The Good Old Days

[TailGator911]

Oh, the good old days, when scanners and software were two separate entities and things weren't so difficult. When programming a scanner was simply sitting down with a pot of coffee and a Radio Shack Frequency Guide and punching the numbers into simple banks, writing down what you put where and numbering your lists and bada boom bada bing and Bob's your Uncle you were ready to go. Even before that, when it was as easy as knowing the conventional frequency and buying the crystal at Radio Shack and plugging it into the old box and watch her light up. Ahh yeah. Then came technology and some really good scanners. Simple but MORE and better. The BC200XLT. The BC890XLT. The BC895XLT. Even the 780. The Bearcats of yestersday. After that, things got complicated. The AR8000 was technology advanced that was fun but a bit worrisome to some of us older folks. Now? I'm an old fart sitting here looking at this Whistler TRX-1 like a hog staring at a stopwatch. Now you darn near need to be a software engineer or programmer to program and use a radio scanner.

I cannot seem to get past the programming hump of any of the new scanners I have bought recently - last summer. The Ws1065 I have if I only keep it on one single system - Fairborn PD - period. Listen to one police dept. One quick key. One dispatch TalkGroup. So much of the scanner's potential wasted because everytime I get back into it to try and figure it out I seem to make it worse and only get more frustrated. So many boxes to have checked or unchecked. So many perepherals to be aware of. So many things to know. I get frazzled and I go back and load my simple configuration. At least I know what is going on in Fairborn lol. The TRX-1 is a brick, I cannot seem to upload to it. I can zipcode it but why bother, that's how I listen to the 536. The BCD536HP is a confused mess, zipping all over the Ohio MARCS IP system showing me the names of towns I've never even heard of and I have no idea who I am hearing...Cleveland...Ashtabula...Springfield...I wait until I see Greene County on the screen then I push the appropriate button and lock in the /system channel. There is so much these scanners can do and I can't get them to do it. I just shake my head when all of them light up on the same frequency together - the callout fire tone which still works on my old Pro2006 battleship - and I wonder, with antennas and accessories and such - not much bang for my buck.

Back when I lived in Florida, I had my scanner desk and my truck streamlined. I was a weather spotter for the news. I volunteered for the Red Cross, I belonged to several volunteer emergency orgs - I had shortwaves and 2m radios and scanners stacked 3 high programmed with banks of frequencies for the surrounding PDs and Fire Depts, EMTs and emergency hospital channels, a bank for media choppers and remote units, a bank for the power and telephone utility repair crews, a bank for ham radio SkyWarn, radios designated for certain organizations. I could toggle all over the place during a hurricane and I knew what I was doing. I didn't miss a thing. My neighbors would go over and knock on John's door because he knew what was happening. Yeah, those were the good old days.

I would love to see a vid of the TRX-1 in action, or the BCD536HP, and the Whistler WS-1065, by someone who knows what they are doing and turning off and on quick keys and toggling between systems and telling you exactly how they are doing it and HOW they are entering the numbers, etc. No where have I seen simple instructions on how to turn off your favorite police dept and switch to the one in the next county etc etc by quick keys....o1 or .1 or o1 or .01 however you do it, QKs for sytems and departments and channels and number tags and all that cool stuff. I still have no idea how to do it. If I could afford it I would pay one of you young local whippersnappers to come over and program my scanners to streamline them like I used to have them. But, those were the good old days as well, when our hobby used to be a network of helpful guys who came to each other's rescue, and none of us had ever heard of Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram or PhotoBucket or iPhones or iPads. We had ham radios and home telephones.

Don't get me wrong, I am not whining. I love technology, but I am old school. I am and always have been a professional musician, a blues bass player, a job that allows me to be myself, to be old school, and respected for it. I can still hold down the bottom with just a tube amp and an MXR envelope filter. That's about as technical as I get hah. The radio scanner industry has evolved and transformed over the years with technology to where things are very expensive and confusing. I am hanging in there, plugging away every day, and maybe I will stumble into a configuration that finally works for me on each of these fine radios, but I miss the good simple radios. They have deprecated to boat anchors and doorstops and home decor. Not like my old vintage Fenders and Gibsons that are appreciated and respected and sought by collectors and players.


Yeah those were the days. Not like now.

 

[ka3aaa]

yes gone but not forgotten, so welcome to the future.

 

[jonwienke]

Waaaaaaah.

Scanners now can do stuff scanners back then couldn't imagine. Like monitoring local traffic while driving from WV to MI and back, without manually toggling anything. Have fun doing that with a 300-channel analog banked scanner.

The whole point of Location Control and GPS is to greatly reduce or eliminate the need to manually toggle stuff on and off. I have quick keys for Favorite Lists which are organized by state--one each for PA, MD, WV, VA, etc. 1 toggles Pennsylvania, 2 toggles Maryland, etc. Everything else I control by toggling Service Types or adjusting Range. I don't have to remember 20 different quick keys for every fire department in a 50-mile radius--that gets stupidly unmanageable very fast. I generally set Range to 0 or 5 miles, and let my Service Type selection and the GPS do most of the work. That keeps the scanner from wasting time scanning places I never heard of, and ensures what I hear is of interest.

