Location can also be done on the scanner.
Menu-
set zip
then set range
To enter lower numbers, hit NO .
It will clear out what's there. Then enter what you wish. .5 for half mile and1.0 for 1 mile, and so on. Max is 50.0 miles.
Sentinel: Question on creating a favorite list on sentinel with colorado DTRS sites
- Thread starter chad_96
- Start date
Location can also be done on the scanner.
Menu-
set zip
then set range
To enter lower numbers, hit NO .
It will clear out what's there. Then enter what you wish. .5 for half mile and1.0 for 1 mile, and so on. Max is 50.0 miles.
This is one of the drawbacks about Sentinel. You'll need to go through and remove the sites/departments/TGIDs you don't need. Proscan allows for greater FL selectivity but you'll need a premium subscription to Radioreference as a prerequisite to use the RR web import service
Yep.
You can’t break a scanner with bad programming. So give this a try and see how it goes.
There’s an easy way to erase the blackboard and start anew.
As you have observed, Sentinel adds all of the sites for the system when you append to a favorite list. Other applications (e.g. Proscan and ARC536BASIC) allow you to only load the sites of interest.
You will only want to scan sites that are within range. There are multiple ways to achieve what you are trying to do - select what sites you scan:
- Avoid unwanted sites
- Delete unwanted sites
- Use Location Control to avoid unwanted sites
Thanks,
Would just biting the bullet and paying for a premium membership, and going through Proscan be the easier and better option for creating a "favorites" list? And would it be a simpler and more hassle free way to go, to remedy the issue with having all the unnecessary sites on a favorites list and so on..? Or is it more advanced and complicated than using sentinel?
ProScans manual...
ProScan is a most excellent program - well worth the investment.
Bonus: Bob (Mr ProScan himself) monitors here and will jump in on occasion to assist, not only with ProScan, but stuff in general if he can help..
Thank you! Much appreciated!
Thank you for this, it's extremely helpful and a great insight.
One final question after looking at this I have for you, as I've really been a pest to you all as a newbie.
Would my thinking be correct or incorrect. Basically, I understand a "site" as really a communication tower, that runs "X" amount of frequencies on any given 1 site. Ultimately, only those "sites" within so far of a range/distance are really applicable and useful for my local departments/entity's? Further away "sites" really wouldn't be applicable to local or very close proximity departments or "radios in use" as they would use the closer towers and their associated frequencies?
As noted by RMason, you have three choices when dealing with the extra, unwanted, sites when appending a system in Sentinel. While you can select, and append, Departments of your choice, without getting the entire system, Sentinel will still append every site in the database.
As shown, there are three schools of choice as to how to deal with them. Using location control on the Favorites list tells the scanner to skip those sites that are out of range. Sentinel, by default, appends all the sites since there is not a notation in the database as to which talkgroups are carried on any specific site. Location is the easiest & quickest way to deal with them, as long as you remember that any new system that you enter in that list (which is not yet in the main database) must also have correct location & range details or else the scanner will skip it. A blank location is treated as zero degrees for both latitude & longitude, which translates to a location off the coast of Africa, and well out of range.
You can manually set the unwanted sites to Avoid, or simply Delete them. I prefer delete, but some would rather set as Avoid if needed in the future. Sentinel lists sites in a system in alphabetical order, by the name of the site. To make sure you are selecting only the excess sites, not ones you need, start by clicking on the County column header on the systems database page.
This will re-order the sites by counties in alphabetical order, making it easier for you to identify the surplus sites to either manually avoid, or delete.
I would note that, if you wanted to go back and append one or more additional departments to your list, you can avoid having Sentinel again including all the system sites, including those that you had set as Avoid or deleted. To avoid a repeat of a site tsunami wave, make sure that the name of the system, in your Favorites list, matches the name of the system in the main database. In your case, the name is fairly short, State of Colorado DTRS. As long as that system name is unchanged in your Favorites list, you can append additional Departments without also pulling the full site list again. If, instead, you shortened the name to DTRS, and tried to append again, Sentinel would create a new State of Colorado DTRS system in your Favorites list. Leaving the name unchanged, Sentinel "remembers" that it already appended the complete sites list to a system with the same name, and will not duplicate them again (unless you modify the system name).
As shown, there are three schools of choice as to how to deal with them. Using location control on the Favorites list tells the scanner to skip those sites that are out of range. Sentinel, by default, appends all the sites since there is not a notation in the database as to which talkgroups are carried on any specific site. Location is the easiest & quickest way to deal with them, as long as you remember that any new system that you enter in that list (which is not yet in the main database) must also have correct location & range details or else the scanner will skip it. A blank location is treated as zero degrees for both latitude & longitude, which translates to a location off the coast of Africa, and well out of range.
You can manually set the unwanted sites to Avoid, or simply Delete them. I prefer delete, but some would rather set as Avoid if needed in the future. Sentinel lists sites in a system in alphabetical order, by the name of the site. To make sure you are selecting only the excess sites, not ones you need, start by clicking on the County column header on the systems database page.
This will re-order the sites by counties in alphabetical order, making it easier for you to identify the surplus sites to either manually avoid, or delete.
The easiest, and most effective way, to manually get only the sites you want is being a Premium Subscriber (I see that you have made that change). Then, using ProScan, you can import only the departments, and their associated sites, into a Favorites list. (ARC536 also lets you import selected items, but I prefer ProScan.)
