ok guys, i purchased the bcd436hp and i entered my zip code and its been scanning for over an hour and i hear nothing. from my understanding my local Police,sheriff, EMS...etc all use the Mississippi MSWIN network not the frequencies listed on radioreference database. I spoke to a guy today that has access to the system and he said there are a couple hundred frequencies that these departments use from 770mhz to 803mhz is what I remember him saying. I am totally confused on how im going to get this to work. He also said all are P25 phase II unencrypted. this is about all the information I have. can someone walk me through setting this up? right now this 500.00 scanner is useless because i cant hear a thing.
someone please help LOL im in Leflore county (Greenwood) Mississippi
When you received the scanner, did you also install Sentinel on your PC & update the database? When shipped, the database in the scanner is well out of date, possibly even several years out. So, if all you did was take the scanner out, install the batteries & connect the antenna, you're using outdated information.
To verify what is the database on your scanner, press the Menu key. That's the key on the left side of the scanner, on the bottom.
On the scanner's display, scroll down and select Manage Full Database by pressing the
E (enter) key.
On the next screen, scroll down & select Information.
If what you see on your scanner is significantly older, then you need to install Sentinel to update it.
Install Sentinel on your PC.
wiki.radioreference.com
There is an Easier to Read manual for Sentinel available online.
Look down in the lower left corner of Sentinel on your PC & see what date is shown, After first installing, it's almost certainly out of date. On Sentinel's main screen, click on the small icon directly under the Tools drop-down menu. (You can also select Update main database from the drop-down Update menu.)
Sentinel will connect via the Internet & get the most recent update available. (Currently, that is 5/15/2022).
Go into the Profile editor and set your Location as well as a Range. (Access the Profile Editor via the drop-down Edit menu.) How location based scanning works (which is what you are doing if just entering your zip code) is explained here:
How it Works: Location, Location, Location
Review the Service types that you want to scan. When first shipped (as well as when Sentinel is first installed), only Dispatch service types are enabled for Public Safety agencies: Law Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, EMS Dispatch, and Multi-Dispatch. You should also enable the
Talk and
Tac service types. Examples include Law Talk, Law Tac, Fire Talk, Fire Tac, etc.
Once you've entered your desired location and range, as well as selected the Service Types of interest, then connect the scanner to your PC using the cable that came with it. When you connect the scanner with the cable, and plug into your PC, you'll get a prompt on-screen asking you to choose a mode. For updating the database, as well as setting location, range, and service types, select
Mass Storage Mode by pressing the
E (enter) key.
Once the scanner is in mass storage mode, send the updated database, as well as location & service type data, to the scanner by either selecting "Write to Scanner" from the drop-down Scanner menu, or clicking the icon.
Once the update is completed, click on the 'Eject USB devices' icon on the lower right portion of the Windows task bar. You need to eject it correctly, since if, instead, you unplugged the cable while the scanner was communicating with the PC, you could corrupt the data on the memory card.