Pro 2096 question?

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ARCA-Dave

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Hey everyone, Dave here. I just got a used Pro 2096 and had it professionally programmed. The lady that works at the local radio shack did a great job with all the frequencies and it seems to work great. I have the manual AND have read as much as one can possibly absorbe on here. I know it gets the trunked charleston, dorchester and summerville (South Carolina) city stuff. My question is on the display, or more specifically the alpha tags. I have figured out how program and tag regular frequencies like the local airport and stuff. My difficulty is with the trunked stuff. For example, all of the trunked stuff stops on Bank 4 channel 10. I would guess that she programmed this as the control channel. I think anyway. Anyway EVERY time someone uses the trunking system it ALWAYS stops on Bank 4 channel 10 but the frequency changes and the dispatcher is different. Regardless I catch ALL the trunked conversations on bank 4 channel 10. My question is this. I noted that there are 5 digit numbers on the bottom row of alpha tags. I have counted 15 different sets of digits. I have also figured out some are the electric company, some are EMS and some are police. How can I, or is there a way to Alpha tag the display to tell me who each set of 5 digit numbers represents? I have figured out 4 or 5 of them and would like to have it display who they are. It may be different for trunked stuff, but on the regular channels if you Alpha tag a channel it says the same thing every time it stops. Is there a way for the Alpha tag to say who it is since each 5 digit number stops on the same bank and channel? I know this sound complicated but I am making this as simple as I can.....I think....Thanks for any advice...and hopefully it can be explained where this old retired Air Force flight engineer can understand it....Thanks in advance...Dave
 

mikext

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Pro-2096

I'll try to simplfy this for you. Take charleston Sc. for example when you enter the freqs. after you hit the enter button to enter the freq. for the trunked system. hit the text button and enter Charleston under each of the freqs. within Charlestons trunked system. Then go into your sub-banks were maybe in sub-bank 0 you might have Charleston fire. you might enter fire disp in channel 0 of that sub-bank. After you complete this for each channel. hit the scan button then when a radio transmission is captured by your scanner the display should look like this: CHARLESTON
.............................................................................................................................................FIRE DISP.
Repeat this for your trunked systems and you might enjoy your scanner display a little better.
 
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ARCA-Dave

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From what I have gathered from the local sheriff's dept, the counties around here share some of the same frequencies. If I understand the whole trunking thing, multiple agencies use the same frequencies. They are identified by a 5 digit number that I was under the impression was a "talk group" number. All of the frequencies I would ever need are already programed I just want to identify them....I would like to alpha tag the individual talk group numbers, but they all show up on bank 4 channel 10. I may not be explaining well but it really recieves a lot and I like it but the major reason I got this particular unit was because it had the ability to alpha tag the users. I really wish it was like caller ID. When someone keys thier mike, it would KNOW who it was..
 

mikext

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Pro-2096

First make sure that the bank is closed. By pressing manual-func 5 that should closed the bank. Then manual- the bank you desire-func trunk use the up arrows to get to the desired sub-bank. starting with sub bank 00 channel 0 enter the talk id then enter then hit the text button enter your text for that talk ID.
The radio shack may not have programmed it properly. Also some county law enforcement talk id's may encompass county sheriff's, Town or city police using the same talk id, because they use a central dispatch for all LE dispatches. Mike
 

ARCA-Dave

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Im not sure what the "bank is closed" means. I know how to lockout a bank but not sure how to close a bank. Also if I program some alpha tags to match up to the talk group ( I assume that the talk group is represented by the 5 digit numbers on the bottom line of the display) will I be able to punch in alpha tags for each talk group number I identify? Sorry for so many questions, the manual doesn't really make much sense. And you are right. The lady at Radio Shack only programmed the frequencies in there and assigned them bank and channel numbers and NO TAGS. I tried something last night though. When you manually advance through the frequencies.....specifically bank 4 channel 10 where all of the trunking seems to stop, insted of the talk group on the bottom line it displays "96: SYID9 88%" and it changes about every second to
"96: BEE 96%" "96: T0101 78%" and the percentages change with each rotation of the display. This is the ONLY bank and channel it does, and this is the one that displays the frequency when it stops on a trunked communication. Not sure what is going on but I am still trying to figure how (if even possible) how to program an Alpha Tag and associate it with a particular talk group. From what I understand, each talk group number is different and they are each a different agency? If I am way off base hopefully someone will set me straight. This thing is overwhelming to say the least. I am used to Uniden Bearcat 200 channel hand held that is 18 years old! Thanks for everything and yalls patients...Dave
 

fmon

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Im not sure what the "bank is closed" means. I know how to lockout a bank but not sure how to close a bank.
FUNC + 5 toggles bank open or closed. A + is indicated under the bank # when bank is open and - would be closed. Also, when you toggle bank open or closed, it will be quickly displayed on bottom line.

