Oh, my -- what have I done?

[PhilY]

Several years ago (maybe 25?), I thoroughly enjoyed scanning as a pastime. Somehow, I managed to get out of the scanning business but decided to start again because it is enjoyable to me. Naturally I fired up my old Bearcat and discovered it is less than useless today so I set out to purchase a newer unit. My normal course of events is to perform detailed research before purchasing but did not this time for several reasons -- one of them being I *thought* I knew what I was doing. Boy, was I wrong. Now, I'm seeing foreign terms like "Trunking" and "MSWIN" so I am totally lost.

Now, some questions. I bought a PRO 106 from Radio Shack. Was that a mistake? If not, is this a capable unit? What's the next step?

I think that's enough for now!

Thank you in advance for any help.

 

[dosboot]

The Pro-106 is a digital scanner, so you are going to right direction.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[KE5TLF]

Mistake? Not by a long shot, but not the absolute best choice, of which there is presently only one choice, the PSR-800.

The 106 will work fine for the short term for the biggest agencies(MHP, DMR, MDOT) but as time goes on more agencies will be going TDMA, and you're likely already missing a good bit from F&W, MFC, and possibly a couple other smaller agencies.

The 106 will be a great scanner for CC decoding for a long time to come as well when you get another scanner.

 

[PhilY]

The Pro-106 is a digital scanner, so you are going to right direction.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for your reply.

 

[bkantor]

Not a mistake, it is an excellent radio. As an "old timer" who has been scanning for many years, I must recommend that you get the software/cable and download the frequencies straight from RR. Hand programming is alot of fun, but if you are not patient (which I am not!), you can save yourself tons of time and get some instant gratification! I also bought a PSR800, which is one of the easiest ways to go (although no keyboard) since you get free database updates and in my opinion is the second easiest scanner to get started on ...other than the HP-1, which I also own.

 

[PhilY]

Mistake? Not by a long shot, but not the absolute best choice, of which there is presently only one choice, the PSR-800.

The 106 will work fine for the short term for the biggest agencies(MHP, DMR, MDOT) but as time goes on more agencies will be going TDMA, and you're likely already missing a good bit from F&W, MFC, and possibly a couple other smaller agencies.

The 106 will be a great scanner for CC decoding for a long time to come as well when you get another scanner.

Thanks for you reply though I am not real sure what some of the initials represent such as F&W, MFC, and CC. I am in the Northeastern corner of the state so not sure how I am affected by those -- whatever they are.

So, it looks like I might be ok as long as long as the agencies around me refrain from TDMA?

Thank you for your help.

 

[GrumpyAeroGuy]

not a mistake at all, sir.

IMHO, it is one of the best P25 digital radios out there, along with the Uniden competitor. Can't go wrong either way, IMO.

Unless your locality is on Phase II, then you are good to go. If they ARE phase II, the Uniden won't help either. The PSR800 from GRE and its RS twin is the only radio that can decode that.

Get a premium subscription here, get Win500 software, and, enjoy.......loads of folks here willing to help.

"ya dun good".

 

[PhilY]

Not a mistake, it is an excellent radio. As an "old timer" who has been scanning for many years, I must recommend that you get the software/cable and download the frequencies straight from RR. Hand programming is alot of fun, but if you are not patient (which I am not!), you can save yourself tons of time and get some instant gratification! I also bought a PSR800, which is one of the easiest ways to go (although no keyboard) since you get free database updates and in my opinion is the second easiest scanner to get started on ...other than the HP-1, which I also own.

Thank you, bkantor. The "programming" part is becoming a *little* bit easier now that I am beginning to understand the process -- at least a little.

So, basically, I have a pretty good start with the Pro 106 but would be well-served to keep my eye on the latest scanner developments. Would that be a pretty good assumption? As a wild guess, about how long do you think the 106 will serve as my primary unit?

Thank you for your help!

 

[PhilY]

not a mistake at all, sir.

IMHO, it is one of the best P25 digital radios out there, along with the Uniden competitor. Can't go wrong either way, IMO.

Unless your locality is on Phase II, then you are good to go. If they ARE phase II, the Uniden won't help either. The PSR800 from GRE and its RS twin is the only radio that can decode that.

Get a premium subscription here, get Win500 software, and, enjoy.......loads of folks here willing to help.

"ya dun good".

Thanks, Grumpy -- I like that moniker.

I see to be able to pick up most local transmissions without any trouble by scanning the single channel -- not trunking. However, looking at the info on this site it states the "system type" is Motorola Type II SmartZone. Am I screwed with the 106 based on that?

BTW, I have the premium subscription but not yet the cable and software. Those are to come. I just got my scanner yesterday.

