Favorite List - Nothing To Scan???

[LIScanner101]

I really dislike this "service type gatekeeper" thing. When I put something into any scanner I want to be able to scan by frequencies I select. I don't want an additional layer of roadblocks such as being forced to select what "service type" I want to listen. I would find that maddening and almost like an intrusion on my personal choices. But it is what it is with these new scanners.

 

[Dafe1er]

James, do yourself and all of us a favor.

LOAD from the database first. Make a favorites list called VSP STARS and then go into the database and load/ append the channels JUST for VSP into your scanner. Do this to make sure first and foremost you can get the thing working correctly.This has been the problem all a long.

Once you IN FACT can hear VSP STARS on the x36 unit and know it is working then go in and start playing.

Many people have asked you to do this including me and you have been all over the page with settings and ideas. We need to know if you can get things before playing with them...know what I am saying?

 

[AZScanner]

I really dislike this "service type gatekeeper" thing. When I put something into any scanner I want to be able to scan by frequencies I select. I don't want an additional layer of roadblocks such as being forced to select what "service type" I want to listen. I would find that maddening and almost like an intrusion on my personal choices. But it is what it is with these new scanners.

I disagree, the service type is actually a pretty powerful feature.

My 436 is programmed with everything - and I mean everything. Local malls, federal agencies, ATC, law enforcement, fire, etc, etc, etc. Normally the only thing I really care to scan is police and fire, but sometimes the local PD will assist a federal agency such as the border patrol. With the service type option, all I have to do in that case is turn ON the Federal service type and all the federal frequencies come to life. Suppose I take the kids to the mall and want to listen to the mall security channels. Again, it's just a service type away. I don't have to remember where the heck I put those channels in the scanner, I can just turn on the service type and up they come. Suppose I go to an air show - just turn on the air band and guess what I'll be hearing? You get the idea. Think of each service type as an individual scanner profile you can turn off or on at will. Very powerful. If anything, I'd like the option to add my own. I could add service types for each city in the valley and turn off or on entire cities at will. That would be amazing.

-AZ

 

[JamesO]

James, do yourself and all of us a favor.

LOAD from the database first. Make a favorites list called VSP STARS and then go into the database and load/ append the channels JUST for VSP into your scanner. Do this to make sure first and foremost you can get the thing working correctly.This has been the problem all a long.

Once you IN FACT can hear VSP STARS on the x36 unit and know it is working then go in and start playing.

Many people have asked you to do this including me and you have been all over the page with settings and ideas. We need to know if you can get things before playing with them...know what I am saying?

Funny you should ask/suggest this.

This is where I had the issue with all the deletion in Sentinel was because of all the STARS sites. I may need to do this again in a different way, but at least I had what appears to be success.

But the STARS issue was not my real issue here.

Here is my side of the STARTS story so far. I have a HP1, 396xt, 996xt and now the 536HP, also have a lot of other radios/scanners as well. I have only had the 536HP for 5 days, so I have not spent a lot of time with it.

As for STARS, did get it working with my 396xt, have not play with it a long time.

The problem for me, in my location, STARTS is very spotty. I have sweet spots and dead zones.

I have STARS programmed on the 536HP at the moment. But the radio is not in a sweet spot, I need to move it to a different location in the house and I will use the telescopic whip I have on a PRO2096 that is receiving STARS reasonably well.

What have noticed is with the 536HP next to me in the "dead" zone, I do not see the signal indicator.

But if I move my hand within 12 inches of the scanner I start to see 2-4 signal bars on the display.

I am on the couch and I am only moving my forearm and hand, less that 12 inches to get within 12 inches of the scanner.

So I must have multipath or there is some strange reflection going on??

Anyway I have a bunch of antennas and even a number or Low Noise Amps I can play with as well.

I can also drive a few miles to higher ground, but in the big scheme of things I am only 2 miles from he state line and I am not sure how good the coverage is here in my area for STARS?

We can take this back to the VSP thread if needed.

My original issue with not with STARS, I would NEVER use that as a baseline acid test, I was playing with Fairfax FD/PD which works quite well, with the exception of simulcast, in my current location within the house.

 

[LIScanner101]

I disagree, the service type is actually a pretty powerful feature.

