BCD436HP/BCD536HP: How to scan everything?

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ProScan

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Copy/paste and other functions all work fine for me in Sentinel. Have not found anything I cannot do.
I think we can do things that Sentinel can't such as:
  • Change system type without recreating a system
  • Copy & Paste and Drag & Drop(or Copy) nodes (Favorites, Systems, Sites, Departments, etc) to other nodes or other instances
  • Find & Replace
  • Find Duplicates
  • Print a nicely formatted HTML page showing Favorite Keys, Quick Keys, Systems, etc.
  • Get Clipboard utility similar to Freescan EZ Grab with lot more options
  • Locations showing rectangles and circles on a Google Map
  • Import directly from RRDB without waiting for the weekly update

marksmith said:
Have often heard that comment about Sentinel being limited, but it does anything I can think of once you learn it
Not really an accurate statement
 
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greggk

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I don't think I've seen this yet...put in your ZIP code and how many miles you want to reach out. Then set scanner to monitor full database. FWIW. Sorry if this has already been brought up. Greg
 

marksmith

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I think we can do things that Sentinel can't such as:
  • Change system type without recreating a system
  • Copy & Paste and Drag & Drop(or Copy) nodes (Favorites, Systems, Sites, Departments, etc) to other nodes or other instances
  • Find & Replace
  • Find Duplicates
  • Print a nicely formatted HTML page showing Favorite Keys, Quick Keys, Systems, etc.
  • Get Clipboard utility similar to Freescan EZ Grab with lot more options
  • Locations showing rectangles and circles on a Google Map
  • Import directly from RRDB without waiting for the weekly update


Not really an accurate statement
Nice advertisement, but I maintain that Sentinel has been able to do anything I have ever wanted to do. And that is an accurate statement.

If others would like to use other software, that's fine. I am not badmouthing any other software. I have not had a need for anything beyond Sentinel, which is very capable when people spend enough time to learn it.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

marksmith

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I don't think I've seen this yet...put in your ZIP code and how many miles you want to reach out. Then set scanner to monitor full database. FWIW. Sorry if this has already been brought up. Greg
That works, but is limited to what is in the database. I think the OP was looking beyond the database.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

ProScan

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Nice advertisement, but I maintain that Sentinel has been able to do anything I have ever wanted to do. And that is an accurate statement.

If others would like to use other software, that's fine. I am not badmouthing any other software. I have not had a need for anything beyond Sentinel, which is very capable when people spend enough time to learn it.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

{duplicate}
 

ProScan

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Nice advertisement, but I maintain that Sentinel has been able to do anything I have ever wanted to do. And that is an accurate statement.

If others would like to use other software, that's fine. I am not badmouthing any other software. I have not had a need for anything beyond Sentinel, which is very capable when people spend enough time to learn it.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

I don't mean it to be an ad. You notice, I didn't mention the software. I just don't want others to believe that Sentinel does everything. The power users know.
 

KD4UXQ

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I think we can do things that Sentinel can't such as:
  • Change system type without recreating a system
  • Copy & Paste and Drag & Drop(or Copy) nodes (Favorites, Systems, Sites, Departments, etc) to other nodes or other instances
  • Find & Replace
  • Find Duplicates
  • Print a nicely formatted HTML page showing Favorite Keys, Quick Keys, Systems, etc.
  • Get Clipboard utility similar to Freescan EZ Grab with lot more options
  • Locations showing rectangles and circles on a Google Map
  • Import directly from RRDB without waiting for the weekly update


Not really an accurate statement

I had a hard time deciding between ProScan and Butel ARC536. I decided to start with ARC536BASIC because I found its interface more intuitive and easier for me to get used to programming the BCD436HP to my liking. Instead of upgrading to ARC536PRO for $35, I will likely buy ProScan for remote control and get the benefits of using it as an all-in-one programmer. Both have some really nice features. Unfortunately my trial of ProScan expired today. I will probably install it on another PC to try it out some more.

Sentinel does work better than I first thought, but still somewhat more difficult to shuffle programming around to my liking for each system. I still cannot see a way to copy and paste a site form one system to another in Sentinel without losing the frequencies and location information.
 

marksmith

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What about copying a trunk site from one system to another. I am still not figuring that out.