 

[RonnieUSA]

However, looking at the info on this site it states the "system type" is Motorola Type II SmartZone. Am I screwed with the 106 based on that?

BTW, I have the premium subscription but not yet the cable and software. Those are to come. I just got my scanner yesterday.

Your good to go with that radio, your only hear one side of the transmission the way your doing it.
It is so much easier with the software.

Good Luck!!!

 

[PhilY]

Your good to go with that radio, your only hear one side of the transmission the way your doing it.
It is so much easier with the software.

Good Luck!!!

Thanks, RonnieUSA. That makes me feel a little better about my purchase. It *sounds* like I am hearing both sides but I did just start scanning so could very well be wrong. Looks like I get to learn about this "trunking" programming sooner rather than later but will also get the cable and software. Me being me, I just want to learn the programming also.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Avery93]

Thanks for you reply though I am not real sure what some of the initials represent such as F&W, MFC, and CC. I am in the Northeastern corner of the state so not sure how I am affected by those -- whatever they are.

So, it looks like I might be ok as long as long as the agencies around me refrain from TDMA?

F&W= Fish & Wildlife
MFC= Mississippi Forestry Commission
CC= Control Channel. Basically this is a data channel present on each site of a trunking system that continuously transmits system information. Using a program such as Pro96Com and a scanner tuned to the control channel, all activity on a site can be monitored and logged, in addition to detailed information about the site.

Yes, you will be able to monitor all unencrypted P25 Phase I (FDMA) traffic on the system, but not P25 Phase II (TDMA). Fortunately, Phase II TDMA use seems to be limited in the Northeast part of the state, for now. I have only seen a few (~5) TDMA transmissions while monitoring the Ashcroft site in Monroe County, all were from Fish & Wildlife. Small agencies like F&W and MFC are already making heavy use of TDMA in the southern part of the state, and they will likely be the first to transition completely to TDMA.

One feature of MSWIN to be aware of, is if a system user with an FDMA-only radio joins a TDMA talkgroup, the entire talkgroup will switch back to FDMA mode to accommodate the FDMA-only radio.

Thanks, Grumpy -- I like that moniker.

I see to be able to pick up most local transmissions without any trouble by scanning the single channel -- not trunking. However, looking at the info on this site it states the "system type" is Motorola Type II SmartZone. Am I screwed with the 106 based on that?

BTW, I have the premium subscription but not yet the cable and software. Those are to come. I just got my scanner yesterday.

The Pro-106 will work fine on a SmartZone system, such as Lee County's, which I assume is the system you are trying to monitor. It is also surprisingly easy to program, even without software. In case you didn't know about it already, here is an "easier to read" manual for the Pro-106.

Following the easier to read manual, create a new Motorola 800/900 TSYS object, enter the red frequencies from this page, then enter the custom trunking tables listed here. After that, you can either enter all of the identified talkgroups, or just create a wildcard talkgroup that will track all talkgroups on the system.

Also, I highly recommend the WIN500 programming software.

 

[KE5TLF]

Seems that the main controlling factor for TDMA is some sites that have yet to have TDMA turned up on them. 144, the red headed stepchild site of the south is still FDMA only, but yes, of course, what you stated is also true. Not that I'm complaining, just passing it along.

Lee County will be converting their system to MSWIN, and may possibly be TDMA from the moment they flip the switch. That's still a ways off though.
http://forums.radioreference.com/mi...e-tupelo-area-mswin-area-yet.html#post1913385

 

[PhilY]

F&W= Fish & Wildlife
MFC= Mississippi Forestry Commission
CC= Control Channel. Basically this is a data channel present on each site of a trunking system that continuously transmits system information. Using a program such as Pro96Com and a scanner tuned to the control channel, all activity on a site can be monitored and logged, in addition to detailed information about the site.

Yes, you will be able to monitor all unencrypted P25 Phase I (FDMA) traffic on the system, but not P25 Phase II (TDMA). Fortunately, Phase II TDMA use seems to be limited in the Northeast part of the state, for now. I have only seen a few (~5) TDMA transmissions while monitoring the Ashcroft site in Monroe County, all were from Fish & Wildlife. Small agencies like F&W and MFC are already making heavy use of TDMA in the southern part of the state, and they will likely be the first to transition completely to TDMA.

One feature of MSWIN to be aware of, is if a system user with an FDMA-only radio joins a TDMA talkgroup, the entire talkgroup will switch back to FDMA mode to accommodate the FDMA-only radio.



The Pro-106 will work fine on a SmartZone system, such as Lee County's, which I assume is the system you are trying to monitor. It is also surprisingly easy to program, even without software. In case you didn't know about it already, here is an "easier to read" manual for the Pro-106.

