Talk Group Question

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JayZee705

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I have a PSR 300 and Ihave programed 68 Trunked Talk Groups on it for Maricopa County in Arizona.
I am fairly new and would like to know how to open and scan them. The manual makes no sense to me in that category. I put them in bank 000 along with 8 trunking Frequencies which I have no problem scanning. Can anyone help me with this? How do I open one and scan it? Thanks for any help in advance..
Jack Z.
 

gmclam

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Welcome to RadioReference.com!!!

I have a PSR 300 and Ihave programed 68 Trunked Talk Groups on it for Maricopa County in Arizona.
I think you are trying to program this system.

I am fairly new and would like to know how to open and scan them. The manual makes no sense to me in that category. I put them in bank 000 along with 8 trunking Frequencies which I have no problem scanning.
This one is a little more difficult than usual for me because there are MANY sites for this system. I see 15 sites, or sets of frequencies, listed for this county's system. Do you want to receive from just one site, several, or ?

Let me use site 001 as an example (Thompson Peak, Scottsdale). It has 14 frequencies listed, but only TWO of them are identified as control channel frequencies. Now let's use bank 0 of the scanner for this site. In channel 000 of the scanner program 859.2625 and in channel 001 program 860.2625. Set the MODE of each of those channels to MOT. Set bank 0 to MOT. Now program in whatever TGs you want (as it appears you have already done) to hear. If you only want to hear the TGs you've programmed, set the bank to CLOSED. SCAN those two frequencies and you should be running good.

If the above does not work, and you've programmed it correctly, the likely reason is that you are not receiving the control channel frequency well enough. You should be able to put the scanner in MAN mode on either channel 000 or 001 and hear the control channel noise. While there the 4th line of the display will give you an indication of how well you are receiving. I've found you need at least 25% for decent reception and ideally should have above 50%. If you don't get a control channel signal, you need to use a different site's frequencies.

Note that trunk tracking ONLY works in SCAN mode, not MAN mode.
 

JayZee705

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Thank you very much gmclam. I am going to initialize the scanner and start fresh. I want the White Tank Freqs. Then I want the Sheriffs group and the Scottsdale Police Group. Am I to understand that I put the Freqs in first and then The TG's. I am only asking because when you go to enter TG's it requires you to enter a site first, which when I do, I see White tanks listed there..Kind of confusing..I just initilalized and I'll wait and see if you agree with me..Thanks again so much..
 

gmclam

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Am I to understand that I put the Freqs in first and then The TGs.
The order you put them in does not matter. I usually use software (WIN97) to program my scanner and so I don't have to go through all the little steps anyway.

I am only asking because when you go to enter TGs it requires you to enter a site first, which when I do, I see White tanks listed there..
It sounds like you are using software and "importing" stuff. If that's true, then you do select the site first.

Kind of confusing..
How you do all of this depends exactly on the method of programming. It could be by hand, by software (where you enter the frequencies into the software) or by software (where you import from the DB). Even then, when programming by hand, the order does not matter too much, as long as all of the settings are correct in the end.
 

JayZee705

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OK gmclam, I followed instructions carefully and programed the TG's and White Tanks Freqs using ARC300 software..And when I scan with Bank open I get the Freqs fine. But when I close the Bank as you suggest, I see it scanning but don't hear anything. It never stops scanning but doesn't stop on anything..Very weird..Is here anything else I might try? I reallly apreciate your help and patience with me. By the way, I get 99% on the control channel noise on the main Frequency but no noise on the alternate, Is that normal? You also said to monitor the 2 Freqs. Does that bring up the talk mgroups?
Thanks again gmclam
 

gmclam

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... using ARC300 software..And when I scan with Bank open I get the Freqs fine. But when I close the Bank as you suggest, I see it scanning but don't hear anything.
I haven't used that software, so I can not direct you exactly. One thing that comes to mind is to make sure that the SUB-GROUPS are turned ON for where you have programmed the TGs. The TGs need to be in the same bank as the control channel frequencies. Also, do the TG IDs of the TGs you are receiving match what you programmed?

... I get 99% on the control channel noise on the main Frequency but no noise on the alternate, Is that normal?
Yes. From time to time they will switch which frequency is being used as the control channel. Then you'll see the 99% on the other one, and the one which is active now will be silent.

You also said to monitor the 2 Freqs. Does that bring up the talk mgroups?
The only reason I said to monitor the two freqs was to make sure you are receiving the control channel signal. Since you are getting 99%, all is good. The only way to trunk track TGs is to SCAN the control channel frequency.
 

JayZee705

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One last Question, How do I check to see if the Sub-Groups are on? Also I did progam the TG's into the 0 bank. Don't know how to see them tho..This sure is nothing like my PRO-43 to program..lol. Thanks gmclam
 

N8IAA

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One last Question, How do I check to see if the Sub-Groups are on? Also I did progam the TG's into the 0 bank. Don't know how to see them tho..This sure is nothing like my PRO-43 to program..lol. Thanks gmclam

To see if the frequencies are programmed into the scanner, press Bank 0, press MAN, this will show you all the frequencies that are programmed into the bank. Make sure they are in MOT mode. If not, press PROG, then mode button until the mode changes from FM to MOT on each frequency. To enter the Sub-groups, press PROG, then the TRUNK button. This will show whether or not there are any TGID's programmed. If there are, you are set to scan. My suggestion is to then upload it into your programming software to see how it looks there. Then it is a little easier to use the software. I would suggest, as has gmclam, on trying the Win97 software. I believe it to be a bit more intuitive than the arc products. Check it out at: Software for RadioShack PRO-series (PRO-92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 163, 164, 106, 197) and GRE PSR-series (PSR-500, 600, 300, 400) scanners

HTH,
Larry
 

JayZee705

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OK, Will try that later. Have to go out right now.Thanks a lot Larry and also to you gmclam. Will let you know how I make out...
 

gmclam

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One last Question, How do I check to see if the Sub-Groups are on?
On the scanner, press MAN 0 0 0 MAN to get to the first frequency. From there press FUNC TRUNK (F T) to view/edit the talkgroups. Each time you press the TRUNK button, it will take you to the first TG of each sub-group.

While viewing/editing TGs, the first full line of text will indicate "ON " or "OFF" at the end of the line. Press FUNC 1 to toggle the sub-group on and off.

Also I did progam the TG's into the 0 bank. Don't know how to see them tho..This sure is nothing like my PRO-43 to program..lol. Thanks gmclam
 

JayZee705

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Well After downloading Win97 and comparing it to ARC300 it just seemed that ARC300 was easier for me to understand.. Anyway, after going through the whole process of reprograming again according to your hints and instructions, I am happy to say that I have finally succedied in getting it right and it is working great..I can't thank you guys enough for your help. GMCLAM, thanks so much for all the time you spent with me and N8IAA thanks for your suggestions. You guys are a credit to this Forum..Have a GREAT DAY Guys....
 
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