ProScan: "Delete All Systems in Database before Downloading"

[techynyc]

Hi RR Proscan Team, I am helping a friend add some new FQs to his scanner. In Proscan (16.8) when I attempt to execute the function to "Download from Scanner" I see this option is pre-checked with the words Recommended. Since this scanner was pre-programmed from the vendor and that cost the friend some $$$, I am hesitant to execute the download when one of the features is a "delete" without fully understanding what this 'Recommended' feature is going to do. I look forward to reading the details.

 

[buddrousa]

If you are at the database tab DOWNLOAD FROM SCANNER means copy the scanner memory to PROSCAN.
Make a new file the DOWNLOAD thr scanner to this file save it.
Modify the file save as a new name UPLOAD TO SCANNER now you have 2 working copies.
OVER WRITE IS THE BEST WHEN OPTION FOR A CLEAN COPY.

 

[pb_lonny]

Download everything in the scanner, make the required changes in ProScan, upload to the scanner.

 

[ProScan]

Hi RR Proscan Team, I am helping a friend add some new FQs to his scanner. In Proscan (16.8) when I attempt to execute the function to "Download from Scanner" I see this option is pre-checked with the words Recommended. Since this scanner was pre-programmed from the vendor and that cost the friend some $$$, I am hesitant to execute the download when one of the features is a "delete" without fully understanding what this 'Recommended' feature is going to do. I look forward to reading the details.
View attachment 91919

Did you mean "Uploading" If uploading to the scanner then the data in the scanner will change. Downloading does not change the data in the scanner.

If this option is not checked then the ProScan database will not clear first and you will end up with duplicates.

 

[bc780l]

And the ideal solution would be an option to "Replace systems with the same name" to avoid duplicates and not have to reload the entire database.

 

[ProScan]

And the ideal solution would be an option to "Replace systems with the same name" to avoid duplicates and not have to reload the entire database.

Really? Your solution sounds confusing. What happens if the option is unchecked? Will the system download with a new system name or skip the download? What happens if the System Name is edited? A duplicate will be created. It's been like this for 15 years and I think this is the first question on this so therefore it may be better than your "ideal solution"

 

[techynyc]

Not my first time using ProScan but first time using it with this scanner. So, the only ‘database’, I had on my mind was the database on the scanner. Reading the series of replies clarified that the database that is referred to by this checkbox feature is the database that is active in ProScan software. So to clarify to the rest of the RR community I was under Scenario 1 below.

Scenario 1: Database --> NEW file database file (6KB)
vs.
Scenario 2: Database --> OPEN ‘existing’ database file. (1500 KB)

Scenario 1
ProScan UI (smartly) requires the User to provide the newly created file with a name and then Save it. This new file is essentially an empty database (6 KB). If the User then connects a scanner and executes the Download to Scanner process, the feature "Delete All Systems in Database before Downloading" is moot, since there is essentially no data (i.e. Systems, Frequencies, IDs etc.) in the new file.

Scenario 2,
Database--> OPEN, a file with programmed data (i.e Systems, Frequencies, IDs)

In Scenario 2 the action of Downloading from Scanner with the feature "Delete All Systems in Database before Downloading" selected is consequential.
In this scenario, the User opens a file with data (Systems, Frequencies, IDs etc.) The Download from Scanner process will delete the database file that is in current use, overwrite the active database with data from the scanner and save the file with either the same name or a new name depending on your intended use.

When this feature is selected during the Download from Scanner process, it appears that the potential for duplicate data and the necessary corrections to remove/reorder the data within the existing file would be eliminated, hence why it is "Recommended".

 

[bc780l]

Really? Your solution sounds confusing. What happens if the option is unchecked? Will the system download with a new system name or skip the download? What happens if the System Name is edited? A duplicate will be created. It's been like this for 15 years and I think this is the first question on this so therefore it may be better than your "ideal solution"

Let's say, for example, that I have a few hundred systems in one file. I have one or two updates to apply. Yes, I can transfer the changed systems, but without any software alternative, it will create duplicates, as you've stated, and will require additional steps to rectify. If the "replace with same name" option is available, all is automatic and smooth. So, yes, really, I feel it's a good option, and no, it's not confusing. If system names have changed, yes, you obviously get an additional system to manage. Your competitors have done it for 15 years or so without confusing their users, so knock off the sarcasm--it's not professional. This is an enhancement, not a criticism of the product. Questions are good and lead to better products.

Product Comparisons:
ARC:


Freescan:


ProScan:


I have no further comments to you on this topic.
//

 

[sonm10]

its been a while since ive used freescan, but didnt it have that option?

 

[Chris0516]

Let's say, for example, that I have a few hundred systems in one file. I have one or two updates to apply. Yes, I can transfer the changed systems, but without any software alternative, it will create duplicates, as you've stated, and will require additional steps to rectify. If the "replace with same name" option is available, all is automatic and smooth. So, yes, really, I feel it's a good option, and no, it's not confusing. If system names have changed, yes, you obviously get an additional system to manage. Your competitors have done it for 15 years or so without confusing their users, so knock off the sarcasm--it's not professional. This is an enhancement, not a criticism of the product. Questions are good and lead to better products.