Following the easier to read manual, create a new Motorola 800/900 TSYS object, enter the red frequencies from this page, then enter the custom trunking tables listed here. After that, you can either enter all of the identified talkgroups, or just create a wildcard talkgroup that will track all talkgroups on the system.

Also, I highly recommend the WIN500 programming software.

Incredibly useful information, Avery93 -- thank you very much. All of this is somewhat intimidating and almost overwhelming for someone in their 2nd day of digital scanner ownership, I can tell you for sure. Hopefully I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

Thanks to your help and the other guys help, some of the fog is beginning to lift. I can tell you the scanner sales person entered most of the freqs in the first list on the page you linked as "Conv" objects and is what I am currently listening too. I now understand those should be entered as a trunking system with the freqs in red. Those are now entered as "Conv" freqs and there is a large noise on both freqs and I now know why.

I am a little confused by your second link and instruction to enter the custom trunking tables listed because the link carries me to a "rebanding" page. Is that correct or should the link carry me elsewhere?

I had already found the "easier to read" link and there is just *so* much info there that I simply backed out. I'll try again. I did find a youtube link in my ramblings that gave what seemed to be good info.

It appears I need to learn trunking programming for the Pro 106 and enter Lee County as a trunked system. Correct? Maybe if you can straighten me out on the "custom tables" I'll be good to go.

Thank you very much for your help!

 

[PhilY]

Lee County will be converting their system to MSWIN, and may possibly be TDMA from the moment they flip the switch. That's still a ways off though.
http://forums.radioreference.com/mi...e-tupelo-area-mswin-area-yet.html#post1913385

Thanks for the link, KE5TLF. It's all just part of the puzzle at this point.

 

[Avery93]

Incredibly useful information, Avery93 -- thank you very much. All of this is somewhat intimidating and almost overwhelming for someone in their 2nd day of digital scanner ownership, I can tell you for sure. Hopefully I didn't bite off more than I can chew.

Thanks to your help and the other guys help, some of the fog is beginning to lift. I can tell you the scanner sales person entered most of the freqs in the first list on the page you linked as "Conv" objects and is what I am currently listening too. I now understand those should be entered as a trunking system with the freqs in red. Those are now entered as "Conv" freqs and there is a large noise on both freqs and I now know why.

I am a little confused by your second link and instruction to enter the custom trunking tables listed because the link carries me to a "rebanding" page. Is that correct or should the link carry me elsewhere?

I had already found the "easier to read" link and there is just *so* much info there that I simply backed out. I'll try again. I did find a youtube link in my ramblings that gave what seemed to be good info.

It appears I need to learn trunking programming for the Pro 106 and enter Lee County as a trunked system. Correct? Maybe if you can straighten me out on the "custom tables" I'll be good to go.

Thank you very much for your help!

Yes, the Lee County system should be programmed as a "MOT 800/900" trunking system. Scanning it conventionally, as you are doing now, will kind of work; but it will be very hard to follow conversations and you will not know which talkgroups you are listening to. I will try to walk you through the process of programming the system correctly below:

Press PGM, then F1 (NEW), then F1 (TGRP). Scroll to TSYS and make sure "NEW" is selected, then press SELect. Set the system type to MOT 800/900, and enter the system name (i.e. LEE CO TRS). Now select frequencies, enter 855.6125 and 856.4125, and save them.
Now scroll down to Atten and make sure it is off, set Narrow FM to No, Dwell to 10, and SuperTrack off. Set Multi-Site to Roam, Threshold Hi to 85 and Lo to 55.

Since the system has been rebanded, you will have to enter custom trunking tables; which is a slightly tedious, but necessary process. Scroll to T Tables, select Custom and press SELect. Now enter all six of the tables from the second chart on this page. Each line on the chart is a separate table (01 through 06). After you complete this, you will have successfully completed programming the actual TSYS object, but the talkgroups remain.

When you save the TSYS object, the scanner should return to the new talkgroup screen. I would first create a group Wildcard, which essentially scans the system for talkgroups you don't have programmed. First select which scan lists you want the TGRP object to be in, then make sure the TGRP is assigned to the correct system (LEE CO TRS). Scroll to ID and press F3 (Dflt) to set the ID to Wildcard, set Type to Group, name the TGRP object, then save it. To program actual talkgroups, repeat this process, but instead of pressing F3 when you get to ID, press SELect and then enter a talkgroup ID from this page.

As you can probably see, this is just the minimum that has to be programmed. Stuff like priority, backlight, LED colors and delay times can all be set pretty much however you want.

Hope this helps!

