Changing What is Displayed - PSR 600

[qlajlu]

I am located where I have multiple trunking sites (Motorola Type II SmartZone) that I can copy, and my PSR-600 is doing a terrific job. However, because of the multiple sites I am wondering if there is a way to change what is shown on the scanner's display. Let me explain.

I have used the Uniden BC780XLT since 2001. When it receives traffic I know what site it is monitoring because I can have only one active site per bank in the 780. Now with the Object scanning of the PSR-600, all the CCs of the many sites I can receive from are all loaded into the same TSYS in the scanner and when it stops on a TG the scanner's display gives me the voice frequency and TGID on that stop.

My question: Can I make it tell me which site it is monitoring instead of the voice frequency? As the mobile units move around they can affiliate with any one of the sites and knowing the site is more important to me than knowing which frequency the site has assigned to carry the communication.

I have looked and read and read and looked in the owner's manual, but I cannot find anything in the manual that addresses this situation.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[fmon]

PGM>F3>FUNC>Down>Up to Show CC Info then press right key to Yes.

 

[qlajlu]

Thank you, fmon. I probably looked at that instruction in the book a dozen times and did not see it.

I've made the changes and although it does not show the site numbers, it does show the CC frequency being used and which position number it occupies in the TSYS frequency list. A cheat sheet on the side will give me the information I need beyond that.

Thanks again.

 

[bneilson]

Glad to see that the PSR is working out for you...

I also wish the site would be displayed and not just the Frequency. If I go into TSYS and then Analyz it will show me the site number so it seems like it could display it on the screen at other times.

 

[qlajlu]

Glad to see that the PSR is working out for you...

I also wish the site would be displayed and not just the Frequency. If I go into TSYS and then Analyz it will show me the site number so it seems like it could display it on the screen at other times.

By following the instructions given by fmon above, I have solved the problem. It is not a true fix because you will need a "cheat-sheet" to help you out.

After making the "adjustment" shown, the display will show the Voice Channel frequency alternating with the CC frequency. At the beginning of the line showing the CC frequency is "CC##" with the ## being the position that CC holds in the TSYS frequency list. If you use a cheat-sheet which has the frequencies in the TSYS listed in which position, it is just a matter of looking at the cheat-sheet.

My cheat-sheet shows three columns:

TSYS Position # - Site # - CC Frequency

It's not the epitome, but it works. I also contacted GRE America Cust Svc and this is exactly what they recommended as well. They also apologized in their e-mail to me, believe it or not, because apparently they have received thousands of inquiries about this. When they engineered the 500/600 the underestimated the demand for the site information and did not allow for it. However, other GRE models do provide it.

I might also let you know that my experience with GRE Cust Svc was great. I had an answer to my question within an hour after leaving the question on their Web site.

 

[WayneH]

I also wish the site would be displayed and not just the Frequency.

This has come up before. In order for it to work properly you have to be sitting on the same system. If you are scanning the dwell time is never long enough to see the site ID. It would not work all the time and that's probably why GRE doesn't display it. People would probably still complain they don't see it when they don't understand why they aren't, which is because of the system.

 

[mikey60]

By following the instructions given by fmon above, I have solved the problem. It is not a true fix because you will need a "cheat-sheet" to help you out.

After making the "adjustment" shown, the display will show the Voice Channel frequency alternating with the CC frequency. At the beginning of the line showing the CC frequency is "CC##" with the ## being the position that CC holds in the TSYS frequency list. If you use a cheat-sheet which has the frequencies in the TSYS listed in which position, it is just a matter of looking at the cheat-sheet.

My cheat-sheet shows three columns:

TSYS Position # - Site # - CC Frequency

What I and some others have done, is to place the primary control channel frequency in the same frequency slot as the site number. This doesn't work if the site number goes over 32, but for my purposes, it works very well.

Mike

 

[qlajlu]

This has come up before. In order for it to work properly you have to be sitting on the same system. If you are scanning the dwell time is never long enough to see the site ID. It would not work all the time and that's probably why GRE doesn't display it. People would probably still complain they don't see it when they don't understand why they aren't, which is because of the system.

That does bring up an excellent point. I know there are settings for dwell time that can be made, but I do not understand them just yet. Is it possible to change the time the display spends on each showing of information? Right now it shows Voice Channel frequency info for much longer than Control Channel info or is that setting only for the amount of time the scanner pauses waiting for a reply on that TG before moving on?

What I and some others have done, is to place the primary control channel frequency in the same frequency slot as the site number. This doesn't work if the site number goes over 32, but for my purposes, it works very well.

Mike

This is actually a neat suggestion, but I have a couple of questions. In my situation I imported sites 001, 002, 003, 004, 007, and 011. By matching the site numbers with the position in the TSYS list it will create gaps (from site 004 to site 007, for instance). Would this affect the operation of the scanner? Also, how do you handle the alternate CCs that were imported as well?

 

[WayneH]

Is it possible to change the time the display spends on each showing of information??

Yes, under the GLOB menu there is "LCD Off" and "LCD On" which permit you to adjust the time they flash.

 

[qlajlu]

Thanks, Wayne. I'll check that out.

 

[Forts]

It seems the PSR-500/600's let you slap an alpha tag on just about everything... Why not allow the user to tag the control channels? Then instead of the display alternating between the CC frequency and the VC frequency in use, alternate betweek the CC's alpha tag and the VC frequency. Seems simple enough to me. That's the one thing I like about the Pro-96... when I have multiple control channels in a bank, I can see at a glance which site the radio is picking up from.

