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Icom 3261 Scanning Help
- Thread starter mchur01
- Start date
- Status
If it don't scan when you turn it on that's in scan setting. If you want it scan when you turn it on then power on scan should be clicked on.
Icom Scan Programming
Icom's new scan programming can do anything off-the-wall and useless in the real world that some agencies put in their intentionally vendor-specific bid specs, but setting it up can be a pain.
For simple, basic scanning start with this for portables:
In Common | Key & Display
Assign a button to "Scan Start/Stop" (On older radios use "Scan-B". Scan-A is quirky about restarting automatically.)
Assign a button to "Scan Add/Del (Tag)"
In SCAN | Scan List | List 1
-Type: Priority
-Primary: "R.Sel" (Priority is the knob selection)
-Secondary: Leave as "-" for now.
-TX: "R.Sel" (You need to be sure you are talking on the knob selected channel)
-Talk Back: "OFF" (Play with this only after you have the rest figured out.)
-TX Action: "Pause" (So scan will restart automatically.)
-Cancel CH: "R.Sel" so the radio doesn't go to a odd channel when scan is cancelled.
-Text: Display of your choice. OFF shows what channels are being scanned. "Text" shows whatever is in column 1, and "Start CH" shows the knob selection and where you will be talking.
-PWR Save: your choice. Some weak channels or short transmissions may not be picked up if it is on.
I usually set all other lists to "OFF" so you don't get confused. You can change that after you have a feel for it.
[Note: for mobiles, do all the same programming but substitute "Start CH" for "R.Sel".]
In SCAN | Scan Setting
Try "2.0" in the first three rows. Tweak that to suit after you have a feel for how the radio performs. Right-Click | Help for details.
Leave "Talk Back" at 10 for now.
LEAVE "Fast Scan" AND "Slow Scan" AT THE DEFAULT!!!!! If you change them you will miss transmissions. The radio will dependably scan a dozen channels in public safety applications. If you want to scan hundreds, go Uniden.
-Power On Scan: "Resume" (This remembers what you were doing when the radio was shut off.)
-Monitor Key Action: "Null" (so the monitor key doesn't change your scan activity.)
-Right-Click | Help for the rest, but leave them OFF for the time being.
In Common | Common
-TOT/Lockout, put TOT Timer > 60 seconds and < 120 seconds, set the "Penalty" to "2", and TOT Beep to ON. While you're there set the low battery alert beeps ON to suit.
In Memory CH | Zone 1
-TOT: ON for all channels, lest you butt-dial for five minutes.
-PWR Save: should be OFF for paging channels.
-Scan List: everything but "1" was turned off in "SCAN | Scan List |" and will be ignored. A "1" means the channel will be scanned.
-Inc: a blank means the channel is locked in or out of the list and ignores a "Scan Add/Del (Tag)" button press. Blank out "Scan List" and "Inc" for weather channels. Enter a "1" and blank the "Inc" for 'must always be scanned' channels. Leave the rest at "Inc".
-Auto Scan: "ON" means scanning will start any time you select this channel.
The other scan fields get pretty deep into programming so leave them alone for now.
Read the radio first and ALWAYS keep a safe copy before making changes. This will import scan list adds and deletions into your .icf file. That way you can go back if you mess up.
Mode Dependent Scan and Talk-Back are a nod to the agencies that write bid specs requiring products from the great and powerful /\/\other. Leave them off unless you know how they work.
-------------------------
Edit PS: The Scan Settings Fast Scan and Slow scan should only be changed with caution.
Fast Scan is the speed the radio will check channels with no CTCSS or DCS RX code for a carrier and is normally pretty whippy, but speeding it up may not catch weaker signals.
Slow Scan is the time the radio pauses on an active carrier to verify the presence of the correct CTCSS or DCS when a RX-Tone is required. Icom is conservative and dependable to a fault in this setting. Shorten it by trial and error, balanced by CTCSS attack time, but if you get it too short you will miss transmissions. If you don't have the intimate knowledge and experience of radio setup to balance the attack time, leave the setting alone.
Setting the squelch too low will really slow down scanning since the radio can only check static/noise RX tone enabled channels at two or three channels a second. Raising squelch can be better, as long as you don't miss important stuff. Scanning with "Text" enabled can show you if the radio is tying to pull a non-existent CTCSS out of noise. SQL Tight by a few points on noisy channels is another option.
