BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Finding QK assignment?

[W6KRU]

When you are mobile and need to enable a Dept/Site on a system you don't listen to very often, what is the quickest way to find the relevant QKs that you haven't memorized when your cheat sheet is at home?

 

[Voyager]

Organize them in a logical pattern. I use the 'map method' - assigning the FLQK to a region, then the SQKs based on a map overlay of that region where the keypad represents:

NW N NE
W C E
SW S SE

For the Departments, my 1-9 is often wanted Departments, 10-19 = PD, 20-29 = FD, 30-39 = EMS, Etc through all the services. Sites go in 90-99.

 

[troymail]

When you are mobile and need to enable a Dept/Site on a system you don't listen to very often, what is the quickest way to find the relevant QKs that you haven't memorized when your cheat sheet is at home?

Not quick by any means but the only way I know given your question is to

MENU
Manage Favorites
Select the Favorites List
Review/Edit System
Select the system
Select the dept or site
Select "Set Dept (or Site) Quick Key"

I do try to apply the same QK values to like departments in each system and that helps a bit. I also assign (as much as possible) QK values to the sites and systems using consistent values. We have 23 Counties so I assign QK values on County systems and sites in the State system with the corresponding County number. Of course this doesn't work in bigger States or on systems that don't have sites that are aligned nicely with the Counties.

 

[W6KRU]

Thanks for the tips. I was aware of the long method and hoping there was a shortcut I hadn't thought of. I liked QKs and thought they were a strong point of the x96 scanners and now I dislike them and feel like they are a weak point of the x36.

 

[Voyager]

They are definitely a strong point.

 

[troymail]

They are definitely a strong point.

They CAN be...once you get used to them, if you have a good system and/or always have a cheat sheet handy, and use them regularly so the scheme stays in your mind.

I like them under these conditions but I'd really like to see a way to turn everything off and start fresh. Way too many times I find things I thought I turned off still on later (which consumes scan time).

 

[Voyager]

They CAN be...once you get used to them, if you have a good system and/or always have a cheat sheet handy, and use them regularly so the scheme stays in your mind.

I like them under these conditions but I'd really like to see a way to turn everything off and start fresh. Way too many times I find things I thought I turned off still on later (which consumes scan time).

Agreed. I guess I just have a good system.

 

[jaspence]

Qkeys

I have used both Uniden and GRE/Whistlers scanners since the RS Pro-4 got me interested in scanning. My experience is that the GRE/Whistler system is easier and quicker. On my Pro-106, pushing a number key tells me the name of the system at the bottom of the display both to turn it on or off. The V Folders can be labeled with real names, making them easy to select and change. Without a cheat sheet, the qkeys will never match the simplicity of the 106. On the newer GRE/Whistler scanners, it is a different process, but everything has real names, either assigned by the database or by your choice. Scrolling through the database is a little slower, but no cheat sheet is required to turn things on and off.

 

[Voyager]

Really? I have FLs that have over 2000 frequencies in them. Let's see you try that on your 106 (let alone switch from that scanlist to another)...

Yes, the name display is nice, but as soon as the Uniden starts scanning it tells me the name. And all my "v-folders" are available for mix-n-match.

The 500 series are nice scanners, and they do have some advantages over the Uniden models, but V-folders over FLs is not one of them in my opinion.