Yeah, a 396 doesn't support multi site system programming, so it's not conclusive. Let's hope someone does have a 996 and can test it - it could easily be some program bug...if so FreeScan is a better programming package in any case, but it should be sent to the BCTool Yahoo group; hopefully this software will get fixed soon, as it's falling behind with all the firmware fixes rather quickly 73 Mike
[edit] I agree with DDan's count, as I have a 396, not a 996. When I attempted to read the file into BCTool, it warned me that it would flatten it - so what I am going to mention here may be an artifact of that flattening and not necessarily an answer to the problem. These are just things that stood out for me...
- You have 18 groups here, but there are only 10 GQKs available(0-9). This means you must 'double up' on a GQK (put another way, one GQK to handle more than 1 group). This is allowed, but it may not be the most efficient way of setting up your groups. This might be a cause of why you are not getting everything loaded. BCtool's use of the 'GQK lock out' is very counter-intuitive, particularly in the use of the colors to indicate what GQKs are actually available.
- According to the database, the ARMER system is multi site. This can be covered by the 996 - however it causes you to change the way you think about programming. You may need to listen on more than one site (depending on which one(s) give you the best coverage), and you will also need to find out whether all talkgroups are echoed across all sites. The Minnesota forum folks would be the best ones to give you this information. We also have a brief article on the subject of multi site programming in our wiki, linked below;
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Uniden_Multi-Site_Trunking
- You indicate that you are using control-channel only, yet you seem to be supplying all the frequencies. Unless the site you are programming doesn't show any red or blue frequencies (in which case, this would be correct, but then you aren't really running in control channel only mode), you only need those freqs colored red/blue. Don't waste memory space unnecessarily.
- This may be an artifact of the flattening, however the file had no SQKs or GQKs allocated.
- I doubt this is a real issue, but are you sure you want every talkgroup recorded?
- I would guess that you are using a USB-serial converter. Don't overlook the possibility that you have old drivers - they can cause all sorts of wierd things to happen. And along the same lines, I am sure I saw some reports on the BCTool yahoo group that some folks had to slow down the port speed because they were getting loading errors. It probably won't solve your issue, but keep it in the back of your mind.
- If no one jumps in here, I would post on the BCTool Yahoo group and see what they say. I would also jump to the Minnesota forum and see if you can get a handle on other sites that can give you better coverage, and whether those other sites would cover other talkgroups. They may also be a source of help with BCTool programming. Wish I could do more....73 Mike