My 436 is programmed with everything - and I mean everything. Local malls, federal agencies, ATC, law enforcement, fire, etc, etc, etc. Normally the only thing I really care to scan is police and fire, but sometimes the local PD will assist a federal agency such as the border patrol. With the service type option, all I have to do in that case is turn ON the Federal service type and all the federal frequencies come to life. Suppose I take the kids to the mall and want to listen to the mall security channels. Again, it's just a service type away. I don't have to remember where the heck I put those channels in the scanner, I can just turn on the service type and up they come. Suppose I go to an air show - just turn on the air band and guess what I'll be hearing? You get the idea. Think of each service type as an individual scanner profile you can turn off or on at will. Very powerful. If anything, I'd like the option to add my own. I could add service types for each city in the valley and turn off or on entire cities at will. That would be amazing.

-AZ

I suppose it's a matter of personal preference. I almost always just listen to fire and police. I created additional systems such as federal, public works etc but it's FD and PD 99% of the time. If I want to listen to federal I just press the corresponding quick key on my BCT15X. Simple and easy. It doesn't make any difference what their service types are. But I see now that it is really just how one uses their scanner.

 

[JamesO]

I think Service Types can be powerful and helpful, but I also think in the current implementation it has issues.

Without a "Wild Card" Service Type that is ignored by the choice of Service Types within the scanner and without a single "Scan All Service Types" option you are going to have issues.

As with LIScanner101, if there was an option "Scan All Service Types" or a "Wild Card" service type, this feature would be totally transparent to a user like him.

Then as time went on, even someone that did not originally use Service Types, could enable and start to use this feature.

Again, the Service type is 90% there, it just needs a few additional options and it would be a GREAT feature!

I could even see setting up a Service Type as maybe Air Shows, FRS/GMRS, or Blue, Red and Green dot business radio, etc that would allow very quick and easy access given bands.

 

[greggk]

First, and not to insult anyone's intelligence, I had this issue a while back. Even though I had a entire system downloaded into my scanner, it refused to scan. I spent 4 hours staring at Sentinel, cuz I was determined to fix it. The problem....I downloaded everything except the frequencies . It was a trunked, p25 system, and I forgot the frequencies.

If that is not it, try this. Look at Sentinel software for the site you are having problems with. Look at the "service type" in the sentinel, and compare them to the service types you have turned on in your scanner. If you have just one "service type" not turned on in the scanner, it will not scan. Turn on all matching service types. I had this issue as well.

Greg

 

[dmaria]

I disagree, the service type is actually a pretty powerful feature.

My 436 is programmed with everything - and I mean everything. Local malls, federal agencies, ATC, law enforcement, fire, etc, etc, etc. Normally the only thing I really care to scan is police and fire, but sometimes the local PD will assist a federal agency such as the border patrol. With the service type option, all I have to do in that case is turn ON the Federal service type and all the federal frequencies come to life. Suppose I take the kids to the mall and want to listen to the mall security channels. Again, it's just a service type away. I don't have to remember where the heck I put those channels in the scanner, I can just turn on the service type and up they come. Suppose I go to an air show - just turn on the air band and guess what I'll be hearing? You get the idea. Think of each service type as an individual scanner profile you can turn off or on at will. Very powerful. If anything, I'd like the option to add my own. I could add service types for each city in the valley and turn off or on entire cities at will. That would be amazing.

-AZ

I think the service type does indeed have a place within the target audience. If you just want a scanner that you can turn on, set the time and date, the zip code and finally the service type. For the most part that is all I want to do. Great for the person that doesn't want to know all the ins and outs of how the scanner and radio systems work. But......

I have several ham repeaters (plus gmrs and frs) that I want to hear without all the other stuff included in the service type. For instance, gmrs and frs are listed as a "Business" service type. The alternative is program these as a favorite list. Now I have been forced to learn how the software and scanner function. So I copy the gmrs and frs frequencies from the database and program in a favorites list - and they don't work. I then find out that the service type has to be set even for the favorites list. Now I'm back to listening to all the business traffic that I didn't want in the first place, and I am scanning the gmrs and frs twice. Once in the main database, and again in the favorites list. Does this make sense? Not to me. Now I go back to the favorites and rename the service type to "Custom 1" instead of "Business", turn on "Custom" service type and turn off "Business" type. Now it works the way I wanted.