 

[NC1]

Time marches on, and things change, but not always for the better.

Remember when you could give your own car a tune up in about 30 minutes with a screwdriver and spark plug socket? And you could reach any component in the engine compartment.Simple was much better for sure.

The younger generation thinks all this newer technology is an improvement, but in reality it is not. Take for example DMR. Three repeaters were put up by a few hot shots who were going to show everyone how much better it is. Skip forward a year, and two of them are no longer around, and the third has only two people currently using it.

New Hams on a budget were buying the Chinese HT's to get on the air and don't want to spend the extra money on DMR radios. People with analog radios cannot communicate with people on DMR, so there was no way to join in the conversation and get to know new people; the DMR users were virtually isolated.

The scanners are a whole different animal. Too many things to set for it to work right as you pointed out. The instructions are somewhat of a help but they need to go into a little more detail. Two settings need to be made, an upper and a lower, but which ones are relevant for my area? I don't know. I see answers that go in opposite directions, so this necessary setting cannot be optimally set for my situation. That is just one out of about 30 or so questions that apparently have no answer. Maybe if they tell you what the settings do so I can figure it out myself - but again it's a vague reference to things that I don't think they even know to the extent they should.

Well, for fun tonight it looks like it's back to my Kenwood TS-940S that I can operate. I know what every switch and dial does and how to set them. My scanner will just sit on the shelf again and collect another evening of dust. Maybe this next weekend I will fudge around with it if I feel like wasting an hour or two (again) only to unplug it and set it aside.

The best software ever written was Windows NT Server Edition. Not only did I know everything it could do, I could make it do things it was not supposed to do too. Everything after that was a dummy edition. Now most people are using Windows 10 and it is absolutely horrible. Actually, any software after around 1998 was all down hill. I am going to Linux after this computer shows signs of not being able to do what I want it to do.

Don't get me started on household appliances, I don't have enough time for that right now. LOL

 

[gordonaustin]

TailGator, I went to school at Cedarville and have a leaner setup for Greene co. I would be more than happy to dig it up and walk you through using the WS1065, I use a Pro-106. You would need Win500 to program it, but I think you can get a 30 day trial for free.

DM me your contact info if you are interested.

Let me know,
Gordon Austin
KK4VDR

 

[jonwienke]

^^^old man yells at cloud^^^

Older vehicles were simpler to maintain, but also required a lot more maintenance. Adjusting carburetors, replacing ignition points, changing spark plugs, all required more time under the hood than newer vehicles. Electronic fuel injection, better park plug materials, and other technological advances eliminated a lot a lot of need for periodic maintenance. Improvements in oil formulation mean that changing oil every 3000 miles is unnecessary. Newer oils can be changed every 5000-10000 miles. And newer engines get better mileage and produce more power per weight than order carbureted models.

DMR is the fastest growing segment of HAM radio. Nuff said.

I've used NT Server, and it sucked. Buggy, unstable, and difficult to configure. 2000 was a big improvement.

 

[TailGator911]

Yeah yell at the clouds and go waaaah, there is no need for such taunting. Just have a nice conversation, you can do that without being immature and abrasive, you know. I knew there would be some people out there who would reply in such a manner, but God be with you - some day you will be old and see the error in your ways to other people. Or not.

I appreciate the offer to help, Austin. I will contact you. There is always the opposite to rudeness and hostility - thanks very much for your kindness.

 

[jonwienke]

I am old, or on the verge of it--old enough to have worked on vehicles with both carbureted and fuel-injected engines, and to have used Windows NT Server and more recent versions professionally, as well as crystal-controlled scanners and the 436/536. I'd be more sympathetic to rants about the "good old days" if they were factually accurate, as opposed to variations on "technology is changing and it's a pain in the hassle to have to learn new stuff". If you have a question about how to use a current-model scanner, ask, and you'll find plenty of people (including me) willing to assist. If you re-read post #3, you'll find some suggestions I made that would probably help you, if you were willing to consider a new way of doing things.

But nobody really wants to hear a bunch of factually-deficient whining about how newfangled technology has made everything horrible, when that is far from the truth. The truth is that in most cases, the new technology has enabled scanners and cars and computers and many other things to do stuff that not long ago would have been considered science fiction, or witchcraft. Seriously, do you want to go back to the days of 16-channel crystal scanners? Yes, they were simple and easy to learn, but you couldn't travel with them and use them at your destination, or while en route. Having to order custom crystals was expensive and a slow and tedious way to program a scanner. And being able to download all the frequencies for the entire USA & Canada (with GPS coordinates and weekly updates!) is a big step up from manually entering frequencies from the Police Call book that was only updated annually, and wasn't available for all areas.

There is a lot of value that new technology adds, if you invest the time and energy to learn it, instead of complaining about it.

 

[KC3ECJ]

^^^old man yells at cloud^^^

Older vehicles were simpler to maintain, but also required a lot more maintenance. Adjusting carburetors, replacing ignition points, changing spark plugs, all required more time under the hood than newer vehicles. Electronic fuel injection, better park plug materials, and other technological advances eliminated a lot a lot of need for periodic maintenance. Improvements in oil formulation mean that changing oil every 3000 miles is unnecessary. Newer oils can be changed every 5000-10000 miles. And newer engines get better mileage and produce more power per weight than order carbureted models.