Icom's new scan programming can do anything off-the-wall and useless in the real world that some agencies put in their intentionally vendor-specific bid specs, but setting it up can be a pain.
For simple, basic scanning start with this for portables:
In Common | Key & Display
Assign a button to "Scan Start/Stop" (On older radios use "Scan-B". Scan-A is quirky about restarting automatically.)
Assign a button to "Scan Add/Del (Tag)"
In SCAN | Scan List | List 1
-Type: Priority
-Primary: "R.Sel" (Priority is the knob selection)
-Secondary: Leave as "-" for now.
-TX: "R.Sel" (You need to be sure you are talking on the knob selected channel)
-Talk Back: "OFF" (Play with this only after you have the rest figured out.)
-TX Action: "Pause" (So scan will restart automatically.)
-Cancel CH: "R.Sel" so the radio doesn't go to a odd channel when scan is cancelled.
-Text: Display of your choice. OFF shows what channels are being scanned. "Text" shows whatever is in column 1, and "Start CH" shows the knob selection and where you will be talking.
-PWR Save: your choice. Some weak channels or short transmissions may not be picked up if it is on.
I usually set all other lists to "OFF" so you don't get confused. You can change that after you have a feel for it.
[Note: for mobiles, do all the same programming but substitute "Start CH" for "R.Sel".]
In SCAN | Scan Setting
Try "2.0" in the first three rows. Tweak that to suit after you have a feel for how the radio performs. Right-Click | Help for details.
Leave "Talk Back" at 10 for now.
LEAVE "Fast Scan" AND "Slow Scan" AT THE DEFAULT!!!!! If you change them you will miss transmissions. The radio will dependably scan a dozen channels in public safety applications. If you want to scan hundreds, go Uniden.
-Power On Scan: "Resume" (This remembers what you were doing when the radio was shut off.)
-Monitor Key Action: "Null" (so the monitor key doesn't change your scan activity.)
-Right-Click | Help for the rest, but leave them OFF for the time being.
In Common | Common
-TOT/Lockout, put TOT Timer > 60 seconds and < 120 seconds, set the "Penalty" to "2", and TOT Beep to ON. While you're there set the low battery alert beeps ON to suit.
In Memory CH | Zone 1
-TOT: ON for all channels, lest you butt-dial for five minutes.
-PWR Save: should be OFF for paging channels.
-Scan List: everything but "1" was turned off in "SCAN | Scan List |" and will be ignored. A "1" means the channel will be scanned.
-Inc: a blank means the channel is locked in or out of the list and ignores a "Scan Add/Del (Tag)" button press. Blank out "Scan List" and "Inc" for weather channels. Enter a "1" and blank the "Inc" for 'must always be scanned' channels. Leave the rest at "Inc".
-Auto Scan: "ON" means scanning will start any time you select this channel.
The other scan fields get pretty deep into programming so leave them alone for now.
Read the radio first and ALWAYS keep a safe copy before making changes. This will import scan list adds and deletions into your .icf file. That way you can go back if you mess up.
Mode Dependent Scan and Talk-Back are a nod to the agencies that write bid specs requiring products from the great and powerful /\/\other. Leave them off unless you know how they work.
-------------------------
Edit PS: The Scan Settings Fast Scan and Slow scan should only be changed with caution.
Fast Scan is the speed the radio will check channels with no CTCSS or DCS RX code for a carrier and is normally pretty whippy, but speeding it up may not catch weaker signals.
Slow Scan is the time the radio pauses on an active carrier to verify the presence of the correct CTCSS or DCS when a RX-Tone is required. Icom is conservative and dependable to a fault in this setting. Shorten it by trial and error, balanced by CTCSS attack time, but if you get it too short you will miss transmissions. If you don't have the intimate knowledge and experience of radio setup to balance the attack time, leave the setting alone.
Setting the squelch too low will really slow down scanning since the radio can only check static/noise RX tone enabled channels at two or three channels a second. Raising squelch can be better, as long as you don't miss important stuff. Scanning with "Text" enabled can show you if the radio is tying to pull a non-existent CTCSS out of noise. SQL Tight by a few points on noisy channels is another option.
Last edited:
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