This is an abridged version of how this really went. It took several hours to figure all this out. I think a reasonable person would assume that if you went to the trouble to create a favorite list, then you would want to listen to that list. If not, then you do have the means to enable or disable thru the quick keys. So, my question is - why would you require a service type to be set for a favorites list? This is one of many confusing and user unfriendly things I have run into with this software. It's a case of the users being forced to mold themselves to the software - rather than the software being made for the user.

 

[JamesO]

First, and not to insult anyone's intelligence, I had this issue a while back. Even though I had a entire system downloaded into my scanner, it refused to scan. I spent 4 hours staring at Sentinel, cuz I was determined to fix it. The problem....I downloaded everything except the frequencies . It was a trunked, p25 system, and I forgot the frequencies.

If that is not it, try this. Look at Sentinel software for the site you are having problems with. Look at the "service type" in the sentinel, and compare them to the service types you have turned on in your scanner. If you have just one "service type" not turned on in the scanner, it will not scan. Turn on all matching service types. I had this issue as well.

Greg

Well glad I am not the only defect to roam the earth!

I think in the end the problem was the Service Type because I started a Favorites List from scratch and the Service Type default is Custom 1, but there is also no drop down menu to give me the choice or options.

I reality, I probably missed the frequency and/or Talk Group on the first few passes, but after making sure I was on the right track, after about the 10th upload and being pretty sure I was set up properly and still was getting the Nothing To Scan message, I knew there was something wrong.

 

[phask]

It's fairly ez tp copy & paste as well as mass delete once you figure out.

As for scan all - it's also ez to have all service type on in your profile.. or take 10 seconds to turn them all on in the scanner (that's a HP1 but should be similar)

 

[whsbuss]

Well glad I am not the only defect to roam the earth!

I think in the end the problem was the Service Type because I started a Favorites List from scratch and the Service Type default is Custom 1, but there is also no drop down menu to give me the choice or options.

I reality, I probably missed the frequency and/or Talk Group on the first few passes, but after making sure I was on the right track, after about the 10th upload and being pretty sure I was set up properly and still was getting the Nothing To Scan message, I knew there was something wrong.

Just as I guessed in an earlier post.

 

[JamesO]

This is an abridged version of how this really went. It took several hours to figure all this out. I think a reasonable person would assume that if you went to the trouble to create a favorite list, then you would want to listen to that list. If not, then you do have the means to enable or disable thru the quick keys. So, my question is - why would you require a service type to be set for a favorites list? This is one of many confusing and user unfriendly things I have run into with this software. It's a case of the users being forced to mold themselves to the software - rather than the software being made for the user.

I kind of think as myself as a reasonable person as well!

Totally agree with your statement, software needs an overhaul.

I vote for Service Type "Wild Card" and a Scan All Service Type button that does not change your Service Type preferences, meaning a signal toggle On or Off for scanning all Service Types that does not change your normal Service Type settings. This would be a very easy logic level program feature in the scanner firmware.

The problem is most people that write software do not use the software they write!

We have go to get this changed and also for the HP1.

I cannot believe if this has been implemented since the HP1 nobody has pushed for the 2 basic missing features that would make this a really good tool and also give it transparency for those whom choose not to use it.

 

[JamesO]

It's fairly ez tp copy & paste as well as mass delete once you figure out.

As for scan all - it's also ez to have all service type on in your profile.. or take 10 seconds to turn them all on in the scanner (that's a HP1 but should be similar)

So can you enlighten me on how I can highlight a range or pick specific things to mass delete in the Sentinel software??

Shift, Control and Alt do not function like a Windows command would.

 

[ofd8001]

I imagine the greater good was served by the creation of service types. Otherwise folks travelling with location scanning enabled by GPS would be forced to listen to everything, then there would be fussing about that.

It ain't like it's a tremendous ordeal enabling/disabling service types either by the keypad or through Sentinel. Just a few button clicks and you get what you want.

Being candid I think the main thing is getting a handle on service types - it is a reasonably new concept. Once folks get their arms wrapped around this, it isn't so awful.

