Bunches of stuff

[jdb585]

My Info:
Zip code-56071
Radio Shack Pro-106
Win 500
NEWBIE

Hi everyone...I bought my Pro 106 on sale the other day. Programming was not nearly as difficult as I had thought it would be. I do however have a bunch of questions now that I am up and running.

1. I have never listened to MSP before. Programmed in all of the talkgroups...But the reception is horrible. I also would like to know if anyone has unit numbers/areas for those guys. I would mainly like the south metro.

2. I love the Pro 106...but the reception seems pretty bad unless I am near a window. I turned off the ATT and still pretty bad. Actually my ancient Pro 2023 gets the best out of the 106 BC780XLT...why is this? Any ideas on how to get some better reception? I live three miles from a new tower for ARMER.

3. Any Mods I should make?

4. I also dont get any of the Alina traffic. I put in the Allina south dispatch talkgrp and St. Francis...nothing.

I know this is a ton of stuff. Any help always appreciated.

 

[jdb585]

It should also be noted I have the Carver CC's and Lonsdale CC's put in....Is there a way to upload the New Prague tower???? Should there be others that I should have uploaded?

 

[wogggieee]

State Patrol and Allina may not be very active on those control channels. Try the hennepin or metro main one if you can. For reception, get a better antenna. The radio shack 800mhz one is highly rated. And don't forget with digital its all or nothing. If you don't get great signal and it doesn't decode everything you're not going to be able to hear it through static like analog. You wont be able to hear it at all. Or it will be very choppy.

 

[turtle16]

I bought my Pro 106 on sale the other day to and well returned it today i just couldn't get the damn thing to work. and what do you have for the cc?

 

[wogggieee]

I bought my Pro 106 on sale the other day to and well returned it today i just couldn't get the damn thing to work. and what do you have for the cc?

Well if you dont have the scanner i guess it doesnt matter. you should have given it some more time to let us help you and put some more effort into it rather than just running back to the store.

 

[Raven95150]

Well if you dont have the scanner i guess it doesnt matter. you should have given it some more time to let us help you and put some more effort into it rather than just running back to the store.

Couldn't agree more. The days of plugging in a few frequencies and scanning away are quickly fading. There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to digital scanners. If you want to listen, you need to take the time to learn how the scanners work and how the radio systems work.

 

[unclebubba]

I bought my Pro 106 on sale the other day to and well returned it today i just couldn't get the damn thing to work. and what do you have for the cc?

Well, first your location would be important information to share. Second, there isn't just one control channel. There are alternate cc's, and cc's for several other sites you need to enter. Third, we have it easy! All we have to do is program some control channels and talkgroups and the scanner does the rest. It isn't nearly as complicated as some systems in other states. We don't need to worry about frequency tables, spacing, etc. Bottom line is, you need to play around with it! If you enter cc's and don't get anything, you enter another, and another, and then add another.

But the reception is horrible

Three words: Antenna, Antenna, Antenna! And even then, you still may get garbled reception--it is part of dealing with digital 800 Mhz.

Like the other guys said, the days of entering a frequency and listening are over. This hobby has gotten expensive, but not just for equipment, it takes a lot of time too. If you just expect to hear things without putting in a little work, or troubleshooting some issues, you will be very disappointed.

-What works in my area, won't necessarily work in your area.

-Scanners need to be updated with new software versions, and even with that, there are issues.

-There are deadspots in the system, not just with scanners, but with actual system radios.

-Scanners don't work nearly as well as actual mobile/portable radios from Moto that are designed and programmed to work on the system (anyone who has attended a scanner meeting can verify that--those portables are operating great when scanners struggle).

I could go on listing things for hours. When MN's digital system first came online and the new digital capable scanners came out, who helped out those people--NOBODY! They had to figure it out themselves. And thanks to them, there is all this info on RR, ScanFan, ECMScanning, and MN Metroscan. Everyone has access to that information because they didn't give up. They took it upon themselves to to figure out some problems, to "tinker" with settings, to try different things, and then share it with you. There are plenty of free software versions out there. Get one, try it. Don't ask if you should upload a different control channel, just do it. What would it hurt? You can always change it back if it doesn't work.

 

[jdb585]

Alright...it seems some folks didn't take to time to read the original post and started to vent off a little bit. I still have my 106, and STILL tinkering. Tried many different CC's... Here is what I have gotten for results...as always, thanks for any feedback.

I have made a tsys for MSP, EMS, Scott and a Wildcard.

For MSP, EMS, and wildcard using the Losdale CC's I get great reception. However, I miss out on parts of conversations. I STILL do not get much if any traffic from Scott County. I just cannot get this in. Trying numerous CC's....nothing, and I live in Scott County. This is where I need advice. The main CC is @ 90-99% but it just isn't coming through.

