Programming an SDS100 for Lucas & Wood counties?

[Zeus661]

Looking for the best way to program a new SDS100 for Lucas and Wood counties. I live right on the border between them. Should I just put My zip code in? Create favorites? Make a favorites for each county? How many favorites and what systems should I put in them? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Greg43545]

I used Radio Reference and Sentinel to setup my SDS200. Lucas County is on the Northwest Ohio Regional Public Safety System . Wood County is on a DMR system that you will need to purchase an upgrade for. ( I didn't purchase it, I was just informed that was what needed to be done. )

I went to RR, found the frequencies I wanted to monitor, then went to Sentinel, created a Favorite List, then programmed my SDS200 with the channels I wanted.

Here it the link to Radio Reference Lucas County Ohio page:

Lucas County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Lucas County, Ohio (OH)

www.radioreference.com

Here is a video which will explain and demonstrate Sentinel and how to set up a Favorite List.

 

[Zeus661]

How many favorite lists did you create?

 

[Greg43545]

I have 14 ( NOPRSS ( Northwest Ohio Regional Public Safety System ) and Marcs-IP are Digital frequencies )

Henry County NORPSS
Napoleon City NORPSS
Defiance County Marcs-IP
Defiance City Marcs-IP
OSP District 1 Marcs-IP
OSP Turnpike Marcs-IP
Fulton County NORPSS
Fulton County Fire NORPSS
Fulton Cities Fire NORPSS
Fulton Cities Police NORPSS
Putnam County Marcs-IP
Henry County Fire / EMS Analog
Toledo Life Flight Marcs-IP
180th Air National Guard Analog

 

[Zeus661]

Would it make sense to have a favorite with the whole county in it? Or is that too much?

 

[hiegtx]

Would it make sense to have a favorite with the whole county in it? Or is that too much?

You can put as much as will fit in a single Favorites list. You're only limit is that the size of the list cannot exceed 1 megabyte.

Whether you use one list (or maybe a couple them) is your preference, Looks like Greg has one for each major section of what he can monitor, so if there was a very large fire in a Fulton County city, he could use quick keys to turn off the other lists.

You can do that by either separating what you want into separate Favorites lists, and use the Favorites list quick keys to turn the various lists on or off singly. Or put most, of not all of them, into one Favorites list in individual systems, then assign each system a unique quick key, so that you can turn specific systems (or cities, however you want to divide them) on or off.

I would note, though, that your scan time is increased by re-scanning the same system multiple times. Using Greg's list as an example, you would be scanning NORPSS six separate times, once for each list that has a collection of agencies that use that system. The same thing would apply for MARCS-IP. Six different lists that each scan MARCS. It takes the scanner 1 to 1.5 seconds to acquire the control channel for a system, then determine whether or not any of the talkgroups programmed are active, So, scanning both MARCS, and NORPSS six times each, you're adding as much as 12 to 15 seconds to the time it takes the scanner to go through all of the lists.

Instead, you could put all of the entities using MARCS into one list, and the same with NORPSS into another list. Then, separate the various agencies into their respective departments within that specific trunked system. You can still turn individual departments on or off as desired via quick keys. You would also be able to fairly quickly narrow down scanning to the one group with an active incident. If that group of agencies were on MARCS, then you could toggle off all the NORPSS agencies at one time by turning off their Favorites list. Then, as needed, turn off individual MARCS agencies via the quick keys on their departments.

The way Greg has it set up is not wrong. After all, it is his preferred method, and if he's happy with the way it works, that's all that counts.

 

[Greg43545]

As hiegtx said WHAT, and HOW, you want to scan and monitor is your preference.

For smaller counties I think you can have ONE Favorite List and you should be OK.

For a Larger County like Lucas you'll need to determine how you want to monitor.

Scanning a larger county with one favorite list you may not be able to follow particular separate calls ( ie: Police, Fire, EMS, Sheriff, State Patrol. ) You might hear a transmission on a County Channel, then the next you'll hear a transmission on a City Channel missing the response on the County Channel. So you end up hearing bits and pieces from several departments but miss the whole picture.

