Easier to Read Pro-18 Digital Scanner and iScan Software Manual

This is Radio Shack's introduction to the "simple" digital scanner made for people with limited programming knowledge. The menus are fairly simple but not all self explanatory. We now have unlimited memory available on a microSD card along with the RadioReference Data Base for the US (only). Like the PSR500/310, the Pro-18 uses Object Oriented Memory for storing channels. programmable It also has programmable flash patterns for the backlight, and a real-time battery meter. There are options for dealing with encrypted talkgroups that include silence, an adjustable tone, or hearing the garbled transmission as is. And, a power-on timer that can be set to turn on in scan, weather, or channel monitor mode. It comes with free software required for uploading/downloading and for updating the firmware or database.

The incomplete menus, lack of a full keypad, and the absence of many key features from the 500/310 models turn a lot of people away. The scanner is really made for the 'set it and forget it' type of user. While you can edit objects and import from the library with just the scanner, there are some things you can't do with the scanner and have to do with the software including program/edit single frequencies, set receive mode, set/pre-store CTCSS/DCS/NAC tones/codes (you can store on the fly), set delay time, toggle audioBoost, channel digital mode, update the scanner firmware/DSP, and then programming and settings of all trunking systems and sites. And then oddly, all the searching/Signal Stalker options can only be set in the scanner, there are no settings for those in the software.

What happens when you plug the scanner into the computer has become quite strange if you are used to older scanners. Turn off the scanner and connect the USB cable to upload or download. Depending on what you are updating or transferring, it could take up to 10 minutes to complete. Gone is the high-speed interface we had with the 106/197/310/410 models. An optional card reader may be faster if you are going to be transferring a lot of play lists. Turn off the scanner to charge the batteries when plugged into the computer (only if you enable the charger on first) unless you're using the (optional) AC or DC USB adaptor. Pretty complicated.

I think they went overboard on some of the features for a "simple" scanner like flash patterns and most people won't be programming their IDs in HEX format. There are quite a few settings that are dependent on other settings and make it confusing for even experienced users. Example: one setting for alerts on, another for the alert volume, and then another for the object to use an alert, all in different places in the menus. Attenuation is another setting that is in multiple menus (global, system, site, object) that has to be carefully checked along with the AGC settings.

There are quite a few things that just don't make sense. Anytime you want to do a quick edit for a channel, i.e. attenuate, lockout, set priority, the scanner spends too much time re-writing to the SD card. The ATT key won't attenuate a channel; it just toggles global attenuation. While it boasts a clock, it only works when the scanner is off and plugged in and with no backlight (unless you press the power button). Then you have just the manual on CD, no printed manual. Seems a bit ridiculous that you need to have a PC (and what about MAC users?) to fully program or edit a hand-held (i.e. mobile) scanner. Again, two steps forward, three steps back.

Because only a few settings/options are available in the scanner itself, this manual will also explain how to use the iScan software which is required for any custom programming. Purple text will refer to scanner instructions and Green text will refer to Software instructions to make it easier to find steps with the scanner or software. Blue will pertain to both. The manual that comes with the scanner is still poorly organized IMHO. This manual should make it easier for most people to use the features of the radio as I will try to explain procedures a little more clearly and in a more logical order. And, thanks to the many people who have posted their valuable insight on the Radio Reference forums and Yahoo groups.

An overview of the features can also be viewed at my Trunking Radio Comparison Chart page.

There are better antennas out there to use than the one that comes with the scanner. RS has the Center-Loaded Telescoping Whip for $15 - better for VHF/UHF. The 800MHz Scanner Antenna for $25 - 100% better for 700+ MHz but keep your stock rubber duck handy for areas with a lot of 800MHz overload, especially with digital. You may be able to find others on the web but RS is convenient so you can buy it and take it back in the same day if you don't like it. Read the reviews for each at the site.

For those of you who are new to trunking or haven't had a scanner in the last 10 years it is a good idea to read the respective sections on those topics. You really have to know how trunking works in order to program a trunking system. It won't do you any good to try to program a trunking system unless you know what the radio needs and is going to do with the data (control channel, IDs, LCN order, etc.).

I will assume you know how to obtain the basic information from the original manual such as following safety procedures, putting the batteries in, connecting the antenna, etc. as I will concentrate on the operation and main functions of the scanner.

I hereby absolve myself from anything that happens to anyone or the scanner as a result of the information you will be reading. You are welcome to copy and/or print these pages and use them in the scanning hobby as long as you don't change, redistribute, or charge/accept money for them. I have tried the best I can to make sure everything is accurate here but if I missed a step, you see something that's obviously wrong, or have any other information you would like to contribute to make this manual better for everyone, please email me.

Check back often as this document will be updated and revised from time to time.

Main Features

Contents

Multi-System Trunking - you can track Digital Motorola, Motorola, GE/Ericsson (EDACS), and LTR trunking systems including VHF, UHF, 380, and 700MHz systems.

P25 NAC Functionality - P25 Network Access Code (NAC) is used to provide selective squelch operation on conventional digital channels. The scanner will detect the NAC that is being used on a P25 conventional digital channel, and allow you to program NAC codes to block (lockout) transmissions that do not have a matching NAC, including analog traffic on the same frequency.

Simplified Keypad and Display - with familiar Scan, Pause, Skip and navigation controls make it easy for you to use your scanner.

Multi-Site Trunking - allows you to scan systems covering a very large geographic area that use multiple antenna sites and operate on different frequencies but use the same Talk Group IDs.

Object Oriented Memory - Each frequency or talkgroup is programmed as an object. Like Dynamic Memory, you use only the amount of memory you need. Total memory is limited only by the SD card.

21 Play Lists - 20 to program, use, and select like traditional banks allowing you to arrange, group and scan objects according to your preference with an additional 'Skywarn' list.

Programmable Backlight Flash Patterns - the backlight can be programmed to flash with custom flash patterns when certain objects are active, providing another way alerting the operator when important radio traffic is present.

Programmable Radio/Private IDs - allows you to program radio (unit) IDs and private IDs for digital conventional and trunked objects.

Audible Alarms - programmable audible alerts can be configured when certain objects are active.

Signal Stalker - quickly sweeps the scanner's frequency ranges for transmissions from nearby sources.

Simultaneous Trunktrack and Scan - scans conventional and trunked frequencies together at the same time.

Digital AGC - instantly compensates for low user audio levels that are common on digital systems.

AudioBoost (software only) - available for conventional frequencies, IDs, and trunked systems, boosts the audio levels slightly louder.

Priority Scan - the scanner will sample conventional objects for activity periodically while scanning and monitoring other objects. The scanner will also give IDs priority over other IDs while checking a particular trunking system for activity.

Built-In Discriminator Data Output - provides raw discriminator signal to third party signal decoding software without hardware modifications.

LTR Home Repeater AutoMove - enter the LTR system frequencies in any order, and the scanner will automatically move the frequencies to the proper home repeater slots as transmissions are received on the system.

CTCSS/DCS/NAC Tone Decode - CTCSS and DCS subaudible squelch coding is processed by the same powerful DSP chip that is used for P25 digital decoding. Provides fast and reliable decoding of subaudible squelch signaling with squelch tail elimination.

SAME and All Hazards Weather Alerting - can be set to automatically sound the alarm tone to advise of hazardous weather conditions when it detects the alert signal on the local NOAA weather channel (SAME standby mode) or you can scan and set the weather channel as a priority channel.

Control Channel Only Scanning - automatically determines the trunking frequencies for Motorola trunking systems once the control channels are programmed.

FlexStep - allows you to enter a frequency in any 1.250 kHz step.

Backlit Keypad and Display - you select one or the other or both to light (or not), when you press the light button, on any key press (function ignore), or on any key press with that key's function.

Real-time Signal Strength Meter - shows relative strength of received signals with customizable thresholds.

Skip or Lockout - lets you skip or permanently lockout any programmed object. All skipped objects can be restored (unskipped).

Scan/Search/Trunking Delay - variable delay (software only; 0 to 60 seconds) before searching for another object so you can hear more replies that are made on the same object.

16 Character, 4-line, Dot Matrix Text Display - lets you program a text label for each object so you can easily identify the transmission.

7 Service Search Bands - Marine, CB, FRS/GMRS/MURS, Police/Fire, Air, Ham, and Railroad ranges to monitor interesting frequencies more quickly.

250 Search Lockouts - allow you lockout up to 250 frequencies (total) from the service, limit, and Signal Stalker searches.

Attenuation - lets you program your scanner (per object or globally) to reduce the scanner's sensitivity to strong local signals or noise caused by these signals to reduce interference.

Scan, Search Speed - scans up to 70 channels per second and searches up to 80 steps per second.

Low Battery Alert - with adjustable volume and alert times.

Four Power Options - lets you power the scanner using alkaline, Ni-Cad, or NiMH internal batteries, USB power using the included transfer cable, or external power using an optional AC or DC USB adapter.

Key Confirmation Tones - the scanner sounds a tone when you press a key, perform an operation correctly, and an error tone if you make an error with adjustable volume level.

Scanning Terminology

Contents

Scanning- the process of stepping through programmed conventional objects in play lists.

Searching- the process of searching for frequencies in pre-programmed service searches, Signal Stalker bands, and the limit search.

Pause Mode- used for monitor single objects or frequencies.

Update Mode- used for updating firmware, the library (database), and uploading/downloading to/from scanner using a computer.

Understanding Object Orientated Memory

First we had 'Dynamic Memory' to get used to and now we have 'Object Oriented Memory' to figure out. Memory organization is nothing more than a large collection of scannable objects assigned to play lists. A scannable 'object' is any frequency or ID. Trunking systems and sites are configuration objects that are used to scan ID objects. Trunking systems/sites are not assigned to play lists because you don't scan a trunking system/site; you monitor the IDs it generates. You only have to program any object once, then it can be scanned from any list(s) it is assigned to. Like Dynamic Memory, you use only the amount of memory you need. Unlike Dynamic Memory, you don't have to 'build' systems or groups first to program them. They are 'created as you go'. Also, there is no limit (except total memory) to the number of conventional systems, IDs, or conventional channels for each list.

Each scannable object can be assigned to one or more of the main lists (1-20) or the 'Skywarn List' (21). Each list is scanned like a traditional bank. The main lists can be scanned with any other list but when the 'Skywarn List' is selected, only objects in that list will be scanned and no other lists.

Understanding Trunking

Contents

Trunking systems let a large group of 2-way radio users (or even different groups of 2-way radio users) efficiently use a set of frequencies. Instead of selecting a specific frequency for a transmission, the user’s radio selects a programmed trunking bank in the system when that user presses their PTT (push to talk) button. The trunking system automatically transmits the call on the first available frequency, and also sends (on a different frequency called a Data or Control channel) a code that uniquely identifies that transmission as a talkgroup ID (or just ID). So when you are trunktracking a system, you are listening to active IDs transmitting in the system (each using the first available frequency in the system). Trunking systems in general allocate and use fewer frequencies among many different users.

Since the trunking system might send a call and its response on different frequencies, it is difficult to listen to trunked communications using a conventional scanner. These scanners let you monitor the control channel frequency so you can hear calls and responses for users and more easily "follow" conversations than with a conventional scanner.

This trunking scanner trunktrack the following types of systems:

Motorola Type I
Motorola Type II
Motorola Type IIi Hybrid
Motorola Type II Smartnet
Motorola Type II Smartzone
Motorola Type II Smartzone Omnilink
Motorola Project 25 Standard

EDACS Standard (Wide)
EDACS Narrowband (Narrow)
EDACS Networked (Wide/Narrow)
EDACS SCAT
EDACS ESK (not ProVoice)
LTR Standard

When you program Motorola frequencies into the scanner, one frequency is the control (or data) channel, and the rest are voice frequencies shared by all the users. There may be 3 or 4 frequencies assigned as (primary or alternate) control channels but only one control channel will be active at a time. These scanners will allow you to program just the Motorola control channels into the trunking system and the voice channels will automatically be found. EDACS systems need all the frequencies for the system programmed and in the correct LCN (Logical Channel Number) order.

The control channel is continually transmitted to the field units and has a sound similar to listening to a boat engine over the phone (in manual mode; you won't hear this when you are trunking the system). This control channel is also a good check to see if you can trunktrack the system. If you can't hear a control channel when you step through the trunking frequencies (in manual mode), you either don't have all the frequencies or are too far away to receive the control channel and the system. Motorola systems are limited to a maximum of 28 frequencies per system, Ericsson EDACS systems are limited to 25 frequencies per system.

LTR systems work a little differently. This type of system encodes all trunking information as digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmission. LTR systems typically do not have a dedicated control channel. The frequencies also have to be in LCN (Logical Channel Number) order or the correct 'slot' for the system to trunktrack properly. These radios have a 'Auto Move' feature that allows you to enter the frequencies in any order in the scanner will position the frequencies in the proper 'slot' base on the received subaudible data. Each repeater has its own controller, and all of these controllers are synchronized together. Even though each controller monitors its own channel, one of the channel controllers is assigned to be a master that all controllers report to. Each of these controllers sends out a data burst approximately every 10 seconds so that the subscriber units know that the system is there. This data burst is not sent at the same time by all the channels, but happens randomly throughout all the system channels. If you listen to the frequencies of an LTR system in manual mode (not trunking), on every channel in the system you will hear this data burst that will sound like a short blip of static like someone keyed up and unkeyed a radio within about 500 ms. LTR systems are limited to 20 frequencies per system.

Trunkscanning is basically scanning IDs that are programmed into ID locations (same concept as frequencies into channels). You can then trunkscan just the programmed IDs. Trunktracking is searching for all IDs in a system (same concept as searching for frequencies in a band).