I think a "wild card" or "Scan All Service Types" might be a little challenging. On one hand you are saying to "Scan All Service Types", but it doesn't change your normal service types. That's like saying "I want all types of vegetables but only peas and carrots."

Having said that, it might be worth adding something to Sentinel's profile editor in the service types tab, where you click a button that checks or unchecks all service types boxes (as in "All On"/"Check All" or "All off"/uncheck All".

 

[greggk]

One last thing I wanted to say, and correct me if I am wrong. I have found that if I attempt to modify the settings In Sentinel of a favorites list I have already uploaded, it will not modify it when you upload to scanner.

I found that if I want any modification to change the favorite list in my scanner, I must first go to the scanner and manually delete that favorite, then go back to sentinel and upload to the scanner.

Perhaps all those modifications you were making never changed in the scanner? You may have just been over writing what you already had.

Again, if I am wrong here someone correct me please.

 

[ofd8001]

So can you enlighten me on how I can highlight a range or pick specific things to mass delete in the Sentinel software??

Shift, Control and Alt do not function like a Windows command would.

It does act pretty close to Excel. While editing a Favorites List, you can hold the control button down and left mouse click on individual rows you wish to mass delete. Or you can hold the shift down, left mouse click the top row and left mouse click the bottom row of the range you want to delete. (It only highlights one cell of the given rows, but when you click the red X button say "Yes" to "Selected x Channels) will be removed from Department. OK?" they be gone.

Of course if you delete something and change your mind, you can exit the Favorites List editor without saving the changes. Once you save the Favorites List, any changes you make are finalized.

 

[ofd8001]

One last thing I wanted to say, and correct me if I am wrong. I have found that if I attempt to modify the settings In Sentinel of a favorites list I have already uploaded, it will not modify it when you upload to scanner.

I found that if I want any modification to change the favorite list in my scanner, I must first go to the scanner and manually delete that favorite, then go back to sentinel and upload to the scanner.

Perhaps all those modifications you were making never changed in the scanner? You may have just been over writing what you already had.

Again, if I am wrong here someone correct me please.

If you modify a Favorites List and want to send it to the scanner, click the box the says "Erase Favorites Lists in the scanner" when you write to the scanner . That wipes out the existing stuff in the scanner and replaces it with the modified stuff.

 

[JamesO]

It does act pretty close to Excel. While editing a Favorites List, you can hold the control button down and left mouse click on individual rows you wish to mass delete. Or you can hold the shift down, left mouse click the top row and left mouse click the bottom row of the range you want to delete. (It only highlights one cell of the given rows, but when you click the red X button say "Yes" to "Selected x Channels) will be removed from Department. OK?" they be gone.

Of course if you delete something and change your mind, you can exit the Favorites List editor without saving the changes. Once you save the Favorites List, any changes you make are finalized.

Thanks for the response and info.

Here is what I have found. These features only work inside the table and not the tree.

I need to remove, copy and deal with MANY records higher out in the tree.

For example VA State STARS system has like 50 transmitter sites. I only want 1 or 2.

I have to individually delete each transmit site one at a time and even confirm each deletion.

So unless there is something I am missing, the software is missing the ability to fully edit higher level folders in the tree, it only allow modifying individual records at the lowest level of the tree/file structure.

 

[greggk]

ofd8001...THANKS for that info, I was not sure about it, so I would just delete that favorite in the scanner itself. This is much faster..and easier.

Much appreciated.

Greg

 

[phask]

Thanks for the response and info.

Here is what I have found. These features only work inside the table and not the tree.

I need to remove, copy and deal with MANY records higher out in the tree.

For example VA State STARS system has like 50 transmitter sites. I only want 1 or 2.

I have to individually delete each transmit site one at a time and even confirm each deletion.

So unless there is something I am missing, the software is missing the ability to fully edit higher level folders in the tree, it only allow modifying individual records at the lowest level of the tree/file structure.

Select the FL - then system - in the right panel select site - you can now select multiple lines.


When you modify in Sentinel and do a write to the scanner it should pop up a window on any modified asking if you want to replace, rename, or not (not the exact verbiage).