PSR500/600 vs. WS1095(1098) Multi-Site Blues

[RadioDaze]

I need help trying to wrap my mind around the differences between how my PSR600 and new WS1098 handle multi-site systems. I'm posting in the GRE Forum instead of Whistler because I figure this must have come up when the EZ-Scanners came out and I would have come up against it sooner with an 800 or a 1095.

I use Win500 for my 500 & 600's. There are several sites on the Orange County, CA system I monitor. ( Countywide Coordinated Communications System (CCCS) Trunking System, Orange County, CA ) A lot of the TGs I want to hear are on a site called "Countywide", but one adjacent city to mine, Costa Mesa, is on another cell called "South". ("Southwest" is also used for some TGs.)

In Win500, I created one site, and have placed 6 control channels into it, two for each of the three cells. Running just one scanlist, I can pick up the TGs that use the different sites with no problem, as if it's doing a good job of checking all the control channels. See first attached screen shot.

Now with EZ-Scan, I imported the system from the library, and it set up 3 sites (Countywide, South, Southwest) as I kinda figured it would. 2 control channels in each. But it never seems to use the South site when scanning, so it never stops on the Costa Mesa TGs that are on that site. Mind you, I'm scanning the 1098 side by side with the 600, so I can see what I'm missing in real time. (So far, the 3rd site hasn't come into play yet.)

Then I tried moving all the control channels into one site, as in the attached second screen shot, which is how Win500 is set up, but it still won't stop on the Mesa TGs. So dumping them in all together doesn't solve anything.

I know I'm missing something fundamental here due to my lack of understanding. In Win500 there are settings for Multi-Site Mode - Stationary that I don't see in EZ-Scan. Is it now necessary to put the sites into their own systems so that they can be scanned separately? Or am I (hopefully) just missing an important detail?

I guess I don't "get" how the new scanner is using the control channels. It seemed more straightforward to me on my older scanners, which also include Uniden 396XT and 996XTs.

 

[RadioDaze]

I've taken a look at the optimizing notes from Mark's guides, Easier to Read WS1080/1095 Digital Scanner and EZ-Scan Software Manual and Easier to Read Pro-651/652/106/197 - WS1040/1065 - PSR 500/600 Digital Scanner Manual so now I have an idea of what I'll probably need to do. But I've been able to avoid this so far with the earlier GREs.

 

[wise871]

The one thing I hate most with the WS1095/1080/PSR800 type of scanners is the lack of Multisite abilities like the older PSR500/600/ Pro-197/106. The lack of "Check all CC's in every Scan mode pass" sucks if you run the 1095 as a base unit and you have multiple sites within range. All several CC's under one listing and it will not scan the other CC's. The only work around is to create a separate listing for each site and you have to add the same talk groups to each of those sites unless you know for a fact certain TG are only tied to a single site. Roaming is not much of a problem because you can set it up based on signal strength.

 

[RadioDaze]

Well, I did buy it mainly for its remote control head, and therefore obviously for mobile use. Thank you, Dan, for helping me feel that "it's not just me."

The other thing about this radio, which defeats some of the advantage of the remote head, is, unlike the earlier generations, its harder to "step" through the items in a scanlist. Several extra button presses required.