How to use PSR 800 scan SETS and scan LISTS

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Pro94Pdx

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I love my PSR 800, especially the V Folders. The scan sets are also an excellent feature, so that I can group individual scan lists together and listen to all of those frequencies at once, simply by pressing only a couple of buttons... rather than having to go through the entire list of 200 scanlist frequencies, and individually clicking on the ones I want to hear.

However, what I've discovered is this: the scan sets work great, and you can turn on anywhere from 1 to 20 sets at a time, and listen to various groups of scanlists from each set; however, if you want to temporarily bypass the scansets and return to turning "on or off" each of the 200 individual scanlists (individual frequencies) "one by one," you can't do it. So either you use the scansets ONLY, or you have to "not program any scansets at all" for that V Folder to begin with... at which point, you will be able to individually turn the scanlists on and off, one by one, without any scansets involved.

Unfortunately what that means, however, is that if you want to turn on a LOT of individual scanlists (like 50 out of the 200), it's a very cumbersome process - which is exactly what the scanset technology was designed to prevent. Having scansets was a great idea, because it means that process is no longer so cumbersome, since it means having groups of individual scanlists at the touch of a button is so much easier. But if there is no way to temporarily disable the sets - so you can click each of the scanlist frequencies "on or off" one by one - then I have to say I'm a bit disappointed on that front. Otherwise, aside from that, this is truly an excellent scanner, and very well designed.

If there IS a way to temporarily disable the scansets, then I'm missing it. Maybe there is a way around this... and if anyone has figured it out, please let me know. If not, maybe it was just an oversight on the part of GRE when they designed the software. Does anyone know of way to use BOTH the scansets AND the scanlists (turning individual channels on and off, one by one) at the same time? Or, if they can't be done at the same time, how to temporarily "turn the scansets off," so that you can go back to clicking on the individual channels in the scanlist instead... without having them in two separate V Folders?

(Sorry, I know I'm restating the same question several times here, but it's hard to describe what I'm trying to say on this, without actually showing someone in person what I'm talking about)

Also, does anyone know if Whistler plans to continue supporting the PSR 800 after GRE's contract to do so expires in Dec 2014? Or will we all end up with PSR 800s that can no longer be programmed using EZ Scan, and be forced to purchase whatever new Whistler product replaces it? If the "new" Whistler product is essentially a clone of the PSR 800 with a different face, that would seem like a money grab on their part, because those of us who have already paid good money for the PSR 800 would like to see that investment continue to be put to good use. And if Whistler has bought the rights to all the GRE products, then the responsible thing to do would be to continue supporting those products - so that they will continue to work - and then go ahead beyond that and put out new scanners which improve upon the old GRE ones, with new features. In other words, it would be very poor customer service (and damaging to their reputation) to no longer support the old products, and to force everyone to buy a "new" scanner that does exactly the same thing, simply because the brand name changed.

Has anyone heard from Whistler as to what they plan to do in that regard?
 

Pro94Pdx

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Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. However, this leads me to another question:

Using EZ Scan, I have the "Scan Set Mode" (which is found on the Advanced Features tab) set to say "scan sets require scan list to be enabled." Consequently, when I turn on scan set #1 that has "everything enabled," then everything - all 200 of my scan list frequencies - are "checked," meaning they are all turned on. That means if I only want to listen to 4 of the 200, for example - four of them which are not already grouped together in another scan set - I have to manually "uncheck" each of the other 196, one by one.

Is there a way to access all 200 scanlist frequencies in that first grouping (scan set #1, of "everything") where they are NOT all checked in advance... so that I can turn ON only 4 of them, rather than having to turn OFF 196 just to listen to those four?

I tried changing the "Set Scan Mode" to scan sets ignore scan list enabled setting," but that didn't seem to work. If you do that, you can uncheck (or "unable") all the scanlists on the General Settings tab.... which lets all of the OTHER scan sets work (sets 2-19)... but it does NOT let "set 1" (the everything set) work... even if you press the menu button on the scanner, and start checking the ones you want to hear.

Any thoughts on this?
 

MORSEMAN

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Mesa, AZ
I can only relate how I set up mine which works well for me. I live in the Phoenix area and there are many agencies to monitor including conventional, multi site P25 and Motorola. I created 23 scan lists to cover my areas of interest.
I have the Scan Set Mode to Scan Sets Ignore Scan List enabled setting.
I created 6 Scan Sets to group Police, Fire, Services, Air and MilAir.
Scan Set 1 is called PD FD and I only enabled all the Police and Fire Scan lists in it.
Scan Set 2 is PD Only (with only the PD Scan lists enabled).
Scan Set 3 is FD only (with only the FD Scan lists enabled).
Scan Set 4 is Aircraft and MilAir with only those scan lists enabled.
Scan Set 5 is Services and contains only City Services enabled.
Scan Set 6 has only the West valley of Phoenix enabled. ( I do not travel there frequently).
This setup allows me to quickly switch between Scan Sets by pressing Menu, selecting Scan Sets and enabling or disabling what I want to listen to.
I could add more Scan Sets to select each town or city Scan List by themselves if I wanted to.
This seemed to me a more efficient way of switching between Scan Lists instead of having just one large scan set with everything enabled. Turning off Scan Lists took more time and key presses than grouping them together as scan Sets.
I hope this is of some help.
 

Gasman315

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I do the same. I set up the scan list by the different counties I will be travelling through,turning the scanlist on when I enter off when I leave.
 

Sportster77

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I have my scanset set to "scansets require scanlist to be enabled" and have my scanlists divided by county and or business. I have 25 scanlists in my scanset #1 and all 200 are turned off except the one or more that I want to listen to, usually no more than 4 at a time. When I am traveling for work, I just turn on the county I'm in and usually the one in front and 1 behind me. With the radio mounted to a suction mount on the dash directly in front of me, I can easily hit the menu, scroll and select buttons as needed to change what I am listening to at freeway speeds.
 
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