Char/Meck PRO-97 Help

[sd_stack]

Reaching out for a little more help...

I have loaded the Charlotte Mecklenburg Trunk info into my PRO-97 via Win97.

As most of you know, I can only put 150 talkgroups into a bank on my PRO97. CharMeck has 38 Selected Channels and 445 TalkGroups. all of this is over my head but I put all the Channels in one bank and evenly split the talkgroups into the bank with the Channels in it and put the rest in two additonal banks which do not include any "Channels."

I don't understand this stuff really so go easy on me.

It seems to be working and I can see it switching frequencies on the scanner during the same conversation as each participant keys the mike and the Motorola ID number stays the same. I just don't know if this is the optimal setup.

If I want to add other trunk systems, can they be put in the same bank as CharMeck.

How exactly does that work. I would like to add VIPER too .

Thanks in advance for your help.

Steven

 

[Grog]

I have loaded the Charlotte Mecklenburg Trunk info into my PRO-97 via Win97.

As most of you know, I can only put 150 talkgroups into a bank on my PRO97. CharMeck has 38 Selected Channels and 445 TalkGroups. all of this is over my head but I put all the Channels in one bank and evenly split the talkgroups into the bank with the Channels in it and put the rest in two additonal banks which do not include any "Channels."

You need the freqs for the trunking system in each bank you have talkgroups in. I'll load a win97 file that shows one way I had my 97 setup.

 

[Grog]

If I want to add other trunk systems, can they be put in the same bank as CharMeck.

How exactly does that work. I would like to add VIPER too .

One problem with having different trunked systems in the same bank, is that if they both use the same talkgroup number, it could be confusing. It's always best to program the trunked systems in a seperate bank.

 

[brian]

First, don't program all the system frequencies. Only program the control and alternate control channels of the system you want to monitor. You're wasting space with all those voice channels because the PRO-97 just looks for the control channel. If I remember correctly, the South tower site is the one that you want to listen to, so just program 858.4875, 857.9875, 858.2375, and 858.7375.

Second, you don't have to program ALL talkgroups for the system. Just program the ones you're interested in. Remember that the 150 talkgroups per bank are broken down into 5 "sub-banks" of 30, so make a list of 5 sets of up to 30 groups that are related, and program those 5 lists.

If you're interested in listening to more than 150 talkgroups for the system, then you have to program those 4 control frequencies into a second bank, and program the additional IDs into sub-bank(s) in that second bank. I suspect most folks don't program ALL talkgroups for a system.

You can add a second system to a bank with the PRO-97. Just leave an "empty" channel in FM mode between the sets of control channels for each system. So you'll have

MOT CC
MOT CC
MOT CC
MOT CC
FM
MOT CC
MOT CC
etc., where the first set of Control Channels in MOT mode are for the Charlotte-Meck system, then an "empty" channel in FM mode (I use 30.000 with ATT set), and then the MOT CC channes for the Viper system.

Grog is correct in that if both systems use the same talkgroup, it'll be difficult to discern which talkgroup you're actually hearing at any particular time. I label the Control channel frequencies with an alpha-tag that indicates the system it's associated with, such as CharMeck CC, or Viper CC, and this is displayed any time the scanner stops on an active transmission on the system. So this would let you know which system that duplicated talkgroup is active on at any time.

Hope that helps.

Brian

 

[Grog]

Thanks for explaining that better. My keyboard is messed up this morning, and I can't type much

With I have another 97 file with just everything in three banks, as I was testing my 2055 when I 1st got it. I usually just have a Police and Fire/EMS bank set aside for Charlotte (when I head that way).

 

[sd_stack]

Grog the file you sent really helped me to understand how to lay things out.

Brian, your info is very valuable also.

The way I have mine programmed now, I am obviously not getting to hear everything that is available.

One more question. Meck County has a few conventional channels... can I program them below the control channels of the trunk system in one of the banks or do I need to keep only Trunk channels in a bank.

Thanks so much. You guys are a great help.

Steven

 

[brian]

Yes, fill that bank up with conventionals to your heart's content.

In fact, I feel cheated if I leave a bunch of empty channels in bank, so I'm always looking for additional frequencies to add to a bank with a trunked system in it.

Brian

 

[Grog]

I see Brian got to that 1st, and he's right (as usual )

You can put them in the same bank, but I usually listen to any conventional freqs on a seperate scanner.