 

[PhilY]

Yes, the Lee County system should be programmed as a "MOT 800/900" trunking system. Scanning it conventionally, as you are doing now, will kind of work; but it will be very hard to follow conversations and you will not know which talkgroups you are listening to. I will try to walk you through the process of programming the system correctly below:

Press PGM, then F1 (NEW), then F1 (TGRP). Scroll to TSYS and make sure "NEW" is selected, then press SELect. Set the system type to MOT 800/900, and enter the system name (i.e. LEE CO TRS). Now select frequencies, enter 855.6125 and 856.4125, and save them.
Now scroll down to Atten and make sure it is off, set Narrow FM to No, Dwell to 10, and SuperTrack off. Set Multi-Site to Roam, Threshold Hi to 85 and Lo to 55.

Since the system has been rebanded, you will have to enter custom trunking tables; which is a slightly tedious, but necessary process. Scroll to T Tables, select Custom and press SELect. Now enter all six of the tables from the second chart on this page. Each line on the chart is a separate table (01 through 06). After you complete this, you will have successfully completed programming the actual TSYS object, but the talkgroups remain.

When you save the TSYS object, the scanner should return to the new talkgroup screen. I would first create a group Wildcard, which essentially scans the system for talkgroups you don't have programmed. First select which scan lists you want the TGRP object to be in, then make sure the TGRP is assigned to the correct system (LEE CO TRS). Scroll to ID and press F3 (Dflt) to set the ID to Wildcard, set Type to Group, name the TGRP object, then save it. To program actual talkgroups, repeat this process, but instead of pressing F3 when you get to ID, press SELect and then enter a talkgroup ID from this page.

As you can probably see, this is just the minimum that has to be programmed. Stuff like priority, backlight, LED colors and delay times can all be set pretty much however you want.

Hope this helps!

Boy -- I've got to tell ya, Avery93 -- that's a LOT of little bitty button pushing.

I would have *never* gotten this done without your help! I now fully understand why you guys promote the software way of doing things. I will certainly go that route but I am very glad I attempted to manually program my scanner. What a task. There's not a lot going on in the county right now but enough to let me see what I have done with your help is working. Tell ya what -- next time you drive by Wally World, stop in and get yourself a box of those little gold stars. Stick one right on your forehead -- you deserve it.

Thank you so very much for your help!

 

[Avery93]

Boy -- I've got to tell ya, Avery93 -- that's a LOT of little bitty button pushing.

I would have *never* gotten this done without your help! I now fully understand why you guys promote the software way of doing things. I will certainly go that route but I am very glad I attempted to manually program my scanner. What a task. There's not a lot going on in the county right now but enough to let me see what I have done with your help is working. Tell ya what -- next time you drive by Wally World, stop in and get yourself a box of those little gold stars. Stick one right on your forehead -- you deserve it.

Thank you so very much for your help!

It is definitely MUCH easier with software. Since you are a premium subscriber, you can import systems that would take hours to program by hand, with just a few clicks of the mouse. It is also much easier to see exactly how your scanner is programmed, since everything is laid out in an easy to understand spreadsheet-type view.

One thing I forgot to mention, is that not all Lee County public safety traffic is on the TRS. The Sheriff's office operates a VHF repeater on 155.9625 (100.0 PL) that is fairly active, and there are a few other conventional frequencies that I would monitor:

*155.490 - Mississippi statewide law enforcement channel. Lee County and also Tupelo use this fairly often for administrative stuff like checking for hard-copies on warrants.
*155.340 - HEAR channel. With NMMC-Tupelo being in the area, you will hear a lot of air and some ground ambulances giving reports to the hospital. North Mississippi Medical Control and CareFlight also use this frequency a lot.
*154.385 and 154.415 (123.0 PL) - County Fire and Tupelo Fire VHF simulcast. Only the paging tones and initial dispatch are simulcasted on these frequencies from the TRS, so you will hear much more on the TRS; but it is something to be aware of if you ever come across these frequencies in use.

 

[PhilY]

Thanks for the additional info, Avery, and the additional freqs. They are now entered into my 106 and being monitored. After all, I do have the room for them.

 

[KE5TLF]

You don't have to do any of that Trunking Tables stuff. This is a 800 MHz system and a modern scanner. (and there's no 851-852 MHz freqs either and pretty sure even that doesn't matter)

Just TUNE the CC and hit F3, then start F3ing TG's as they're active. (A GRP: Wildcard is automatically generated.) That's all you have to do.

You can go in after storing it all and rename/edit things to your liking. (system/site names, TG aliases, Scanlists, etc) Now as for the naming of stuff that is a tedious chore via keypad, and highly suggest software for mananging that.

While what Avery states is 100% accurate, as is all the help he provides, and is very much appreciated, and very well done, it is also the hard way to do it.

Also if you are normally in range of, and store, both site's CC's in the same TSYS be sure to set the Multi-Site mode to STAT
MAN > left/right to scroll to system > PROG > F2 > F2 > scroll down and use left/right to change.