Closed bank is scanning only unlocked programmed ID's (these are the 5 digits you discussed earlier). Open bank is scanning all coms used by the system.

Under my signature is a link to RR Wiki for a programming short cut for this and several other scanners. You'll find a section for entering Alpha tags for freqs and talkgroups (ID's).
 

ARCA-Dave

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Thanks Frank and Mike, I figured out how to close and open banks. I was reading some also in the manual and it said on page 68 inder "assigning a text tag to a group ID". I noticed that it only showed me 9 sets of numbers. The day before I was writing down the 5 digit numbers everytime I saw it stop and talk. I had more than it showed me tonight. I was not sure wheather to "open or close" the bank for monitoring? I opened them. I found these numbers when I scrolled through the bank 4 and the sub banks. I know there should be more than these 9 because I saw them yesterday. I went through each bank and checked for ID's but only found these 9. I also punched "program and then trunk" and it toggled from "motorola, to EDACS and to NOT TRUNKED!!! " so I put them back to Motorola. Hopefully I didn't mess anything up. I was following the instructions on page 68 but like I said I only found 9 of the id numbers and I copied down more than that last night. Thanks to yalls help I was able to "alpha tag" one group I found that I positively identified last night, so I am making progress. There are a lot in there I haven't figured out yet, simply cause she didn't tag them. It may be difficult too because some of them are used by multiple agencies and as far as the SC Highway Patrol, I am not right on the interstate so I may not hear them till I am on my way to work in the morning. Thanks for yalls help again and if you think of anything else about locating and identifying more of these talk group numbers, just let me know. Take care, Dave

NEWS FLASH!!! I just figured out if you press "PROG then TRUNK" it stores the 5 digit id number in one of the sub banks. I guess you have to have the id's stored before you can Alpha tag it? Seems like I try to figure out one thing then come up with more dumb questions....sorry.....
I did this with a new tag id and it added it to my list so now I think when I figure out who it is, I can assign a alpha tag to it?? Thanks for everyones help and patients..Dave
 
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fmon

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Palmetto 800 Summerville tower 012 is only 5 miles west of downtown Summerville so if it is programmed in scanner should have these three freqs (red is control and blue is alt control)
858.76250 , 859.46250 , 860.46250. Known ID's and alpha tags are available on that page also.
I just figured out if you press "PROG then TRUNK" it stores the 5 digit id number in one of the sub banks. I guess you have to have the id's stored before you can Alpha tag it? Seems like I try to figure out one thing then come up with more dumb questions....sorry.....
PROG>TRUNK puts the scanner in ID programming mode. You can then navigate (UP/DOWN) to any unused ID (bottom line blank) and key in the 5 digit number then press ENT to store it. Then Press TEXT to alpha tag and ENT again for storing. Then press UP/DOWN to navigate to next blank location. Note the numbers on top line indicating Bank # - Subank # (subbank 0 - 4) and second line indicating slot # (0 - 29) for current Subank.

Charleston Summerville site should have this control frequency 868.95000 and also has multi ID' and tags.
 

n2mdk

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If the bank is set to open it will pick up TGID's as they become active, hitting the TRUNK key will store them in a subbank if you hear something you don't want to listen to hit L/OUT it will store the ID as well but lock it out.
 

ARCA-Dave

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Palmetto 800 Summerville tower 012 is only 5 miles west of downtown Summerville so if it is programmed in scanner should have these three freqs (red is control and blue is alt control)
858.76250 , 859.46250 , 860.46250. Known ID's and alpha tags are available on that page also.PROG>TRUNK puts the scanner in ID programming mode. You can then navigate (UP/DOWN) to any unused ID (bottom line blank) and key in the 5 digit number then press ENT to store it. Then Press TEXT to alpha tag and ENT again for storing. Then press UP/DOWN to navigate to next blank location. Note the numbers on top line indicating Bank # - Subank # (subbank 0 - 4) and second line indicating slot # (0 - 29) for current Subank.

