Location settings are easy to get crooked on
Yes, there is a field in a Profile representing the "Current Location". This field cannot be left blank or have 0/0 and the scanner function to any degree of satisfaction.
This location is where the scanner presumes it is and will base any Location Control scanning on that location. Favorites Lists have an option setting to use location control. Anything in the full database is controlled by location.
You may use different locations in different Profiles. I have a Minneapolis Profile and will use Minneapolis' lat/long for it instead of my Louisville home Profile's lat/long.
The easiest thing I have found to do is simply set the zip code each time I am in a different city. When you enter the zip code, the scanner will refer to an internal data table and "grab" the lat/long for the approximate center of that zip code area. That works fairly well except for the sparse/remote areas where a zip code may encompass a very large area. In that case, if you have a smart phone, you might be able to get lat/long from it.
Of course connecting a GPS receiver to the scanner is the very best way if you travel and do mobile scanning.
The Range part is trickier to understand. To keep this very simple, if you are trying to listen to a town 15 miles away, then enter 15 miles as the Range. You can try lesser values until the town "goes away", then use the lowest value that works. Bear in mind if you use 15 miles because you want to hear the town 15 miles to the east, then your scanner will also try to receive the towns that are 15 miles to the north, west and south.
Those who recommend the lower Range value want to limit their scanning to "things" in their immediate area. Those who use a higher value are trying to cast a wider net and attempt to hear things farther away. This is a user preference matter.
To listen to a specific town, I would recommend creating a Favorites list that would include the desired town and leave Location Control Off. Again, this is the simple/easy method. The advanced users may/possibly do things a little different.
