitoring the Arkansas Wireless Information Network (AWIN) and could not understand why. For background, AWIN is a P25 system used by state and local agencies throughout Arkansas. For example, I could be monitoring what I thought was Little Rock PD and suddenly Unknown would appear and the conversation would clearly be the Arkansas State Police. It was befuddling.

I was in range of known AWIN sites and recognized the voices and call signs of several agencies, effectively monitoring channels downloaded from the RadioReference database. Many of these "Unknown" department transmissions interfered with what I wanted to monitor.

With a few suggestions from forum members and some tinkering in the Sentinel software, I determined the cause to be a setting where I had the ID Search function turned On. Upon changing the setting to Off, the Unknown department traffic disappeared and normal transmissions resumed. This made me happy. Could there be a benefit to leaving the ID Search function in the on position? Why, yes indeed.

Some of our colleagues actively seek to identify new talk groups in use by various agencies. Thus, enthusiasts who activate ID Search and report their findings to RadioReference or forum moderators perform a service to the rest of the monitoring community.

For those who are happy listening to established channels and talk groups, simply set ID Search to Off and blissfully scan. For the more adventurous, turn ID Search to On, note your findings, and share with the forum.