Trying to program pro-2096 for someone

[BP001]

So my aunt has been listening to police scanners since they used crystals but shes a little slow and doesnt know how to do any of the programming herself. For the last several years she has been unable to listen to her local police department (which I now know is because she didnt have a digital scanner). I recently purchased her a pro-2096 because I saw that it will pick up project 25 phase 1 which is what she needed, however I can not get the thing to pick up anything after putting in the control frequency or the talk group IDs.

We both live in Ohio and she is wanting City of Dayton police and fire and Vandalia Ohio dispatch and fire, I was able to program in the control frequency of 853.600 and put in around 19 talk groups but the scanner just kind of sits there on that one frequency and has static so any help I could get would be very much appreciated and I know she would be thrilled.

 

[ka3jjz]

The obvious first questions; how did you program it? Did you do it with software or by hand? Did you use any of the shortcut articles we have in the wiki for the 96 or 2096, linked here...

Programming Your Radio Shack Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

How well are you hearing the control channel? if you're not hearing it very strongly, trunking is going to suffer, or it might not trunk at all. Did you select the correct control channel for your area? Are you using any outdoor antennas?

Too many possibilities here...Mike

 

[hiegtx]

The obvious first questions; how did you program it? Did you do it with software or by hand? Did you use any of the shortcut articles we have in the wiki for the 96 or 2096, linked here...

Programming Your Radio Shack Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

How well are you hearing the control channel? if you're not hearing it very strongly, trunking is going to suffer, or it might not trunk at all. Did you select the correct control channel for your area? Are you using any outdoor antennas?

Too many possibilities here...Mike

In addition to what Mike has indicated, looking at MARCS IP, I see two sites in your county. The 853.600 control channel is for the site labeled as 'Montgomery County'.

The second site, listed as 'Dayton', would probably be the one that has Dayton proper on it. However, that site is split between 700MHz & 800MHz frequencies, with the listed control channels all being 700MHz. While you can use software to unlock 'extended frequencies' in the Pro-2096, that model will not trunk track frequencies in the 700MHz range.

 

[BP001]

I used the pro-2096 cheat sheet from the site to program it, I dont have a cable to program it via the win96 program otherwise I would have def gone that route as from what Ive seen it is the easiest way to do it. As it is now the machine came with the simple all metal expandable antenna and it also came with a shorter 800mhz antenna but currently I just have the metal one on it and no outdoor antenna to speak of. When I first turn on the machine I see 853.600 and just noise there is no other sound and I received the same results when I put on the other antenna. This is my first time trying to program a police scanner and its all pretty daunting for a person thats never done it before. When I turn on the scanner now I see,

P000(what looks like a lightning bolt)..D.-M
853.60000
Bank 0 ch 00
once I hit the trunk button I see
Bank 0-0 on
ID no. (then a number between 1-19 depending on which one I go to because thats what I have programmed)
MOT: (then what I put in as the talk group number)
ID#: (same as the MOT number)

 

[JD21960]

Pro2096

Here's the manual. It's easier to read this than trading posts and guessing what's going on
.
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/137739/Radio-Shack-Pro-2096.html

 

[BP001]

Yup, thats the same site I was using to view the manual before I came on here asking for help.

 

[Nasby]

You are in for a daunting task if you are trying to do it by hand and have never done it before.

Check these guys out. They seem like a good local group who can help you out.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MONIX/info

 

[BP001]

LOL, yea I've heard doing it by hand is difficult, you wouldnt think it would be so difficult but I guess they dont want people just listening in on police conversations. I was just trying to be nice by programming this thing but I may have bit off more than I can chew, I may have to see if I can find a programming cord and see if I can do it via the computer.