SDS100/SDS200: location control for sds100

[snyderdobes77]

Ok this question probably has been asked before (I did a search of prior to asking), but I do have a couple of questions using sentinel.

I have gotten the hang of making favorite lists and getting them loaded on to the scanner, I am trying to figure out the location control however. I have a favorites list of Yakima County WA (city of Yakima and Sheriffs Office, plus fire). I was going to include (and been successful) the Washington State Patrol in the same favorites list and then avoiding all the areas of the WSP that I don't want to listen too. This has been working but seems that the scanner takes a long time to scan through all the P25 systems that WSP is on. So what I decided I wanted to try was create another favorites list and just put WSP in that list and set it to local. I did after I created the list go into "edit" list and select local control but not sure if this is correct or not? Do I need to go into the "edit" profile and add zip code and range?

Also when I create a favorites list for WSP can I just append Washington State Patrol or do I need to append the whole Justice Integrated Wireless Network into a favorites list?

I appreciate any insight on this, Thank You.

 

[buddrousa]

Did you import this System or build it by hand?
What is the Location Range set to?
Did you turn on Location Control Check Marked?

 

[snyderdobes77]

Did you import this System or build it by hand?
What is the Location Range set to?
Did you turn on Location Control Check Marked?

I imported in sentinel to scanner, I did not set a range because was not sure exactly if I needed to do that in edit profile, and yes I did check the control mark in edit favorites list. I really only wanted to have the location control for one of the favorites list not necessarily all of my favorites list (doesn't the edit profile control on favorites list?)

 

[buddrousa]

I have location control turned on have all favorites to download and monitor and depending on listening requirements I set the range from 5 miles to 25 miles.
While using the TACN Statewide setting of mile it only turns on the sites in range.
So I double check Location Control ON, Site Location and Range showing Lat and Lon and Range, Department Showing Lat Lon and Range.

 

[nessnet]

Just remember:
WSP uses conventional (P25), JIWN and their own 700 system, depending on which district. If you travel outside of District 3, you may need to use one of the other systems to monitor WSP. And... you may need to monitor more than on in any given district. They also pigggyback on some local systems (Spokane and Pierce are examples).

WA State Patrol (Washington) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

WA State Patrol Trunking System, Various, Washington

 

[tvengr]

Do you have a GPS receiver attached to your SDS100? You make no mention of that.

 

[snyderdobes77]

Just remember:
WSP uses conventional (P25), JIWN and their own 700 system, depending on which district. If you travel outside of District 3, you may need to use one of the other systems to monitor WSP. And... you may need to monitor more than on in any given district. They also pigggyback on some local systems (Spokane and Pierce are examples).

WA State Patrol (Washington) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

WA State Patrol Trunking System, Various, Washington

Thats good to know, I travel throughout the state, so probably will get the GPS set up sooner then later, D3 is pretty busy over here so there are times when I would rather not listen to them and just county, which is why I was thinking about setting them up on their own favorites list. and then just wanted to listen to D3 (which is why I was wondering about the local setting).

 

[snyderdobes77]

Do you have a GPS receiver attached to your SDS100? You make no mention of that.

No I do not as of yet, will be doing that in the near future

 

[buddrousa]

Then you need to set location with zip code or Lat and Lon in the Location in Menu

 

[ofd8001]

If you set Location Control to On and have a valid location for where you are, the scanner will "do its thing" and turn On/Off "stuff" for your location.

You can add a valid location by entering a zip code or inputting the specific lat/long. The scanner has an internal data table which looks up the zip code and grabs the approximate center of the zip code for the lat/long. If you are in a sparse area, the zip code area can be large. So entering the specific lat/lat is as precise as it gets.

The Global Range for the scanner is different than the Range for Sites or Departments. The Global Range is like a Range extender. So if a Site has a Range value of 30 and you set a Global Range of 10, then your scanner will attempt to receive the site when you get within 40 miles of the site (30 + 10). This is more applicable to use of a GPS device when you are moving around.

 

[snyderdobes77]

If you set Location Control to On and have a valid location for where you are, the scanner will "do its thing" and turn On/Off "stuff" for your location.

You can add a valid location by entering a zip code or inputting the specific lat/long. The scanner has an internal data table which looks up the zip code and grabs the approximate center of the zip code for the lat/long. If you are in a sparse area, the zip code area can be large. So entering the specific lat/lat is as precise as it gets.