Charleston Summerville site should have this control frequency 868.95000 and also has multi ID' and tags.


Well I just checked and I DO have the first set of frequencies the one red and 2 blue ones already programmed in. I don't know that I have identified them yet or not. The other one listed below the 868.950 is not in there. Can I simply put it in in the same bank as the other ones or does it have to be programmed in a specific way or in a certain channel? Hopefully I can catch on to this soon so I don't have to ask so many questions. I have a tendency to over think sometimes but I just want to make sure I am not messing things up...Thanks again for all your patients and help..Dave

I just noticed there are DEC numbers on these pages with the frequencies. Could I program just the numbers in or do I have to punch in the frequencies too? I guess they are there for a reason but when I read over them I didn't know what they were for.....Please let me know what they are for and what to do with them..thanks, Dave
 
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Dubbin

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I just noticed there are DEC numbers on these pages with the frequencies. Could I program just the numbers in or do I have to punch in the frequencies too? I guess they are there for a reason but when I read over them I didn't know what they were for.....Please let me know what they are for and what to do with them..thanks, Dave

Dave, those are the talk groups for the trunking system, you HAVE to have the control channels (the red and blue ones) programmed in the radio in order for the system to work properly.
 

ARCA-Dave

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Well I have the blue and red frequencies programmed into bank 4. The one that I don't have, I guess I need to get it in also, along with the other frequencies in that talk group? I was wondering about the DEC numbers....is that the talk group ID numbers? If so I can find the numbers and alpha tag the agencies as I identify them too? Hopefully it will be this simple. I stored a couple of more ID's tonight. Just about everytime it stops on a trunked channel, I hit the "trunk" button and most of the time it says stored, but a couple of times it said ID stored and gave the sub bank where it stored it. Kinda getting the hang of things, but yall are definitely lots of help with this thing..Thanks and keep the advice coming....Dave
 

ARCA-Dave

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Making progress.

Well now I have figured out that when I hear something coming accross I instinctively hit the "TRUNK" key and if it tells me it is already saved, I know it is there. If it stores, I know it is a new talk group. I have now written down ALL the talk groups I have found. My next dumb question is " How can I identify who is using this 5 digit talk ID number, or to rephrase it, for example...I have 07216 stored. It just so happens I heard a fire call go out on my way home from work, and I was near the scene. I paused the scanner and listened and identified this TID as North Charleston Fire Dept. I have looked all over this sight but am probably just a page away, or it MAY NOT exist. I have been looking for a place that lists the Talk ID Numbers like the page of 5 digit numbers I copied down, that tells me like the example above...what number belongs to or is whom? OR is this a dream? I probably will have to listen to each transmission and manually figure out who it is and put it in the Alpha tags from there??? Sorry again for the dumb question as there are probably lots of folks out there that know this off the top of thier head....Many Thanks once again...Dave
 

fmon

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7216 is in SC DPS Mutual Aid/Common Talkgroups section of Palmetto 800 database. Click on the blue Palmetto button in post 8 or go to SC database as Dwayne suggested.

Then press PROG>TRUNK and navigate (UP/DOWN) to 07216, then press TEXT to enter the alpha tag SC LE Comn 2. This tag has exactly 12 characters (counting spaces) which is the scanner limit.

When you press TEXT in the ID mode, The prompt will land on first character of third line waiting for you to press key #7. Then bottom line opens with the letters P Q R S. S is the 4th character displayed so press the #4 for S entry. This will move the prompt to the second spot for the letter C. Press #2 for A B C then #3 for C. Prompt will now be on third spot, if it has a value press CLEAR for the space then press DOWN button to move to spot 4. Continue until you finish with 2 on the right of line 3 then press ENT to store the tag. BTW, for 2 you will press the #1 key (all numbers will be on line 4) then select 2.
 

n2mdk

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Trying to identify exactly who is using what TGID can be very time consuming and at times an exercise in futility. On the Ames trunked system for example there are 105 Id's that I have logged, out of those I have 22 positively identified. Those 22 are listed in the database, there are others there that are not correct as far as I can tell.
The problem here is the system isn't owned by the city they lease, there are lots of commercial users, everything from auto body, HVAC, plumbers, general contractors, agribusiness, USDA, private security, realty, and so forth using it.
 

