Pro-96 programming Baltimore County

[PatOD]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get some assistance programming a Pro-96 scanner for Baltimore County, Md Fire and Police. I have very little knowledge of these devices and I am attempting to understand all the associated vocabulary; so please dumb down your responses. I have attempted to search the forums but I now am more confused. I reset the scanner to factory settings and I downloaded the win 96 software. My understanding is that Baltimore County uses a digital trunking system called Project 25 Phase 1, is this correct? I gathered all of the frequencies form this link https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=7117 and inserted them into bank 0 00-31, I then inserted the talkgroup information into the trunking portion of the software. There is an option for CONV, MOT, and EDACS for the bank, then each frequency has the option of selecting different Rx Modes AM, FM, MOT, EDACS, CT, DC. I have no idea what to do with these, there is no option for P25. Also I have selections for MOT 3600cc and MOT 9600cc with various options that I am clueless about. I did my best to program this thing but I only get static. I've read about the pro-96 vr4 mod to improve P25 reception but I will not be attempting that. I will attempt to post a picture shortly of the Win 96 screen so you can see what it looks like. Any help would be appreciated, I have had this scanner for years and I am finally trying to get it to work but again I have no knowledge whatsoever about these things.
Thanks.

 

[JD21960]

Pro96 programming

Here is the pdf manual link. http://support.radioshack.com/support_electronics/doc71/71778.pdf

 

[ka3jjz]

Unfortunately one of the things you will run into is that there are multiple sites that transmit the exact same information - called Simulcasting - which most modern scanners can't handle very well. This article from our wiki describes the County system in detail...

Baltimore County (P25) System Information - The RadioReference Wiki

You may very well experience high amounts of distortion, or even drop outs, even though you might have a very strong signal. This is because consumer grade scanners can't handle hearing the same information at the same time from multiple sites.

To add to the fun, there is a fairly sharp cutoff where you would lose the system completely. I used to drive in from Bowie to Woodlawn, and would not get reliable decodes until I got to around Catonsville. Before that, I could hear very little, and much was distorted until then.

Some folks have had success with using a Yagi at home to point to one specific site; others have found that putting the attenuator on is helpful (this reduces the signal level - and in some cases, at least, reduces the levels from the sites that you don't want to hear) It's going to very much be a case of where you are, which zone you are trying to hear, and how much signal you are getting, regardless of how well you do the programming.

I don't have a 96, but our Maryland forum will be the best place to go for help with this...Mike

 

[GeneseeCoMI]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get some assistance programming a Pro-96 scanner for Baltimore County, Md Fire and Police. I have very little knowledge of these devices and I am attempting to understand all the associated vocabulary; so please dumb down your responses. I have attempted to search the forums but I now am more confused. I reset the scanner to factory settings and I downloaded the win 96 software. My understanding is that Baltimore County uses a digital trunking system called Project 25 Phase 1, is this correct? I gathered all of the frequencies form this link https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=7117 and inserted them into bank 0 00-31, I then inserted the talkgroup information into the trunking portion of the software. There is an option for CONV, MOT, and EDACS for the bank, then each frequency has the option of selecting different Rx Modes AM, FM, MOT, EDACS, CT, DC. I have no idea what to do with these, there is no option for P25. Also I have selections for MOT 3600cc and MOT 9600cc with various options that I am clueless about. I did my best to program this thing but I only get static. I've read about the pro-96 vr4 mod to improve P25 reception but I will not be attempting that. I will attempt to post a picture shortly of the Win 96 screen so you can see what it looks like. Any help would be appreciated, I have had this scanner for years and I am finally trying to get it to work but again I have no knowledge whatsoever about these things.
Thanks.

The correct mode for Project 25 on the Pro 96 is simply MOT. For Motorola systems, it doesn't differentiate between analog and digital modes, MOT covers all of them.

The options about bauds, etc can be left alone too, those are for VHF/UHF systems, Baltimore is on 800 MHz. All you have to do is put in the control channels and talkgroups and the scanner does the rest.

 

[PatOD]

Thanks for the help. It appears all the info placed into the scanner via the program is correct. The scanner seems to pick up transmissions but I can only hear "static" which I would imagine is the inability of the scanner to fully decode the transmission. I've read about adjusting the VR4 to improve this, I don't believe I'm knowledgeable enough to attempt this but could that be the issue?

 

[GeneseeCoMI]

Thanks for the help. It appears all the info placed into the scanner via the program is correct. The scanner seems to pick up transmissions but I can only hear "static" which I would imagine is the inability of the scanner to fully decode the transmission. I've read about adjusting the VR4 to improve this, I don't believe I'm knowledgeable enough to attempt this but could that be the issue?

Before you open it up, try another antenna. The Radio Shack 800 MHz one works better than the supplied rubber duckie.

 

[talkpair]

I would open the radio as a LAST resort.

Use the TUNE function and listen to each voice channel. It may take a while for a channel to become active, but it will least will tell you if voice decoding is a problem.

Unless there's something I'm missing, Pro96's require a table to be entered to track. The table is not automagically downloaded from the control channel like newer scanners. Without the table, the radio has no way calculating and steering the radio to the correct frequency.

 

[GeneseeCoMI]

I would open the radio as a LAST resort.

Use the TUNE function and listen to each voice channel. It may take a while for a channel to become active, but it will least will tell you if voice decoding is a problem.

Unless there's something I'm missing, Pro96's require a table to be entered to track. The table is not automagically downloaded from the control channel like newer scanners. Without the table, the radio has no way calculating and steering the radio to the correct frequency.

Half correct. They need them for VHF/UHF systems but not 800/900.