Ordered an SDS100 that has not arrived yet. So I installed Sentinel on my computer. I updated the database and figured out how to name and create a Favorite. So far I created 5 Favorites which contain all the frequencies for separate counties I travel.
1. I noticed in one county a Power Company that services three states and had about different cities listed, some in other states. Does it make sense to remove the entries for the states that are out of my listening area? Some are several hundred miles away.
When you append a system, in Sentinel, to a Favorites list, you can select the individual departments (agencies or cities) that you want. But even though you only selected what you want, Sentinel also appends every site for the system as a whole. You can remove the ones in other states, and also in parts of your own state that may be too far away to hear, or just not of interest to you. Just be sure that you don't delete a local site that carries the talkgroups you want to listen to. The more sites that are in a Favorites list, the longer it will take to scan through them. Even though the extra sites are out of range, the scanner will stop on them briefly & see if it can hear them.
2. Am I correct that I will be able to upload the entire RR database to my SDS100 using the sentinel software? I then can enter my zip code and have the scanner scan frequencies that are listed in the area of my zip code? And I can set that distance in the profile of Sentinel?
Any time you 'write to the scanner' using Sentinel, it will also write the database from Sentinel as well. That's the case even if you were mainly interested in adding an additional Favorites list, or have changed or added something on one of your existing lists.
You can use your location, and a range to limit what the scanner is trying to hear. To get a more complete explanation of how location works, see this:
How it Works: Location, Location, Location
3. Am I correct I can also create favorite lists and set the scanner to scan only a favorite list if I want?
Yep. The "Scan Selection" tab on your Profile in Sentinel is where you set which favorites lists to download to the scanner, and, of those, which ones are set to be monitored by default. For example, among other things, I have a Skywarn Favorites list, with the local Races net frequencies. That list is set to be downloaded to the scanner, but not monitored by default. However, if a line if severe storms is approaching, I can set that list to be monitored, in case the weather turns really ugly in my area.
Does anyone have any tips or tricks when it comes to setting up a Favorites list?
There are a ton of videos on creating lists, along with Wiki pages and the
Easier to Read Manual site.
One thing to remember, is that if you plan to use Location Control to shape what you are scanning, be sure that your Favorite lists also include the location data for each department and site. If you create, or add to a list, by appending from the main database in Sentinel, the location and range data for the department and sites (for trunking systems) will be filled in. However, if you manually create a list (or add a system to an existing list) by entering the details instead of appending, be sure to fill in the latitude, longitude, and range information as well. Otherwise, if you leave those fields blank, the scanner, if using Location Control, will treat them as having a latitude and longitude of zero degrees for both. Since "0-0" is a location in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Africa, those systems and sites would be treated as out of range.
n1chu has already mentioned to be aware of service types. When the scanner is first shipped, and when Sentinel is first installed, only the Dispatch service types for Public Safety are enabled (Law Dispatch, Fore Dispatch, EMS Dispatch, and Multi-Dispatch). You need to be sure that the
Tac and
Talk service types for those are active as well, i.e. Law Talk, Fire Tac, EMS Tac, etc.
