Sentinel Question

[crcarter]

Is it possible to set up a favorite list/profile in Sentinel by using a Zip Code and a Range and have Sentinel pull all the matching freqs from the full database to populate the favorite list/profile? I was playing around with Sentinel late last night (early this morning) and I was able to do it, or at least I dreamed I was able to. I've tried for several hours this evening and read the help file and if it is possible, I am overlooking it.

No, I don't have the HP yet. I will be ordering it later this week, just wanted to get a head start on it.

 

[OCO]

Is it possible to set up a favorite list/profile in Sentinel by using a Zip Code and a Range and have Sentinel pull all the matching freqs from the full database to populate the favorite list/profile? I was playing around with Sentinel late last night (early this morning) and I was able to do it, or at least I dreamed I was able to. I've tried for several hours this evening and read the help file and if it is possible, I am overlooking it.

No, I don't have the HP yet. I will be ordering it later this week, just wanted to get a head start on it.

Charlie:
Not that I can find, as far as doing it in Sentinel; however, it's very simple to do on the HP1 itself - you set up your scan list from the full DB, then from the menu select "Create New List", name that list, then select "Add Current Channels". You will then have a Favorite with what's been selected as you outlined. Remember to upload it back to Sentinel to save it on the PC...

 

[crcarter]

Charlie:
Not that I can find, as far as doing it in Sentinel; however, it's very simple to do on the HP1 itself - you set up your scan list from the full DB, then from the menu select "Create New List", name that list, then select "Add Current Channels". You will then have a Favorite with what's been selected as you outlined. Remember to upload it back to Sentinel to save it on the PC...

Ok, at least I've not lost all of my marbles (yet). Whatever program I did it with, or dreamed it, I set the range to 30 miles. I was confused because I got a VA STARS site. I just checked and the STARS mobile site for the Richmond Division shows a 238 mile range and its coverage map covers my home. Not that I believe I will hear anything, but my dream has some factual things to consider. Now, where did I put those marbles????

 

[OCO]

I'm gonna get smacked on this - it was right in front of me.. On the Sentinel toolbar, select "Edit" --> "Add Channels on Range" and fill in the boxes,; Click "OK" and create a new Favorite...click "OK" again and it'll select what you specified.. You weren't dreaming, but I was asleep at the wheel... So, now you know how to do it both in Sentinel and on the HP1....

 

[crcarter]

I'm gonna get smacked on this - it was right in front of me.. On the Sentinel toolbar, select "Edit" --> "Add Channels on Range" and fill in the boxes,; Click "OK" and create a new Favorite...click "OK" again and it'll select what you specified.. You weren't dreaming, but I was asleep at the wheel... So, now you know how to do it both in Sentinel and on the HP1....

Thanks! What color marble do you want?

 

[OCO]

Keep the marble - you still may need it.....I don't know why I'd overlooked that function - I thought I'd wrung Sentinel out pretty well. I just built a home area Favorite that pretty much matches what I selected manually from the DB....and it took about 30 seconds...

 

[crcarter]

Keep the marble - you still may need it.....I don't know why I'd overlooked that function - I thought I'd wrung Sentinel out pretty well. I just built a home area Favorite that pretty much matches what I selected manually from the DB....and it took about 30 seconds...

I'm working on one for here also. It is amazing how much that some agencies over-report their coverage area. I am in extreme northeast Kentucky, where KY, OH & WV meet, and my 30 mile range gave me North Carolina and Tennessee agencies.

Thanks again for helping me find it and getting a small amount of my sanity back.

 

[OCO]

What you're seeing are probably talkgroups for statewide systems. Normally the range for the talkgroups are set to encompass the entire state and the transmitting sites themselves normally have a realistic range reflecting their actual coverage area. Remember, your radio's not scanning for talkgroups, it's scanning for active frequencies and then playing the audio for any talkgroups you've selected that come up active for that system. On most large trunked systems, the talkgroups are programmed by the system administrators for selected tower sites, not the entire system, so you'll usually hear ones local to your area, unless the talkgroup is allowed to roam and an active unit ends up in your area..

 

[crcarter]

What you're seeing are probably talkgroups for statewide systems. Normally the range for the talkgroups are set to encompass the entire state and the transmitting sites themselves normally have a realistic range reflecting their actual coverage area. Remember, your radio's not scanning for talkgroups, it's scanning for active frequencies and then playing the audio for any talkgroups you've selected that come up active for that system. On most large trunked systems, the talkgroups are programmed by the system administrators for selected tower sites, not the entire system, so you'll usually hear ones local to your area, unless the talkgroup is allowed to roam and an active unit ends up in your area..

Actually is is doing both. As an example, it has the Ohio MARCS "Alexandria" site listed with all 4 freqs. The site range is listed as 30 miles, yet the outside of the range is still at least 40 miles, as the crow files, from me, and the "Bellefontaine" site outside range is probably 60+ miles from me.

I'd rather have too much than not enough, at least until I start missing local traffic because it is checking control channels that are too far away. If I recall correctly the HP scans 100 channels/second. It's easier to take them out than put them in though.

 

[OCO]

Don't forget that ranges are additive. If you're setting up your range at 30 miles and the site is also 30 miles, if they touch/overlap at all, you'll get them in the list, so you could see a site that's 60 miles from your location..

 

[crcarter]

Don't forget that ranges are additive. If you're setting up your range at 30 miles and the site is also 30 miles, if they touch/overlap at all, you'll get them in the list, so you could see a site that's 60 miles from your location..

Makes sense. I'm still weeding out some of the sites though. I just checked the map for the Ashtabula site. It is outside of Cleveland and about 40% is in Lake Erie. That is at least 250 miles.