Understanding Multi-Site Trunking
Some Motorola and EDACS systems covering a very large geographic area use multiple antenna sites that each operate on different frequencies and use the same talkgroup IDs for traffic. Each site will have its own set of trunking frequencies and is monitored like a single system. All talkgroups in the system are available to every site so they don't have to be reprogrammed for each site. Each talkgroup object can be assigned to one or more play lists but only assigned to one trunking system.

Radio Reference.com has an excellent page explaining the various types of trunking systems in more detail here.

Understanding IDs

Contents

ID Formats

Motorola IDs come in two formats: Type I and Type II. Each format displays and uses Talk Group IDs in slightly different ways. Type I/II hybrid systems use both Type I and Type II formats for Talk Group IDs.

Type I IDs are in the format FFF-SS where FFF is the fleet and SS is the sub-fleet. Type I systems are usually organized with different IDs assigned to different fleets. For example, a valid fleet/subfleet ID identifying all detectives within a police department might be 000-12, where 000 identifies all police IDs and 12 identifies the Detective division. To properly trunk a Type I system, you have to program the fleet map for the system.

Type II IDs are identified by a 5-digit number.

EDACS IDs come in two formats: AFS (Agency-Fleet-Subfleet) and Decimal.

AFS IDs are in the form AA-FFS where AA is the agency, FF is the fleet, and S is the sub-fleet. EDACS systems are organized with different IDs assigned to different fleets and agencies. For example, a valid agency/fleet/subfleet ID identifying all detectives within a police department in an agency might be 06-101, where 06 identifies the agency (Police), 10 identifies the Police division (East side), and 1 identifies the Detective division.

Decimal IDs are shown as a decimal number from 0 to 2047.

You can find a chart showing Decimal and AFS equivalents here: Conversion Chart.

LTR IDs are in the format A-HH-UUU where A is the area code (0 or 1), HH is the home repeater (01-20), and UUU is the user ID (000-254).

ID Types

Group Wildcard IDs will monitor all talkgroup IDs on the trunked radio system. A wildcard TGRP object allows you to receive IDs that are not already stored as objects in the radio's memory.

Group IDs will only monitor talkgroup radio traffic on that specified TGID.

Private Wildcard IDs will monitor all private IDs on the trunked radio system.

Private IDs will only monitor private radio traffic on that specified private TGID.

Radio IDs are group or private IDs associated with individual radios.

Understanding Receive Modes

Contents

Each conventional channel can have its own receive mode: Auto, AM, FM, or NFM.

Auto - Receives transmissions in the modulation sent.

AM - Receives transmissions in AM modulation.

FM - Receives transmissions in FM modulation.

NFM - Receives transmissions in NFM modulation.

Understanding CTCSS/DCS/NAC

Each conventional channel can have its own squelch mode: None, CTCSS, DCS, P25, or Search.

None no codes will be searched.

CTCSS - PL codes appear (if received) in the format xxx.x, where xxx.x is a frequency in Hz.

DCS - DPL codes appear (if received) in the format xxx, where xxx is an octal code.

P25 - NAC codes appear (if received) as a 3-digit hexadecimal number.

Search - the scanner will search and display any codes (if received).

Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS), Digital Coded Squelch (DCS), Network Access Code (NAC), are three methods used to prevent interference by other radio communications. Your scanner can receive transmissions that use these codes (or sometimes referred to as tones).

Coded squelch techniques involve the transmission of a special 'code' signal along with the audio of a radio transmission. A receiver with coded squelch only activates when the received signal has the correct 'code'. This lets many users share a single frequency, and decreases interference caused by distant transmitters on the same channel. In all major metropolitan areas of the United States, every available radio channel is assigned to more than one user. Public safety radio systems on the same frequency are usually set up at a distance of 40 miles apart, or more. This means that you may hear transmissions from a distant system when your local system is not transmitting. By programming the code (or tone) for a local channel the scanner will not stop on transmissions from the distant system.

With few exceptions, such as the VHF Aircraft and Marine bands, almost every other VHF or UHF radio system uses some form of coded squelch. By far, CTCSS is the most popular mode among non-trunked systems. Usually, but not always, VHF channels will use CTCSS and UHF channels will use DCS. P25 (digital) conventional channels will use only NAC. NAC, similar to CTCSS/DCS, has a 3 digit hexadecimal code that can be broadcast along with the digital signal being transmitted.

For more information visit Radio Reference's respective pages on CTCSS, DCS, and NAC.

Default Step Chart

Contents

Frequency Range	*Default Step (kHz)	Mode	Band	Frequency Range	*Default Step (kHz)	Mode	Band
25-26.960	10	AM	VHF Lo Band	161.600-161.975	5	FM	Remote Broadcast-Maritime
26.965-27.405	10	AM	CB	162-174	12.5	FM	Government Band
27.410-29.505	5	AM	VHF Lo	216.0025-219.9975	5	FM	Maritime
29.510-29.700	5	FM	10m Ham	220-224.995	5	FM	1.25m Ham-General Trunked
29.710-49.830	10	FM	VHF Lo Band	225-379.99375	25	AM	Military Air
49.835-54	5	FM	6m Ham	380-419.9875	12.5	FM	Military Trunked
108-136.9916	8.33	AM	Civilian Air	420-450	5	FM	70cm Ham
137-137.995	5	FM	Satellite	450.00625-469.99375	6.25	FM	Public Safety-Business
138-143.9875	12.5	FM	Government	470-512	6.25	FM	UHF TV
144-147.995	5	FM	2m Ham	764-781.996875	3.125	FM	Trunked Public Safety
148-150.7875	12.5	FM	Government-Satellite	791-796.996875	3.125	FM	Trunked Public Safety
150.800-150.845	5	FM	Auto Emergency	806-823.9875	12.5	FM	Mobile Trunked Public Safety
150.8525-154.4975	7.5	FM	Fire-Business	849-868.9875	12.5	FM	Base Trunked Public Safety
154.515-154.640	5	FM	Industry	894-939.9875	12.5	FM	33cm Ham-Business Trunked
154.650-156.045	7.5	FM	Police	940-960	6.25	FM	Government-Broadcast
156.050-157.450	7.5	FM	Maritime	1240-1300	6.25	FM	23cm Ham-Government
157.470-161.5725	7.5	FM	Police-Business-Rail

This is what I got with FlexStep 'Off'.
*Flexstep (in the 'Settings' menu) will allow step increments of 1.25 kHz.

Turning On The Scanner And Setting the Squelch

Remove the back cover and set the Battery Type Selector to ALKA − Alkaline, or NI-MH − Rechargeable NI-MH.
Install 4 alkaline or NI-MH rechargeable batteries.
Or, connect the scanner to a USB port with the supplied cable.
Make sure the scanner's antenna is connected before you turn it on.

Press on hold the power button

for about 2 seconds until the opening screen appears.

The date/time prompt appears only once, on initial power-up.
You can skip this process by pressing the Skip key.
Press the ◄ or ► key to select the desired digit, then press the ▲ key.
Press the ◄ or ► key to change the value, then press SEL.

Set the squelch to the recommended setting.

Navigating the Scanner Menus

Contents

Press ▼ or ▲ to select each main menu item.
Press ► or SEL to view a menu item.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll through the menus. Press and hold ▼ or ▲ to scroll faster.
To exit most menus (with no SEL, Skip, or Menu options) press ◄ (or Menu if ◄ doesn't work first).
If you try to exit the menu without saving your changes, the scanner will prompt you to save changes? Press SEL(Yes), or Skip(No).

Basic Settings

You may want to change some settings right away to help you program your scanner a little easier. At least it helped me.
From the main menu press ▼ to scroll and select Settings then press ► or SEL to enter the Settings menu.
Press ▼ to scroll and select Simply Display then press ► or SEL to see all information in the display.
Press ▼ to scroll and select Beep Vol then press ◄ or ► to adjust a comfortable beep volume.
Press ▼ to scroll and select Contrast then press ◄ or ► to adjust a comfortable contrast level.
Press ▼ to scroll and select LModeBAT (or LModeEXT if using external power) then press ◄ or ► to select On.
Press ▼ to scroll and select LiteLevel then press ◄ or ► to select a comfortable light level.
Press Menu to exit and SEL to save the changes.

Sub Menus

For each mode, scan, spectrum sweeper, service search, limit search, playback, and weather, there is a sub menu accessed by pressing the Menu button in each mode.
Pressing Menu in scan mode will return to the main menu.
Pressing Menu in scan receive mode will show the object menu for the object being received.
Pressing Menu in any search mode will show the search menu.
Pressing Menu in weather mode will show the weather menu.

The first few lines of each sub-menu will show:
Main Menu
Back
Save Changes
Default Values

If you are receiving a frequency or ID and press Menu you may also see:
Store Channel- in any search mode.
Store Wildcard in scan mode if a Wildcard ID is found in a trunked system.
Store sq code- in scan mode if a CTCSS/DCS/NAC tone/code is found for a conventional object.

To Browse Objects:

From the main menu, press ▼ to scroll and select 'Browse Objects' then press ► or SEL.
Pressing ◄ or ► will scroll through the play lists.
Pressing ▼ or ▲ will scroll through objects in each play list.

When you enter a menu, use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the setting you wish to change.
Pressing and holding ▼ or ▲ will scroll faster. The scanner will double beep at the beginning of each play list.
The active setting has a ► next to it.

A Look at the Keypad

Contents

Key	Function
(Power)	press and hold to turn on/off scanner. press to toggle the backlight on or off
MENU	selects the main menu in scan mode. selects the object menu in scan receive, pause, or browse objects modes. selects the service/sweeper/limit menu in service/sweeper/limit search modes. selects the play list menu in scan sets mode. selects the Library Import menu in Browse Library mode. selects the weather menu in weather scan mode. exits top-level sub-menus to the main menu.
◄ (Left)	enters 'Browse Objects' in scan mode. resumes/changes to searching down in search modes. steps backward through frequencies in search pause mode. navigates out of a menu or selection. scrolls down play lists when browsing objects.
► (Right)	resumes scanning in receiving or pause modes. resumes/changes to searching up in search modes. steps forward through frequencies in search pause mode. navigates into a menu or selection. scrolls up play lists when browsing objects. toggles (right) check boxes in menus. allows you to rename play lists in the play list menus.
,▲ (Volume Up, Scroll Up)	increases the volume when scanning or monitoring objects. scrolls up through a menu. scrolls up through objects in a play list when browsing.
,▼ (Volume Down, Scroll Down)	decreases the volume when scanning or monitoring objects. scrolls down through a menu. scrolls down through objects in a play list when browsing.
Skip	toggles weather standby mode in weather scan mode. toggles skip in receiving, browse object, and pause modes. key clears all text at and to the right of the cursor when editing text.
► / SEL (Play,Pause,Select)	starts scan mode. pauses/resumes on object in scan mode. select/execute options in menus. pauses/resumes on search frequency in search mode.
ATT (Attenuator)	toggles the global attenuator mode on/off in scan and search modes. toggles global attenuation on or off. toggles attenuation for object/search in object edit/search menus.
(Weather)	Enters weather scan mode from any mode. selects SkyWarn List in weather scan or standby modes.

A Look at the Display

Contents

Scan Mode

SCAN appears with the play lists scrolling (if more than 5) below.

appears when the scanner is receiving a trunking control channel frequency.

appears when global attenuation is off for all objects/searches.

appears when global attenuation is on for all objects/searches.

appears when attenuation is on for the scanned object/system/search.

► scrolls to show scan mode.

appears solid when the batteries are fully charged.
appears to show external power and the scanner is not (or done) charging or the Battery Type Selection switch is set to ALK.

Scan Receiving/Pause/Browse Modes

Top Row

appears when the squelch circuit is open.

appears to show the signal strength of the voice channel.

appears when discriminator output mode is active.

blinks when the scanner is receiving a trunking control channel frequency.

appears when global attenuation is off for all objects/systems/searches.

appears when global attenuation is on for all objects/systems/searches.

appears when attenuation is on for the displayed object/search.

DG shows digital AGC is on for the digital object/frequency.

Dg (lowercase g) shows digital AGC is off for the object/frequency.

FM, AM, or NF appears to show the received Modulation for a conventional or search object.

appears when encrypted audio is being received.

► appears to show scan mode.

appears to show pause mode.

appears solid when the batteries are fully charged.

1st Line

Contents

shows the Play List Name.

2nd Line

the Object Type appears as TGRP (Talkgroup), or CONV (Conventional). (simple display off).
shows Channel: for a conventional object or Group: for a talkgroup object. (simply display on).

p (not set for priority) or P (set for priority) appears to show the Priority Status of the talkgroup or conventional object.

s (not skipped) or S (skipped) appears to show the Skip Status of the object/search frequency.

d (delay off) or D (delay on) appears to show the Delay Status of the object/search.

3rd Line

shows the Text Tag for a conventional or talkgroup object and (with simple display off) will alternate with TGID if enabled.

4th Line

shows the Receive Mode for a conventional object. (simple display off).

shows the Frequency for a conventional object. (simple display off).

shows the System Name for a trunked system and (with simple display off) will alternate with Site Name if enabled.

5th Line

shows the Squelch Type for a conventional object. (simple display off).

shows the Tone/Code received for a conventional object. shows SRCH if no code/tone received. (simple display off).

S appears if the tone/code is found in search mode. (simple display off).

shows the Radio ID for a talkgroup object if received and enabled. (simple display off).

shows the Radio ID Text Tag (only if enabled) for a talkgroup object. (simple display off).

shows the VC/CC for a talkgroup object if enabled. (simple display off).

Off Mode

Top Line

Charging done and

appears to show the scanner is connected to your computer and charging is complete and/or not charging.
Charging and

icon shows empty to full when charging.