Thanks
Haven't tried it, as I usually end up deleting sites rather than copying, but I would think you could highlight all the frequencies and copy, then go create that new site on the system in question,

Click on the system, go to sites tab, add site using +

then click the + after highlighting that site, then clicking on the new frequency record and doing a paste. I am thinking it would add all copied frequencies.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

marksmith

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What about copying a trunk site from one system to another. I am still not figuring that out.

Thanks
Do you actually have a site under one system that can be used by another system?

I would think it would have to actually be the same true system. What am I missing?

I guess it could be two different "systems" in the software that are really portions of the same true system.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

rwier

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Do you actually have a site under one system that can be used by another system?

I would think it would have to actually be the same true system. What am I missing?

I guess it could be two different "systems" in the software that are really portions of the same true system.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

In my area there are many TRSs with same "named" Sites. These are usually on nearby desert mountain peaks. When you look at or visit the Sites, you will see a forest of antennae.
 

popnokick

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Another reason is that I have various tech gadgets around my home that transmit radio frequencies, such as old walkie talkies, a baby monitor, video transmitters, wireless audio equipment, cctv cameras etc. And I want to see if I can find a signal from some of them with my 436. For one example, I own a cheap Chinese baby video and audio monitor (which is actually really good) that I use to keep an eye on my home when I'm in the studio next door, and it did not come with any info regarding frequency of transmission or security. I wanted to see if I could find any kind of signal from it on the scanner in case my privacy is at risk and others could potentially tune into it. This frequency is not going to be included in Uniden's database. And many such products and signals will not be included.
If exploring the RF spectrum for signals as you describe above is of high interest to you, then you would be well served to look at a one of the SDR USB dongles and software such as HDSDR. For about $20 you'll get a waterfall spectrum display that not only shows you signal activity on chunks of spectrum at a time, but also the relative strength of that signal.... which can help you determine if it's something close to you. Once "discovered" by the SDR you can add it to your scanner if it's of continued interest to you.
 

marksmith

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SDR dongle comment is a good point.

Much more efficient than scanning entire spectrum with a scanner.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

KD4UXQ

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Do you actually have a site under one system that can be used by another system?

I would think it would have to actually be the same true system. What am I missing?

I guess it could be two different "systems" in the software that are really portions of the same true system.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

North Carolina VIPER is a huge system with 239 sites. I travel mostly in the western part of the state, but I have programmed the whole state into 8 systems by Highway Patrol Troop as that is an easy way to know which area you are in. As you would expect, many of the sites cover more than one troop area or district. I assign quick keys to the Troops, and Quick keys to the sites that cover that troop. For example, Troop E would be quick key 5 since E is the fifth letter in the alphabet. Sites that cover Troop E District 3 would be quick key 53 for E=5 and district 3 makes up 53. It is real easy to turn on all or some of the sites in a Troop. I started a similar method with my BCD396XT since the method works pretty good portable without a GPS. I also found I liked grouping Police, Fire and EMS into separate systems with the same sites when using my BCD396XT due to the difficulty turning on and off departments, and I still do this with my BCD436HP although it is now possible to have quick keys set for different departments. The 396 didn't have near as much flexibility with quick keys so I had to be more creative.
 

marksmith

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That's what I figured. Pretty much needed to be the same system.

I have done similar programming on the 396 not just becsuse of quick keys, but also max system size. Works well, and while not the most efficient way to scan a system, you often hear more from the less active talkgroups.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

KD4UXQ

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That's what I figured. Pretty much needed to be the same system.

I have done similar programming on the 396 not just becsuse of quick keys, but also max system size. Works well, and while not the most efficient way to scan a system, you often hear more from the less active talkgroups.

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

Right

It's easier for me to keep track of what quick keys are associated with what systems without having to have a quick reference.

I tend to monitor NCSHP the most and local PDs, so those are usually he only active systems. I turn on fire and EMS if something is going on. So efficiency isn't much of an issue since most systems are off most of the time.

I did like ProScan, but I found BuTel much easier to program systems the way I like. I would like to have both, but I really only need Sentinel and ARC536Basic for everything I do.
 

rwier

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They might be same "named" sites, but are they the same frequencies?

536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

If Q is for me, I would bet no frequency sharing and no antennae sharing. Probably local custom/convention to not give a bunch of different names (sites) to the same piece of real estate.
 
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