SDS100/SDS200: Travelling with the SDS100

[Davey1]

I travel around NW Ohio often, listening to the Ohio MARCS statewide P25 system. With an SDS100 what is the maximum number of frequencies that can be added to a site? The reason I ask this is because I would like to travel over a wide area and not have to engage or avoid sites as I travel. If I could create a so called "super site" with multiple control frequencies from multiple MARCS sites, I think as I travel and become out of range of one control frequency the scanner should move on to the next active one that it finds.

By downloading a large number of sites with Sentinel it seems to take too long to scan through all of them, with many being out of range anyway.

I am not interested in using the full database, as I want to program this myself.

I apologize if this topic has been covered previously. Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[nessnet]

Please remember - the more sites you scan, the less you will hear.
EACH site, the radio will take XX milliseconds to listen for a channel grant, them move to the next. Anything happening on another site, will be missed. Also, the radio will try to decode even weaker signals, causing you to miss other traffic, or maybe even the same traffic on a closer site.

I'm not sure if you have considered location control and GPS, but it really unlocks the potential of these database radios and it is well worth the effort and expense.

 

[willdanl]

If you read what he’s saying it will just be one site, not multiple. And it will hang on to that one until it loses signal then find the next one.

I do this for one system in my area - I have 40 freqs in it - it’s not a Harris system so I only have to put control channels in. Sorry I can’t tell you the max, but I can tell you the methodology works - not perfectly - sometimes you’d wish it would let go of one sooner, but as you say, it beats having to switch as you move around. I have the gps and use it longer trips - but for this one system that covers several counties near my home, I prefer the method you have described.

 

[jtwalker]

A sub-par solution in my opinion. I would add a gps and use it for what it was designed to do.

For example, you could have two sites that cover the same area and one is VHF for highway dept and other is 800 for public safety. Both on same system but kind of still isolated for some reason. You’d have no control over which one you lock on to.

Reason I mention this example as I know PA StarNet does this but I’m not sure the purpose… VHF and 800 on two different sites, both mounted on same tower. And they don’t carry the same traffic.

 

[eaf1956]

I travel around NW Ohio often, listening to the Ohio MARCS statewide P25 system. With an SDS100 what is the maximum number of frequencies that can be added to a site? The reason I ask this is because I would like to travel over a wide area and not have to engage or avoid sites as I travel. If I could create a so called "super site" with multiple control frequencies from multiple MARCS sites, I think as I travel and become out of range of one control frequency the scanner should move on to the next active one that it finds.

By downloading a large number of sites with Sentinel it seems to take too long to scan through all of them, with many being out of range anyway.

I am not interested in using the full database, as I want to program this myself.

I apologize if this topic has been covered previously. Thanks for any suggestions.

Best to use a GPS unit to do all of that automatically.

 

[ofd8001]

Dissenting view: With a portable scanner, you may be using it inside buildings and "seeing" GPS satellites may be problematic. Then you gotta figure out a power supply for the GPS. That said, if you are entirely mobile, then GPS is the way to operate.

If it was me, I'd program the whole Ohio MARCS system as its own Favorites List, being sure to Set Location Control to ON. When you change locations as in being 25 miles away, re-enter the zip code for wherever you are. This is kind of a "poor mans" GPS, but it does work in buildings, etc.

Using Location Control takes all the guess work out of which sites/site frequencies to program. It allows the scanner to function as designed, letting the location establish what needs to be on or off.

Don't worry about file size or capacities. There is a 1MB limit on Favorites List size, and having all of Ohio as a FL, won't even come close to the limit.

PS if you are mobile with a portable scanner, you might consider an amplified speaker to overcome road noise. Also an exterior antenna may be helpful as a metal caged vehicle isn't great for signal penetration.

 

[eaf1956]

Dissenting view: With a portable scanner, you may be using it inside buildings and "seeing" GPS satellites may be problematic. Then you gotta figure out a power supply for the GPS. That said, if you are entirely mobile, then GPS is the way to operate.

If it was me, I'd program the whole Ohio MARCS system as its own Favorites List, being sure to Set Location Control to ON. When you change locations as in being 25 miles away, re-enter the zip code for wherever you are. This is kind of a "poor mans" GPS, but it does work in buildings, etc.

Using Location Control takes all the guess work out of which sites/site frequencies to program. It allows the scanner to function as designed, letting the location establish what needs to be on or off.

Don't worry about file size or capacities. There is a 1MB limit on Favorites List size, and having all of Ohio as a FL, won't even come close to the limit.

PS if you are mobile with a portable scanner, you might consider an amplified speaker to overcome road noise. Also an exterior antenna may be helpful as a metal caged vehicle isn't great for signal penetration.

Assuming you must be outside at some point before entering the building the scanner will remember the location.

 

[ofd8001]

Assuming you must be outside at some point before entering the building the scanner will remember the location.

Absolutely true. But if you leave that building in Akron and go to Cleveland, and don’t turn radio on until arrival, it still thinks it’s in Akron.

I’m not speaking bad about gps devices, I’ve used many over the years. Rather they do have limitations.

 

[pinballwiz86]

Absolutely true. But if you leave that building in Akron and go to Cleveland, and don’t turn radio on until arrival, it still thinks it’s in Akron.

I’m not speaking bad about gps devices, I’ve used many over the years. Rather they do have limitations.

This is why the GPS signal is supplemented by LTE/WIFI indoors. Of course, this is of no use for the hockey puck GPS.

 

[eaf1956]

Absolutely true. But if you leave that building in Akron and go to Cleveland, and don’t turn radio on until arrival, it still thinks it’s in Akron.

I’m not speaking bad about gps devices, I’ve used many over the years. Rather they do have limitations.

So, like taking say 2 minutes for GPS lock before entering the new location is too much work. Are you sure you want to listen to a scanner in the 1st place? I guess I was assuming that since the entire State was loaded that the scanner was being used while traveling. If that is not the case just program in the location(s) where the scanner is used.

 

[Randyk4661]

I agree with the assessment of using a GPS setup.

I travel for work around Los Angeles county and the GPS is always changing what I listen to so I don't have to.
All I have to do is use the GPS startup config I setup in the scanner (#0) when I turn the scanner on after connecting to the GPS unit and off I go.

 

[kirk5056]

If you are regularly in a location without GPS signal you can pre-load those locations ("save location" in the "set your location" menu). Then use the "edit location" prompt to call up the saved locations, high light the saved location you want to use, push "use location" and confirm. This becomes the location of your scanner for location scanning. You can later change this using the same method or use one of the other location finding methods.

OR

You can just use the zip code for your new location. This method is weak but will work, and work quickly.

 

[JoeBearcat]

I would like to travel over a wide area and not have to engage or avoid sites as I travel. If I could create a so called "super site" with multiple control frequencies from multiple MARCS sites, I think as I travel and become out of range of one control frequency the scanner should move on to the next active one that it finds.

Doing that will only scan one site per 'super site' and you will miss any comms on a nearby site that is not the currently scanned site.

The best method is to program one site per site and then, for MARCS, only the control channels and alternates. As mentioned, the GPS would be the best implementation.

Your proposed method may work if the following are true:

1. The sites programmed into the supersite are never heard at the same time.

2. #1 includes accommodations for duplicated control channels from any areas.

3. Programming only the active control channels will help eliminate the issues above.

But while this may work to some degree, it's not the best way to scan.