Installing the iScan Software

Insert the iScan software installation disk that came with the scanner. Computers with autoplay enabled will start the installation wizard automatically. If the installation doesn't start, open windows explorer and navigate to your CD drive and double-click iScanCD.exe.
Click 'Install Pro-18 iScan Digital Handheld Scanner PC Application and select the "Complete" setup option'. Follow the prompts to finish the installation.

Updating...

Contents

Update the Software

In the iScan software, click the Updates menu then Check for Software Update. Follow the prompts to finish the update.

Update the CPU/DSP Firmware

In the iScan software, click the Updates menu then Check for CPU/DSP Firmware Update. Follow the prompts to finish the update.

Update the Library (Database) in the Software

The database is updated every week. In the iScan software, click the Updates menu then Check for Library Update. Follow the prompts to finish the update. You will also have the options to copy the database to the scanner (follow the prompts) and/or update objects in the software.

Update Existing Channels in the Software This will allow you to update all objects imported using an older version of the database to the current database in the software. You will have the options to replace the object names with updated object names (replacing all custom object names) and to import primary and alternate control channels (replacing all existing channels) for Motorola and P25 systems.
This import option in the software is basically the same function as 'Update from Lib' in the scanner.

From the Library Import tab click the Update Channels button.
Click to select replace channel name checkbox if desired.
Click to select import primary and alternate control channels for Motorola and P25 systems checkbox if desired.
Press the Update Channels button then Done when finished.

Copy the Library (Database) to the Scanner

If you have updated your existing channels or did not use the 'copy database to scanner' option when you updated the library, you can do it with this step.
In the iScan software, click the Scanner/SD Card menu then Copy Library to Scanner Memory/SD Card. Follow the prompts to finish the update.

Updating the Scanner from the Library (Database)

After you have copied the database to the scanner, this feature automatically updates all objects that you already have programmed in the scanner to the latest version of the Library database. This should be done after all of your programming and only if you want to update anything from the current database in the scanner.
You will need to turn off the scanner first to connect the scanner to USB power using the supplied USB cable. The software is not needed.
This option in the scanner is basically the same function as 'Update Existing Channels' in the software.

From the main menu, press ▼ to scroll and select Update from Lib then press ► or SEL.
To use the alpha tags from the database press SEL.
To retain the alpha tags you have programmed press Skip.
When the update is finished, you will be presented with the results showing you the channels, systems, sites, and talkgroups that have been updated.

iScan Software Menus (for the current 1.03 version)

Contents

File Menu

New Configuration opens a new, empty default configuration.
Exit saves all configurations and exits the program.

Scanner/SD Card Menu

Copy Configuration To Scanner Memory/SD Card allows you to copy to the scanner.
Copy Configuration From Scanner Memory/SD Card allows you to copy from the scanner.
Copy Library To Scanner Memory/SD Card allows you to copy the database to the scanner.
Prepare Scanner Memory/SD Card for use allows you to format the microSD card.
Optimize Scanner Memory/SD Card will copy files from the scanner to the computer, optimize the data, then copy the files back to the scanner.
Set Real Time Clock to Computer Time sets the scanner clock to the computer clock.

Updates Menu

Check for CPU Firmware Update
Check for DSP Firmware Update
Check for Library Update
Check for Software Update
Configure Proxy Server If you need to configure a proxy server to access the internet.

Advanced Menu

Allows you to show/hide the programming tabs and start the software in full-screen mode.
Show Conventional Frequencies Tab
Show Trunked Radio Systems Tab
Show Advanced (Features) Tab
Start Full Screen
Remember Position and Size on Exit Will remember window size if Start Full Screen is unchecked.

Help Menu

Allows you to access the help file, various support links, and the software version (select About).

Settings Menu

Contents

The Settings menu allows you to change the radio-wide settings used by the scanner. The default settings will work fine for most users but you will probably want to personalize the radio to suit your individual needs.
Note: Not all setting are not available in both the scanner and the software.

To Edit Settings in the Scanner, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Settings' then press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to select the Settings in the menu.

Scanner Menu...

Volume Settings	G AGC Mode	LModeEXT	Use RID Alert	Charge Time
Default Vals	G AGC On	LiteArea	Show VC/CC	TG Disp
Simple Display	Sounds	LiteTime	Show TGID	M36 Stat Bits

Default PL

Alerts

LiteLevel

Show Site Name

Flexstep

Priority Mode

Key Beeps

Welcome Text 1-5

CONV TGID

EncMode

Priority Time

Beep Vol

Blink Time 1

CONV Radio ID

EncLevel

G Atten Mode

Alert Vol

Blink Time 2

PC/IF CCDump

DSPLevelAdapt

G Atten On

Contrast

Show Radio ID

to file

ADC Gain

Search Dg AGC

LModeBAT

tag only

Low Batt Time

DAC Gain

To Edit Settings in the iScan Software select the General Settings tab or Advanced Features tab.
Not all tabs are visible by default. See Advanced Menu.

General Settings Tab...

Welcome Text

Display Settings

Playlist Control

Priority Settings

Trunking Options

Volume Settings

Display Mode

Alpha Tag

Priority Mode

Talkgroup ID Mode

Backlight Settings

Blink Time 1

Enabled, Default

Priority Interval

Use Radio ID Alarm

Mode (Batt)

Blink Time 2

Restore Factory Defaults

Attenuation Settings

Flexible Frequency Entry

Mode (Pwr)

Contrast

Clear Search Lockouts

Attenuation Mode

Area

Sound Settings

Alert Settings

Global Attenuation On/Off

Level

Mode

Timeout

Key Beep

Volume

Key Volume

Low Battery Time

Advanced Features Tab...

Advanced Display Options

Conventional Channels

PC/IF Data Dump Option

Battery Charge Option

Motorola Trunking Options

Trunked System Channels

TGID and Alpha Tag

PC/IF Data Dump

Charge Hours

MOT Status Bits

Alpha Tag and TGID

Radio ID

Advanced DSP Settings

Encrypted Digital Audio Settings

System and Site Name

Digital Audio AGC Settings

DSP Level Adapt

Audio Mode

Line 5

Search AGC

ADC Gain

Tone Volume

Radio ID, Radio ID or VC/CC

Global AGC Mode

DAC Gain

VC/CC

Global AGC

Text Only, Text or VC/CC

Scanner/SD Card Menu...

Set Real Time Clock to Computer Time

File Menu...

Restore Factory Defaults

Clear Search Lockouts

Updates Menu...

Configure Proxy Server

Volume Settings Controls the speaker and headphone volume in the scanner. Default is 20.

Contents

Speaker

Scanner In any mode press ▼ or ▲ to select Mute, 1-30, or MAX.

Software General Settings > Volume Settings > Speaker- Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Headphone (Software only)

General Settings > Volume Settings > Headphone- Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Default Vals/Restore Factory Defaults Resets all settings to their default values except the welcome message.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to reset.

Software General Settings - Restore Factory Defaults (button). Or File menu > Restore Factory Defaults.

Clear Search Lockouts (Software only) (does not work for me). See also Unlocking Search Frequencies.

General Settings- Clear Search Lockouts (button). Or File menu- Clear Search Lockouts.

Simple Display/Display Mode This option must be unchecked/advanced to view detailed frequency, talkgroup ID, Radio ID, and CTCSS/DCS/NAC squelch code information. Simple display only shows object and play list names. Default is Simple.

Scanner- Press SEL or ► to check (Simple), or uncheck (Advance).

Software General Settings > Display Settings > Display Mode- Advance or Simple.

Default PL/Playlist Control Sets the default play list. New objects created in the software are assigned to the default play list. Objects stored in service, limit, and Signal Stalker modes are automatically saved to the default play list. Default is 1.

Scanner Press (or press and hold) ◄ or ► to select 1-201. (SkyWarn list is 201).

Software General Settings > Playlist Control.

Alpha Tag Click to select and highlight the play list name to edit.
Enabled Click to enable each play list.
Default Click to select the default play list.

Priority Mode Objects with Priority enabled will be sampled according to the Priority Time setting for activity. Priority mode works by periodically sampling objects for activity which briefly interrupts transmissions on conventional systems. Priority IDs are sampled only between transmissions and only while monitoring each trunked system that contains the ID. Default is Off. See also Priority Scanning.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software General Settings > Priority Settings > Priority Mode- On or Off.

Note: Priority Mode may interfere with the built in Audio Recorder.

Priority Time/Priority Interval Sets (in .1 seconds) how frequently conventional objects are sampled. Default is 20 (2 secs).

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the amount of time, 10 - 250 (1 - 25 secs).
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and repeat as needed.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software General Settings > Priority Settings > Priority Interval- 1-25 (seconds).

G Atten Mode/Attenuation Mode Sets the global attenuator mode. Global applies attenuation (on or off) to all objects only when Global Attenuation is set to On. Normal follows the individual object attenuator settings. 'G' will appear in the middle of the display when set to Global. See chart below. Default is Global. See also System Attenuation, Site Attenuation, and (conventional) Object Attenuation.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Global), or uncheck (Normal).

Note: You can also toggle this setting by pressing ATT in Scan or Search mode.

Software General Settings > Attenuation Settings > Attenuation Mode- Normal or Global.

Contents

G Atten On/Global Attenuation On/Off Sets global attenuation (on or off) to every object regardless of the object attenuation setting. Indicators will appear in the middle of the display to indicate attenuation status. Default is Off. See chart below.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Note: You can also toggle this setting by pressing ATT in Scan or Search mode.

Software General Settings > Attenuation Settings > Global Attenuation On/Off- On or Off.

Attenuation Settings
Object Attenuation	G Atten Mode	G Atten On	Center Display	Results
Off	Normal	Off	No G or A	Object/system/search attenuation Off
On	Normal	Off	A	Object/system/search attenuation On
On or Off	Global	Off	G	Attenuation Off- all objects/systems/searches
On or Off	Global	On	GA	Attenuation On- all objects/systems/searches

Search Dg AGC/Search AGC When checked, enables AGC for digital frequencies in all search modes. Useful to compensate for low or high audio levels on digital frequencies. Default is Enabled.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Enabled), or uncheck (Disabled).

Software Advanced Features > Digital Audio AGC Settings > Search AGC- Enabled or Disabled.

G AGC Mode/Global AGC Mode Sets the global AGC mode. Global applies AGC (on or off) to all objects only when Global AGC is set to Enabled. Normal follows the individual object AGC settings. See chart below. Default is Global. See also System AGC, Site AGC, and (digital) Object AGC.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Global), or uncheck (Normal).

Software Advanced Features > Digital Audio AGC Settings > Global AGC Mode- Normal or Global.

G AGC On/Global AGC Sets global AGC (on or off) to every digital object regardless of object AGC setting. Indicators will appear in the right of the display when a channel is active to indicate AGC status. See chart below. Default is Enabled.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Enabled), or uncheck (Disabled).

Software Advanced Features > Digital Audio AGC Settings > Global AGC- Enabled or Disabled.

	AGC Setting
Results	Object AGC	G AGC Mode	G AGC On	Right Display
Object/system/site AGC Off	Disabled	Normal	Disabled	Dg
Object/system/site AGC On	Enabled	Normal	Disabled	DG
AGC Off- all objects/systems/sites	Enabled or Disabled	Global	Disabled	Dg
AGC On- all objects/systems/sites	Enabled or Disabled	Global	Enabled	DG

Sounds/Sound Settings-Mode Controls all beep and alert sounds used by the scanner. Default is On.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select On or Stealth.

Software General Settings > Sound Settings > Mode- On or Stealth.

Alerts/Alert Settings-Mode Controls audible and visual alerts used by the scanner. When set to Audio, only audio alerts will be used. When set to Visual, only visual alerts (Flash) will be used. Default is Both.
Note: Sounds must also be On for audio alerts.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Both, Audio, Visual, or Off.

Software General Settings > Alert Settings > Mode- Both, Audio, Visual, or Off.

Key Beeps/Key Beep Enables or disables key beep sounds. Default is On. Note: Sounds must also be On.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software General Settings > Sound Settings > Key Beep- On or Off.

Contents

Beep Vol/Key Volume Controls the volume of key beep sounds. Default is 15. Note: Sounds must also be On.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Software General Settings > Sound Settings > Key Volume- Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Alert Vol/Alert Settings-Volume Controls the volume of object alert sounds and Alerts is set to Audio or Both. Default is 15. Note: Sounds must also be On.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Software General Settings > Alert Settings > Volume- Mute, 1-30, or Max.

Contrast

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select the best contrast. Default is 12.

Software General Settings > Display Settings > Contrast- 0-20.

LModeBAT/Backlight Settings-Mode (Batt) Controls how the backlight operates on battery power. Default is Key/Key Press.

LModeEXT/Backlight Settings-Mode (Pwr) Controls how the backlight operates on external power. Default is On.
Note: see also Backlight Mode/Light for object backlight settings.

On - backlight is always on.
Stlth - backlight is always off.
Norml - backlight turns on when the power key is pressed for the amount of time set in LiteTime.
Key/Key Press - backlight turns on when any key is pressed (and used) for the amount of time set in LiteTime.
Ignor - works like 'Key' but the key's normal function is ignored for the first press. Pressing any key again (when the light is on) will activate that key's function.
Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select On, Stlth, Norml, Key, or Ignor.
Software General Settings > Backlight Settings > Mode (Batt and Pwr)- On, Stealth, Normal, Key Press, or Ignore First Key Press.

LiteArea/Backlight Settings-Area Controls what is lighted. Default is Both.

Both - lights the display and keypad.
LCD - lights the display only.
Keybd - lights the keypad only.
Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Both, LCD, or Keybd.
Software General Settings > Backlight Settings > Area- Both, LCD, or Keys.

