Radio Shack PRO-96 programing problem

Status
Not open for further replies.

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
My local law enforcement community has moved from 868 mHz to 851 mHz, and in the process the number of talk groups has grown very large. When I program my PRO-96 using the WIN96 software, I am only able to receive some of the police and fire departments, and a very small number of the talk groups. What have I done wrong, and what can I do to correct the problem? Any help would be appreciated.
 

ka3jjz

Wiki Admin Emeritus
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
One thing that you didn't mention - did you reband the radio using Win96? It's a cinch - go to the bottom of this wiki article;

Win96 - The RadioReference Wiki

As to the number of talkgroups, you're going to have to pick/choose which ones you want. No software can 'expand' the number of TGs the radio can handle (memory limitations)

Mike
 

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
Yup, rebanded the scanner, and I was unaware that the 96 was not able to handle all the new talk groups. Guess I better make up my mind what I actually want to listen to, because we now have 129 of the things!
 

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
Do you have any idea what is the maximum number of talk groups the PRO-96 can handle? This will help me to decide what to cut out.
 

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
Now I really have a problem! Rebanded the PRO-96 and am not receiving anything! What the heck did I do wrong???? Anyone with ideas, please advise!
 

ka3jjz

Wiki Admin Emeritus
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
It would help greatly if you said where you are (county/state is fine) and which system you are trying to scan. That way folks in your neck of the woods can help. Otherwise everyone is shooting in the dark

Go up to the blue toolbar left, under the site title. Float your mouse over Database, then select Frequency Database. Use the maps and pulldowns to get to your area, then look for a tag called Trunked Systems. C'mon back with the URL.

Mike
 

talkpair

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
976
Location
Clinton County, MO
First determine if the problem is with the table, or if the problem is a talk group issue.

For starters, you should just watch and listen to everything on the system using a wild card talk group.

In other words, listen to everything.

Observe the talk group numbers and check to see if they reconcile with your list.
Check the voice channels as they get used. If you see most or all of the voice channels used, your table is okay.

Some voice channels seldom get used, but I would double-check for activity on all voice voice channels.
Use the radio's TUNE function to punch in the voice channel of interest.

If this is a P25 system, you might sit on it a while with Pro96Com and gather some information
Pro96Com's TowerXXXX.txt could reveal some helpful information about the table.
 

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
Wayne County, Michigan is the location, and the system is an APCO 25 system which covers the entire Downriver area. When I rebanded my PRO-96, I lost all ability to receive, and I have no idea what to do now! The radio scans, but I receive nothing. As far as listening to talk groups go, with 129 of the things in the system I can eliminate about 10 of them as not being too important, but the rest are actually pretty necessary. I guess I have made some kind of mistake in rebanding my PRO-96 and until I figure out how to solve that problem, nothing else matters. Any help in that direction would be appreciated.
 

ka3jjz

Wiki Admin Emeritus
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
There are a couple of possibilities here...

Our database shows 3 individual trunk systems in your county

Wayne County, Michigan (MI) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

There's a news item on the Wayne system that this system was to shut down by Jan 2014, and move to MPSCS. None of the 3 systems shown have indications that they rebanded, and in fact, the Downriver system, along with MPSCS, don't need any custom tables for rebanding since they're already fully digital. So if Wayne has shut their system down, you need to reprogram for MPSCS

If the Wayne system is still active, and has truly rebanded, not only do you need to add the custom table, you must reduce all the frequencies you've programmed by 15 Mhz. Unfortunately no one has added the rebanded message to that system in the db, so you're going to have to do it manually by fixing the frequencies in Win96 then reloading.

Another possibility is that the Wayne system is not fully rebanded yet. In this case, you'd need both the pre and post rebanded frequencies in different banks, with the same talkgroups. It's not uncommon for a system to run both sets while the frequencies are being migrated.

Either is a possibility, and you need a Michigan scannist to answer it. You might want to post a question on our Michigan forum to see what Wayne is doing (assuming no one from that area answers here).

Michigan Radio Discussion Forum - The RadioReference.com Forums

Mike
 
Last edited:

talkpair

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
976
Location
Clinton County, MO
I've looked through the Michigan forums to see if anyone has posted any Tower files from Pro96Com and came back empty handed.

If you can, run the Pro96Com program on the control channel for about an hour to gather information, or ask someone in the Michigan forums if they can share a recent Tower file generated from the same site you are interested in.

Be clear on which site and system you are interested in, as this information could vary from system to system.

I'd be happy to help to create a custom table, but it requires information from that file.
 

russ132

Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
7
Guess I better get more precise. The system I am working with is the Downriver Mutual Aid (Project 25) Radio System, which was rebanded to 851 mHz on October 11, 2013. There are 4 control channels and an additional 13 operational channels, plus 129 talk groups. Per the specs I have found on the PRO-96, I should be able to receive all the talk groups, the information on the PRO-96 indicates it is capable of 150 talk groups. When I rebanded the PRO-96, I followed the directions given in the WIN96 software, and there is where things went awry. I am hearing nothing any longer, not even the control channels. All assistance is appreciated.
 

ka3jjz

Wiki Admin Emeritus
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
Messages
25,361
Location
Bowie, Md.
As this system is P25, no tables are needed, and neither do you need to reduce the freqs, as they all look to be already adjusted.

Simple question - can you hear a loud, rather annoying buzzing sound on one of the control freqs (the ones marked in red or blue)? If you can't, you won't hear anything at all. Don't ever lock these freqs out - the scanner needs them in order to trunktrack

Mike
 

talkpair

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
976
Location
Clinton County, MO
As this system is P25, no tables are needed, and neither do you need to reduce the freqs, as they all look to be already adjusted.
The Pro96/Pro2096 requires tables on everything.
It doesn't have an AUTO feature like the newer scanners have.

If it's like the 800 systems in my area, try:

Low Channel: 0
High Channel: 4095
Offset: 0
Base Frequency: 851.00625
Step 6.25
 

puzzleriddle

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
2,293
Location
bham, Bama
Last edited:

wrc1045A

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Messages
64
Location
Beavercreek, Ohio
I just programmed my 2096 with wins96 software. I subscribed to this site as a Premium Subscriber. The software can import your channels directly to your scanner if you are a premium subscriber. I spent countless hours messing with the scanner. FYI you also need to programming cabling from Radio Shack. I was able to fill the scanner and I get activity continously. I aso receive the reband stations that I fiddled with, it was super easy as the settings were set up automatically by the software and channel tables/settings. I subs as a Premium Subscriber for $30.00, the cable costs $30.00 and the software was relatively cheap :) Good Luck
 

talkpair

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2009
Messages
976
Location
Clinton County, MO
I got the file I needed from a user in the Downriver thread in the Michigan forum.

The following table should be used:

Low Chan 0
High Chan 4095
Offset 0
Base Frequency: 806.575
Step: 12.5
--------------------------------------
Control channel: 851.575

Any questions about talk groups on this system should probably be addressed in the Downriver thread.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top