I would note that, if you wanted to go back and append one or more additional departments to your list, you can avoid having Sentinel again including all the system sites, including those that you had set as Avoid or deleted. To avoid a repeat of a site tsunami wave, make sure that the name of the system, in your Favorites list, matches the name of the system in the main database. In your case, the name is fairly short, State of Colorado DTRS. As long as that system name is unchanged in your Favorites list, you can append additional Departments without also pulling the full site list again. If, instead, you shortened the name to DTRS, and tried to append again, Sentinel would create a new State of Colorado DTRS system in your Favorites list. Leaving the name unchanged, Sentinel "remembers" that it already appended the complete sites list to a system with the same name, and will not duplicate them again (unless you modify the system name).
Hey, thanks! That's great information, and I really appreciate it.
Maybe you can help me on an issue. I did in fact go forward with getting the premium membership, as suggested. My question, when it comes to proscan, I know I need to download that software and from my understanding I can enter in my RR log in info, maybe? This to have the two work together in whatever manner they do, I haven't gotten that far into. However, does proscan cost additional to my premium subscription to my RR premium membership? Or can I use it without additional charge due to my premium membership?
Thanks in advance!
The License Cost for Proscan is $50.00 USD. This is separate from the RR premium membership. You can "try before you buy" with a 30 day fully functional trial. See ProScan for information
ProScan does have a 30 day free trial period. After that period expires, if you wish to continue using the software, you would need to purchase a license for it, That cost is $50, and it's a "one time" fee, no annual or other period renewals needed. That $50 also gets you any updates to the software, at no extra fee. ProScan can be used with a wide variety of Uniden scanners, including some that were first introduced a couple of decades ago, and have been out of production for years.. Examples include the BC780LXT, released in 2000, and the BC785D, first released in 2003. Besides database imports, you can import programming from a file for one scanner model, and reconfigure it for a totally different model. Your $50 license fee lets you install ProScan on two different PCs. You can copy the files in one PC, into another folder on that same PC, and use ProScan to monitor, log, and record activity on more that one scanner.
ARC536 Basic covers 4 scanners: BCD536HP, BCD536HP, SDS100, and SDS200. For other scanner models, additional ARC software would have to be purchased. The Basic version, about $40, is for programming only. If you also want virtual control & logging, you have to upgrade to the "Pro" version, at $70. It is still limited to the same 4 scanner models. (ProScan, @$50, covers many more scanner models than ARC536, and includes logging and recording without any additional fee required.) ARC536, either version, also has a free trial period.
Your RadioReference login (user name and password) are used in ProScan as well as ARC536 to validate your access to import from the main database.
Thank you for that information!
For a new scanner user, would ProScan be easier to use to program a scanner for the first time by a newbie? As well as more user friendly?
I've read a little bit, not much, that doesn't really come out and say it, but eludes to the idea that programming a scanner is much easier and user friendly, using ProScan ( with the RR premium membership, of course) versus trying to use sentinel to create a programming list.
Could you share your best opinion on that? I don't want to spend the money on ProScan if I'm going to have just as hard of time, or it's just as complex as trying to use Sentinel for the first time as a newbie.
Thanks in advance!
It couldn’t get too much easier than Sentinel to create your first couple of favorites lists, so no I don’t think ProScan is that much easier. ProScan is much more feature-rich and advanced than Sentinel, just not sure I would say easier.
You need to learn about all the trunking and digital terms and concepts no matter which software you use and this is where most of the complexity comes into play.
You need to learn about all the trunking and digital terms and concepts no matter which software you use and this is where most of the complexity comes into play.
Thanks for the advice.
It seems like the only problem I have at all with sentinel thus far, is that it loads ALL sites.
I think I will stick with Sentinel for the time being and just "Avoid" all the sites that seem far away/out of the area and senseless. I am in a rural area mostly and there are really only 12 "Sites" throught the several counties I found. So, I just have those enabled on my list, which still may be overkill, but a start.
Thanks again, I appreciate any all the advice and tips.
It seems like the only problem I have at all with sentinel thus far, is that it loads ALL sites.
I think I will stick with Sentinel for the time being and just "Avoid" all the sites that seem far away/out of the area and senseless. I am in a rural area mostly and there are really only 12 "Sites" throught the several counties I found. So, I just have those enabled on my list, which still may be overkill, but a start.
Thanks again, I appreciate any all the advice and tips.
Watch the video again, it doesn't involve appending from the database, but doing it yourself. I program my statewide system the way it's done in the video.
Let me summarize something. You have to learn some new things:
1. A complex statewide radio system
2. A new scanner
3. Sentinel software (firmware, master database and favorites lists)
4. Pro Scan software (if you go that route now instead of waiting)
You may want to lower your learning curve as much as you can for now. There are so many little things that can cause problems and frustrations.
1. A complex statewide radio system
2. A new scanner
3. Sentinel software (firmware, master database and favorites lists)
4. Pro Scan software (if you go that route now instead of waiting)
You may want to lower your learning curve as much as you can for now. There are so many little things that can cause problems and frustrations.
Yes that sounds like you understand the basics.
Location control and service types are the keys
I will definitely watch it again and see if I can understand it, at this time it makes no sense to me. Again, I'm new and why it seems like it's more complicated than it truly can be, I'm sure it will make more sense as the days go by. I have saved the video and will also hang on to it as a reference as I go along. I appreciate your help!
Thank you!
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