Need Quickest way to select specific talkgroup on 396

[1080iAddict]

Guys I have a question about the quickest way to select a specific talkgroup on a given system and have the 396 hold on that talkgroup.

I am programming a home automation application that allows control of the 396 over its serial port. The 396 is hooked to a PC over the serial port and audio is attached to my whole house wiring system. So I basically have a 396 'virtual keyboard and display' on touchscreen monitors scattered throughout the house (the touchscreens do many other things - but this aspect of the project involves incorporating the 396). On those touchscreens i have embedded speakers for the 396 audio that is distributed over the whole house wiring. This allows essentially monitoring and complete control of the 396, both to the keyboard and the display, via any touchscreen monitor. Its pretty slick.

So, I can press each button on the touchscreen to mirror the actual buttons on the 396 (including the function and menu buttons, and the multi-function knob left, multi-function knob right and multi-function knob 'press'). Even better, I can incorporate those 'presses' into macros assigned to a touchscreen button that can be pressed by me or triggered by various other home automation activities.

Here is where I am going with this - an example. If I hear a call on main dispatch and units are told to operate on a specific talkgroup, I want to have a virtual button on my touchscreen that I press with the name of that talkgroup, and that button would send a string of virtual buttons to the 396 in any order I choose, as if i entered them manually on the 396, for the purpose of holding on that specific talkgroup. I could then have a separate button for each talkgroup, say 10 custom buttons, so when i want to hold on a specific talkgroup, I hit my custom button, it runs the macro, and the 396 holds on the talkgroup. I would want the button to work whether the 396 was currently holding on a different talkgroup or in scan mode (if need be, I could 'make' the 396 go to a specific mode as a part of the macro before implementing the other macro functions to get the specific talkgroup).

So my question becomes, how do set up the 396 such that the lowest number of key presses in a macro would take me to a specific talkgroup channel and hold on that talkgroup channel?

Adam

 

[kikito]

The quickest way I can think of is to be on Hold on the system in question and just dial-up the TG you want and press Hold again. At the same time, if you need to change TG's again, all you need to do is repeat the procedure with the new TG number.

Example: While on Hold on the system, punch in TG 12345 and press Hold. Now you need to go to another TG, just punch in TG 54321 and press Hold.

So basically the macro will need to do two things: enter the TG and press Hold.

Hopefully that's what you were asking.....

 

[red8]

I just press hold and scroll over to the talkgroup alpha tag.
For example if a situation occurs on district 3 and the dispatch tells
the officers to coordinate on district 3 talk. I press hold and scroll over to district 3 talk. It's pretty simple to me. Remember KISS
Keep It Simple Stupid.
Please note I was intending to insult a person's intelligence . This
is an old accromyn that I was taught from a former Marine many, many, many moons ago.

 

[1080iAddict]

Actually, kikito's advice is perfect. Red8, thanks also. But a macro that always generates"hold 1 2 3 hold" would work, whether first in scan mode or hold mode. I kept entering the talk group number and pressing enter, and the 396 wanted to store it. I did not know you could enter the talkgroup and then press hold to go directly there.

Thanks guys!!