Is the HP more "selective" when it selects sites based on distance?

 

[phask]

If I create a Favorite for MARCS it will always add every site in the entire state. I know my Ohio geography well enough to delete what is not needed - but still a PITA.

If I create one for a county a few miles south of me a get systems in W.VA and some in VA - that is with a range of 3 miles. Obviously something is way off on the range of these. I've never drilled down to see what though.

BTW - in eastern Ohio.

 

[OCO]

I don't know.. I took a quick look at the DB reports for the MARCS system and it looks like the ranges are all reasonable, both for the TGs and the Sites. If you are creating a new Favorite using the "Add Channels on Range" function with a range setting of 0 and still getting the entire state, I wouldn't be sure why...

 

[crcarter]

If I create a Favorite for MARCS it will always add every site in the entire state. I know my Ohio geography well enough to delete what is not needed - but still a PITA.

If I create one for a county a few miles south of me a get systems in W.VA and some in VA - that is with a range of 3 miles. Obviously something is way off on the range of these. I've never drilled down to see what though.

BTW - in eastern Ohio.

Is that with the Sentinel software or in the HP, or both? Maybe I am being overly picky (my wife says I am), but if the HP is busy scanning freqs for sites that are well out of range, it only stands to reason that it may miss a transmission from a local site. Not a deal breaker, but still something that needs to be addressed.

 

[del1964]

Same type of issue

I just got my Home Patrol and running into the same type of issue(s). I live (Seymour, IN) about 50 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky which is the northern most city straight south of me in Kentucky. If I set my range to zero, I still get HP loading a whole bunch of Kentucky frequencies/agencies including State Police Kentucky and other state agencies. Also some Illinois freq's depending on what I'm wanting to scan.

 

[crcarter]

I just got my Home Patrol and running into the same type of issue(s). I live (Seymour, IN) about 50 miles north of Louisville, Kentucky which is the northern most city straight south of me in Kentucky. If I set my range to zero, I still get HP loading a whole bunch of Kentucky frequencies/agencies including State Police Kentucky and other state agencies. Also some Illinois freq's depending on what I'm wanting to scan.

Using Sentinel I set the range to 30 and got all of the Ohio MARCS sites, but only get some of the West Virginia WVIRP sites. A lot of the WV sites were well over 30 miles away and they only have coverage areas of 15 miles. Some were up in the panhandles around Maryland and Wheeling. In the American Electric Power TRS I have, among many others, the Ft. Wayne, IN site.

Makes no rhyme or reason.

 

[OCO]

Can you define what procedure you are using to set up the HP1?
Are you creating a favorite from the DB or using the Entire DB and setting your location or are you using the "Edit Channels on Range"? Are you doing that in Sentinel or on the HP1?
If you are using a Favorite created from the DB, are you checking "Use Location" in Sentinel and on the HP1?

Again, these systems are outside of my area, so all I'm doing is looking at the RR DB reports, but if you are using location, not all transmitter sites in a Trunked system should load unless they are part of a simulcast system or are all within range. (I'm sure I'll get corrected on this...). Maybe UPMan has some input here.. (BTW - I am not having the issue with the systems I monitor)

 

[crcarter]

Can you define what procedure you are using to set up the HP1?
Are you creating a favorite from the DB or using the Entire DB and setting your location or are you using the "Edit Channels on Range"? Are you doing that in Sentinel or on the HP1?
If you are using a Favorite created from the DB, are you checking "Use Location" in Sentinel and on the HP1?

Again, these systems are outside of my area, so all I'm doing is looking at the RR DB reports, but if you are using location, not all transmitter sites in a Trunked system should load unless they are part of a simulcast system or are all within range. (I'm sure I'll get corrected on this...). Maybe UPMan has some input here.. (BTW - I am not having the issue with the systems I monitor)

I am using Sentinel. Haven't received the HP yet. If you look back early in the thread, I am doing exactly what you suggested (no, I am not placing blame). I downloaded the entire DB into Sentinel, using Update Master HPDB, selected Edit, Add Channels on Range, used my Zip Code and a range of 30 miles and made the result a favorite. Just as a test before I sent this, I used a Zip Code of 41101 (Ashland which is 8 miles from me) and a range of 5 miles. I still get OH MARCS sites in Cincinnati and Cleveland, just to name two that are quite a distance from me.

If you want to try and duplicate it on your end, in Sentinel, here is what I did:

Database -> Edit -> Add Channels on Range -> Zip/Post (Enter 41101) -> Range (1.0) -> OK -> New Favorites List (Test) and the OH MARCS is still there.

 

[phask]

Is that with the Sentinel software or in the HP, or both? Maybe I am being overly picky (my wife says I am), but if the HP is busy scanning freqs for sites that are well out of range, it only stands to reason that it may miss a transmission from a local site. Not a deal breaker, but still something that needs to be addressed.

Using Sentinel - as stated above in this thread

 

[OCO]

Well guys, I'm out of ideas, I've stumbled across a problem with trying to change the zip code in Sentinel (it changes, but I get zero selections from the Range select option..). I'll take a look later, but maybe UPMan can take a look also. I have kept referring back to the MARCS system - if you look at the canned reports for that system in RR, you'll see what TG categories have long ranges, but the .csv report for individual talkgroups doesn't have range. If you look at the .csv report for sites, you'll see only one site has a large (150 mile) radius (statewide Mobile). I think you need some help, maybe from another user in the area, to figure out why you're getting systems from beyond your location/range included. I'm wondering if possibly it has something to do with the ZIP codes... I've gotta run for now (laptop puked, my oldest and dearest)