 

[mikey60]

That does bring up an excellent point. I know there are settings for dwell time that can be made, but I do not understand them just yet. Is it possible to change the time the display spends on each showing of information? Right now it shows Voice Channel frequency info for much longer than Control Channel info or is that setting only for the amount of time the scanner pauses waiting for a reply on that TG before moving on?


This is actually a neat suggestion, but I have a couple of questions. In my situation I imported sites 001, 002, 003, 004, 007, and 011. By matching the site numbers with the position in the TSYS list it will create gaps (from site 004 to site 007, for instance). Would this affect the operation of the scanner? Also, how do you handle the alternate CCs that were imported as well?

Nope, it'll work just fine if those are empty. You could fill in those holes with the alternate control channels as a just in case option...

Mike

 

[mikey60]

It seems the PSR-500/600's let you slap an alpha tag on just about everything... Why not allow the user to tag the control channels? Then instead of the display alternating between the CC frequency and the VC frequency in use, alternate betweek the CC's alpha tag and the VC frequency. Seems simple enough to me. That's the one thing I like about the Pro-96... when I have multiple control channels in a bank, I can see at a glance which site the radio is picking up from.

It would also more than double the size of the TSYS object. The current TSYS object takes up either 4 or 10 object blocks depending on the type. Adding 32 alpha tags to that item would increase the number of object blocks by 17. That's too much memory to give up for that in my opinion.

I missed that a lot when I got my PSR-500 as well, but now that I'm used to it, it really doesn't bother me that much.

Mike

 

[hfxChris]

That's too much memory to give up for that in my opinion.

Then make it optional

 

[mikey60]

Then make it optional

Not a bad thought, but I imagine that would be somewhat of a massive internal change to the firmware to be able to handle that. I don't think it's likely on this model.

Mike

 

[hfxChris]

Perhaps, but as I see it, that's a serious design flaw.

 

[qlajlu]

Perhaps, but as I see it, that's a serious design flaw.

hfx_chris, look at at the bottom of my post here and you will see that GRE agrees with you. They grossly underestimated the demand for this kind of information. I think that because of the demand, it will become a consideration for adding it into newer models when they come out. One can certainly hope, anyway.

 

[kikito]

Perhaps, but as I see it, that's a serious design flaw.

Does anybody uses and enjoys their scanners anymore? I mean, seriously.

If it's not one thing, it's another.....

Complain, complain.....

 

[ibagli]

Those aren't mutually exclusive.

 

[Mike_G_D]

Enjoy-Complain-....

Agreed! I DO enjoy my 500! But I can think of many improvements. I come from an RF engineering background and tend to think very critically and in a detailed fashion. I have been into scanning and radio in general for over 30 years. I have used many scanners and believe this to be a major improvement over most consumer grade scanners at least in terms of features and use-ability. It is a very significant step forward. Nevertheless, I see many areas in the design I would like to change. To me, this does not detract from my enjoyment at all! The fact that the firmware is so flexible in terms of upgrading potential together with the apparent good customer service is fantastic - a major improvement in the consumer scanner arena!

I like my TV but can see areas of improvement - doesn't stop me from enjoying it. Same goes for my multi-function printer, laser printer, ethernet switch, light switches, toaster, etc. Still use them and am glad I have them! My computers I build myself but I always see areas of improvement for the parts I use; still I'm pretty happy with what's available and won't let a few shortcomings detract from my overall enjoyment of the final product.

Anyway, at the risk of sounding like another "complainer" I'll chime in and agree that the ability to label the TSYS frequencies per site would be very welcome. I, too, used this method on my old Pro-96 and made very good use of it. I miss it in the 500 but, like others here, I have learned to do without it. I understand the probable impracticality of this in the current design of the 500/600. Nevertheless, I would support the inclusion of it in a future model. I would also add the ability to lock out the TSYS frequencies as needed plus the ability to assign talkgroup objects to multiple TSYS's for a more true multisite functionality. I also truly wish there was a way to practically decode and use the system ID during scanning to avoid falsely locking on the wrong system. Yes it's a real problem for me where I live BUT I can work around it - just wish I didn't have to. And, due to my RF background, I can see many areas of potential improvement in that aspect of the 500.

But I believe I got what I paid for and it (the 500) is still, in many respects, the best handheld consumer grade scanner I have used - probably in my life. I am "totally stoked" that I have so many "tweakable" adjustments I can play with and optimize!! The more I'm given control of the better, in so far as I am concerned when it comes to my radio gear and I largely never imagined such adjustability would be available in a consumer grade scanner so, like I said...serious "stoakness" here!

I don't expect perfection, never had it and I know I never will. But striving for it still has value in the overall improvement over time. I'm pretty amazed at what GRE pulled off with this unit! In a way, that's the curse or double edge sword of their (GRE's) success - such good engineering (given the limitations of the price point, etc.) together with apparently exemplary customer service (for the consumer grade scanner market) has yielded a very competitive and unique, in many ways, product BUT that will always bring in more critical scrutiny and feedback. As long as such feedback is constructive and taken as such, GRE can only benifit from it in terms of their future designs!

Believe me, limitations and all, I'm a pretty happy camper! Still gonna keep scrutinizing and critically evaluating the design though! I think GRE would welcome such attention - obviously they do seem to be listening! And that, in itself, is a MAJOR milestone in this product category!!!

-Mike