LiteTime/Timeout Controls the amount of time the LiteArea stays on when LMode is set to Key/Key Press, Ignor, or Norml. Default is 5.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the number of seconds, 1 - 99.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the second digit.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software General Settings > Backlight Settings > Timeout- 1-99.

Contents

LiteLevel/Backlight Settings-Level Controls the brightness of the backlight. Default is 4.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Low, 2-10, or High.

Software General Settings > Backlight Settings > Level- Low, 2-10, or High.

Welcome Text 1-5/Welcome Text Allows you to text up to five lines of the display to be shown when the scanner is turned on.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the character, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for up to 16 characters.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software General Settings > Welcome Text.

Blink Time 1 For alternating text displays, sets the display time (in .1 seconds) for the primary display element. (control channel, ID number, trunked site name). Default is .75 (3/4 sec.).
Blink Time 2 For alternating text displays, sets the display time (in .1 seconds) for the secondary display element. (voice channel, ID name, trunked system name). Default is .75 (3/4 sec.).

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the amount of time, 1 - 250 (.1 - 2.5 secs).
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and repeat as needed.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software General Settings > Display Settings > Blink Time 1,2-.1 - 2.5.

Show Radio ID/Radio ID Displays the radio ID (or tag) if it is available for trunk radio systems that use the radio ID feature. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Trunked System Channels > Line 5- Radio ID (Alt). To show VC/CC if not available Radio ID (Alt) or VC/CC.

tag only/Text Only Check tag only if you just want to see the text.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Trunked System Channels > Line 5- Radio ID (Text Only). To show VC/CC if not available Radio ID (Text Only) or VC/CC.

Use RID Alert/Use Radio ID Alarm Uses the visual and/or audible alert settings with radio IDs. Default is Off. Note: Sounds must also be On and Alerts must be set to Audio, Visual, or Both.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software General Settings > Trunking Options > Use Radio ID Alarm- Off or On.

Show VC/CC/VC/CC Will alternate the voice channel and control channel frequencies. Show Radio ID will override Show VC/CC if enabled and a Radio ID is available. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Trunked System Channels > Line 5- VC/CC (only). To show VC/CC if Radio ID is not available Radio ID (Alt/Text Only) or VC/CC.

Show TGID/Alpha Tag and TGID Shows the talkgroup ID in the display and will alternate with the alpha tag. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Trunked System Channels > Line 3- Alpha Tag and TGID.

Show Site Name/System and Site Name Shows the site name and will alternate with the trunking system name. The site name is only displayed if there are two or more sites programmed for the trunking system. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Trunked System Channels > Line 4- System and Site Name.

Contents

CONV TGID/TGID and Alpha Tag Shows the talkgroup ID for P25 conventional talkgroup calls. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Conventional Channels > Line 3- TGID and Alpha Tag.

CONV Radio ID/Radio ID Shows the radio ID for P25 conventional talkgroup calls. Simple Display must be off. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced Display Options > Conventional Channels > Line 5- Radio ID (Digital Only).

PC/IF CCDump/PC/IF Data Dump When enabled, the scanner streams control channel data over the USB interface when the radio is tuned to a trunking control channel. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > PC/IF Data Dump Option > PC/IF Data Dump- PC/IF Out.

to file/SD Card File The data is instead recorded to a series of “DUMP_nnn.LOG” files under the LOG directory on the microSD card.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Advanced Features > PC/IF Data Dump Option > PC/IF Data Dump- SD Card File.

Low Batt Time/Low Battery Time Sets the number of seconds between low battery warning alerts. The radio will shut down automatically to prevent corruption of the microSD card when the battery level is critically low.
Off is 0. Default is 30. Note: Sounds must also be On and Alerts must be set to Audio or Both.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the number of seconds, 0-60.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the second digit.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software General Settings > Alert Settings > Low Battery Time- 0-60.

Charge Time/Charge Hours Allows you to set the battery charge time in hours. 0 = off. The charger does not charge when the scanner is turned on (?!). If it works like the PSR500, the charger is disabled when battery switch is set to Alkaline. The battery charger is timer based and charges at a current rate of 150 mA. It will reset every time you connect the scanner to the USB cable. The default charge time (99) will charge Ni-Cad batteries 9 hours for and Ni-MH batteries for 16 hours. (External smart charger is strongly recommended).

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the number of hours, 0-99.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the second digit.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software Advanced Features > Battery Charge Option > Charge Hours- Disabled (0), 1-98, Default (99).

TG Disp/Talkgroup ID Mode Sets the display format for talkgroup IDs. Default is Normal (DEC for Motorola/P25, AFS for EDACS). Simple Display must be off.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Normal, DEC, or HEX.

Software General Settings > Trunking Options > Talkgroup ID Mode- Normal, DEC, or HEX.

M36 Stat Bits/Mot Status Bits When checked, the scanner will track Motorola 3600 baud talkgroups using status bits. When unchecked, status bits are ignored. Default is Ignore.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Use), or uncheck (Ignore).

Software Advanced Features > Trunking Options > Mot Status Bits- Use, Ignore.

FlexStep/Flexible frequency entry-Flex Step When checked (on) allows you to enter a frequency down to any 1250 Hz (1.25 kHz - .00125) step (except in the civil air band 108-136 where the step size is fixed at 8.333 kHz), otherwise the scanner will use the default steps. Default is Disabled (unchecked).

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check (Enabled), or uncheck (Disabled).

Software General Settings > Flexible frequency entry > Flex Step- Disabled, Enabled.

Contents

EncMode/Audio Mode Selects how the radio treats encrypted voice calls. Noise plays encryption noise. Silent plays no audio (and stays on the channel). Tone plays a Tone for the duration of the call. Default is Tone.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Tone, Noise, or Silent.

Software Advanced Features > Encrypted Digital Audio Settings > Audio Mode- Audio Tone, Digital Noise, or Silence.

EncLevel/Tone Volume Selects the tone level for encrypted calls. Default is -24dB.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select -90 to 4dB.

Software Advanced Features > Encrypted Digital Audio Settings > Tone Volume- -90 to 4dB.

DSPLevelAdapt Controls how fast the DSP adjusts to varying P25 levels. Lower values correspond to slower rates and higher values correspond to faster rates. Small adjustments (2-4 notches) are recommended. Default is 64.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the value, 0-255.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the second digit.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced DPS Settings > DPS Level Adapt- 0-255.

ADC Gain Controls input signal to CODEC. Default is +0dB.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select -2dB to +2dB.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced DPS Settings > ADC Gain- -2dB to +2dB.

DAC Gain Sets output signal from CODEC varying the audio level of decoded digital signals. Default is +0dB.

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select -2dB to +2dB.

Software Advanced Features > Advanced DPS Settings > DAC Gain- -2dB to +2dB.

Set Real Time Clock to Computer Time

Software (Scanner/SD Card (Menu) > Set Real Time Clock to Computer Time.
Note: scanner must be connected to your computer using the supplied USB cable.

Battery Indicator/Alert Values Allows you to adjust the voltages that show the number of bars in the battery level indicator, and when the low battery alert activates. The values will show (and alert) differently in the indicator depending on battery type (Alkaline, Ni-MH, or NiCad), capacity (mAh), and how old/healthy the batteries are. The low battery audible alert will activate at 0 bars. Weaker batteries may not even alert and just shut the scanner off. See also this post to get a log of the scanner's internal battery measurements.

Scroll to select bar number and click value to edit when highlighted.

Configure Proxy Server Allows you to configure a proxy server if you need to one to access the internet.

Planning Systems and Play Lists

Contents

Play Lists
Each object (not trunking systems/sites) can be assigned to one or more of the 20 main lists or the 'Skywarn List' (21). Each list is scanned like a traditional bank. You can put any type of object in any list with any other object. Conventional and talkgroup objects can all go in the same list. The main lists, 1-20, can be scanned with any other list but selecting the 'Skywarn List' (21) will only scan objects in the SkyWarn list and no other lists. You can put as many objects in each of these 21 lists that memory allows.

Play lists are your way of organizing your selected objects, so you should give some thought as to how you want to your scanner organized. You may wish to group your objects into play lists according to the type of use, for example, Police, Fire, Racing, etc. Or, you may wish to group objects by into play lists according to geographical area, such as separate play lists for different counties or cities, or even separate play lists for different police and fire districts inside of a given county or city. You can even do both - use one play list for the police and fire channels for an entire county, and use other play lists for the areas of interest within the county, or for special situations.

The scanner is designed to be programmed by 'play list'. Once you set the Default Play List, when you create any objects in the software or import any with the scanner, they are, by default, assigned to this list.
Also, any search/Signal Stalker frequencies stored with 'Store Channel' will be saved to the default play list.

Multi-Site Systems
Some Motorola and EDACS systems covering a very large geographic area use multiple antenna sites that each operate on different frequencies and use the same talkgroup IDs for traffic. Each site will have its own set of trunking frequencies and is monitored like a single system. All talkgroups in the system are available to every site so they don't have to be reprogrammed for each site. Each talkgroup object can be assigned to one or more play lists but only assigned to one trunking system.

Naming Play Lists

Contents

Naming Play Lists
	Scanner From the main menu, press ▼ to select Playlists then press ►. Press ▼ or ▼ to select the play list then press ► to edit. Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first character, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each character. Press SEL to save and exit. Press Menu or ◄ to return to the main menu.

Software Click the General Settings tab then scroll in the Playlist Control area to select the list number and click in the Alpha Tag field to highlight and edit.

Importing Objects

Import Using Browse Library

Import Using the Library Import Tab

Import from Text File/Clipboard

Import Using Browse Library

Contents

This is another quick way to add objects to the scanner by state and then by Agencies, Counties, and Systems. At least one site must be selected for a trunked system along with any individual talkgroup objects. If you don't know which site to select, you can select all sites, or even the entire system, and the scanner will automatically find and use the best available site.

As you browse the library and pick objects for importing, all selected objects will be imported into the play list or group of play lists that you select when you execute the import operation. These play lists are not automatically enabled for scanning. You will have to enable them with the Playlists selection in the main menu after the import operation.

For counties and independent cities, there will typically be three options to choose from: Agencies, Categories, and Systems. The association of objects with each of these groups depends a lot on how the RadioReference volunteers decide to group the information they submitted to the RadioReference database. You can look up your county in the RadioReference Data Base to see what is available and match headings in the database with the headings in the scanner (i.e. municipalities and districts, agencies, etc.).

Agencies will usually have businesses, airports, railroads, utilities, Military, recreation and attractions, retail, media, authorities, and other state-wide government or non-governmental agencies.
Categories will usually have colleges, schools, amateur radio, transportation, government and public safety agencies for municipalities and districts.
Systems will usually have state, county, or city trunked radio systems.

Picking an entire Agency, Category, or System may result in a very large number of objects being imported to the play lists. It is suggest that you drill into each grouping that you want to import to see the objects that are beneath it, and only select the entire grouping if you know that you want to monitor everything that it contains.

Checkbox codes are displayed instead of a checkbox to indicate when systems or frequencies are not compatible with the scanner. When one of these codes is shown instead of a checkbox, you cannot to select that checkbox. A “D” in place of a checkbox indicates that the object or system uses an unsupported digital modulation mode and cannot be scanned by the scanner.
An “S” in place of a checkbox indicates that the system type is not supported.
An “F” in place of a checkbox indicates that there are no sites or frequencies in the RadioReference database for the system or category.

The Default Play List is always selected. If you do not want to import your selected objects into the Default Play List, be sure to unselect it before importing. You can change the Default Play List in the Settings menu or with the iScan software.

Contents

To Import Using Browse Library, basically drill down through the menus to check items. Some menus may be empty with no selection available. Menus that have a lot of objects in them will load and import slower. You can navigate back (◄) at any time to change/add to you selections before you press Menu to import all selections.
From the main menu press ▼ or ▲ and scroll to 'Browse Library' and press SEL or ►.
At 'Select State' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the first letter of your state (or just press SEL for all) and press SEL or ►.
To select Nationwide entities scroll to (Nationwide).
Scroll to your state and press SEL or ►. At 'Data Types' scroll to 'Agencies', 'Counties/Cities', or 'Systems' and press SEL or ►.

Agencies: At 'Select Agency in State' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the agency type and press SEL or ►.
At 'Categories in Agency' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the category and press SEL or ►.
At 'Subcategories in Category' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the subcategory and press SEL or ►.
To select all frequencies in the subcategory press SEL to check the subcategory.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.
To select specific frequencies in the subcategory press ►.
At 'Frequencies in Subcategory' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the frequency and press SEL to check the frequency.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or Menu to import.

Counties~~/Cities~~: (there is no city selection) At 'Select County' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the first letter of your county and press SEL or ► (or just press SEL for all).
At 'Data Types' scroll to 'Agencies', 'Categories', or 'Systems' and press SEL or ►.

Agencies: At 'Select Agency in County' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the agency and press SEL or ►.
At 'Categories in Agency' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the category and press SEL or ►.
At 'Subcategories in Category' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the subcategory and press SEL or ►.
To select all frequencies in the subcategory press SEL to check the subcategory.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.
To select specific frequencies in the subcategory press ►.
At 'Frequencies in Subcategory' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the frequency and press SEL to check the frequency.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.

Categories: At 'Categories in County' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the category and press SEL or ►.
At 'Subcategories in Category' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the subcategory and press SEL or ►.
To select all frequencies in the subcategory press SEL to check the subcategory.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.
To select specific frequencies in the subcategory press ►.
At 'Frequencies in Subcategory' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the frequency and press SEL to check the frequency.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.

Systems: At 'Select System in County' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the system.
To select all sites, categories, and talkgroups in the system press SEL to check the system.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.
To select specific sites, categories, or talkgroups in the system press ►.
At 'System Sites and Categories' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Sites', or 'Categories'.

