SDS200: Beginner With Scan Questions/Problems

[BOBRR]

Hello,

Still trying to get going with new SDS200.

Questions:

I have set up in Sentinel a Favorites list.
I call it "Aero."
It has three Systems in it: Boston ZBW, Airports, and Logan International airport.
All of these three Systems show Quick key 1

In Sentinel still, under Options I also have FL Quick Key showing a 1

(and, all boxes in "System Quick Keys Status" checked)

I downloaded all of this to Scanner (I think)

Questions, please:

If i press "1" on the keyboard, should all three Systems in Aero be activated and scanned ?

If I only have the 1 set for the FL Aero, and no numbers assigned for any of the three Systems in it, should the three Systems also scan ?

And my major question: I press 1 on the keyboard, and what comes up is: "Scan mode. Nothing to Scan"

Sure is a lot to understand.
What am I, as usual, not doing correctly or missing ?

Why won't it Scan ?

Secondary Question: with enough fiddling, I can get the scan screen to show up.
What's the best way to go from any of the menu screens to the normal scanning screens ?

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Is the "Aircraft" service type enabled? (See Page 25 here: http://www.uniden.info/download/ompdf/SDS200om.pdf)

 

[ofd8001]

Assuming you have the Aircraft Service Type enabled as described above, it's probably the Quick Key Status. Possibly Location if you have Location Control enabled for the Favorites List. (Easiest to leave that off until you get a little farther along in your scanning).

Did you press the "eYes" button? If so, Favorites List 1 is toggled (Off if it was On or, On if it was Off, just like toggling a light switch). Merely pressing the FL Quick Key won't do anything - they've changed that to avoid accidental presses.

This also assumes you have the System Quick Keys on and the Systems not avoided.

On the top row of the display, do you see F0 -1------- or F0 -*-------? If you see the asterisk (*), Favorites List Quick Key 1 is toggled off.

 

[BOBRR]

Hi all,

Thanks for help; to say I appreciate it is an understatement.
So nice of all of you all to take the time.
Really great that there is this true Beginners Forum. I sure do need it.

Having a rough time with it. (SDS 200)
Have degrees in math and engineering, but can't come (fully) to grip with the machine-human interface they have, frankly.
Will blame it on old age, i guess.

Still getting the Nothing To Scan message when trying to only scan Favorite list 1 which I set up in Sentinel and downloaded.
Tried most everything, but obviously doing something wrong. Service Type for Aero. is enabled.
Lots of great and helpful suggestions from this Forum, but still can't get it to scan the FL 1.

I can get several things working, sort of, though.

a. Have it scanning the full database. An accomplishment, i guess.
In doing so, it also seems to scan the Favorite list i set up (No. 1) called Aero., which has 3 airports in it that I placed also.

Question: Am i correct that all I need to do is to assign a single Favorite list Number to Aero, and it will/should pick up
the other three airports without having to also assign any Quick Keys to them ?

b. So, from this mode, scanning "everything", how do I tell it to just scan Favorite list 1 (Aero) ?

c. This came up (don't remember from exactly where): Press S1=Exit
What is the S1 key ?
What is the Exit Key ?

d. "Custom Scan .." sometimes comes up. How do i get it not to ?

*And, what's the easiest way to go from a menu to an actual scanning mode/situation ?

Thanks, much appreciated,
Bob

 

[W6KRU]

Check the 3 tier checklist In the Nothing to scan Checklist.

For quick key help see the Easier to Read manual.

 

[BOBRR]

Hi,

Got it !
Thanks to all you folks help.
So nice of everyone to take the time to help me out.
What a great site, forums, and folks.

Can I please re-ask this, as I am very curious:

a. This came up (don't remember from exactly where): "Press S1=Exit"
What/where is the S1 key ?
What/where is the Exit Key ?

b. "Custom Scan .." sometimes comes up. What is it ? How do i get it not to ?

c. And, what's the easiest way to go from a menu to an actual scanning mode/situation ?

Thanks again, Bob

 

[hiegtx]

a. This came up (don't remember from exactly where): "Press S1=Exit"
What/where is the S1 key ?
What/where is the Exit Key ?

Are you possibly seeing "Press Sys-Exit"? That would be telling you to press the System key (the 'soft' key at the lower left of the display) to exit whatever you were into. If that's not what you're seeing, then see if you can determine more clearly where this happens.

b. "Custom Scan .." sometimes comes up. What is it ? How do i get it not to ?

Press the Function key (press the scroll knob to do that) and then Avoid while the scanner is showing "Custom Scan".

Also, start the Profile Editor in Sentinel, by either selecting that from the drop-down Edit menu, or by clicking the icon that resembles a piece of paper with a pencil on it on the second line of the main screen. That icon is under the capitol V of the View drop-down menu.

Make sure that Monitor Search with Scan is not selected (the check box should be blank).

c. And, what's the easiest way to go from a menu to an actual scanning mode/situation ?

Pressing the Avoid key once will take you out of a menu and go back to scanning.

 

[ProScan]

a. This came up (don't remember from exactly where): "Press S1=Exit"
What/where is the S1 key ?
What/where is the Exit Key ?

I'm not sure where you see that. My guess is S1 is the Soft Key 1 which in this context is when pressed it will exit.

c. And, what's the easiest way to go from a menu to an actual scanning mode/situation ?

On Pg 28 of the manual To go up one menu level, press MENU. To exit the menu entirely, press AVOID
Soft Key 1 will exit the menu too.

 

[BOBRR]

Hi,

Just want to say thanks for all the great explanations and help.
Really appreciated.

Regards,
Bob

 

[ofd8001]

a. Question: Am i correct that all I need to do is to assign a single Favorite list Number to Aero, and it will/should pick up
the other three airports without having to also assign any Quick Keys to them ?

b. So, from this mode, scanning "everything", how do I tell it to just scan Favorite list 1 (Aero) ?

Easiest first: b: Menu>Set Scan Selection>Select Lists to Monitor>Full Database should be Off and Favorites List(s) should be On. Use scroll button to scroll and press it in to toggle.

The toughest, a: Probably a review of Favorites Lists, Systems and Departments is needed. A Favorites List is a container to hold "stuff", sort of like a file cabinet. A System, another container, is like a drawer in the file cabinet. A Department is yet another container, like file folders in the drawer, which is in the file cabinet. (Channels would be pieces of paper in the file folder).

A Favorites List has a Quick Key, which can be likened to locking/unlocking the file cabinet.

A System has a different type of Quick Key (System Quick Key), likened to opening/closing the file drawer. You can assign the same System Quick Key number to several systems, which is sort of like opening several drawers at once.

And for sake of academics, a Department has yet another kind of Quick Key (Department Quick Key). You can assign the same Department Quick Key number to several departments, which is sort of like grabbing several file folders at once.

And the same rules for file cabinets apply. You got to have the cabinet unlocked and the drawer open to get to the file folders.

I'd be happy to take a look at your Favorites List to see if there is anything that stands out as a problem. Do a File>Export to HPE file, then zip that HPE file and attach it to a message.

There are a ton of little things that could be going wrong as you'll see from that "Nothing to Scan" checklist. New folks tend to find many of them in the early days and bear in mind all of us were new folks in our beginning.

 

[BOBRR]

Hi,

Thanks for help; much appreciated.
Think I'm making (some) progress.
Good explanations; clarifies a lot for me, and now i feel i have a "handle" on it. At least the QK's.

Thanks again,
Bob