QK Questions

[BOBRR]

Hello,

a. Question re Quick Keys, please:

Have created a Favorites List in Sentinel

Have labeled under this Favorite List, “Sudbury Only”, which I guess is the System.
Then I have under this another “Sudbury Only” which I guess is the Department.
Then I have a third “Sudbury Only” which are termed, I believe, the Channels.

The System and the Department seem to allow the assignment of QK’s.
Am I correct that it is Not possible to assign (other) QK’s to the Channels; the third level down ?

b. If I just want to scan the frequencies in the lowest level, the Channels, I can
assign a QK to the System level.
Right ?

Or, I can assign a QK at the next level down, the Department level.
Right ?

Question:

Which do I want ? Either ?
Should Both have a QK ? The same number, or...?

Why ?
What are the differences in operation, please ? Confused over this.

c. And, after reading from the scanner into Sentinel, suppose I would like to change the
name of a System, Department, or Channel.
How do I do this, please ?
Funny, but I can’t seem to come up with any “Rename” option”

After doing it, and loading back into the Scanner, does the original Fav List with old names still remain ?
If so, how do I get rid of them ?

d. Re the “System Quick Key Status” table/matrix:

I see that all the boxes, 0-99 are checked.

What is the significance of this big table/chart ?

Is it that a QK box being checked here allows that QK to be used, but if not checked
(here), even if a QK is assigned, it would not work ? Or,...?

Much thanks, as always,
Bob

 

[drdispatch]

Quick Keys

a. The System and the Department seem to allow the assignment of QK’s.
Am I correct that it is Not possible to assign (other) QK’s to the Channels; the third level down ?

You can assign number tags to channels, but not Quick Keys.

 

[drdispatch]

b. If I just want to scan the frequencies in the lowest level, the Channels, I can
assign a QK to the System level.
Right ?

Or, I can assign a QK at the next level down, the Department level.
Right ?

Question:

Which do I want ? Either ?
Should Both have a QK ? The same number, or...?

Why ?
What are the differences in operation, please ? Confused over this.

You can assign (or not) System &/or Dept QK's as you see fit. It's best to develop a system that makes it easy to keep track of who is who.
The QK's are primarily so you can turn on/off a specific Department or System.

 

[ofd8001]

System names, Department Names and Channel Names can be changed. Using Sentinel, choose Edit Favorites List, selecting the FL containing things to be re-named. Then drill down to the system or department. In the grid in the right pane is where you make the changes. Save the FL, then write it to your scanner, being sure to Erase Favorites Lists (keeps from having a duplicate FL.)

Also, just to mention, if you have a trunked system, Quick Keys for Sites are at the Department Level in the hierarchy of Quick Keys.

The area you see with checkboxes for Quick Key Status is to set the defaul behavior of Quick Keys. This applies to all types of Quick Keys: Favorites List (FLQK), System (SQK) and Department/Site (DQK). Checking the box means the quick key is on, unchecked means the quick key is off. As you "scan along" you can toggle the status from off to on or vice versa.

As mentioned above, there are no such things as Channel Quick Keys. Number Tags are tools to rapidly access a given channel. In other words if you see a need to "jump" to a specific channel, Number Tags is the means to do so.

If you see yourself in a situation of wanting to turn on/off one or more channels (as in toggling them), you could create multiple Departments and spread the channels among those Departments as you wish. You could then assign different Department Quick Keys. (A Department can contain just one channel or a whole lot of channels depending on your preference).

It's all about planning the thing out, trying it and fine tuning until you get something you are happy with.

Imagine a Favorites List as a file cabinet. The FLQK is like the key unlocking the cabinet giving you access to all the drawers and contents of the drawers.

A System is like a drawer. The System Quick Key is like opening the drawer, giving you access to all the "stuff" in that drawer.

A Department is like a file folder in that drawer, with the pieces of paper in the folder being the channels. The Department Quick Key is like grabbing the file folder.

Quick Keys are not mandatory, but they are helpful and I believe the majority of users assign Quick Keys to everything (Favorites, Systems and Departments).

 

[drdispatch]

Sorry, I was still trying to type replies, but I'm at work so I had to keep stopping & coming back, only to find that RR had logged me off. Thanks ofd8001 for getting him taken care of.
I just want to reiterate what ofd8001 said above: It's all about planning it out. We could tell you how we have ours set up, & you might use ideas from one of us, both of us, or invent something that works better for you; but that's the key - It's about whatever works best for you. It takes some time & experimentation, but you'll be very pleased once you find what works & everything just seems to "click".