Sites: To select all sites in the system press SEL to check Sites.
To select specific sites in the system press ►. You must select at least one site.
At 'System Sites' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the site and press SEL to check the site.

Press ◄ to navigate back and scroll to select Categories.

Categories: To select all categories and talkgroups in the system press SEL to check Categories.
To select specific categories or talkgroups in the system press ►.
At 'Categories in System' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the category.

Talkgroups: To select all talkgroups in the category press SEL to check the category.
To select specific talkgroups in the category press ►.
At 'Talkgroups in Category' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the talkgroup and press SEL to check the talkgroup.
Press ◄ to navigate back and scroll to select another category.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.

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Systems: At 'Select System in State' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the system and press SEL or ►.
To select all sites, categories, and talkgroups in the system press SEL to check the system.
Press ◄ to navigate back and select more objects or press Menu to Import Selections.
To select specific sites, categories, or talkgroups in the system press ►.
At 'System Sites and Categories' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Sites', or 'Categories'.

Sites: To select all sites in the system press SEL to check Sites.
To select specific sites in the system press ►.
At 'System Sites' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the site and press SEL to check the site.

Press ◄ to navigate back and scroll to select Categories.

Import Selections To import selections you have made browsing the library, press Menu.
Press SEL or ► to Import Selected or scroll to Back or Main Menu.
At 'Playlists for chosen objects' press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each play list you want to import the objects into and press SEL to select the play list (don't forget the Default Play List is always selected).
Press ◄ to import or press Menu again then SEL to Import Now.
Note: Importing objects into play lists this way will not automatically enabled them for scanning.

Import Using the Library Import Tab

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This feature imports objects into the software only. You will still have to copy the configuration to the scanner.

The import option in the software is basically the same function as 'Browse Library' in the scanner.

You can also update any existing objects in the software from an older version of the database with the current database version using the Update Channels button.

To Import Using Library Import Some selections may be empty with no objects available.

Scroll and click to select a state or (Nationwide).
Select Agencies, Counties/Cities, or Systems and click the Next button.

Agencies: Scroll to and click the Agency. Note: the instructions state 'then click the Next button to continue' but the software may continue automatically.
Scroll to and click each Category. The sub category list will then be filled in below.
To select all objects in the sub category, scroll to and click the sub category checkbox.
To select specific objects in the sub category, scroll to and click the sub category Name.
Scroll to and click each Object checkbox to select objects. Use the Select All and De-select All buttons as desired.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.

Counties~~/Cities~~: Scroll to and click the County. (There are no city selections).
Select a county then Agencies, Categories, or Systems and click the Next button.

Agencies: Scroll to and click each Agency. Note: the instructions state 'then click the Next button to continue' but the software may continue automatically.
Scroll to and click each Category. The sub category list will then be filled in below.
To select all objects in the sub category, scroll to and click each sub category checkbox.
To select specific objects in the sub category, scroll to and click each sub category Name.
Scroll to and click each Object checkbox to select objects. Use the Select All and De-select All buttons as desired.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.

Categories: Scroll to and click each Category. The sub category list will then be filled in below.
To select all objects in the sub category, scroll to and click the sub category checkbox.
To select specific objects in the sub category, scroll to and click the sub category Name.
Scroll to and click each Object checkbox to select objects. Use the Select All and De-select All buttons as desired.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.

Systems: To select all sites and all talkgroups for each system, scroll to and click the system checkbox.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.
To select specific sites or specific talkgroups for each system, scroll to and click the system Name.
Click the Sites button to select sites or the Talkgroups button to select talkgroups.

Sites: Scroll to and click the Site checkbox to select sites. Use the Select All and Clear All buttons as desired.

Press the Back button then the Talkgroups button to select talkgroups.

Talkgroups: Use the Select All and Clear All buttons to add talkgroup categories as desired.
To select all talkgroups for each category, scroll to and click the talkgroup category checkbox. The talkgroup listings will then be filled in below.
To select specific talkgroups for each category, scroll to and click the sub category Name. The talkgroup listings will then be filled in below.
Scroll to and click the Talkgroup checkbox to select talkgroups.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.

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Systems: To select all sites and all talkgroups for each system, scroll to and click the system checkbox.
Press the Back button as desired to add more objects or Import Selected Channels to finish. Press the Clear All Selections button to start over.
To select specific sites or specific talkgroups for each system, scroll to and click the system Name. Click the Sites button to select sites or the Talkgroups button to select talkgroups.

Sites: Scroll to and click the Site checkbox to select sites. Use the Select All and Clear All buttons as desired.

Press the Back button then the Talkgroups button to select talkgroups.

Import from Text File/Clipboard Allows you to quickly import multiple frequencies and talkgroups from Notepad or any other file like Excel or Word. This feature imports objects into the software only. You will still have to copy the configuration to the scanner.

When the 'Import from Text File' or 'Import from Clipboard' button is pressed, the iScan software will show a listing of all channels that have been read from the file or clipboard. Across the top of the listing you will find headings for each column. The software will make an attempt to select the correct columns for the frequency, delay, attenuation, and lockout fields. All other columns will have a default heading in the form of "Column #" where # is the column number. To change the assignment for a column, click on the column heading. A pull down list will be provided that will allow you to select the data types supported by the software. Only those data types that have not been assigned to another column will be available in the list. To unassign a column, select the 'No Field' option.

When importing, all channels are imported into the default playlist and will be added to the end of the existing channels. The playlist memberships may be adjusted by selecting the channels you wish to change, and then clicking on the playlist column of one of the selected channels.

Programming Trunking Systems/Sites (Software only)

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You can't program or edit trunking systems with the scanner, only the software. There is a 32 control channel limit for a trunking site. Each talkgroup ID can be assigned to more than one play list but can only be associated with one system.

To Program/Edit Trunking Systems select the Trunked Radio Systems tab. Not all tabs are visible by default. See Advanced Menu.

Trunking System Options...

New (button)	Duplicate (button)	Type	Att	Voice
Delete (button)	Alpha Tag	L/O	ABst	AGC

Site Details Tab...

New (button)

L/O

Site Frequencies Tab

Site Options Tab (P25, Motorola)

Site Options Tab (EDACS, LTR)

Delete (button)

Att

Frequency

Trunking Tables

Control Channel Type (EDACS)

Alpha Tag

Multi-Site Settings (Motorola, EDACS only)

L/O

Type I/IIi Fleetmaps (Motorola)

Narrow Signal Type (EDACS)

Data Decode Thresholds

Mode

Digital AGC

Automatically adjust home repeaters (LTR)

Trunking System Options...

New (System) (button) Allows you to create a new (default) trunked system.

Delete (System) (button) Will delete the selected trunked system(s), sites, and all talkgroups.

Duplicate (System) (button) Will create a copy of all settings, sites, talkgroups, and radio IDs of the selected system.

Alpha Tag (System) Will allow you to name the system with up to 16 characters.

Click to select the System then click to highlight the name and edit.

Type Allows you to select the system type, Motorola, EDACS, LTR, or Project25.
Note for Motorola/Project25 systems: If you are not sure if the system is Motorola or Project25, look at the system voice in the RR database for your system. Those entries that say System Voice: Analog and APCO-25 Common Air Interface are not true Project 25 systems as they have one or more analog talkgroups. Program these systems as a Motorola system and let the scanner detect the digital. If the System Voice says System Voice: APCO-25 Common Air Interface Exclusive then the system is a true Project 25 system and program it as a Project25 system.

Click to select the System then click Type to select from the drop-down menu.

L/O (System) Allows you to lockout the system so it won't be scanned. Default is Off.

Click to select the System then click the L/O checkbox.

Att (System) Allows you to attenuate all sites or specific sites in the system (20 dB?). Useful in areas where interference from nearby strong signals is present. Default is Off. See also Site Attenuation.
Note: Global Attenuation Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Click to select the System then click Att to select from the drop-down menu.
Off - no sites are attenuated.
Global - all sites are attenuated.
Per Site - uses site attenuation setting.

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ABst (Audioboost) (System) Boosts the audio slightly (6 dB?) for the system. Default is Off. See also Object ABst.

Click to select the System then click the ABst checkbox.

Voice Allows you to set the type of audio used on the trunked system. 'Project25' systems are automatically set to Digital. 'LTR' and 'EDACS' systems are automatically set to Analog and shown with N/A. 'Motorola' systems may be set to Digital, Analog, or Mixed. When a Motorola system is set to Mixed, there may be a short delay because the scanner first has to determine if the voice is analog or digital. So, if you are sure the system is Project25, set it to Digital, if you are sure it's analog only, set it to Analog to avoid this delay.

Click to select the Motorola System then click Voice to select from the drop-down menu. Default is Mixed.

AGC (System) AGC instantly compensates for low user audio levels that are common on digital systems. If you program a channel as NFM (narrow FM) that is transmitting in FM mode, the audio will sound too loud. Similarly, if you program a channel as FM that is transmitting in NFM mode, the audio will sound too quiet. Incorrectly matching the modulation setting to the actual modulation used is the biggest reason for unbalanced audio between channels. Default is Off. See also Site AGC and (digital) Object AGC.
Note: Global AGC Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Click to select the System then click AGC to select from the drop-down menu.
Off - AGC off for all sites.
On - AGC on for all sites.
Per Site - use site AGC settings.

Site Details Tab...

New (Site) (button) Allows you to create a new site for the trunked system.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab and click the New button.

Delete (Site) (button) Will delete the site and all talkgroups.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab and click the Delete button.

Alpha Tag (Site) Will allow you to name the site with up to 16 characters.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, and click to highlight the name and edit.

L/O (Site) Allows you to lockout the site so it won't be scanned. Default is Off.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, and click the L/O checkbox.

Att (Site) Allows you to attenuate the site. See also System Attenuation.
Note: Global Attenuation Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, and click the Att checkbox.

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Data Decode Thresholds Used with multi-site systems. Sets how the scanner follows the control channels you have programmed into multiple sites. While (you are) moving, the scanner will attempt to lock on the best control channel it can find. The scanner will always attempt to lock on to control channels where the decoding quality is greater than 'Threshold Hi', and will search for new control channels when the decoding quality of a control channel drops below 'Threshold Lo'. If no control channels are available that meet the Threshold Hi criteria, the scanner will seek the best control channel to use, and continue checking periodically for a new control channel that meets the Threshold Hi criteria. See also Optimizing Scanning Parameters.

Threshold Lo Sets the control channel decode % threshold for a site to be considered out of range, which will begin the process of looking for a new site (control channel). Default is 75.
Threshold Hi Sets the control channel decode % threshold for a site to be considered good when looking for a new site (control channel). Default is 95.
Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, then the up/down arrows to select. Use the Apply to all Sites button as desired.

Frequency (Site Frequencies) For Motorola systems you only need to enter the control channel frequencies. Note: EDACSs frequencies also have to be entered in LCN order. See Finding EDACS LCN Order.
See also Flexstep setting for step size defaults.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Frequencies tab, then click to highlight the frequency and edit.

L/O (Site Frequencies) Allows you to lockout a trunking frequency.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Frequencies tab, then click to highlight the frequency and click the L/O checkbox. Use the Clear L/O button to unlock all frequencies.

Mode (Site Frequencies) Allows you to set the receive mode for all trunking frequencies in the site.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Frequencies tab, then click drop-down next to Mode to select FM or NFM.
Use the Apply Mode to all Sites button as desired.

Trunking Tables (Site Options) (P25/Motorola only) Allows you to select the default trunking table or to customize the tables for each type of system. Trunking tables are required so the scanner can correctly determine the voice channel frequencies. Trunking table information can usually be found in the Radio Reference Database.
For P25 Systems and Mixed (P25 and Motorola) Systems there are two types of systems: Explicit mode and Implicit mode channel assignment. Explicit mode systems include all information needed to determine voice frequencies on the control channel. For Explicit mode systems (most P25 systems), use the Auto-fill option. The system will automatically detect the band plan and populate the table for the system. You must supply the system's band plan for Implicit systems for the scanner using the Custom option to correctly determine voice frequencies. The Standard option will force the scanner to use the standard 700 and 800 MHz tables that are present on many systems.
For Motorola Analog Systems use the Default option for 800 MHz and 900 MHz Motorola trunked systems.
For Motorola Splinter Systems use the Splinter option typically used in areas near the US/Mexico border (analog 800Mhz systems with frequencies between 866-869 MHz [or rebanded 851-854 MHz] ending with 0 instead of 5 e.g. 852.1250, not 852.1375).
For Motorola Rebanded Systems you must select Custom and create a custom band plan. For Motorola 800 MHz rebanded table entries see this post.
For Motorola VHF and UHF Systems you must select Custom and create a custom band plan. You must program the applicable lo channel, hi channel, offset, base frequency, and step for the system. I have found an explanation at the Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page that describes how to find some of this information. Look for 'Determining Base and Offset Frequencies for the BC245xlt' by John C. See also this post for UHF systems. Radio Reference.com also has an explanation. Inquire at Radio Reference.com Forums to find more information about specific systems.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Options tab, then click drop-down next to Type to select.
For custom tables select Custom then click the Edit button. Click to select and highlight each field to edit and click the OK button. Repeat for each table as needed.
Use the Apply to all Sites button as desired.

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Type I/IIi Fleetmaps (Site Options) (Motorola only) Motorola Type I and Type IIi systems require you to program a fleet map. This allows you to receive the talkgroup IDs correctly. Trunking table information can usually be found in the Radio Reference Database. If you don’t know which fleet map to use, you can try a method I found at Radio Reference.com., Determining Type I Motorola Fleet Maps by Dave Goodson. If you know the fleet map by name, E1P1, E1P2, etc., I have listed 16 pre-set fleet maps so you can see the size codes.

