SDS100/SDS200: Does SDS200 need all site channels programmed?

[Indianabrad]

So, I made a scan list for my SDS200 downloaded from the RRDB with Sentinel. Upon reviewing the sites freqs, I saw that all the site freqs are programmed in, as in all the talk channels along with the control channels are programmed in. Is this correct and if so why. I thought that modern scanners only needed to scan the control channels and could get the talk channels from the control channel data. Would it be okay to delete the talk channels from the sites freq's lists? ... After research, I saw that SDS200 supports CCO (Control Channel Only) scanning, to use this mode is there a setting that I needs to set? It would seem that it is an error for the RRDB to program all site channels on the SDS200, no?
.... The Indiana P25 system is Phase one, but Phase 2 capable, does this make any diff at all whether SDS200 only needs CCO programing?

 

[Hit_Factor]

Just need the control channels.

 

[Indianabrad]

Just need the control channels.

Why does RRDB downloading program all the site freqs? Wouldn't this be detrimental and take longer to get to the control channels?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Why does RRDB downloading program all the site freqs? Wouldn't this be detrimental and take longer to get to the control channels?

Get Proscan

Problem solved!

 

[dave3825]

Why does RRDB downloading program all the site freqs?

Thats actually a good thing because if someone did not submit all of the known control channels, or if the system admin designates a new control channel, the scanner will continue to monitor the system.

 

[KevinC]

Thats actually a good thing because if someone did not submit all of the known control channels, or if the system admin designates a new control channel, the scanner will continue to monitor the system.

Except if your system uses IV&D as the Uniden's can interpret an IV&D channel as a control channel and get stuck there...forever if it's a heavy data usage system.

 

[richardbritt]

Thats actually a good thing because if someone did not submit all of the known control channels, or if the system admin designates a new control channel, the scanner will continue to monitor the system.

And it does happen. Last year I spent most of a day to drive to a remote tower and I discovered the controller of the site wasn't using the published site frequency, but one of the voice frequencies. Also one another trip I found another site using a frequency not fcc licensed for the site, as it's controller. The state fixed it after I contacted them and pointed it out. And I corrected the information on both of the sites as now listed in the database here last year. So stuff can happen. I have some favorites loaded with all site frequencies if I don't have a lot of frequencies to scan. Some I have alot of sites in, those I have just the controller and alt controller programmed

 

[ofd8001]

If you are up against memory limits, then programming only control channels is a fix. However SD card scanners have an abundance of memory so loading all frequencies is not detrimental.

There is no adverse impact on scan time as the scanner locks in the first control channels it "hears" and won't look for another.

Downloading all of the site frequencies into your programming software would allow you to create a conventional system with frequencies so that if the trunked system goes into Failsoft, you are ready to go. Granted this would be a rare occurrence. (Also its nice to have for trouble shooting purposes.)

Last point is Uniden didn't choose to import all frequencies just for the heck of it. I'm confident they had sound reasons for doing so.

 

[wtp]

deleted.

 

[n1chu]

You could download a system with numerous sites and then “Avoid” all those that are out of range but the scanner isn’t going to hear them anyway, so the question is basically moot. You could check by first not Avoiding anything and then Avoid what you don’t believe will be heard. But as pervious posts have stated, it won’t speed up your scan rate by anything that can be reasonably measured. I’ve done this with my base SDS200 because I didn’t find it necessary to have outlying sites I can’t hear. My mobile SDS200 runs with all the sites for the specific Talkgroups I monitor because my location changes while traveling within the system’s service area.