Wow...Sentinel and BCD536HP has my head spinning!

[CHHTX]

Hopefully this isn't a new story or maybe I'm just an idiot. After being away from scanners (& HAM as no code Tech) for about 20 years (seriously....haven't touched it for that long), I decided to wade back into it all. I decided to buy the "state of the art scanner" (you can argue that later haha ) since the world went digital and after tinkering for a couple days, I'm afraid I'm still lost. Anyways, I bought it, played for 2 days, went on a week vaca w/ the Fam, came home and just did the DMR upgrade and I feel like I'm lost in the forest. I've read through the manual here (Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual) and there are so many details and variations of trunking and I can't seem to find what my area uses. I've also bought the RadioReference premium membership so I could download "data downloads" but I don't see how to bring those into Sentinel. Apparently Sentinel wants and hpe file but the downloads are either an .xls or a .sites file?

Here's some questions that I think I need to know but I'm not sure where to look for:

• What kind of system does each entity use? (where do I find that out?)
• Is it possible to control the scanner from the computer instead of the keypad? I see that you use Sentinel to program it but when Sentinel is running (cable plugged in) the scanner is mounted as a drive and its not running. It just mounts it as somewhere to write.
• I'm still not seeing HCSO listed anywhere at all. I'm hoping there are some Harris County TX people (Houston area) that might know that secrets

Here's what I'm guessing the setup could be but I'm not sure where to get all the info or what's the preferred software to use:
SYSTEM>DEPT>CHANNEL
Harris County > FireEMS > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > HCSO (Harris County Sheriff Office) > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 5 > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 4 > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 1 > whatever channels they use?

I appreciate any advice and especially any direction. I did "rtfm" that I knew of and I'm not getting it. Maybe I didn't read the right one yet though

Idea- I wonder if there's a local ham/scanner group to Harris County (Cypress?) where people get together and tinker with these. Anyone know?

 

[AKJohnny]

Check YouTube for some vids on how to use Sentinel. You didn’t need to buy the RR Premium since Sentinel downloads the database for free.
Check out this video to start:

 

[CHHTX]

Thanks so much AKJohnny! I'll just consider the 6mo RR Premium purchase to be support of the forum. Good place so far to find answers and help!

 

[hiegtx]

Hopefully this isn't a new story or maybe I'm just an idiot. After being away from scanners (& HAM as no code Tech) for about 20 years (seriously....haven't touched it for that long), I decided to wade back into it all. I decided to buy the "state of the art scanner" (you can argue that later haha ) since the world went digital and after tinkering for a couple days, I'm afraid I'm still lost. Anyways, I bought it, played for 2 days, went on a week vaca w/ the Fam, came home and just did the DMR upgrade and I feel like I'm lost in the forest. I've read through the manual here (Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual) and there are so many details and variations of trunking and I can't seem to find what my area uses. I've also bought the RadioReference premium membership so I could download "data downloads" but I don't see how to bring those into Sentinel. Apparently Sentinel wants and hpe file but the downloads are either an .xls or a .sites file?

Here's what I'm guessing the setup could be but I'm not sure where to get all the info or what's the preferred software to use:
SYSTEM>DEPT>CHANNEL
Harris County > FireEMS > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > HCSO (Harris County Sheriff Office) > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 5 > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 4 > whatever channels they use?
Harris County > Constable 1 > whatever channels they use?

I appreciate any advice and especially any direction. I did "rtfm" that I knew of and I'm not getting it. Maybe I didn't read the right one yet though

Start by looking at the database page for the counties you are interested in.
Harris County is here: https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=2623

For the Houston/Harris County Metro area, the vast majority of agencies (cities, counties, law enforcement, and fire/ems organizations) are on the TxWARN P25 trunked system.
https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4563

Harris County S.O. is on that system. This is a large, regional system, that in addition to the Houston Metro area, also reaches parts of East Texas, as well as counties southeast and east of Dallas. Look below the long listings of the sites, and you'll see groups of talkgroups for varius agencies, divided up generally by County, then the agency or city. There is a section specifically for Harris County Sheriff.

Here's some questions that I think I need to know but I'm not sure where to look for:

• What kind of system does each entity use? (where do I find that out?)
• Is it possible to control the scanner from the computer instead of the keypad? I see that you use Sentinel to program it but when Sentinel is running (cable plugged in) the scanner is mounted as a drive and its not running. It just mounts it as somewhere to write.
• I'm still not seeing HCSO listed anywhere at all. I'm hoping there are some Harris County TX people (Houston area) that might know that secrets

TxWARN P25 is a P25 (digital) Phase II system. However, not all talkgroups are Phase II. Some, including Harris S.O. are using Phase I talkgroups. Your 536HP can handle either of these. When looking at a specific agency, and the talkgroups they use, look at the Mode column. If the talkgroup is listed as D, that is a Phase I talkgroup. If, instead, that letter is a T, that is normally Phase II. If you also see an upper case letter E (DE or TE), then that TGOD is using fuill ime encryption, which cannot be monitored with any scanner. A lower case e (De or Te) indicates that a talkgroup is encrypted part of the time. When encrypted, you would not be able to monitor. But is it was not encrypted, "in the clear", you would be able to follow the conversation. Hover your mouse above the Mode column header to see a further breakdown of mode types.

Idea- I wonder if there's a local ham/scanner group to Harris County (Cypress?) where people get together and tinker with these. Anyone know?

When trying to program a given city or agency, you need to include the tower site(s) that are used. Generally, say for a given city, their talkgroups are carried by the site that best covers their area. Normally, for example, you would not hear activity related to Cypress, in northwest Harris County, on one of the sites in eastern Harris, or, say, Galveston County, There is not a listing, that I'm aware of, that specifies which site is used by which city or agency. However, you can find some of that information in the threads in the Texas Regional forum.

Not sure if there is a specific scanner related group that has a regular 'meeting' in the Houston area. However, the HoustonScan group is a good resource for information related to the systems in that area. I'd recommend that you join that group and ask further questions as to sites recommended for what you want to hear. You might, if you so desire, have this thread moved to the Texas forum, where someone in the area would be more likely to see it. To do that, do not create a new thread. Instead, click on the Report in the lower left corner of one of your posts, and request that a moderator move your thread to the Texas state forum.

 

[CHHTX]

thanks hiegtx. This is super good information. I didn't know there is a Texas Regional Forum. I'll look for it tonight for sure! You mention the HoustonScan group and that sounds good. Is it a group here on this forum or is it on it's own site? When I google it, the first his was this (HoustonScan groups.io Group) but it only shows that there's 2 members.


Well dang. looks like all my posts still have to be approved. Hope you get the replies soon. Does anyone know the rules around how long I'll have before I can reply immediately or send PMs maybe? Maybe it's just a setting I need to change. Not sure.

 

[Dark_Side]

Also look into arc software and imports it's a life saver and good to custom your own favorites list