Note: If you select size code S-12, S-13, or S-14, these restrictions apply:
S-12 can only be assigned to blocks 0, 2, 4 or 6.
S-13 can only be assigned to blocks 0 and 4.
S-14 can only be assigned to block 0.
Since these size codes require multiple blocks, you will be prompted for the next available block. For example, if you assign Block 0 as S-12, the scanner prompts you for block 2, the next block available, instead of block 1. If you assign Block 0 as S-14, you would not see another prompt because S-14 uses all available blocks.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Options tab, then click drop-down next to Presets to select.
For custom fleetmaps select Custom then click the Edit button. Click the drop-down next to each block to edit and click the OK button. Repeat for each block as needed.
Use the Apply to all Sites button as desired.

Digital AGC (Site Options) (P25/Motorola only) Allows you to set AGC for the digital site. If you program a channel as NFM (narrow FM) that is transmitting in FM mode, the audio will sound too loud. Similarly, if you program a channel as FM that is transmitting in NFM mode, the audio will sound too quiet. Incorrectly matching the modulation setting to the actual modulation used is the biggest reason for unbalanced audio between channels.
See also System AGC and (digital) Object AGC.
Notes: Global AGC Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Options tab, then click drop-down next to Digital AGC to select from the menu.
Off - AGC off for all talkgroups.
On - AGC on for all talkgroups.
Per Talkgroup (ID) - use talkgroup AGC settings.

Control Channel Type (Site Options) (EDACS only) Selects the type of EDACS site.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Options tab, then click drop-down next to Control Channel Type to select from the menu.
EDACS Standard (Wide) is the normal EDACS system on 800 MHz and some UHF systems.
EDACS Narrow is used on some UHF systems and most 900 MHz systems.

Narrow Signal Type this setting inverts the incoming decoded control channel data. Some EDACS Narrow systems may require this setting in order to operate.

Automatically adjust home repeaters (Site Options) (LTR only) LTR systems require the frequencies be placed in Logical Channel Number order or LCN order. This option enables the scanner to automatically move the frequency to the correct home repeater location using information transmitted on the active frequency.

Click to select the System then click the Site Details tab, click the Site to select, click the Site Options tab, then click drop-down next to Automatically adjust home repeaters to select On.

Program/Edit Frequencies and Talkgroup IDs

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You can edit most (not all) settings for objects imported from 'Browse Library' and 'Library Import' with the object menu in the scanner but you will need the software for the rest of the settings and to program new objects and trunking systems. All the settings for objects can be edited with the Conventional Frequencies tab and Talkgroup Details or Radio ID Details tab. The Playlists tab allows you organize play lists and view/edit some of the properties of those objects by play list and is an easy way to add single objects to each list.

To Edit Objects in the Scanner, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Browse Objects' then press SEL or ►.
Use ◄ or ► to select the play list where the object is located. Press ▼ or ▲ to locate the object in the list.
Press MENU to enter the menu for the object.

You can also press Menu when the object is in the display in scan receive/pause modes.
You may also see:
    Store wildcard ID when Menu is pressed in receive mode if a Wildcard ID is found in a trunked system.
    Store sq code- when Menu is pressed in receive mode if a CTCSS/DCS/NAC tone/code is found in tone/code search mode for a conventional object.
    Store Nac code- when Menu is pressed while receiving digital conventional channels.

Use ▼ or ▲ to select each option below.
To save your changes press Menu then SEL to bring you back to the main menu.
You can also scroll back up to Save Changes and press SEL or ► to bring you back to the last menu.

Scanner Object Menu...

Alpha Tag

Skipped

Attenuate (conv only)

Light

Off Time

Set Playlists

Priority

AGC

Flash Pattern

Delete Object

Lock Out

Delay

Alarm

On Time

To Program/Edit Conventional Objects select the Conventional Frequencies tab.
To Program/Edit Talkgroup Objects select the Trunked Radio Systems tab, click the system to highlight, then click the Talkgroup Details tab or Radio ID Details tab.
Not all tabs are visible by default. See Advanced Menu.
To Organize Play Lists select the Playlists tab.
To Select Multiple Objects for Settings use the shift-click or ctrl-click selection methods.

Conventional Frequencies Tab...

New (button)

Frequency

Pri

Bklt

Alert

Duplicate (button)

Mode

Att

Backlight Mode

DMode (Motorola/P25 only)

Delete (button)

Squelch

ABst

Flash Pattern

AGC

Clear Skipped (button)

L/O

Dly

On Time, Off Time

Playlists

Alpha Tag

Skip

(Delay) Time

Import from Text File/Clipboard

Trunked Radio Systems Tab - Talkgroup Details, Radio ID Details...

New (button)

Alpha Tag

Bklt

Dly

AGC

Delete (button)

L/O

Backlight Mode

(Delay) Time

Playlists

Add Wildcard (button)

Skip

Flash Pattern

Alert

Import from Text File/Clipboard

Clear Skipped (button)

Pri

On Time, Off Time

DMode

Show Unassigned Talkgroups

Compress (button)

ABst

Playlists Tab...

Playlist

Delete Channel (button)

L/O

Bklt

Dly

Enabled

Clear Skipped (button)

Skip

Backlight Mode

Alert

New Channel (button)

Alpha Tag

Pri

Flash Pattern

Playlists

Remove Channel (button)

On Time, Off Time

New (Object) (button) Allows you create a new conventional or talkgroup object with the default settings in the Default Play List. Talkgroup IDs must be entered in the selected ID Format.

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New Channel (button) Used to create new objects in the Playlists tab only.

Click anywhere on an object line to select where to insert the object then use the wizard to create an object. Talkgroup IDs must be entered in the selected ID Format.

Duplicate (Object) (button) (conventional only) Allows you to duplicate a conventional object in the same play list.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Duplicate button to the right.

Delete (Object) (button)/Delete Object This will delete the conventional object from all play lists or delete a talkgroup ID from the system.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to delete.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Delete button.

Add Wildcard (button) Allows you to add a wildcard ID that will receive all talkgroups (Talkgroup Details tab) or a wildcard ID that will receive all private IDs (Radio ID Details tab).

Click the button to create the wildcard. Scroll to select and click the play list(s) you want the wildcard ID assigned to and click the Set button. Note: If a wildcard already exists the button will be grayed out.

Clear Skipped (button) Will clear all skipped objects.

Compress (button) This option will remove unused space in the data files for the currently selected system. The recovered space depends on the number of ID objects that have been deleted from that data file.

Alpha Tag Allows you to edit the tag for an object with up to 16 characters.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first character, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each character.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Alpha Tag field to edit and press enter to save.

Frequency (conventional only) (software only) Allows you to edit the frequency of a conventional object.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Frequency field to edit and press enter to save.

Mode (conventional only) (software only) Allows you to set the receive mode for a conventional object. Default is Auto.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Mode field to toggle Auto, FM, NFM, or AM.

Squelch (conventional only) (software only) Allows you to set the squelch mode for a conventional object. Default is Search.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Squelch field.
Select the Squelch Mode or Search for any mode with the drop-down arrow.
If CTCSS, DCS, or NAC is chosen, click the Search for value box for any tone/code or select the Squelch Value from the drop-down and click Done.
To lockout a value check Exclude this value.

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L/O/Locked Out Used for objects you will never want to scan (like encrypted talkgroups). The only way to unlock an object is in the object's menu (or software). Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the L/O box.

Skip/Skipped Used for objects you want to temporarily lockout and unlock with Restore (all) Skipped in the main menu or Clear Skipped in the software. Default is Off.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Skip box.

Pri/Priority Sets the object for priority. Priority Mode must also be checked in the main menu. Default is Off. See also Priority Time and Priority Scanning.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Pri box.

Att/Attenuate (conventional only) Attenuates the conventional object (20db?).
Note: Global Attenuation Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Att box.

ABst (Audioboost) (software only) Boosts the audio slightly (6 dB?) for the object. Default is Off. See also System ABst.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the ABst box.

Dly/Delay Turns the delay on for the object according to the Delay Time. Default is On.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Dly box.

(Delay) Time (software only) Sets the time for the object to pause after a transmission before continuing to scan. Default is 2 seconds.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Time field. Drag the slider to select the time. Tip: Use the left/right arrow buttons on your keyboard for better precision.

Backlight Mode/Light Sets backlight behavior when the object becomes active. Default is Leave.

Leave - uses the LMode backlight setting.
On - turns the backlight on when the object is active and Alerts is set to Both or Visual and LMode is set to Norml, Key Press/Key, or Ignor.
Flash - flashes the backlight according to the Flash Pattern setting when the object is active and Alerts is set to Both or Visual and LMode is set to Norml, Key Press/Key, or Ignor.
LMode has to be set to Norml, Key Press/Key, or Ignre for the backlight to come on only during a transmission.
Scanner Press ◄ or ► to select Leave, On, or Flash.
Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Bklt field to select.
Click the drop-down arrow at Backlight Mode to select Leave, On, or Flash.

Flash Pattern Sets the flash pattern for the backlight when Light is set to Flash and Alerts is set to Both or Visual and LMode is set to On, Norml, Key/Key Press, or Ignor.
For more information see Flash Programming.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. The flash pattern is set for each block by specifying the number or letter associated with the desired flash pattern. Enter a sequence of 8 numbers and/or letters, 0-9 and A-F. Default pattern is 55555555.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first number/letter of the pattern code, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for the next numbers/letters.
Press SEL to save and exit.
Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Bklt field to select.
Use the drop-down arrow to set Backlight Mode to Flash.
Enter the On Time and Off Time then check/uncheck the 32 boxes to select a pattern. Each step in the 32 step flash pattern defines whether the backlight is on or off for the durations specified in the On Time and Off Time settings. You can also Load Presets that are included in the software or Save Presets with the buttons.

Contents

On Time Sets the time the backlight is on in the Flash Pattern when Light is set to Flash.
Off Time Sets the time the backlight is off in the Flash Pattern when Light is set to Flash.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the time, 1-100 (.01-1 seconds). Default is 50 (.5 second).
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first number, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each number.
Press SEL to save and exit.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Bklt field to select.
Use the drop-down arrow to set Backlight Mode to Flash.
Enter the on time, 10-2500 (.01-2.5 seconds). Default is 500 (.5 second).

Alert/Alarm Sets an audible alarm that is heard when the object becomes active. Default is Off. Note: Sounds must be On and Alerts must also be set to Audio or Both (in the Settings menu).

Scanner Press ◄ or ► to preview and select the alarm.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Alert field repeatedly to select.

DMode (Motorola/P25 only) (software only) Sets the digital mode for the object. Default is Auto.

Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the DMode field to toggle Auto, Analog, or Digital. See also Voice in Trunking System Options.

Note: P25 systems allow Digital only.

AGC Useful to compensate for low or high audio levels on digital objects. Default is On. See also Site AGC and System AGC.
Note: Global AGC Mode must be set to Normal for this setting to apply.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to check On, or uncheck Off.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the AGC box.

Playlists/Set Playlists Allows you to assign the object to one or more play lists. Default is 1.

Scanner Press SEL or ► to edit.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the list then press SEL to check On, or uncheck Off.
Press ◄ to save and exit.

Software Click anywhere on the object line to highlight then click the Playlists field.
Scroll to select and click the box next to one or more list(s) then press SET to assign.

Show Unassigned Talkgroups If checked will also show IDs that are not assigned to play lists.

Trunked Radio Systems tab > Talkgroup Details tab.

Playlist Allow you to select a play list to edit.

Click the drop-down arrow and select a list.

Enabled Allow you to enable play lists for scanning

Click the drop-down arrow and select Yes for enabled or No for disabled.

Remove Channel (button) (Playlists tab) This will remove the object from the play list. It will not delete the object as it may still be a member of another play list.
Talkgroup ID objects that have been removed from play lists will still be shown in the Talkgroup/Radio ID Details tabs with no play list assigned when Show Unassigned Talkgroups is checked.

Click to select the object then click the Remove Channel button.

Delete Channel (button) (Playlists tab) This will remove the object from all play lists and trunking systems.

Click to select the object then click the Remove Channel button.

Copy Programming To/From Scanner

Turn off the scanner and plug in the USB cable to the scanner and a USB port on your computer running the software.
Open the iScan software and click on the 'Scanner/SD Card' menu then 'Copy Configuration To Scanner Memory/SD Card' or 'Copy Configuration From Scanner Memory/SD Card'.
Note: When copying, the dialog boxes will be the same for copying to the scanner or copying to the iScan software.
Read the warning that states all coping will replace existing data and click Yes to continue.
Make sure the software has detected the correct drive, (or select the correct one with the drop-down arrow) and click the 'Continue' button.
Click 'OK' when done then unplug the scanner and turn it on.

Scanning

Contents

To Start Scanning, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Scan' and press SEL or ►.
The display will show a scrolling arrow and the play list(s) names and will scroll the names if more than five play lists are enabled.
Pressing ◄ in Scan mode will take you to the last object received in the Browse Objects menu.

Turning Play Lists On/Off

To enable/disable a play list, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Playlists' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each play list and press SEL to enable (checked) or disable (unchecked). Press ◄ to save and exit.

To Use the Skywarn List press

to enter weather scan then

again to scan the list. SkyWarn will appear in the display.

Skipping Objects

To skip an object press the Skip button. This is not like a 'temporary lockout' that will restore all skipped objects when the scanner is power cycled.
Skip is basically the same as lockout but allows you to 'unskip' all objects with 'Restore Skipped' (below).

Restore Skipped Objects

To restore all skipped objects, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Restore Skipped' and press SEL or ►.

