BC436HP Starcom TGs
Hi, I ran across this post last night. The zip code method has drawbacks. First, their is so much information in the Database Set (as in thousands of entries there), that you'll completely miss adding the things you want! You have to dig and dig and dig into this set to find 3 talk groups under Illinois/McHenry/Statewide/Starcom21/McHenry County - Law Enforcement. They will be listed there if your Database is up to date. Crystal Lake is still on analog NFM, so they won't be in this section, but the others are there or in the McHenry County - Fire/EMS section. Be sure that you are using the talk group info and not other info, or old analog channels still listed. FYI,
Huntley/LITH PD - TG # 34103
Algonquin PD - TG # 34102
Huntley Fire - TG # 1179
Algonquin Fire - TG # 34108
The problem is now in the details. The SC21 powers that be have setup the Huntley/LITH PD Talk Group to "Always" be available on the Starcom21 (McHenry site). Notice the word "Always". Same is true with the Algonquin Talk Groups. They will "Always" be available on the SC21 (McHenry site). But the Huntley/LITH and Algonquin Talk Groups are "Only Sometimes" available on the some other Starcom21 sites, (Kane site) but Not always there! Truly hard to guess 'em. Has to do with Talk Group Priority and their field radio to the tower site affiliations in the actual Starcom21 system programming setups on their end. So if you only picked the SC21 Kane site Control Channel, you'd miss most of the calls. You'd have to pick the McHenry site as your main "Site" to stay on. You also need to click on and activate "Service Types" for these in your favorites list, but that should have auto selected by itself. IF everything was setup right, you still might have been trying to stay locked onto the Lake Co Site or the NWCD Site, which were weaker and may not have "always carried" those particular talk groups. It gets messy.
Months of actual monitoring have led me to this brilliant conclusion, the SC21 system has a mind of its own when it comes to whose Talk Groups are Currently (as in Right-this-minute) available on which particular "SC21 Sites". And each "Site" is a combination of radio towers, not just one tower. You may get some good freqs off of one tower and some bad freqs off of the same Site and this is all pretty deep, but it'll affect your reception and you'll certainly hear it. I need to monitor the McHenry and the Kane Sites near Sunset Park to hear everything local and most of the ISP talk groups. The Kane site at my location always yields a perfect signal that never cuts in and out, but the McHenry site is much stonger yet gives me some breakups. The 436HP has the least problems with most of the sites as it has the true NFM filter inside, which is a real plus for you. Mine does a great job dealing with anything. You might want to get the 800Mhz antenna from Remtronix (REM800S) with the SMA connector, it will give 1-2 more strength bars on most sites, works slightly better than Uniden's stock antenna.
The best advice and generally the toughest one to setup, is to scrap the Zip Code method, and really dig into the software and setup your own "New Favorites List" and Right mouse click to Edit this Favorites List, and then (a New Window opens) setup your favorites Your own way. I would also do this, setup one SC21 complete system using the McHenry Site Frequencies and give that a Quick Key, say #1 (for that whole site) then setup another SC21 complete system using the Kane Site Frequencies and give that say Quick Key #2. You can cut n paste the data from one Site to the other, the Talk Group lineup will be exactly the same on each Site, just with different Site Frequencies. Then you can turn the "Sites" On/Off or have both on when you go to listen. Also most of the ISP Talk Groups are not carried on the McHenry Site, the McHenry Site runs mostly the McH Sheriff and local PDs. I do not have good reception from the SC21 NWCD site, nor the SC21 Lake County site (freqencies) as I'm too far west, but you may test try these sites out instead of the Kane site I mentioned, it all depends if you're closer to Lakewood or closer to the east side of Crystal Lake. Remember, the McHenry site will always carry Huntley/LITH & Algonquin Talk Groups but the other (Sites) are a gamble as in maybe yes/maybe no today! It took me nights to try to figure the programming out. I missed things all the time in programming and then, nothing heard. It still happens now. This is not easy.