Please Help

[Bauercrew]

HI everyone
I know i will probably get a thrashing but here goes nothing (L.OL)

I bought a pro 97 scanner from radioshack to sort of test the waters as they say,I AM A TOTAL NEWBE with these things.Never owned one before ,i read the manual that came with it but ihave no clue what they are talking about is there a better manual that tells what i am looking at on the display what there functions are and what they do,the radio was set up with all the local goodies programed ,but when i turn it on i get static even when it picks up something ,the static is bad,also when im able to pick something up it starts scanning again so how do i stop it on the spot i want to listen to,(go ahead start thrashing,L.O.L)ithink i got in over my head with this scanner,(oops sorry I KNOW i get in over my head),i cant return it because i bought it at a store that is going out of bussiness and they wont refund so are there any books on scanners that may help me out that is not to overwhelming ,and yes i bought the cable for downloading and i have win97 program.(I guess i should have checked more carefully on how deep the water was BEFORE i jumped in,L.OL)but like i said im STUCK with it,Sorry for crying the blues im just venting a little and trying to get help

 

[eyes00only]

Hang in there. Learning is hard at first. As long as your not in an area with DIGITAL systems, you bought a great scanner. I have a 95, not a 97 (yours is better). The software is great, but sometimes you learn better doing things by hand. There should be a forum on this site devoted to the 97. You will really enjoy this hobby! Just remember to never interfere with fire, police, ems, etc. operations. Also, you found THE BEST website around. Good luck, and welcome to the site & hobby.

Jerry

 

[NeFire242]

Yeah download the Win97 software and use that to program the Pro97. There is a Yahoo Group what may have a p97 file already created for your area... you can join that group here, http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pro-97/

To have the scanner stop on a signal, hit the "PSE" (Pause) button. This will hold the freq until you press the scan button.

 

[mike_webb59]

I like the "program by hand method to start." Great Idea.

One good tip that really helps is to start with "conventional" channels first. These are usually in the 15X.XXX range (and others) from this site's Database link above. I found that if I "plan" my programming, it helps out..... so I compose a computer spreadsheet that I use to program or copy into ScanCat software. Make sure that you set the channel "delay" to 2 seconds or more to start.

Also, if the 97 supports CTCSS/DCS Tones (the column with values like 203.5 PL), that will help 'filter' channels that get re-used a lot.

What I do is st up a bank for local PDs, a bank for local Fire, then separate banks for surrounding area PDs/FDs, a bank for Mutual Aid/Talkarounds/Cooperative Frequencies, a bank for the State Agency, and then a bank (or banks) for very active Trunks, and so on. I think it's better to have ten banks of ten channels each than one bank of 100 channels -- that way you can lock out/lock in by banks when scanning.

The RS 800Mhz Antenna (about $17-18.00) seems to be better across the board. If it works better than the original subby, then you can think about an external antenna with your next scanner (and you will start looking at adding to your stable if you get the bug).

Then add "Trunked Radio Systems (TRS)," based on what your scanner supports. The 97 supports Motorola and (analog) EDACS for sure; APCO 25 and ProVoice or ESK will be a problem. Frequencies in the 800Mhz range are typical for TRS. The absolute key to TRS Systems (besides getting the channels right) are programming in Talkgroup IDs to follow the action. That's where the s/w come into play.

If you'll post the in State Forum about the County and City you are interested in, someone will give you some pointers.

HTH, Mike