Oh by the way...ScanFan has stopped new registration because of hackers and ad's...the forum states to email Jerad for a username/password....HE DOESN"T LIST HIS EMAIL!

 

[signguy10]

jdb585, message me and I will send you Jerad's email to register for scanfan. you can email me at joshbuck8@yahoo.com. Good luck. Feel free to ask questions to, I would be more than willing to try and help.

 

[stmills]

Where in Scott County are you located? The Scott County Towers are a very new addition being put onto the Carver system and I am not positive they are all active. Have you tried Hennepin East -852.3625, Hennepin West 852.6125, Dakota 8853.5625.
I believe Lonsdale may not carry all the Metro traffic so you may only get State and some EMS on it.

Steve

 

[REDave]

Scott County Towers

The Scott County towers should be up by the end of January if every thing goes as planned. Should still have fair coverage in Scott county with the current system.

 

[jdb585]

According to a local paper they had stated by the end of November...it didn't happen. I get 0 signal bars for any Hennepin or Dakota CC's.

Steve....do you think I will get all of State using Lonsdale...or will I miss out on some? I dont get how the CC's fully work i.e. can a dept choose just to use Carver CC's and I wouldn't hear that stuff using Hennepin?

Maybe this is all due to livning at the very southern tip of the digital system??? perhaps???

When using the wildcard for the Lonsdale CC I get a lot if not all of the Burnsville PD traffic...just an interesting point

 

[jdb585]

The Scott County towers should be up by the end of January if every thing goes as planned. Should still have fair coverage in Scott county with the current system.

New Prague

 

[jdb585]

Where in Scott County are you located? The Scott County Towers are a very new addition being put onto the Carver system and I am not positive they are all active. Have you tried Hennepin East -852.3625, Hennepin West 852.6125, Dakota 8853.5625.
I believe Lonsdale may not carry all the Metro traffic so you may only get State and some EMS on it.

Steve

I quoted the wrong reply....It's New Prague

 

[REDave]

For MSP, EMS, and wildcard using the Losdale CC's I get great reception. However, I miss out on parts of conversations. I STILL do not get much if any traffic from Scott County. I just cannot get this in. Trying numerous CC's....nothing, and I live in Scott County. This is where I need advice. The main CC is @ 90-99% but it just isn't coming through.

Just a thought. Maybe the New Prague tower is up for testing, that would put a crimp on receiving the other active towers for the Carver/Scott Site. Once the New Prague site goes active you should not have any problems receiving Scott County.

As far as State Traffic on Lonsdale? I don't think there will be much state activity until the Patrol district for that area switches to the 800 system, when that will be I have not heard. Hang in there your listening enjoyment will greatly improve once they get the New Prague site active.

 

[stmills]

Scott County is now active on the ARMER system. I can get there talkgroups on Hennepin East and Dakota County. How ever I only get the mains i don't get City car to car channels. The way talkgroups are setup is with access to certain systems(control Channels) State patrol mains go across most of the control channels but patrol beat talkgroups only go on the control channels covering the area- a talkgroup for State Patrol beat in Scott County would not be carried on the Anoka System. Main dispatch channels often are on multiple control channels while city car to car is usually limited to 1 or 2 control channels. I believe Lonsdale is part of subsystem of the Rochester portion of ARMER.

Steve

 

[jdb585]

Do you think that they will add local CC's in Scott County?

 

[stmills]

The Scott County Towers are an addition to the Carver System which will cover both counties when completed. There will be 1 Control Channel for the System ( with Alternates) 852.4375 Main CC, 851.8875, 852.0750, 853.7875 - Alternates.

Steve

 

[Raven95150]

I was down in New Prague a couple weeks ago and I was getting great reception with 852.4375 as the CC. I was hearing both Scott and Carver Co talkgroups as well as MSP and MNDOT. Not sure about Aliina since I didn't have my EMS group turned on but I would think the Allina South talkgroup would be active on the system since they serve the Shakopee/Prior Lake area. It's also possible that they aren't very active on the Carver/Scott system because there is also an East Hennepin tower in Shakopee.

What are you using for an antenna? I'd highly suggest Radio Shack's 800mhz antenna.

 

[jdb585]

852.4375 does not come in clear at my home in New Prague...or mobile. I bought the 800 Mhz...it does a little better than the stock...but I still get horrible choppy reception. I guess I could try just using a wildcard for 852.4375 and not run any talkgroups...not sure it would make a difference though. I guess it should be not that though 852.4375 as the CC doesn't get very good reception....when some of the other freqs pop up...some are very clear....but most are not. I keep thinking it may just be the radio....but using wildcard on Lonsdale CC's its all very clear. I have it set to stationary as some have stated to do...when mobile, should I have it on roam??? What difference will it make?