ARCA-Dave

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I know that for a painful fact...first hand!!

Trying to identify exactly who is using what TGID can be very time consuming and at times an exercise in futility. On the Ames trunked system for example there are 105 Id's that I have logged, out of those I have 22 positively identified. Those 22 are listed in the database, there are others there that are not correct as far as I can tell.
The problem here is the system isn't owned by the city they lease, there are lots of commercial users, everything from auto body, HVAC, plumbers, general contractors, agribusiness, USDA, private security, realty, and so forth using it.

I work for Charleston County Park and Recreation. I have heard one or two of our parks on the radio and saved thier talk group. There is no telling what you will hear for sure. Everytime I hear someone talking I punch the "TRUNK" button and if it double beeps, I know I have already recorded that group, but if it only beeps once, I know I got a NEW ONE!! Thanks for the help on identifying typing in the talk groups. It is easier to read who they are rather than a talk group number...by the way on the number thing. I copied down that 07216 in one of the previous posts. I heard the fire dept tone out and they were coming right where I was, so I waited on them to arrive....Just my luck eahhh? Anyway when they arrived I wrote down thier truck number now I know that 07216 is the North Charleston Fire Department. I went to that Palmetto 800 webisight and it showed 7216 without the 0 on the front. Would this be a different one or are they the same? Also I see numbers with 4 and 5 digits. IF I capture the talk group ID, you're saying it should be there? You are definitely right on the exercise in futility for sure. When I hear them mention a town or like a fire situation, traffic accident or EMS, I can identify it by that, but for now just starting out, it sure is a challange but a fun one for sure. Thanks to everyone for thier help because it sure has helped out tremendously. Now if there were just some majic page that had all the talk groups listed and who they are. The pages have lots of info but not many of the ones I have found as of late, but I will keep on listening and that is what it is all about......Take care and any more suggestions are greatly accepted and appreciated....Dave
 

ARCA-Dave

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Perplexed again....

Palmetto 800

Charleston Summerville site should have this control frequency 868.95000 and also has multi ID' and tags.

Hey thanks for the info Frank. I went in and programmed these frequencies, including the control channel and there is nothing on there. I have noticed that when you manually stop on a control channel, it shows some stuff along with a number and a % sign. I also put these frequencies for Summerville into a seperate bank by themselves as per the scanner manual and when I manually tune into the control channel I get nothing....I am sure I did something wrong....any ideas? Also those DEC numbers listed on the RR page, are these supposed to represent the numbers on the 4th line of the display on the 2096?? Thanks, Dave
 

fmon

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Hey thanks for the info Frank. I went in and programmed these frequencies, including the control channel and there is nothing on there. I have noticed that when you manually stop on a control channel, it shows some stuff along with a number and a % sign.
That should be M36:2B02 xx%, for Motorola 3600 CC SysID for Palmetto and decode rate for the tower.
I also put these frequencies for Summerville into a seperate bank by themselves as per the scanner manual and when I manually tune into the control channel I get nothing....I am sure I did something wrong....any ideas?
Apparently that is not the current active control for the system...program these three freqs and see if you get noise and info on any of them bottom line. 866.11250, 868.18750, 868.19375. If you do get a control, it should display on bottom M96:1D9 xx%.
Also those DEC numbers listed on the RR page, are these supposed to represent the numbers on the 4th line of the display on the 2096?? Thanks, Dave
Yes, until you program alpha tags for them.

See this page by Don Starr for display data. Note: bottom line has the alpha tag instead of the DEC number. http://www.starrsoft.com/software/win96/PRO-96Display.pdf
 

ARCA-Dave

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That should be M36:2B02 xx%, for Motorola 3600 CC SysID for Palmetto and decode rate for the tower. Apparently that is not the current active control for the system...program these three freqs and see if you get noise and info on any of them bottom line. 866.11250, 868.18750, 868.19375. If you do get a control, it should display on bottom M96:1D9 xx%. Yes, until you program alpha tags for them.

See this page by Don Starr for display data. Note: bottom line has the alpha tag instead of the DEC number. http://www.starrsoft.com/software/win96/PRO-96Display.pdf


Thanks again Frank for jumping in and lending a hand. I have those 3 programmed into bank 6 channel 00, 01, 02 and the 868.9500 in 03. I manually go to each channel and I get nothing. I must be doing something wrong, cause nothing happens.....
 
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