NEW SDS100 and new to scanning

[jskco]

Thank you for the add. I will say I am brand new to the scanning community. I have spent a lot of time on chat with support, reading my manual and watching videos. There is a lot I still do not understand, but I am getting better, yet very frustrated. Being that I am new I paid the retailer for programming. I had also given them a lengthy description of what I needed. Their programming has been problematic. I have been working on it but it is what it is.......

My issue seems to come down to two things. My favorites lists and my settings.

199913-MESA CO is the only list I am using
I have gone to service types and set it to law-* only


For our use I would like to pick up Colorado State Patrol (4A appears to be our troop), Grand Junction Police dispatch and mesa county sheriff dispatch only. I have been playing with avoids, etc. right now I appear to be scanning to many towers. I have filters set to auto. I have also tried normal. Any assistance in programming this to just pick up those three agencies would be appreciated (not just dispatch but the tac channels as well

Thank you in advance!

 

[KE0HIN]

jskco

you are not alone in this , there is help out there somewhere Im told. They suggest we watch and learn from U tube for me that was only limited success . private message me and perhaps we figure something out

 

[KE0HIN]

I do know if you build a favorites list you can delete unwanted towers I'm on the front range and I see the scanner looking at towers I will never hear as well .

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Hi & welcome to the RR forums:

right now I appear to be scanning to many towers.

If using Sentinel to program, only add the tower(s) closest to you to the favorites list, this way you're not wasting scanner resources scanning towers out of range to you. I'd also recommend perusing the easier to read manual to gain a basic understanding of the SDS100's many functions. It's a top notch radio once you learn how to use it

I paid the retailer for programming. Their programming has been problematic.

As you observed this is never a good idea since retailers aren't familiar with a user's unique monitoring needs. Best to take the time to learn how to program the radio yourself this way you aren't at someone else's mercy to reprogram the radio for you when a change to the system arises. Just my two cents

 

[jskco]

Hi & welcome to the RR forums:


If using Sentinel to program, only add the tower(s) closest to you to the favorites list, this way you're not wasting scanner resources scanning towers out of range to you. I'd also recommend perusing the easier to read manual to gain a basic understanding of the SDS100's many functions. It's a top notch radio once you learn how to use it


As you observed this is never a good idea since retailers aren't familiar with a user's unique monitoring needs. Best to take the time to learn how to program the radio yourself this way you aren't at someone else's mercy to reprogram the radio for you when a change to the system arises. Just my two cents

How do you know which towers are closest? I have read the manual but lack the basic knowledge. I have been reading a lot but it is a lot to take in

 

[natedawg1604]

I would suggest learning how to use the custom band Search Mode in your SDS, and program a band search between 850-860 (some DTR sites use 700 MHz, but not anywhere near Grand Junction). Whenever you see it stop on a frequency and display "DATA" at the top directly below the data/time, you have likely found a control channel. Please note, you will NOT hear any audio, that's okay. Write down each frequency that displays "DATA" as described and program each frequency (control channel) as a separate site, with a separate quick key.

Once you program each of the above frequencies as a control channel, your SDS will display the System & Site ID for said control channel, and you can figure out which site you're monitoring based on the DTRS listings in RR. The Colorado DTR system has approximately 239 sites throughout the State. However, you only care about the sites you can actually pickup from your particular location, wherever that is. In most areas you'll be able to monitor 1-4 (approximately) DTR sites from any one location. Once you identify those sites, assign each of them quick keys and go back and forth between monitoring each site individually, or you can also scan several sites at once, especially if (for example) it's a Sunday morning and the sites aren't too busy.

Unless you travel through the state a lot, please don't worry about programming all 239 DTR sites, just focus on the sites you can actually hear from a particular location. If you go camping or visit someone in another County, use the same method described above to figure out what sites (if any) you can monitor from said location.

In some areas of the state you will have ZERO DTR coverage, even with a great Mobile antenna (such as portions of Highway 50 in Fremont County, when you go through deep Canyons). In some areas you can only barely pickup 1 or 2 DTR sites, in other areas you can pickup numerous DTR sites at great signal levels. If your at home, it helps to use an external antenna either mounted high up in the house near a window, or preferably outside. You don't need to spend a lot of money, just get a low-cost Mag Mount antenna and a metal cooking pan from Walmart or a local thrift store.

If you're in a car, try getting a mag mount antenna and temporarily putting it on the roof of your car near the center, and routing the wire through the window leaving the window cracked open a tad.

 

[fredva]

How do you know which towers are closest? I have read the manual but lack the basic knowledge. I have been reading a lot but it is a lot to take in

This is where you use the RadioReference database pages. Here is the page for the Colorado trunking system: State of Colorado DTRS Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies

In the list of sites, find the ones that are in your county, and see which one covers your part of the county. You can click on the link for the name of the site to see the area it covers on a map. For example, here is the coverage for the Collbran site: Collbran Site Details (State of Colorado DTRS)

One you identify the one or two sites that are closest to you, set all of the other sites to Avoid in Sentinel.

 

[crazy88]

You will want to create a favorites list in Sentinel and go from there. Also, You will want to narrow your system to "State of Colorado DTRS" by holding the system button when the scanner settles on that system while scanning. You will then want to lock into a site instead of scanning several (this makes a huge difference). You can do this by hitting the function button and then the site button and select the site closest to you.

 

[hiegtx]

How do you know which towers are closest? I have read the manual but lack the basic knowledge. I have been reading a lot but it is a lot to take in

For a system like DTRS in your home state (Colorado):
Go to the database page for the system

State of Colorado DTRS Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State

State of Colorado DTRS Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

On the database page for the system, look at the section labeled as System Frequencies:

That lists all the sites for the system, as well as the county the site is in.
Click on the column header County (highlighted above).

That will re-sort the sites by the county each is located in. That makes it much easier to identify which ones are close to you.

For a specific site, say in your county (Mesa, from your comment above), click on the sites name.

That will open a map showing the location based on the licensing.

State of Colorado DTRS Site: Whitewater

State of Colorado DTRS Site: Whitewater Details

www.radioreference.com

 

[Spitfire8520]

How do you know which towers are closest? I have read the manual but lack the basic knowledge. I have been reading a lot but it is a lot to take in

RadioReference has built in site maps that you can look up by clicking on the almost hidden Site Map(s) section located right under the System Frequencies header above the long list of sites and frequencies. You have the option of searching by FCC Callsigns (less useful) and RR Locations. You will see a map with pins for each site and be able to click on the pins to see the name of each site. This will probably be more useful than the ambiguous range circles you get when you try to search for individual sites.