Product Comparisons:
ARC:
View attachment 91951

Freescan:
View attachment 91952

ProScan:
View attachment 91953

I have no further comments to you on this topic.
//

But 'Delete All Systems In The Scanner Before Uploading' helps avoid duplicates.

 

[hiegtx]

But 'Delete All Systems In The Scanner Before Uploading' helps avoid duplicates.

Exactly. If you accidentally start duplicating multiple systems in a scanner by not taking precautions to prevent the conflict, you're going to end up with a hot mess.

Hi RR Proscan Team, I am helping a friend add some new FQs to his scanner. In Proscan (16.8) when I attempt to execute the function to "Download from Scanner" I see this option is pre-checked with the words Recommended. Since this scanner was pre-programmed from the vendor and that cost the friend some $$$, I am hesitant to execute the download when one of the features is a "delete" without fully understanding what this 'Recommended' feature is going to do. I look forward to reading the details.
View attachment 91919

I think the base of this is that the OP's friend overpaid the dealer where the scanner was purchased to program it before shipping. Most of the dealers charge something in the neighborhood of $50 (or more, if adding more than one specific county). That's never a really good idea. And now you are trying to add something your friend did not pay the dealer for, without impacting his pricey initial setup.

Your best bet, regardless of whether or not you use the 'delete before writing to the scanner, is to first read his scanner into the software you are using (in this case, ProScan), and then save the file. That way, an archive copy of what he paid for is preserved. Then, in the programming file you just saved, make your changes or additions, and save that updated file under a different name than that of the original archive.

I did not see what model scanner that you are trying to program (unless I overlooked where it was noted). But if it is one of the database scanners (HP-1/-2, x36HP series, or SDS scanners), the selling dealter simply did what anyone can, in a very short time. Go into the main database in Sentinel, and append the county's system to a Favorites list. You can either add all the systems under the name of the county, or pick and choose a few individual ones. All for a lot less money, and a much much shorter time than the usual several days delay before the vendor ships, so that they can do appending. (You can also use ProScan to import information from the Sentinel database.)

If this is not one of the database scanners, for example a 325P2 or 996P2, since you are a Premium subscriber you can quickly import whatever is requested. I guarantee you that the vendor did not use any "secret squirrel" information to program his scanner before shipping. They used the exact same information available to any user of this website.

 

[Chris0516]

Exactly. If you accidentally start duplicating multiple systems in a scanner by not taking precautions to prevent the conflict, you're going to end up with a hot mess.

UGH.....I did that in Freescan. Glad I got Proscan.

 

[timbuktu]

Not sure this is the right place for this, but I have a BCD996XT and when I upload my data using Freescan I select to erase/replace all data on scanner. Everything goes as expected but when scanner starts back up after uploading it also shows "NEWS" on the screen and below it shows freq numbers scanning like its searching. I have even did the "Reset to Factory" trick by pushing the 2-9-Hold buttons and then turn scanner on and select "Yes" . Where is this "NEWS" thing coming from? And how to get rid of it? Thanks

 

[hiegtx]

Not sure this is the right place for this, but I have a BCD996XT and when I upload my data using Freescan I select to erase/replace all data on scanner. Everything goes as expected but when scanner starts back up after uploading it also shows "NEWS" on the screen and below it shows freq numbers scanning like its searching. I have even did the "Reset to Factory" trick by pushing the 2-9-Hold buttons and then turn scanner on and select "Yes" . Where is this "NEWS" thing coming from? And how to get rid of it? Thanks

Sounds like you have "Service Search" enabled in your FreeSCAN file.
In FreeSCAN:
Open your programming file
Under the "Scanner" drop-down menu, select Setup Scanner Options


That brings up a window with a number of items.

Under the Service Search tab, make sure that this option is locked out (I suspect that is not set as locked out)

Once you've set that as locked out, then re-writing your file to the scanner should clear the search out.
Note that, when scanning, and the scanner goes into "News" or any of the other service searches, pressing the lockout key quickly, twice in rapid succession, should permanently lock it out. (Function + Lockout would also do a permanent lockout). Pressing lockout only once is a temporary lockout. The next time you turn the scanner off, then back on sometime after that, any temporary lockout will no longer be in effect.

If you lock it out, on the scanner, be sure & also verify the setting in FreeSCAN. Otherwise, the next time you load a programming file to the scanner, that Service search would come back into play.

(Note that, since your question is not the same as what the original topic concerns, you should start a new thread whenever your issue is not the same as what is already being discussed. Creating a new thread, with an appropriate title, ensures that your thread may get the attention of someone who is familiar with what you are asking,)

 

[timbuktu]

Thank You. That is one thing I kept overlooking! Amazing how it was fixed in a few seconds.

Darwin