Setup Help (Pro 164)

[Gsimp0103]

I am having complications setting up my scanner. I am new to trunking systems (miss the conventional systems) and I can't quite get this dialed in correctly.

Here's what I've got. A Pro-164 with the Radio Shack cable. I have a subscription to R.R. which allows me to download directly into the ARC300 software. I've figured out how to download to the scanner no problem there. The situation is that I've got talk groups showing up on banks that I don't want.

Basically, I want Washington County and Multnomah county Fire, PD and Sheriff. When I program TVF&R talk groups (50032,50096,50128,50160,50192,50320,50384,50416,50448,50480,50512,50544,50576,50608,50640,50736,50768) into bank 2 with the 13 frequencies from the "washington county simulcast channels: 18" and upload to my scanner I am listening to everything from Hillsboro PD dispatch to Beaverton PD.

If I understand all this right I should be able to program the only the talk groups into each bank that I want to hear. Bank 1 would be Washington County sheriff, Bank 2 would be TVF&R, Bank 3 would be Beaverton PD, etc....

How come when I am scanning only bank 2 (TVF&R) I am getting MOT 60523, 60528, 64912 and many, many other talk groups? Shouldn't I only be hearing the talk groups that show up under bank 2 on the ARC300 software?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Glenn

 

[joescanner]

i can't remember which scanner the -164 acts like, but a lot of the older pro series scanners had "open" mode versus "closed" mode. Check to make sure you are in closed mode. If it acts like the -197 (or the PSR500, which yes, I know these two are digital, etc., and the -164 is not), then make sure you don't have a "wildcard" talkgroup programmed.

 

[DickH]

... Here's what I've got. A Pro-164 with the Radio Shack cable. I have a subscription to R.R. which allows me to download directly into the ARC300 software. I've figured out how to download to the scanner no problem there. The situation is that I've got talk groups showing up on banks that I don't want.

Basically, I want Washington County and Multnomah county Fire, PD and Sheriff. When I program TVF&R talk groups (50032,50096,50128,50160,50192,50320,50384,50416,50448,50480,50512,50544,50576,50608,50640,50736,50768) into bank 2 with the 13 frequencies from the "washington county simulcast channels: 18" and upload to my scanner I am listening to everything from Hillsboro PD dispatch to Beaverton PD.

If I understand all this right I should be able to program the only the talk groups into each bank that I want to hear. ...

There are several issues here.
1 - As Joe explained, you need to be in CLOSED mode to hear only the TGs you program in. In OPEN mode you will hear every active TG. Page 39 tells you how to set the mode.

2 - You need only the 4 control channels, but having all the freqs. won't affect what you hear.

3 - Rebanding does not affect the Portland system, but it does affect things on your side of the city.
The main WCCCA system has one freq. that can not be tracked, so theoretically you will miss 1/18 of the traffic.
The West WCCCA system has three of the five freqs. that can not be tracked..
The Newburg sub-system has one oif the four freqs. that can not be tracked.
Buit don't panic.
The PRO-164 can be upgraded to track all the rebanded freqs. by adding Custom Band Plans. I understand it can only be done via a program. I'm not sure the ARC300 can do it.
Search around this RR site and you will find the answer.

 

[ka3jjz]

The procedure for allocating custom tables for rebanding in ARC300 is outlined here - it looks very simple...

PSR-300/400 Software and USB Support - The RadioReference Wiki

best regards..Mike

 

[gmclam]

PRO-164 (PSR-300) Trunk programming

A Pro-164 with the Radio Shack cable.

I have the PSR-300, which is the same scanner as the '164. I have programmed my '300 to receive all the systems in your area with no problems. I have visited the area frequently to visit family members.

I have a subscription to R.R. which allows me to download directly into the ARC300 software.

I am using WIN97, mostly because I also have some PRO-97s. But I suspect these programs work in a similar manner.

I want Washington County and Multnomah county Fire, PD and Sheriff. When I program TVF&R talk groups (....) into bank 2 with the 13 frequencies from the "washington county simulcast channels: 18" and upload to my scanner I am listening to everything from Hillsboro PD dispatch to Beaverton PD.

As mentioned, I'd set ALL of your banks to CLOSED.

If you are always in one location, then you may be able to select and program in specific "sites" to monitor. Since I am mobile and/or many locations around the area, I programmed in all the sites. The key to making that work with this design of scanner is that each bank you want to hear (simultaneously) should be in its own bank. So put Multnomah site 1 in bank 1, Multnomah site 2 in bank 2, WCCA site 1 in bank 3, etc (the sites you want to receive from). Certainly you'll end up putting the same (or very similar) lists of TGs in each bank; but that's how the scanner works.

3 - Rebanding does not affect the Portland system, but it does affect things on your side of the city.
The main WCCCA system has one freq. that can not be tracked, so theoretically you will miss 1/18 of the traffic.
The West WCCCA system has three of the five freqs. that can not be tracked..
The Newburg sub-system has one oif the four freqs. that can not be tracked.
The PRO-164 can be upgraded to track all the rebanded freqs. by adding Custom Band Plans.

When programming rebanded sites, it is ESSENTIAL that you select the correct bandplan. This can not be done from the scanner keypad. I am not sure how it is done in ARC300. In WIN97 you select the "multi-table" and then select "rebanded 800 MHz".

This issue was an interesting challenge for me on my last trip up there. Because I program lots of systems between California and Washington, some rebanded and some not, I was careful to designate some banks of my scanners for rebanded and some for not rebanded. Whether or not you program a bank/site to rebanded or not is essentially based on the specific frequencies being used by that site.

Good luck.