SDS & Gates County VIPER

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Randy_Vick

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I've transitioned from a 396XT to a SDS 100, listening to Gates County from just across the border in Suffolk, VA. Anecdotally, it seems as though on the 396XT a large amount of Gates traffic I heard on VIPER, though also heard on regular frequencies. With the SDS I'm not hearing any Gates traffic on VIPER, even using a favorites list exported from ProScan 396 file to hpe file, then uploaded to my SDS. Am I doing something wrong?

I wouldn't care, except for the large amount of static on the regular frequencies.
 
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Am I doing something wrong?
For what it's worth, I experience similar behavior on my SDS 200 and 325P2.

The thing is, when you hit "Channel" on the SDS scanner, it continues to scan other frequencies on the System, where the 325P2 (or in your case 396XT) actually STOP on a frequency.

I use the SDS scanner and 325P2 side-by-side so I don't miss as much as with just one scanner.

Good luck!
 

jonwienke

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For what it's worth, I experience similar behavior on my SDS 200 and 325P2.

The thing is, when you hit "Channel" on the SDS scanner, it continues to scan other frequencies on the System, where the 325P2 (or in your case 396XT) actually STOP on a frequency.
Nope. The difference depends on whether the system is trunked or conventional, not the scanner model. Holding on a channel on a conventional system will stop all scanning, while holding on a trunked talkgroup will not stop the scanner from scanning multiple sites (if the system has more than one site in range). If you do a site hold on a multi-site trunked system, then the scanner will stop scanning.
 

tvengr

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With the SDS I'm not hearing any Gates traffic on VIPER
Please export a hpe file of your favorites list with Gates County on VIPER and attach it and I will check it for problems. You will have to right click on the file and send to a compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it.
 

Randy_Vick

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Please export a hpe file of your favorites list with Gates County on VIPER and attach it and I will check it for problems. You will have to right click on the file and send to a compressed (zipped) folder to be able to attach it.
To be clear, I'm not using hold, just wondering why/if the scanner is somehow favoring the conventional over the VIPER broadcasts. And to correct myself, I should have said "rarely" instead of "not hearing" the Gates traffic on VIPER. Yesterday, for example, during a neighborhood walk I heard Gates Sheriff on VIPER, but subsequent transmissions (3) in that conversation were on conventional.
 

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tvengr

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From what I see so far, you are missing the South Mills site for Camden County and the Valhalla site for Chowan County. You have an extra site for Elizabeth City in Paquotank County for which there are no talkgroups.
 

Randy_Vick

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From what I see so far, you are missing the South Mills site for Camden County and the Valhalla site for Chowan County. You have an extra site for Elizabeth City in Paquotank County for which there are no talkgroups.
Thanks for the eye for detail.

Some education assist, please. How do you determine there are no talkgroups for the Elizabeth City site? It was included because I had presumed NCSHP Troop A may hit that site. (I use GPS, but also have created smaller favorites lists for those times I may be without it)
 

tvengr

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How do you determine there are no talkgroups for the Elizabeth City site?
In your favorites list, I you are missing a department with Pasquotank Co talkgroups. I see that Pasquotank Co is adjacent to Gates Co. You should keep the Elizabeth City site in Pasquotank Co and add a department with the Pasquotank Co talkgroups. Once you add the sites for Camden and Chowan Counties, you will have 6 sites carrying NCSHP Troop A. It is not a good idea to have unnecessary sites. The more sites you scan, the more local traffic you will miss. While scanning sites B, C, D, E, and F, you are missing activity on site A. If you add quick keys to favorites lists, systems, departments and sites, you can easily select what you want to scan. Open the following link and scroll down to Pasquotank Co. You will see the talkgroups missing from your favorites list. North Carolina VIPER Trunking System, Varies, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies
 
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Randy_Vick

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In your favorites list, I you are missing a department with Pasquotank Co talkgroups. I see that Pasquotank Co is adjacent to Gates Co. You should keep the Elizabeth City site in Pasquotank Co and add a department with the Pasquotank Co talkgroups. Once you add the sites for Camden and Chowan Counties, you will have 6 sites carrying NCSHP Troop A. It is not a good idea to have unnecessary sites. The more sites you scan, the more local traffic you will miss. While scanning sites B, C, D, E, and F, you are missing activity on site A. If you add quick keys to favorites lists, systems, departments and sites, you can easily select what you want to scan. Open the following link and scroll down to Pasquotank Co. You will see the talkgroups missing from your favorites list. North Carolina VIPER Trunking System, Varies, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies
I use GPS to limit sites being scanned at any one time. I understand your point about the Pasquotank talkgroups. But are you saying my presumption about NCSHP affiliating with the Elizabeth City site isn't valid? And am I correct your assessment about talkgroups affiliated with the site is by looking at the map? I'm not attempting to argue, just looking to improve what I may or likely don't know.
 

jonwienke

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Never assume you know which talkgroups will be on which sites. There is no penalty for programming all talkgroups for a system, because talkgroups are not scanned.
 

Randy_Vick

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Never assume you know which talkgroups will be on which sites. There is no penalty for programming all talkgroups for a system, because talkgroups are not scanned.
Understood. In this setting I'm not interested in the local LEO/PS, just site "border" NCSHP traffic, presuming a trooper would likely at least "back-up," if not be responsible for another county.
 

jonwienke

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I would scan all sites within actual reception range, and avoid talkgroups and departments that aren't of interest. It's better to filter trunked traffic by talkgroup or department than by site, because you have no control over whiche talkgroups are allowed on each site.
 

Randy_Vick

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I would scan all sites within actual reception range, and avoid talkgroups and departments that aren't of interest. It's better to filter trunked traffic by talkgroup or department than by site, because you have no control over whiche talkgroups are allowed on each site.
Exactly. Thats why as in this favorites list, I have the EC site, presuming NCSHP talkgroups may affiliate with it. What prompted this discussion is my impression with my 396xt I was often hearing Gates County conventional "simulcast" on VIPER, but now rarely hear that and pick up the straight Gates County conventional. I didn't know if that was a feature related to the scanner, or I had done something wrong in programming.
 
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