sulphur springs, tx help

Status
Not open for further replies.

tglassone

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
7
Location
sulphur springs tx
bought a new bcd996xt scanner to be able to scan hopkins county sheriffs office p25, and can not program it. anyone in the area that can at a low price and help me program it and other channels?
 

hiegtx

Mentor
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
11,665
Location
Dallas, TX
bought a new bcd996xt scanner to be able to scan hopkins county sheriffs office p25, and can not program it. anyone in the area that can at a low price and help me program it and other channels?
Hi tg
Welcome to the Texas Forum & RadioReference.

If nobody in your immediate area speaks up shortly, I can create a file for you to load using FreeSCAN. The software is free to download & use, and you use the cable that came with the scanner to connect it to the computer. However, the cable requires a serial port, and many newer computers, especially laptops, do not have one. If that's the case on your pc, your options, covered in this Wiki article, are to either obtain a USB->Serial converter cable, or get Uniden's USB-1 programming cable, which plugs into a USB port.

FreeSCAN can be downloaded here, and it's user guide can be found in the Wiki here on RadioReference.

There are a number of resources available to help you get started with your new scanner. Here are several good links to start with. Most have other links on the page:

Scanning 101 - The RadioReference Wiki

Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

Uniden DMA FAQ - The RadioReference Wiki

The 'Easier to Read' manual for your scanner can be found on this page.

Even if you have someone assist with programming your scanner, they would need to have an idea of exactly what you wanted to hear. So, start thinking about what channels (frequencies) you'd like to monitor. Besides Hopkins County SO, are there other cities and agencies in the county of interest to you? What about neighboring counties? Rains? Hunt? Wood? Any others? TX DPS?

Think about what interests you, and if need be, I can email you a file that you can load, if you have the software & cable as noted above. Click on my user name on the post, and you'll see an option to 'send private message'. There are several members in your vicinity, so one of them would be closer, if they see this thread.
 

tglassone

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
7
Location
sulphur springs tx
thanks

Hi tg
Welcome to the Texas Forum & RadioReference.

If nobody in your immediate area speaks up shortly, I can create a file for you to load using FreeSCAN. The software is free to download & use, and you use the cable that came with the scanner to connect it to the computer. However, the cable requires a serial port, and many newer computers, especially laptops, do not have one. If that's the case on your pc, your options, covered in this Wiki article, are to either obtain a USB->Serial converter cable, or get Uniden's USB-1 programming cable, which plugs into a USB port.

FreeSCAN can be downloaded here, and it's user guide can be found in the Wiki here on RadioReference.

There are a number of resources available to help you get started with your new scanner. Here are several good links to start with. Most have other links on the page:

Scanning 101 - The RadioReference Wiki

Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

Uniden DMA FAQ - The RadioReference Wiki

The 'Easier to Read' manual for your scanner can be found on this page.

Even if you have someone assist with programming your scanner, they would need to have an idea of exactly what you wanted to hear. So, start thinking about what channels (frequencies) you'd like to monitor. Besides Hopkins County SO, are there other cities and agencies in the county of interest to you? What about neighboring counties? Rains? Hunt? Wood? Any others? TX DPS?

Think about what interests you, and if need be, I can email you a file that you can load, if you have the software & cable as noted above. Click on my user name on the post, and you'll see an option to 'send private message'. There are several members in your vicinity, so one of them would be closer, if they see this thread.

thanks for the reply, will look at them and if still stumped, might ask you for the favor.
 

tglassone

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
7
Location
sulphur springs tx
hopkins county tx sheriff

have a bcd996xt scanner and now, using the p25 settings only get part of the message. do I need an external antenna or is there an adjustment? sqwelch adjustment set to 1.
 

Boulder

Member
Joined
May 15, 2007
Messages
243
Location
Wood County, TX
have a bcd996xt scanner and now, using the p25 settings only get part of the message. do I need an external antenna or is there an adjustment? sqwelch adjustment set to 1.

Are you hearing only one side of the transmission just sometimes and mostly hearing both sides the rest of the time? If so Hopkins County S/O & Sulphur Springs PD both use occasional encryption on their dispatch channels which will explain why you only hear part of the transmission. The 996XT scanner ignores the encryption so you won't hear the annoying noise of the encryption.
 

tglassone

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
7
Location
sulphur springs tx
bits and pieces

Are you hearing only one side of the transmission just sometimes and mostly hearing both sides the rest of the time? If so Hopkins County S/O & Sulphur Springs PD both use occasional encryption on their dispatch channels which will explain why you only hear part of the transmission. The 996XT scanner ignores the encryption so you won't hear the annoying noise of the encryption.

hearing bits and pieces of both sides. happens on some other channels too, but with the old analog scanner it receives all of the old channel conversation. possibly need an external antenna?
 
Last edited:

hiegtx

Mentor
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
11,665
Location
Dallas, TX
hearing bits and pieces of both sides. happens on some other channels too, but with the old analog scanner it receives all of the old channel conversation. possibly need an external antenna?
Are you thinking of a rooftop antenna?

I use this one. It works well for Vhf-High & Uhf, which is what most all of your area is. It comes with 50 feet of coax, and the necessary connectors. However, it is tall. There is a suggested modification (simple) to reduce the incidence of possible damage from high winds; see this diagram. This antenna, under the Scantenna, or ST2, name, is available from a number of sources. Also see this Wiki page for other ideas, as well as visit the Antenna forum here on RadioReference.

With the ST2, I can hear the majority of the systems in the DFW metro area, as well as agencies in Ellis, Kaufman, and Rockwall counties. I can also get a number of channels from Navarro County (Corsicana), which is around 50 miles south of my location. Actual range for a specific agency will depend on a number of things, including distance, the height of your receiving location and/or antenna, antenna used, plus the height and transmit power of the channel you are trying to receive.

In your case, since your older analog scanner receives well, be sure that you do not have the attenuator set. Also, for the digital frequencies, these should be set as narrowband (NFM). All agencies were supposed to have switched from FM (standard width) to narrowband as of January 1st of this year.

If you have the pc cable, and are using software (or at least can use it, to download your programming), you can try posting your programming file here, or contact me via PM, and I'll tell you how/where to email it it (using FreeSCAN). Then, I'll see if I spot anything you might want to change. If you post the file, somebody else might also be able to take a look as well.
 

tglassone

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Feb 28, 2013
Messages
7
Location
sulphur springs tx
yes, rooftop. I'll try to get one of these and see if it helps. thanks
also check the setup, maybe did something stupid again in the setup.
 

hiegtx

Mentor
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
11,665
Location
Dallas, TX
yes, rooftop. I'll try to get one of these and see if it helps. thanks
also check the setup, maybe did something stupid again in the setup.
If you are using (or at least, can use) FreeSCAN, you can either post your file here, or send it via email. Send me a pm if you'd rather email it, and I'll give you an address. If you want to post it, I can give you more specific instructions on that as well. Just reply to this post, asking how it should be done. (I also have ProScan, but do not have ARC-XT. Those are the other two software programs that work for the 996XT. FreeSCAN is free, and does a good job, so that is usually my first suggestion.)
 

Taloniilm

Member
Joined
Aug 14, 2006
Messages
301
Location
NE Texas
Monitoring Hopkins & Hunt Co Digital

I too live near SS. I have both digital and analog scanners. I'm still in the process of getting all my stuff up and running, (recently moved back home). If I can help feel free to email me or message on here.

Talon II LM
taloniilm@aol.com
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top