The reason I have set mine up the way I have is that first of all I have 3 scanners going at one time.

On my SDS200 I monitor Napoleon City, which includes Police, Fire and EMS and temporarily lock out the rest. BUT I have the capability to monitor SOME, or ALL of the rest on that scanner, if a situation arises that I need to.

On my BCD325P2 I monitor Henry County, which includes Sheriff, County Fire, and County EMS and temporarily lock out the rest. BUT I have the capability to monitor SOME, or ALL of the rest on that scanner, if a situation arises that I need to.

On my Home Patrol 2 I monitor Defiance County which includes Sheriff, County Fire, and County EMS. I also monitor Ohio State Patrol District One, and temporarily lock out the rest. BUT I have the capability to monitor SOME, or ALL of the rest on that scanner, if a situation arises that I need to.

Why do I do it this way? There are times that there is radio traffic transmitting from Napoleon Police, Henry County Sheriff, and Defiance Post of the Ohio State Patrol - AT THE SAME TIME ( ie: a pursuit ) - and if I had all in the same Favorite List, or on the same scanner, I would miss some radio traffic. This way I can scan WHAT I want, but not have the increased scanning time on a scanner by re-scanning the same system multiple times like hiegtx said. Also, I temporarily block ALL the other departments I have in other favorite lists, but can un-block them if I need to, so I can pick up their transmissions if need be.

Now, I've been scanning since the 1970's, when we installed crystals into scanners, and I know what I want to scan and how I want to monitor radio frequencies.

Since you're starting out, I would recommend that you go to Lucas County in Radio Reference and decide WHO you want to monitor - and HOW you want to monitor them - with only ONE scanner. Once you accomplish that you need to decide your priorities.

If it is a particular area of Lucas County, and you want to monitor SO, FD, and EMS from that area, then put that in a Favorite List.
If you want to monitor ONLY Lucas County law enforcement in an area, then put that in a favorite list.
If you want to monitor ONLY Lucas County fire in an area, then put that in a favorite list.
If you want to monitor ONLY Lucas County EMS in an area, then put that in a favorite list.

The point being - only YOU can decide WHAT you want to monitor, HOW you want to monitor, and HOW MANY favorite lists you want to create to do so, with the least amount of re-scanning the same system multiple times.

 

[hiegtx]

The point being - only YOU can decide WHAT you want to monitor, HOW you want to monitor, and HOW MANY favorite lists you want to create to do so, with the least amount of re-scanning the same system multiple times.

Exactly.
Do what works best for you.

I also have multiple scanners, and some of my programming might not fit anyone's preferences but my own.

 

[Greg43545]

Exactly.
Do what works best for you.

I also have multiple scanners, and some of my programming might not fit anyone's preferences but my own.

Absolutely.

 

[TomDurhot9526]

I used Radio Reference and Sentinel to setup my SDS200. Lucas County is on the Northwest Ohio Regional Public Safety System . Wood County is on a DMR system that you will need to purchase an upgrade for. ( I didn't purchase it, I was just informed that was what needed to be done. )

I went to RR, found the frequencies I wanted to monitor, then went to Sentinel, created a Favorite List, then programmed my SDS200 with the channels I wanted.

Here it the link to Radio Reference Lucas County Ohio page:

Lucas County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Lucas County, Ohio (OH)

www.radioreference.com

Here is a video which will explain and demonstrate Sentinel and how to set up a Favorite List.