Another thought on conventional freqs..........

On most of my "trunking" banks, I have a trunking system and a conventional system loaded. One example is my banl 1 is setup for Lincoln County and Palmetto 800. If I'm in Lincolnton, I won't be trying to listen to Palmetto 800 and visa-versa. If I am going to that area, I'll lockout the Lincoln county freqs, than unlock the Pal800 freqs.

The file I posted has just about everything that is listed on this site. You can always lockout/delete what you don't need. I set that file up to let other people test their scanners with a known working Charlotte. Plus I took awhile to rename the longer text-tags to fit in the 16 space display that the 97/2055 has.

That's nicer than the 12 spaces that the 93/2053 allowed. I still have to convert a few win93 files to win97, and that includes renaming everything that can use the full 16 spaces.

If there's anything else we can help with, feel free to ask. I've been playing with win97 enough to have a good feel for it, bot I only listen once or twice a month. There are several others who listen to Charlotte every day, and they will be a wealth of knowldege for listening in the Charlotte area.

James in Lincolnton.....

 

[sd_stack]

Thanks again for the help.

One more thing...

I have re-done my Charlotte Trunk scanner file but I have a problem.

My radio doesn't show the display tag for the channel that I am hearing. I have used all the combinations on Win97 and it doesn't work 100%.

I put James' file in my scanner and it shows the tags but when I do it, it doesn't work.

Am I doing something wrong? SHould I set it as a 'Closed' system to get this to work right?

I have tried all three of the selections in the bottom pane when web-importing the selected channels into a bank, but it won't show the tags.

 

[sd_stack]

Follow up:

I "Closed" the bank and now the tag ID's are showing.. I guess I have fixed what I thought was broken.

Why does it show the IDs when closed but doesn't when Open?

I am sorry I am so ignorant about this stuff. Thanks for you help. I am really trying to learn.

I am not sure I really even understand the difference between Open and Closed.

 

[brian]

Open mode means that the scanner stops on any active talkgroup (that isn't locked out), whether it's programmed into your list (with an alpha-tag) or not.

Closed mode means that the scanner stops only on talkgroups you've programmed into active scan banks (and aren't locked out). Assuming you've programmed an alpha-tag for each talkgroup, it will display your tag.

Presumably, in open mode your scanner was stopping on active groups that you hadn't programmed into a list.

Brian

 

[jeffmulter]

With a trunked system as large as CMPD, I break down the talkgroups into 2 banks.

One bank is used primarily for city and county fire, and Medics. The second bank is primarily law enforcement.

The configuration looks something like this ...

-- Bank 1 / Fire and Medics

..... Group 0 / Primary Systemwide Talkgroups (dispatch, mutual aid)
..... Group 1 / County Fire
..... Group 2 / Medics
..... Group 3 / City Fire (operations and emergency talkgroups)
..... Group 4 / City Fire (specialized talkgroups)

( bank also includes conventional fire and ems channels, ITAC channels, and neighboring fire / ems that we would provide mutual aid for )

-- Bank 2 / Law Enforcement

..... Group 0 / Primary L-E (inc mutual aid, NCHP, secure-net, etc)
..... Group 1 / CMPD (patrol divisions)
..... Group 2 / CMPD (overflow of patrol, sheriffs dept, school security)
..... Group 3 / Municipal Law Enforcement
..... Group 4 / Events Talkgroups

( banks also includes conventional L-E mutual aid channels, ITAC, and downtown security net )

Keep in mind that Pineville Police also has its own trunked system in place, and Mint Hill eventually will, also. You MIGHT be able to combine these in one bank, depending on what talkgroup I-Ds are used.

Eventually, the NCHP (Viper) trunked sites in the Huntersville and Cornelius areas, as well as in Monroe, will become active. You can progam all three control frequencies in one bank, with atleast one conventional frequency programmed between the control channels. In a setup like this, I use the ITAC channels as "spacers," since I also want to monitor them, anyway.

Because the three Viper sites mentioned above are close to adjoining NCHP troops and districts, you may find that units from the adjoining troop will affiliate with those sites. Besides Troop H, I would include the Troop F and Troop E talkgroups when programming those sites.

Jeff Multer

 

[sd_stack]

My scanner is working really good now. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[Grog]

My scanner is working really good now. Thanks again for all your help.

OK, good to know. Welcome to the forums as well....

 

[sd_stack]

Thanks. I am happy to be here.