Storing CTCSS/DCS/NAC Tones/Codes

To store an ID found with a Wildcard ID press Menu when the object is displayed. Scroll to 'Store Wildcard' and press SEL. The ID will be assigned to the current play list (at the end of the list using 'Browse Objects').
To store a CTCSS/DCS/NAC tone/code (if enabled) press Menu when the object is displayed. Scroll to 'Store sq code' and press SEL.

Using Pause

Pause (

) will pause any scan or search and monitor that object. You will also see

in the display. Press

again to resume.
PAUSE pauses the scanner but keeps the scanner in scan mode.
If you press

while viewing a Wildcard ID, the scanner will monitor only the talkgroup the scanner is paused on.

Monitoring Objects

To monitor an object, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Browse Objects' and press SEL or ►.
Pressing ◄ or ► will scroll through the play lists. Pressing ▼ or ▲ will scroll through objects in each play list.
When you have found the object press SEL.
To monitor the last object received press ◄ in Scan mode then press SEL to monitor. If that object is in multiple lists, the scanner displays the lowest number play list that the object is in.
Press SEL again to continue scanning.
If you monitor a Wildcard ID, the scanner will monitor all active IDs in that system.

Using the Attenuator

The attenuator reduces the amount of signal at the receiver input (20 dB?) and may help reduce interference from strong nearby transmitters. There are two attenuation modes, Normal and Global.
Normal attenuation uses the attenuation settings for each object/system/site/search.
Global attenuation forces attenuation for all objects/systems/sites/searches on or off.

To Attenuate a Conventional Object press Menu anytime a conventional object is in the display. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Attenuate' and press SEL or ►. Press ◄ to return to scanning.
To Attenuate any Search press Menu in any search mode. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Attenuate' and press SEL or ►. Press ◄ to return to searching.

To Toggle Global Attenuation Mode Off press ATT in Scan or Search modes (no G or A in the display).
To Toggle Global Attenuation On press ATT in Scan or Search modes (GA in the display).
To Toggle Global Attenuation Off press ATT in Scan or Search modes (G in the display).

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Priority Scanning

Conventional Priority Scanning will give priority to conventional objects that have their priority mode set to 'On'. The scanner will sample the conventional objects for activity periodically while scanning and monitoring other objects. This sampling will cause a brief muting of received audio when it occurs while another object is active. The more conventional objects that are set for priority, the longer this audio muting will be, since it takes a certain amount of time to sample each priority conventional object for activity.

Talk Group Priority Scanning will give priority to IDs that have their priority mode set to 'On'. On some trunked systems (e.g. Mot 3600 if the system is programmed for it, and LTR for some talkgroups), it will look at low-speed data on the voice frequency checking for any priority Talk Group information.
It will not check for IDs when receiving any other talkgroup.
It will not check for IDs when scanning conventional objects.
Priority does work for Radio IDs associated with 'Private' IDs.
Priority does not work for Radio IDs associated with 'Group' IDs, the scanner will only check the 'Group' IDs.

To Turn Priority Scanning On from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Settings' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Priority Mode' and press SEL or ► to enable (checked) or disable (unchecked).
All objects with their priority mode set to 'On' are given equal priority status. No object has higher priority over any another.

Setting the Priority Interval allows you to set how often your scanner will check for priority channels.
From the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Settings' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Priority Time' and press SEL or ► to edit. Enter the amount of time, 1 - 25 (seconds).
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the second digit.

Optimizing Scanning Parameters

Contents

Move your scanner/antenna to a different location. Sometimes just 12" helps. Digital is especially fussy.
Get a better antenna. The stock rubber duck is just average quality.

Conventional Scanning

Setting the squelch properly is the easiest and quickest way to receive channels better.

Analog/Digital Trunking

The one thing that frustrated me most with the default settings is the constant blinking of an ID in the display while the scanner was trying to lock on to it.
Here's what I did.

Move your scanner/antenna to a different location. Sometimes just turning it helps. You want that

in the upper left of the display to stay there as much as possible.
For Motorola systems/sites, only enter the known control channels/alternate control channels to speed up scanning. You don't need to program the voice channels.
There also are articles on Simulcast Digital Distortion and Object Oriented Scanners Overload Issues at Radio Reference.

Turning the squelch down a little will help pull in fringe sites especially for P25 decoding. It will scan multiple sites slower but gives the scanner time to lock onto the control channels.
Turning the squelch up a little will find the stronger sites faster and therefore move to the next site/system quicker.

For Multi-site systems, program each site into its own play list first to see how well the site receives in different locations or conditions. This way you can see which sites are receivable by monitoring one play list at a time and looking for that little in the upper left of the display.

If you are having trouble with garbled digital transmissions, try turning AGC on or off for the system or conventional frequency (Global AGC would be an easy way to check this).

My personal experience has given me the best results by programming each site as one system and putting it in its own play list. I don't like putting all the sites for a Multi-site system into one system because it only monitors the 1 strongest control channel (site) which defeats the whole 'multi-site' concept IMHO. Yes, there may be different traffic on other receivable control channels you have in the system that aren't being monitored. You can still assign all those separate sites in the system to one play list to isolate the system if you prefer. This method will monitor all your control channels.

I would only program all sites into one system if there was only one control channel available at a time to monitor. This may be the case if you are located on the fringe of several weak sites. Set Threshold Hi to around 85 and Threshold Lo to about 55 for a wider threshold range than the default 95 Hi and 75 Lo. You don't need 95% signal quality to lock on to a system. This will monitor the strongest control channel and look for another only when the signal strength falls below the 'Threshold Lo' setting.

These are just my suggestions. You will have to experiment with different ways to find what works best for you. Factors like how busy the multi-site system is, how much traffic you want to listen to on that system, if you are stationary or mobile, and how many other systems you want to listen to will determine the best way for you to setup each multi-site system.

Searching

Public Safety, Air, or Ham Search	Marine, CB, Rail, or FRS/GRMS/MURS Search	Limit Search	Zeromatic Tuning
Public Safety, Air, and Ham Search Group Charts	Marine, CB, Rail, and FRS/GRMS/MURS Search Channels	Signal Stalker Search	Unlocking Search Frequencies
			See also Search Record and Search AGC

Public Safety, Air, or Ham Search

Contents

The scanner's Service search allows you to search commonly used public safety frequencies, civilian and military air frequencies, and amateur radio frequencies. Zeromatic tuning is a feature that enhances the scanner's ability to lock on to the actual center frequency of a search hit instead of an adjacent frequency. See also Flexstep setting for step size defaults.

To Start a Public Safety, Air, or Ham Search from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Search' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Service Search' and press SEL or ►. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Public Safety', 'Aircraft' or 'Amateur' and press SEL or ►.
To Change direction or resume searching press ◄ or ►.
To Pause on a frequency press

. To resume press

again.
To Store a frequency (to the Default Play List) press Menu when the frequency is displayed. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Store Channel'.
To Lockout a frequency press Skip.
To Unlock a frequency see Unlocking Search Frequencies.
To Select Groups, toggle Attenuation, Zeromatic Tuning, Rx Mode (Air/Amateur only), or Delay press Menu.

	Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll each option and press SEL or ► to enable (check) or disable (uncheck). Press ◄ to resume.
To Exit searching press Menu twice.

Public Safety, Air, and Ham Search Group Charts

Public Safety Groups
Band	Frequencies	Step (kHz)	Mode (fixed)
Public Safety	30.860,30.090-31.980 33.020-33.100,33.420-33.980 35.020,35.640-35.680 37.020-37.420,37.900-37.980 39.020-39.980,42.020-42.940 43.640-43.680,44.620-46.580 47.020-47.660	10	FM
Public Safety	150.775,150.7875,150.800,150.805 150.995,151.0025,151.010-151.4975 152.0075,153.740-154.4525 154.650-156.045,156.050 156.0525-156.1725,156.175 156.180-156.240,157.450 158.7225-159.4725,163.250 166.250,170.150,170.425 170.475,170.575,171.425 171.475,171.575,172.225 172.275,172.375,173.075	7.5	FM
Public Safety	173.2375-173.3625	12.5	FM
Public Safety	453.0125-453.99375,458.0125-458.99375 460.0125-460.6375,460.64375 462.9375-463.19375 465.0125-465.64375 467.9375-468.19375	6.25	FM
Trunked Public Safety	764-781.996875,791-796.996875	3.125	FM
Trunked Public Safety	851.0125-860.9875,866.0125-868.9875	12.5	FM

Aircraft Groups
Band	Frequencies	Step (kHz)	Mode (fixed)
Navigation	108-117.991666	8.33	AM
Civilian Air	118-136.991666	8.33	AM
Military, Government	138-143.9875 148-150.7875	12.5	AM FM
Commercial/Military Air	225-380	25	AM
Military Trunked	380-400	12.5	FM
Amateur Groups
Band	Frequencies	Step (kHz)	Mode (fixed)
10m	28-29.700	5	AM
6m	50-54	5	FM
2m	144-148	5	FM
1.25m	222-225	5	FM
70cm	420-450	5	FM
33cm	902-928	12.5	FM
23cm	1240-1300	6.25	FM

Marine, CB, Rail, or FRS/GRMS/MURS Search

Contents

The CB, Marine, and FRS/GMRS/MURS bands are actually frequencies pre-programmed into special channels. You are not searching from a lower frequency to a higher frequency.
There are 40 CB channels, 60 Marine channels, 96 Rail channels, and 34 FRS/GMRS/MURS channels.

To Start a Marine, CB, Rail, or FRS/GRMS/MURS Search from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Search' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Service Search' and press SEL or ►. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Marine', 'CB', 'Rail', or 'FRS/GMRS/MURS' and press SEL or ►.
To Change direction or resume searching press ◄ or ►.
To Pause on a channel press

. To resume press

again.
To Store a channel (to the Default Play List) press Menu when the channel is displayed.
To Lockout a channel press Skip.
To Unlock a channel press Menu. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to the channel and press SEL or ► to unlock (unchecked).
To Toggle Attenuation, Delay, or Channel L/O press Menu.

	Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll each option and press SEL or ► to enable (check) or disable (uncheck). Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each selection and press SEL or ► to enable (checked) or disable (unchecked). Press ◄ to resume.
To Exit searching press Menu twice.

Marine, CB, Rail, and FRS/GRMS/MURS Search Channel Charts

Marine band Receive mode: FM
Ch.	Frequency	Ch.	Frequency	Ch.	Frequency	Ch.	Frequency
1	156.050	19	156.950	28	162.000	78	156.925
5	156.250	20	157.000	63	156.175	79	156.975
6	156.300	20	161.600	64	156.225	80	157.025
7	156.350	21	157.050	64	160.825	81	157.075
8	156.400	22	157.100	65	156.275	82	157.125
9	156.450	23	157.150	66	156.325	83	157.175
10	156.500	24	157.200	67	156.375	84	157.225
11	156.550	24	161.800	68	156.425	84	161.825
12	156.600	25	157.250	69	156.475	85	157.275
13	156.650	25	161.850	70	156.525	85	161.875
14	156.700	26	157.300	71	156.575	86	157.325
15	156.750	26	161.900	72	156.625	86	161.925
16	156.800	27	157.350	73	156.675	87	157.375
17	156.850	27	161.950	74	156.725	87	161.975
18	156.900	28	157.400	77	156.875	88	157.425

Railroad Receive mode: FM
Channels	Frequency	Step (kHz)
2-4	159.810,159.930,160.050
5-97	160.185-161.565	15

CB band Receive mode: AM
Ch.	Frequency	Ch.	Frequency
1	26.965	21	27.215
2	26.975	22	27.225
3	26.985	23	27.255
4	27.005	24	27.235
5	27.015	25	27.245
6	27.025	26	27.265
7	27.035	27	27.275
8	27.055	28	27.285
9	27.065	29	27.295
10	27.075	30	27.305
11	27.085	31	27.315
12	27.105	32	27.325
13	27.115	33	27.335
14	27.125	34	27.345
15	27.135	35	27.355
16	27.155	36	27.365
17	27.165	37	27.375
18	27.175	38	27.385
19	27.185	39	27.395
20	27.205	40	27.405

FRS/GMRS/MURS Receive mode: FM
Ch.	Frequency	Ch.	Frequency
1	462.5625	18	462.625
2	462.5875	19	462.650
3	462.6125	20	462.675
4	462.6375	21	462.700
5	462.6625	22	462.725
6	462.6875	23	151.820
7	462.7125	24	151.880
8	467.5625	25	151.940
9	467.5875	26	154.570
10	467.6125	27	154.600
11	467.6375	28	151.625
12	467.6625	29	464.500
13	467.6875	30	464.550
14	467.7125	31	467.850
15	462.550	32	467.875
16	462.575	33	467.900
17	462.600	34	467.925

Limit Search

Contents

The scanner's Limit search allows you to program and search a range of upper and lower frequencies. See also Flexstep setting for step size defaults.

To Start a Limit Search from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Search' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Limit Search' and press SEL or ►.
To Change the lower and upper frequencies press Menu. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Lo:' and press SEL or ► to edit.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first digit, then ► to move the cursor and select the next digit and repeat to set. Press SEL to save and exit.
Press ▼ to scroll to 'Hi:' and repeat to edit. Press SEL to save and exit.
To Change direction or resume searching press ◄ or ►.
To Pause on a frequency press

. To resume press

again.
To Store a frequency (to the Default Play List) press Menu when the frequency is displayed. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Store Channel'.
To Lockout a frequency press Skip.
To Unlock a frequency see Unlocking Search Frequencies.
To Toggle Attenuation, Zeromatic Tuning, or Delay press Menu.

	Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll each option and press SEL or ► to enable (check) or disable (uncheck). Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each selection and press SEL or ► to enable (checked) or disable (unchecked). Press ◄ to resume.
To Exit searching press Menu twice.

