Sebastian Co. and Pro-2096 help

Status
Not open for further replies.

dm1313

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
80
Location
Spiro, OK
I bought a Pro-2096 this weekend and I am totally lost when it comes to trunking. I programmed the following system with Win96, but don't hear anything.

Sebastian County Trunking System, Fort Smith, Arkansas - Scanner Frequencies

Will this scanner trunk that system or am I missing something? I have each site in a separate bank starting with channel 01 and have the mode set to FM.

Also, how would I go about receiving Fort Smith Police and Fire?

Thanks in advance for any help.
 

safetyobc

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2004
Messages
3,354
Location
South Arkansas

poppafred

Member
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
539
Location
North Central Texas
You probably won't hear anything from Sebastian Co unless you are monitoring them on AWIN. They (and Ft Smith) are almost exclusively on the AWIN system now. As a matter of fact, Sebastian Co SO Dispatch is on the local AWIN tower so much, I had to lock them out to hear anyone else.
 

dm1313

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
80
Location
Spiro, OK
Thanks for the replies...and I thought algebra was hard. This stuff is driving me nuts. I called Radio Shack and asked if they could program this for me, but the lady that answered said they didn't do that...which didn't surprise me as they said last week they didn't have an adapter tip I was looking for and I found it myself on their wall.

Anyway, I've got them set as EDACS and I believe in the correct order since they were imported through Win96. I'm hearing Fort Smith on 856.21250 and Hartford on 858.96250 now, but so far no other channels.
How do I go about programming the AWIN frequencies? Do I need to import this entire list or just the sites in the immediate area?

Arkansas Wireless Information Network (AWIN) Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies

For some reason, I am unable to receive the Fort Smith PD on any of the 400mhz frequencies. I did a limit search on 453.000-454.000 and only received WestFork, Washington County, and something that sounded like Saint Paul.
 

poppafred

Member
Joined
May 5, 2005
Messages
539
Location
North Central Texas
Ft. Smith does not use the 453 mHz stuff anymore, they are totally AWIN. They have even moved the street, bus and sanitation departments over now. I am not certain but I believe they have even removed the non-AWIN radios from the cars.

I have not heard any traffic on the Sebastian Co EDACS system for over 11 months now. I have it in my Pro-97 and used to hear them all the time. When they and Ft Smith went digital with AWIN, that spurred me to buy my Pro-197.

With AWIN, you need to take a look at the Arkansas AWIN maps on the wiki and pick towers you could probably hear, Ft. Smith Simucast and Hartford will probably be your best bets. Next pick your talkgroups. Sebastian Co and Ft Smith would be the first logical choices. If the Pro-2096 can mix digital with analog, one of the fire pager freqs on the 155mHz band for Sebastian Co would be in order. They tone out all the rural fire and Greenwood fire departments on that set of repeaters. Pick the fire repeater closest to you. No need to load all of them, they all simulcast together. There is also occasionally voice traffic over them.

You need to be sure you know how to create systems and talkgroups in Win96. You also need to know how to assign a talkgroup to a specific system. I am illiterate when it comes to Win96, I've never even seen a screen capture of it at work. You can probably get help with that in the programming software forum if you need it.

I have a Pro-197 and use Win500 to program it. What I did was go to the AWIN page, got it in PDF format and printed out the entire list. If you are not a premium subscriber, I can get a current list in PDF format and email it to you if it would help. Print it out and then go through the list to find which talkgroups you want to monitor. I always found that easier to do in a recliner with a highlighter than on a computer screen. With Win96, at least it will be easier to type them into the program and load them into the scanner than it would have been to have to manually enter them directly. Been there, done that, didn't even want the t-shirt.

Scanning with a digital scanner is a different world. Not like the old analog days where you could just punch in a set of numbers and take off. However, it is rather satisfying to sit back after all the work and listen to the results.

I am 20 miles east of Ft Smith and will be glad to offer tips or frequencies if you need them.

Good Luck!
 

dm1313

Member
Joined
Oct 29, 2007
Messages
80
Location
Spiro, OK
Thank you Fred for the detailed information. Yep, it was a lot easier when I got my first scanner in the early 70s and just had to put the crystals in. This is my third trunking scanner and first digital and first attempt to actually program a trunking system...never really needed trunking as all of the stuff I listen to is analog. I am hearing Hartford and Fort Smith on the control channels only and it doesn't seem to be trunking. I tried opening and closing the banks, but didn't seem to make a difference. Also noted that several channels had an "Incorrect ID" displayed.

I agree that Fort Smith Simulcast and Hartford towers are well within range. Not sure about Mountainburg on digital, but I receive analog from it very strong. VHF reception is actually very good where I am at and I receive pretty good signals in about a 70 to 75 mile radius with a MFJ Discone up about 25 feet.

I would like to put in these talk groups if it is possible to put in that many...

Sebastian County and Fort Smith Talkgroups
State Police: Troop H - Fort Smith Talkgroups
Arkansas Highway Police Talkgroups for District 3
Federal Government Talkgroups (for Fort Chaffee Police Dispatch)
University of Arkansas - Fort Smith Campus Talkgroups
State Dept. of Military Affairs Talkgroups

...and I guess I'm just going to find a quiet corner and sit down with the manual and a programming shortcut I downloaded and do the "trial and error" method.

Thanks again for your help.
 

fmon

Silent Key Jan. 14, 2012
Joined
May 11, 2002
Messages
7,741
Location
Eclipse, Virginia
Hey Martin, try this p96 for Troop H

Has all freqs and talkgroups you've listed.

Download as .txt, rename by backspacing through the .txt including the decimal (.). Then open in Win96.
 
Last edited:

chrish04

Member
Joined
Apr 27, 2004
Messages
63
Location
San Antonio TX
If you download WIN96 it's by far the easiest way to program you scanner, Its what i use for mine really easy to use, And if you cant figure it out I could send you a copy of my file that is set up for Troop H and all the other users that use AWIN in the Fort Smith area. If you do not have a programing cable for it, I have an extra one laying around that you could have. Just let me know and ill get you set up so you can enjoy your new scanner

As for the EDACS it's no longer in use, All Sebastian County is on AWIN, the only thing VHF we use is the Fire Repaters and that's just for our pagers, You will sometimes hear traffic on the VHF fire channels if there is a big fire, the SO will patch the VHF system into the AWIN system in case there are some Fire Fighters who have not yet got there AWIN radios
 

fmon

Silent Key Jan. 14, 2012
Joined
May 11, 2002
Messages
7,741
Location
Eclipse, Virginia
Thanks fmon, got it and it's working great
Glad you got er working.
You can open two incidences of Win96 using File>Open for second incident which then has two tabs at top.
Then you can use Edit>Bank Copy to copy banks from one to the other.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top