Hi all.
I've recently gotten my first trunking scanner. I've read that they can be tough to set up, but I thought "Hey, I'm usually good at figuring out these sorts of things, how hard can it be?" Pretty hard. Anyway, I think I've finally figured out how to program my scanner, but my problem now is I can't figure out what to put in it. I guess the best way to ask for help is to tell you what I've done so far and ask that someone tell me where all I've gone wrong. Also please forgive me if this is the wrong forum, but since my question (at least for now) is more along the lines of how to read the information in the database than how to program, I figured this was the best place.
So, on to what I've done so far:
I'm in Montgomery, AL (Montgomery Metro Communications Cooperative District Trunking System, Montgomery, Alabama - Scanner Frequencies). I figured I would start small and just try to get the Montgomery Police dispatch channel working and go from there. So I went to the page and found all manner of numbers, and not a lot to explain what they all are.
First, the frequencies. There's a Site and Hex listed (seem to be the same thing just 2 formats) that I didn't find referenced in any of the manuals I've read on programming the scanner, so I assumed this was just extra information and ignored it (probably not a good thing). Then there are small numbers next to each frequency, which I assume are the LCNs. Realizing that for each "site" the LCN resets, I assumed that I only need one site's worth of frequencies to make this thing go. So I put in the frequencies for the site labeled Montgomery (carefully making sure they're in the same order as on the screen) and told it to scan. I figured I would get every talkgroup in the system which would be overwhelming, but at least I'd know it was working. However, all I got was silence. So I took those numbers out and put in the Simulcast numbers. At that point I started getting stuff, but most of it sounded like a dial-up modem trying to connect. I figured that was because most of the system is digital, and forged ahead.
Second, the talk groups. I put in the talkgroup 1296, since that appears to me to be the talk group I'm interested in. Then I put the scanner in closed mode so that was the only talkgroup it would listen to. Now I get the same gibberish I had before, but everything is IDed as 1296.
So my questions come: Should I be using the Simulcast or the Montgomery frequencies? Are the little numbers the LCNs? My scanner starts with channel 0 instead of channel 1. Should I skip channel 0 and start with channel 1, or can I start with channel 0? Am I totally off-base and need to remove everything and start over?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
I've recently gotten my first trunking scanner. I've read that they can be tough to set up, but I thought "Hey, I'm usually good at figuring out these sorts of things, how hard can it be?" Pretty hard. Anyway, I think I've finally figured out how to program my scanner, but my problem now is I can't figure out what to put in it. I guess the best way to ask for help is to tell you what I've done so far and ask that someone tell me where all I've gone wrong. Also please forgive me if this is the wrong forum, but since my question (at least for now) is more along the lines of how to read the information in the database than how to program, I figured this was the best place.
So, on to what I've done so far:
I'm in Montgomery, AL (Montgomery Metro Communications Cooperative District Trunking System, Montgomery, Alabama - Scanner Frequencies). I figured I would start small and just try to get the Montgomery Police dispatch channel working and go from there. So I went to the page and found all manner of numbers, and not a lot to explain what they all are.
First, the frequencies. There's a Site and Hex listed (seem to be the same thing just 2 formats) that I didn't find referenced in any of the manuals I've read on programming the scanner, so I assumed this was just extra information and ignored it (probably not a good thing). Then there are small numbers next to each frequency, which I assume are the LCNs. Realizing that for each "site" the LCN resets, I assumed that I only need one site's worth of frequencies to make this thing go. So I put in the frequencies for the site labeled Montgomery (carefully making sure they're in the same order as on the screen) and told it to scan. I figured I would get every talkgroup in the system which would be overwhelming, but at least I'd know it was working. However, all I got was silence. So I took those numbers out and put in the Simulcast numbers. At that point I started getting stuff, but most of it sounded like a dial-up modem trying to connect. I figured that was because most of the system is digital, and forged ahead.
Second, the talk groups. I put in the talkgroup 1296, since that appears to me to be the talk group I'm interested in. Then I put the scanner in closed mode so that was the only talkgroup it would listen to. Now I get the same gibberish I had before, but everything is IDed as 1296.
So my questions come: Should I be using the Simulcast or the Montgomery frequencies? Are the little numbers the LCNs? My scanner starts with channel 0 instead of channel 1. Should I skip channel 0 and start with channel 1, or can I start with channel 0? Am I totally off-base and need to remove everything and start over?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
