Tonto National Forest update in Sentinel software

[rbtf70]

I am new to this forum and recently purchased a Uniden BCD536HP. I have enjoyed using this scanner, and with the Sentinel software found it much easier to use and update than my much older BCD996T. The weekly database updates are great, but I recently found that not everything is being updated to the current RadioReference data. The Tonto National Forest is very close to my residence, and we now have the largest fire in the nation in the forest. I have been listening to the scanner, but not getting much fire coverage on this fire. I checked the RadioReference database, and found that the Uniden Sentinel DOES NOT agree for the Tonto frequencies. The Sentinel database appears to be quite outdated for this system, and the Administrative and FireNet 1 frequencies are different than the RadioReference data.

Is there any way to get these National Forest and possibly other federal data updated with the weekly Sentinel updates? It would be nice to have confidence that the Sentinel updates are really current for ALL agencies.

 

[cellphone]

It sounds like your database in Sentinel and on the BCD536HP is out of date and needs to be updated. To check the database version on the scanner, go to: Menu->Manage Full Database -> Information. This will display the database date. If you database is more than a few months old, you are likley missing MANY updates.

To view the database version in Sentinel, in the lower left part of the window, it will show the Sentinel DB version. 6/14/2020 is the current version as of today.



To update the database, in Sentinel software, from the Update menu, select Update Master Database (HPDB).


After the update completes, you will need to write to scanner. Plug the scanner into your computer with the USB cable, and from the Scanner menu choose Write to Scanner:


If you have created Favorites Lists, these will not be updated, and will need to be updated manually, or recreated from the current database.

 

[paranoia11]

It sounds like your database in Sentinel and on the BCD536HP is out of date and needs to be updated. To check the database version on the scanner, go to: Menu->Manage Full Database -> Information. This will display the database date. If you database is more than a few months old, you are likley missing MANY updates.

To view the database version in Sentinel, in the lower left part of the window, it will show the Sentinel DB version. 6/14/2020 is the current version as of today.

View attachment 86889

To update the database, in Sentinel software, from the Update menu, select Update Master Database (HPDB).
View attachment 86887

After the update completes, you will need to write to scanner. Plug the scanner into your computer with the USB cable, and from the Scanner menu choose Write to Scanner:
View attachment 86888

If you have created Favorites Lists, these will not be updated, and will need to be updated manually, or recreated from the current database.

is that very hard to do ? Update your lists.

 

[rbtf70]

is that very hard to do ? Update your lists.

It is working now. I had updated my database each week, but had to delete the old Tonto group in my favorites and copy the current data to the favorites. Looks correct now.

Thanks!

 

[n1chu]

There’s also this... the database is supported by individuals such as us. You were fortunate to learn the database had been updated, but that’s not always the case. If you had not found an updated database, you’d be out of luck. In your case, it seems you went looking for and found some of the frequencies currently being used... that’s a good thing but these new frequencies then need to be submitted to RR for inclusion in the database. RR provides for this using their software. The process is a simple one but I haven’t used it in years so you’d need to review how to do this with RR. Once submitted the data is vetted and added. It may take some time for this to happen however as the admins are volunteers and have their own time constraints. But overall, RR is the most comprehensive listing I know of, short of perusing the FCC database which takes time. (You may find unlisted updates by consulting the various state forums and asking who has complete listings of the service you are interested in also.)
Hope this helps. Corrections are welcomed.