I have a BCD966P2 and uploaded the two sites in the NOPSS that I'm in range for and the Henry Co talk group and three Fulton Co talk groups. I've scanned for a couple hours and have heard nothing. Was there a setting you had to change from the RR download to make this work? I'm sure there would be SOME traffic over them I had some MARCS channels and the conventional channels loaded and they worked but I need this other system to work so I can hear local traffic now. The downloads were from RR. scanner seems to be listening to the sites ok. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[ctpd845]

I have a BCD966P2 and uploaded the two sites in the NOPSS that I'm in range for and the Henry Co talk group and three Fulton Co talk groups. I've scanned for a couple hours and have heard nothing. Was there a setting you had to change from the RR download to make this work? I'm sure there would be SOME traffic over them I had some MARCS channels and the conventional channels loaded and they worked but I need this other system to work so I can hear local traffic now. The downloads were from RR. scanner seems to be listening to the sites ok. Any help would be appreciated.

Which two sites did you program into your scanner?

 

[TomDurhot9526]

Which two sites did you program into your scanner?

I'm in Napoleon so I used Wauseon and Hamler

 

[Greg43545]

Hi Tom Sorry for the late reply.

Unfortunately the tower is out by Hamler and there are many dead spots in the city.

I have a Home Patrol II that wouldn’t pick up anything in town

I have a BCD325P2 that has to be in ONE spot and that spot ONLY to be able to pick up traffic.

I finally had to purchase the SDS200 which picks up everything.

I know the price is a problem BUT I would highly recommend the SDS200

The NORPSS is really bad. I’ve heard numerous times both Napoleon PD and Henry Co SO officers state they were in a dead zone and could not copy the traffic.

 

[TomDurhot9526]

Hi Tom Sorry for the late reply.

Unfortunately the tower is out by Hamler and there are many dead spots in the city.

I have a Home Patrol II that wouldn’t pick up anything in town

I have a BCD325P2 that has to be in ONE spot and that spot ONLY to be able to pick up traffic.

I finally had to purchase the SDS200 which picks up everything.

I know the price is a problem BUT I would highly recommend the SDS200

The NORPSS is really bad. I’ve heard numerous times both Napoleon PD and Henry Co SO officers state they were in a dead zone and could not copy the traffic.

Thanks for the information I was able to pick some stuff up after repositioning the scanner in the house It wasn't a programming issue but a signal strength issue.

 

[KO4IPV]

I used Radio Reference and Sentinel to setup my SDS200. Lucas County is on the Northwest Ohio Regional Public Safety System . Wood County is on a DMR system that you will need to purchase an upgrade for. ( I didn't purchase it, I was just informed that was what needed to be done. )

I went to RR, found the frequencies I wanted to monitor, then went to Sentinel, created a Favorite List, then programmed my SDS200 with the channels I wanted.

Here it the link to Radio Reference Lucas County Ohio page:

Lucas County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Lucas County, Ohio (OH)

www.radioreference.com

Here is a video which will explain and demonstrate Sentinel and how to set up a Favorite List.

I was under the assumption that the SDS didn’t need any upgrades (DMR) is this a fact or not ?

 

[budevans]

I was under the assumption that the SDS didn’t need any upgrades (DMR) is this a fact or not ?

To add DMR or NXDN to your scanner, you have to purchase an activation key from Uniden.

 

[KO4IPV]

To add DMR or NXDN to your scanner, you have to purchase an activation key from Uniden.

Does that include the SDS100 ?

 

[KO4IPV]

Does that include the SDS100 ?

Okay understand! Now can you explain the upgrades to me DMR , provoice ext !!! How will these upgrades benefit myself and the SDS100

 

[KO4IPV]

I was under the assumption that the SDS didn’t need any upgrades (DMR) is this a fact or not ?

Same here I was informed that these upgrades were not necessary for the SDS100

 

[EdAzalia]

SDS200 True I/Q and TrunkTracker X Base/Mobile Scanner

The Bearcat SDS200 has all the same high-performance features as the handheld SDS100 scanner plus much more. Larger base. Increase frequency range. True I/Q receiver, TrunkTracker X technology which provides the best digital decode performance in the scanner industry. Direct ethernet...

uniden.com

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** Paid upgrades required for DMR, NXDN, and ProVoice monitoring