The Global Range for the scanner is different than the Range for Sites or Departments. The Global Range is like a Range extender. So if a Site has a Range value of 30 and you set a Global Range of 10, then your scanner will attempt to receive the site when you get within 40 miles of the site (30 + 10). This is more applicable to use of a GPS device when you are moving around.

that makes sense. Just so I completely understand I need to set the location (zip, lat/long) in the "edit" profile in sentinel? and that will then apply for all of your favorite lists? So what happens if I have favorite lists for other locations in the state that I may travel too outside of my location (Zip code), in other words if I have a favorite list of a county two or three counties away and I want to scan those departments when I am in those counties is that a problem with the location being on? I guess what I was hoping for was that you could set location for each favorite you want to scan and not the entire amount of favorites in the profile. Unless I am not understanding the Profile thing which is entirely possible.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[hiegtx]

that makes sense. Just so I completely understand I need to set the location (zip, lat/long) in the "edit" profile in sentinel? and that will then apply for all of your favorite lists? So what happens if I have favorite lists for other locations in the state that I may travel too outside of my location (Zip code), in other words if I have a favorite list of a county two or three counties away and I want to scan those departments when I am in those counties is that a problem with the location being on? I guess what I was hoping for was that you could set location for each favorite you want to scan and not the entire amount of favorites in the profile. Unless I am not understanding the Profile thing which is entirely possible.

Thanks for your reply.

You do set the location you want to use by editing the profile you are using. Besides setting which lists to be monitored, when you write to the scanner, from Sentinel, the location and range settings used in the active profile are written to the scanner.

While you can specify a location in the profile, as well as set your Favorites to either use, or ignore location when scanning, there is no way to include a location specifically for an individual Favorite’s list. Whatever location you see , in your profile, is what the scanner will use no matter which lists are being scanned.

Ideally, if you are using a GPS, with it connected to the scanner and active, the scanner’s location would be updated as you move around regardless of which lists are being scanned, as well as accessing the main database. I would not recommend using the main database, as well as a Favorites programmed to fit that area, because you would be duplicating systems in your list, as well as the same system, that is in range in the database.

What you could do, for your list that you said is for an area ‘two or three counties away’ (from your home location) is to include the zip code for that area in the list’s name. Then, when changing the lists to monitor in the scanner’s menu, you could also, in the menu, change your location using the zip code for that other area. Of course, when you come ‘back home’ and want to scan that area, not the more distant one, you would need to reset the location back to the one that is the default in the profile you are currently using when writing data to the scanner. While using a zip code is not as accurate as specifying an exact latitude and longitude, it should be accurate enough for normal scanning.

If you know what you want to monitor in your ‘alternate area’, you could set that list to what you expect to hear, and leave that specific Favorites list set to not use location control. Using a GPS update’s your location as you move around, only scanning systems that are ‘in range’ based on the location and range for the systems and the settings in your profile. That is especially useful when you are in an area that is not familiar to you, and you are using the main database for scanning. But for a ‘known area’, with a list tailored for that area, also using a GPS is not going to make much difference in what you hear.

 

[snyderdobes77]

You do set the location you want to use by editing the profile you are using. Besides setting which lists to be monitored, when you write to the scanner, from Sentinel, the location and range settings used in the active profile are written to the scanner.

While you can specify a location in the profile, as well as set your Favorites to either use, or ignore location when scanning, there is no way to include a location specifically for an individual Favorite’s list. Whatever location you see , in your profile, is what the scanner will use no matter which lists are being scanned.

Ideally, if you are using a GPS, with it connected to the scanner and active, the scanner’s location would be updated as you move around regardless of which lists are being scanned, as well as accessing the main database. I would not recommend using the main database, as well as a Favorites programmed to fit that area, because you would be duplicating systems in your list, as well as the same system, that is in range in the database.

What you could do, for your list that you said is for an area ‘two or three counties away’ (from your home location) is to include the zip code for that area in the list’s name. Then, when changing the lists to monitor in the scanner’s menu, you could also, in the menu, change your location using the zip code for that other area. Of course, when you come ‘back home’ and want to scan that area, not the more distant one, you would need to reset the location back to the one that is the default in the profile you are currently using when writing data to the scanner. While using a zip code is not as accurate as specifying an exact latitude and longitude, it should be accurate enough for normal scanning.

If you know what you want to monitor in your ‘alternate area’, you could set that list to what you expect to hear, and leave that specific Favorites list set to not use location control. Using a GPS update’s your location as you move around, only scanning systems that are ‘in range’ based on the location and range for the systems and the settings in your profile. That is especially useful when you are in an area that is not familiar to you, and you are using the main database for scanning. But for a ‘known area’, with a list tailored for that area, also using a GPS is not going to make much difference in what you hear.

That helps a lot, a light just clicked on about the location control for an individual lists(must be getting a little slow in my old age). I think I will get the gps unit right after I upgrade the antenna. Thanks for all the help.