setting up scanner

[barbergc]

I just bought a digital scanner. Now I need to set it up with all the frequencies. Do I have to actually put in each and every frequency number that is listed for every police dept or fire dept that I want to include?
If I travel that is thousands of frequencies across several states!
gc

 

[af5rn]

I just bought a digital scanner. Now I need to set it up with all the frequencies. Do I have to actually put in each and every frequency number that is listed for every police dept or fire dept that I want to include?

No. Just the ones highlighted in red or blue at the RadioReference database. And you only have to enter them once per system.

If I travel that is thousands of frequencies across several states!

That's why no sane person would even think of trying to do it manually. Use programming software that allows you to cut & paste the frequencies directly from the database and it goes pretty quickly.

 

[Highpockets]

I just bought a digital scanner. Now I need to set it up with all the frequencies. Do I have to actually put in each and every frequency number that is listed for every police dept or fire dept that I want to include?
If I travel that is thousands of frequencies across several states!
gc

It depends, if they are conventional freq, yes. If trunked motorola, red and blue. If Edacs, yes, all freq's. In trunked there is also ID's you have to enter. With that using software is the way to go, depending on the scanner, software, programing cable, and subscription to Radioreference, to use the import feature will make life allot easier. I hope this helps.

 

[WayneH]

barbergc, please take a moment to look over all forums and decide which best fits your question and the type of answer desired. For example, if you have a question regarding frequencies please post the question in the Regional forum. If you need assistance with programming a scanner please post in that manufacturer's forum. Thanks.

Moved to GenScan.

 

[gmclam]

Setting up a new scanner

I just bought a digital scanner. Do I have to actually put in each and every frequency number that is listed for every police dept or fire dept that I want to include?

Generally speaking, YES! The scanner has no idea what you want to hear, and you have to "tell" it. And to make matters more complicated, there are several different "types" of systems out there these days, each of which has to be programmed in a slightly different manner.

If I travel that is thousands of frequencies across several states!

What I do, is I use software on my PC (laptop) to program my scanners. And I set up different "files" for each area that I visit. Then I either bring my PC with me and change programs in the scanner as I go from location to location; or I program several scanners, each for different areas, before leaving or I somehow figure out how to squeeze in all the channels and TRS info for all areas I will be visiting.

Doing any of the above by hand would be a nightmare. Doing all of the above with the assistance of a computer still takes many hours of (home)work to make it all happen. And regardless, once I am in a new area, I always seem to find new channels or frequencies that I was not anticipating.

 

[af5rn]

If I travel that is thousands of frequencies across several states!

I have two-thousand channels in my scanner just for Dallas-Fort Worth, not including out of town stuff, so consider yourself lucky.

And gmclam is correct, even with computer assistance, it will probably take you a few days to get it programmed. Then you'll constantly be going back to fix things and add and subtract channels and frequencies. It ain't as easy as it used to be, so man up and get ready for an extremely steep learning curve.