DMR is the fastest growing segment of HAM radio. Nuff said.

I've used NT Server, and it sucked. Buggy, unstable, and difficult to configure. 2000 was a big improvement.

Use DMR for what? Just to talk voice over the internet to somebody? Can't somebody just do that with team speak or Zello with their laptop or phone?

DMR makes people sound like a robot with mashed potatoes in it's mouth.

Can DMR even be used as an ad hoc or internet modem system?

It would be nice to simply plug via USB into the radio and boom you are sending whatever.

 

[eorange]

showing me the names of towns I've never even heard of and I have no idea who I am hearing...Cleveland...

You never heard of Cleveland?! :lol:

Seriously...scanners may be getting more complex, but that's because today's radio systems are getting that way too.

The funny thing is while modern scanners try to make things simpler with quick keys, scanlists, fully loaded databases, etc...the forums here are continually loaded with questions from people who still don't know how to use them.

 

[jonwienke]

Use DMR for what? Just to talk voice over the internet to somebody? Can't somebody just do that with team speak or Zello with their laptop or phone?

DMR can be used for simplex communications, communication through a single repeater, or communication through a network of repeaters linked by the internet.

DMR makes people sound like a robot with mashed potatoes in it's mouth.

Your opinion, and not a fact.

Can DMR even be used as an ad hoc or internet modem system?

DMR can be used for simplex communications, communication through a single repeater, or communication through a network of repeaters linked by the internet. It can also be used to transfer data of any kind, not just voice. You could use it to relay an internet connection (although it would be dial-up speed rather than broadband), or to extend an internet connection farther than would be possible via Wi-Fi. It is limited mainly by your creativity and imagination.

 

[TailGator911]

Factually deficient...I like that. Is that new? I'm going to write that down - thanks!

 

[ofd8001]

Well. . .

If you want to talk about old, let's go back to where scanners used crystals and were not user programmable. Perhaps even when there was just a rotary dial to zoom in on a frequency.

Having lived through that time, I'm still happy for today's technology - as cumbersome/complicated as it is. I get a lot more out of my 2014 scanner than I did out of a 1964 scanner.

 

[TailGator911]

I didn't mean to stir anything up by posting my opinion but I supposed that is inevitable. jonwienke your opinion on technology is yours and yours alone and to be respected. Actually, I think respecting other people's opinions comes with age. Lots of things come with age.

I am cracking myself up here, but if you can't laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?

Everybody else, Yes, I know

 

[TailGator911]

ofd8001, hey I am happy for today's technology, too. I just wish it were better explained maybe. Some of the owners manuals to these new scanners leave a lot to be desired. Simple things are left out that the technical writer may take for granted that some of us have no clue about. I think sometimes it's a mad rush between competitors to get the next biggest better product out there before they have it tested and down pat. I know I am not the only one who finds the instructions to these scanners difficult to grasp.

 

[INDY72]

Manuals are made by the same 7 year old that makes your bible in XXX China, in an nice sweatshop run by an Triad boss dude getting paid a little more than the 7 yo. But on paper he is an sub, sub, sub contractor for Uniden, or Whistler. Why complain when there are issues trying to fully understand it? Go read the Easier To Read versions at Mark's Scanners site, which we have posted links to a gazillion times. And here is gazillion and one: Mark's Scanners

 

[wtp]

i did like one thing back in the day

i went to a local radio shack and was there to buy some crystals for my pro7a.
i happen to take a moment to look at the crystals they had and noticed a bunch of 155.55's
so i bought one.
for weeks i got to listen to westchester county in new york. nothing good really.
and i thought , why would they have this in paramus new jersey.
then one night i heard some local non-repeater talk, sounded car to car...it was.
it was bergen county's narc frequency. non-published for years and i got to listen to them.
you can 't do that with any programmable radio unless a narc gives it to you., not likely.
even in the radio shack's little printout of freqs it was not listed.
yep, good times

 

[ofd8001]

Manuals will always be contentious given "humanistic differences". New user or veteran, upgrading from an older model or the very first scanner, etc. Then some people are blessed with the ability to grasp written stuff, so the fuss about how wordy a manual is.

But when you get down to it, the manual is just a basic primer. The real learning happens here where someone can post a specific question and get some good explanations.

 

[rcool101]

you can 't do that with any programmable radio unless a narc gives it to you., not likely.

Yes you can...I have a few TGs that aren't in the data base that I accumulated over the years and I won't submit them ether. A few others know too and won't tell...They aren't listed...If you Search enough you'll find some....You got to do the leg work

 

[jonwienke]

Yes you can...I have a few TGs that aren't in the data base that I accumulated over the years and I won't submit them ether. A few others know too and won't tell...They aren't listed...If you Search enough you'll find some....You got to do the leg work

Not submitting a talkgroup is pretty pointless, given that listening to it is as easy as switching the system to ID SEARCH on newer scanners. If it has anything super cool it will likely end up with an E in front of it anyway.