ct codes?-newbie help

[dairyrattt]

new scanner using pro-97. mainly campbell kenton and boone counties. when scanning stops on some channels my display has ct:? in the display at the bottom-what is this. anybody else in the campbell county area available for newbie help?

 

[searchrescueff]

new scanner using pro-97. mainly campbell kenton and boone counties. when scanning stops on some channels my display has ct:? in the display at the bottom-what is this. anybody else in the campbell county area available for newbie help?

CT refers to the interference eliminator code, or CONTROL TONE, for the agency on that particular frequency. Different agencies use different CT tones, or PL/DPL tones. Look in the Campbell County database for the particular tones for each frequency/agency.

 

[unitcharlie]

Welcome to rr.com dairyrattt.... as you have probably discovered by now there are a lot of agencies transmitting on the various freqs in your area. Without a number entered for the tone you'll hear any agency transmitting, the addition of tones (PL or DPL) to a freq will usually limit your reception to that particular agency... For example, if you enter 154.385 you will receive Campbell Co. FD with a CT (PL) tone of 192.8, further south you'll hear Frankfort Fire and EMS on the same freq using 157.7 PL.... further south still you'll hear Stanford Fire on 154.385 using 445 DPL.... I am not sure of the activities across the borders into Ohio and Indiana, but without the tone entered you'll basically hear any agency using the freq in question within range of your radio.... I'd recommend buying the programming cable and one of the good programming softwares for your scanner, that way you can make changes with little trouble and even send files to others for help or to share....

 

[dairyrattt]

welcome to scanner world!

my story. i was into scanners years ago, got outta it. my father passed away-he was my scanner buddy and all of ohio and ky went digital trunked and all the new tech. wife buys me a pro-97 from santa, teen geek at ratshak tells her its digital and easy to use. im thrilled, until i read the manual with all the new stuff. with my old scanners i simply got out my police call mags and manually programmed each channel keeping everything neat. i knew it all and even got others into it. i begin to read everything, the manual, all the wiki articles, all the forums on rr and a few more calls to teen geek at rat world. he tells me again the pro-97 is digital-i learn from a post on rr that its not. i call teen geek at rr and the discussion is heated on my end but hes very apologetic, wife tells me to be nice its christmas. teen geek tells me i need a cable to program it that sells for on 4.97. late nite run to rat shak, geek boy was wrong again. no such cable exists. i realize i need cable and software to program it for 30 dollars. back home to read more on rr, i download win97 and join rr and have my puter program my scanner. now its on again, i have more questions and start searching for antennas, rat shak has one for about 30 bucks, teen geek tells me its just what i need. brb, off to rat shak.

 

[unitcharlie]

I understand those problems... I found rr.com when it was trunkedradio.net because I was lost with trunked systems.... found a lot of help here, much more than any of the rat shacks around. Unfortunately many of the geeks at the shack have no idea about scanners so they just pass along what they have heard or manufacture things to make their sale. You do need the cable (there are two varieties sold by rat shack, you need the Catalog #: 20-047 ) better chance is to order one from GRE (currently out of stock) or other place that sells them....The software will save you untold hours of frustration with programing, rearranging, etc....I recommend the stuff from Don Starr because it is intuitive and easy to use and understand (and a lot of people use it so you can share files).

The best external antenna for you depends upon what you want to monitor.... I have a basic Rat Shack discone (the cheap one) sticking out a second floor window and hear stuff from about twenty Central Kentucky counties...hoping here that someone in your area will chime in with a more expert thought... I'd buy another duckie since the one on top of the radio just qualifies as an antenna... I prefer the Diamond RH77CA, it is a little long, but hears well on most of what I want to monitor.... the RHF440 is the flexible version--strange looking antenna but works well....

Here is an easier to read manual....

Welcome back, once you get the hang of it again it will be like you never left the hobby!

collier

 

[gmclam]

my story. ... all of ohio and ky went digital trunked and all the new tech. wife buys me a pro-97 from santa, teen geek at ratshak tells her its digital and easy to use. ...

The PRO-97 has a CPU and memory in it which are digital. However, the PRO-97 does NOT receive digital radio communications. Unfortunately typical scanners capable of receiving digital transmissions are about twice the full price of a '97. The PRO-96 is a digital scanner, but quickly becoming outdated. There are a couple of Unidens and some new GRE brand scanners which are a better choice for a new purchase.

Happy Holidays

 

[dairyrattt]

antennas

right now i can only get police and fire from boone kenton and campbell. as for what i like to listen to im not sure what im missing without having a different antenna, hope that makes sense. i guess what im asking is if a different antenna would help me receive any new channels or just improve the ones i can already get.

 

[gmclam]

right now i can only get police and fire from boone kenton and campbell. as for what i like to listen to im not sure what im missing without having a different antenna, hope that makes sense. i guess what im asking is if a different antenna would help me receive any new channels or just improve the ones i can already get.

Certainly an outdoor antenna will improve reception. Think about it this way; if the antenna can "see" the antenna of the transmitter, chances are good you'll pick it up. In other words, it's best if you are not "in a hole" or have a scyscraper directly between you and what you want to hear. Things that affect this are; the exact antenna used, the frequency being transmitted on, the height the antenna is installed at, the type of coax used to connect to the scanner. Of course there's always the power being transmitted and how good your scanner is at receiving (weak) signals.

 

[dairyrattt]

pro-96 outdated?

thats funny- i was just thinking about trading in the pro-97 for the pro-96 so i can receive cincy police. cincy police is now on the apco-25 which is digital. how is the pro-96 becoming obsolete?

 

[gmclam]

PRO-96 or ???? digital scanner

...i was just thinking about trading in the pro-97 for the pro-96 so i can receive cincy police. cincy police is now on the apco-25 which is digital. how is the pro-96 becoming obsolete?

Every product like this becomes less useful over time. I've got scanners that only receive 2 bands (VHF hi & VHF low for example), and some that receive 800 MHz but don't trunk. Is each of these older scanners obsolete? I guess that depends on who you ask. I can certainly use the low band scanner to receive the CHP, or the high band model for some other local agencies.

So when it comes to receiving digital public service radio transmissions, is the PRO-96 the scanner to end all other scanners? Considering that GRE has just come out with a new model, which has more features; I stated the '96 is becoming obsolete. But of course it may work just fine for the agency you're trying to receive now. But will it when they make their next upgrade? Or for that matter will the new GRE (or any other brand) digital scanner be able to receive them after any potential upgrades?

Happy Holidays.