Signal Stalker Search

Contents

Your scanner's Signal Stalker feature provides a powerful new tool for you to rapidly detect, monitor, and store frequencies from nearby radio transmissions. You can scan all of the bands the scanner receives or just public safety bands. Signal Stalker is more sensitive than portable frequency counters and will detect transmissions at a greater distance. Signal Stalker functions by rapidly searching through the RF spectrum in 1 MHz segments. If RF signal energy is detected in a 1 MHz segment, the scanner will search through the 1MHz segment in finer steps until the source of the signal is found. Signal Stalker allows you to search the entire range of your scanner's design frequencies, or you can specify just those frequency ranges that you wish to search. See also Flexstep setting for step size defaults.

Special Signal Stalker
If a 1 MHz sweep indicates that activity is present, Special Signal Stalker searches the whole 1 MHz range to find the source.
If you lockout 5 frequencies within a 1 MHz segment, the scanner will skip that entire segment in subsequent searches.

To Start a Signal Stalker Search from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Search' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Spectrum Sweepr' and press SEL or ►. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'All Bands', or 'Public Safety' and press SEL or ►.
To Change direction or resume searching press ◄ or ►.
To Pause on a frequency press

. To resume press

again.
To Store a frequency (to the Default Play List) press Menu when the frequency is displayed. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Store Channel'.
To Lockout a frequency press Skip.
To Unlock a frequency see Unlocking Search Frequencies.
To Select Bands, toggle Special Mode, Attenuation, Zeromatic Tuning, or Delay press Menu.

	Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll each option and press SEL or ► to enable (check) or disable (uncheck). Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each selection and press SEL or ► to enable (checked) or disable (unchecked). Press ◄ to resume.
To Exit searching press Menu twice.

All Stalker Bands
Band	Frequencies	Mode
CB, 10m/6m Ham	25-54	Auto
VHF Air	108-137	Auto
2m Ham, PS, Rail	137-174	Auto
Commercial Air,1.25m Amateur	216-300	Auto
Military Air	300-406	Auto
70cm Ham, PS	406-470	Auto
UHF TV	470-512	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	764-782	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	791-797	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	806-869	Auto
33/23cm Ham	894-960,1240-1300	Auto

Public Safety Bands
Band	Frequencies	Mode
Public Safety	33.400-46.500	Auto
Public Safety	151-170	Auto
Public Safety	453-467	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	764-782	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	791-797	Auto
Trunked Public Safety	806-869	Auto

Zeromatic Tuning

Zeromatic tuning is a feature that enhances the scanner's ability to lock on to the actual center frequency of a search hit instead of an adjacent frequency.
This option is available for all Limit, Service, and Stalker search objects and dedicated searches except CB, Marine, and F/G/MURS.
To Toggle Zeromatic Tuning, from each search menu use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Zeromatic' and press SEL or ► to enable (check) or disable (uncheck).

Unlocking Search Frequencies

To Unlock a frequency, from the main menu press ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Search' and press SEL or ►.
Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Lockouts' and press SEL or ►. Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to each frequency and press SEL or ► to check.
Press ◄ to save and exit.

Weather Settings

Contents

You can monitor NOAA weather radio broadcasts, you can use the weather priority feature while scanning to alert you to severe weather broadcasts as they occur, or you can use the SAME alert mode where the scanner monitors specific geographic area(s) and/or weather events.

Weather Radio
Weather radio mode allows you to receive weather broadcasts from your local weather service.

To Hear your local weather channel press . If it is a weak signal press ◄ or ► to find a stronger channel number.
To Attenuate a weather channel press Menu and use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Atten Ch #' and press SEL/► to attenuate the channel. Press ◄ to save and exit.
If you can hear multiple weather transmitters from your location, attenuating weaker channels can help ensure you receive the transmitter closest to you.
To exit weather radio press SEL for Scan mode or Menu twice for the main menu.

Skywarn List

The Skywarn List is a list that can be scanned independently from the regular 200 lists. It scans the objects in that list only and no other lists. It is provided to program Skywarn or other related weather frequencies for quick access but can be programmed as a quick list for any type of frequencies. The Skywarn List is scan list #201 when selecting lists in the menus. Objects in the Skywarn list can also be assigned to one or more of the main 200 lists.
To Scan the Skywarn List press

to enter weather scan mode then

again to scan the list. Press SCAN to exit.

SAME Standby Mode
Press to enter weather radio then press Skip. Press Skip again to exit.

To Edit Weather Settings with the Scanner
Press then Menu.

The first few lines will show:
Back
Save Changes

Use ▼ or ▲ to select each option below.
To save your changes press Menu then SEL to bring you back to the main menu.
You can also scroll back up to Save or Cancel Changes and press SEL/► to bring you back to the last menu.

Scanner Weather Menu...

Priority

Atten Ch 1/7

SAME # Tag

SAME # FIPS

SAME # Enable

To Program Weather Settings in the Software select the Weather tab.

Software Weather Tab...

Weather Channels		Alert Timers		SAME Code Information
	Attenuation		Alert Tone Timeout		Alpha Tag
	Priority		Audio Monitor Duration		FIPS
Weather Priority					Event
	Check Interval				Enable
					L/O
					Alert Type

Priority/Priority/Attenuation/Check Interval Weather Priority mode samples a selected weather frequency periodically while scanning to see if an alert is present.
If one is present, the scanner will sound an alarm and tune to the weather frequency to monitor the alert.
The Weather Priority Check Interval setting in the software (below) allows you to set the interval time to check for an alarm while scanning.

Scanner To Turn On Weather Priority press to enter weather radio and note which channel number is receiving the strongest.
Press Menu and use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Priority' and press ► to select the weather channel number noted as the strongest.
The weather channel is now set as priority when scanning. Note: There is no indicator in the display to show weather priority is active.
To Turn Off Weather Priority press Menu and use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'Priority' and press ◄ or ► to select Off.
To Attenuate a weather channel scroll to 'Atten Ch #' and press SEL/► to attenuate the channel. Press ◄ to save and exit.

Software To Turn Weather Priority On or Off select the Weather tab in the software. Click to select/deselect the priority checkbox for the channel you want to use for priority.
To Attenuate a weather channel Click to select/deselect the ATT checkbox for the channel you want to attenuate.
To Set the Priority Interval enter the time in seconds. Setting the check interval higher than 8 seconds may cause the scanner to miss the alert tone.

Alert Tone Timeout will sound the alert for the number of seconds selected. If set to 0 the scanner will wait for a key press to silence.

Audio Monitor Duration time is how long the scanner will monitor the weather channel after the alert tone has timed out.

SAME # Tag/Alpha Tag
Weather Priority mode samples a selected weather frequency periodically while scanning to see if an alert is present.
If one is present, the scanner will sound an alarm and tune to the weather frequency to monitor the alert.
The Weather Priority Check Interval setting in the software (below) allows you to set the interval time to check for an alarm while scanning.

Scanner Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'SAME # Tag' and press SEL/► to tag the location.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first character, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each character. Press SEL to save and exit.

SAME # FIPS/FIPS
SAME Standby Mode monitors the specified weather frequency silently, waiting to receive a Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) alert that corresponds with up to 10 SAME location code(s) and event code(s) that you have programmed. If there is a match between a sent SAME location code/event code and one that you have programmed, the scanner will sound an alarm, display the alert type, and monitor the alert. To activate SAME Standby Mode for your area, you should provide at least one SAME location code for your city, county or state. You may wish to enter additional codes for surrounding areas so that you can receive advance warning of adverse or dangerous weather that may be headed in your direction. By default, SAME mode will alert on any SAME message received if no SAME location codes are programmed.

The NWS has divided the United States into regions by state and county (or parish, where applicable) then assigned a 6-digit FIPS code to identify each county or parish. For example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas, is 048439. The first digit in a FIPS code identifies the county subdivision, the next two digits identify the state, and the last three digits identify the county or parish. Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means the code represents an entire county. The NWS, however, plans to eventually subdivide some large counties. When that happens, each subdivision will be assigned a digit from 1-9, resulting in codes such as 148439, 248439, and so on.

FIPS (SAME) codes are in the format nSSCCC:
n: A special subcounty designator. For an entire county, use 0.
SS: The state code.
CCC: The county code.

Each SAME location and event code can be set to 'ON' (enabled) or 'OFF' and the lockout set to 'ON' or 'OFF'.
The lockout feature allows you to enter and lockout certain event codes like the weekly test event code and still here other event codes with one or more location codes.
To obtain the FIPS (SAME) codes call the NWS toll free at 1-888-697-7263 (follow the instructions you hear) or see FIP codes for the United States and its Possessions.

Scanner Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'SAME # FIP' and press SEL/►.
Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first character, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each character. Press SEL to save and exit.
Software Press ▼ or ▲ to select the first number, then ► to move the cursor and repeat for each number. Press SEL to save and exit.

Event click to select the Event field and select the event type from the drop-down list.

SAME # Enable/Enable Enables each of 10 different SAME codes in SAME Standby Mode.

Scanner Use ▼ or ▲ to scroll to 'SAME # Enable' and press SEL/► to enable or disable.
Software Click to select/deselect the ENABLE checkbox.

L/O check the box to lockout the event code.

Alert Type click to select the Alert Type field and select each alert type.

Charging the Batteries

To charge the batteries connect the supplied USB cable to the scanner (powered off only - will not charge with scanner on) and any USB port. You will see the battery icon display empty to full until charging is done then in the display. The battery charger charges at a current rate of 150 mA. It will reset the charge according to the Charge Time setting every time you connect the scanner to the USB cable.
Note: an external charger is strongly recommended.

WARNING:! ALKALINE BATTERIES CANNOT BE RECHARGED. Never operate the scanner with alkaline batteries if the Battery Type Selection switch is set to the NiMH position.

LED Flash Programming

Contents

Each Object uses a 32 step Flash Pattern. The pattern consists of eight blocks with four steps for each block.
Each step in the 32 step flash pattern defines whether the backlight/LED is on or off for the durations specified in the On Time and Off Time.
There are 16 possible 4-step patterns for each of the 8 blocks defined using the characters 0-9 and A-F.

To Set the Flash Pattern in the Scanner, each of the possible 16 patterns within a four step block is defined using the characters 0-9 and A-F.
Each block translates to a number or letter to program into each of the 8 Flash Pattern fields in the scanner.
'On Time' and 'Off Time' are specified in 10 millisecond increments in the scanner. 'On Time of 50' means the light will come on for 500 milliseconds (or one half second).

Pattern	4-Step Block
0	□	□	□	□
0	off	off	off	off
1	□	□	□	■
1	off	off	off	on
2	□	□	■	□
2	off	off	on	off
3	□	□	■	■
3	off	off	on	on
4	□	■	□	□
4	off	on	off	off
5	□	■	□	■
5	off	on	off	on
6	□	■	■	□
6	off	on	on	off
7	□	■	■	■
7	off	on	on	on

Pattern	4-Step Block
8	■	□	□	□
8	on	off	off	off
9	■	□	□	■
9	on	off	off	on
A	■	□	■	□
A	on	off	on	off
B	■	□	■	■
B	on	off	on	on
C	■	■	□	□
C	on	on	off	off
D	■	■	□	■
D	on	on	off	on
E	■	■	■	□
E	on	on	on	off
F	■	■	■	■
F	on	on	on	on

Example; the default pattern:55555555. On Time: 50, Off Time: 50
The backlight (or Alert LED) will flash on and off at a rate of one flash per second, with each flash lasting half a second.

Block 1				Block 2
5				5
□	■	□	■	□	■	□	■
off	on	off	on	off	on	off	on
Block 5				Block 6
5				5
□	■	□	■	□	■	□	■
off	on	off	on	off	on	off	on

Block 3				Block 4
5				5
□	■	□	■	□	■	□	■
off	on	off	on	off	on	off	on
Block 7				Block 8
5				5
□	■	□	■	□	■	□	■
off	on	off	on	off	on	off	on

To Set the Flash Pattern in the Software
The pattern consists of eight blocks with four steps for each block (looks the other way around in the software).
The blocks 1-4 are on top and 5-8 on the bottom.
For each checked box, the backlight will be on for the time set in 'On Time'.
For each unchecked box the backlight will be off for the time set in 'Off Time'.
'On Time' and 'Off Time' are specified in millisecond increments in the software.
'On Time of 500' means the light will come on for 500 milliseconds (or one half second).

You can also 'save' patterns and 'load' presets patterns.

Firmware/CPU/DSP/Library/Software Version

To view the DSP (Digital Signal Processor), CPU, and Library version in the scanner power on the scanner and press Menu when the welcome screen appears.

To view the Library version in the software click the Updates menu and click 'Check for Library Update'. Clicking the 'Check for Updates' button will show the current library version.

To view the software version click the Help menu and click 'About...'.

Reformatting the SD Card

Contents

The microSD card comes formatted for the standard FAT file system with a cluster size of 32kB (Note that this is not the same as the 'FAT32' file system). The scanner will work best if the supplied 2GB microSD card is formatted for the standard FAT file system with a cluster size of 32kB. Formatting the microSD card for other file system types may cause the scanner to malfunction.

When using other microSD cards the following formatting guidelines should be used:
Any card with 2GB or less capacity must be formatted using the FAT file system with a cluster size of 32kB.
Any card with greater than 2GB must be formatted using the FAT32 file system with a cluster size of 32kB.

Open the iScan software and click on the 'Scanner/SD Card' menu then 'Prepare Scanner Memory/SD Card for use'. Make sure the software has detected the correct drive to format (or select the correct one with the drop-down arrow) and click the 'Format' button.
You also need to check 'Copy Library files to SD card after format' or the scanner will not power on correctly. If you have a configuration in the software you can copy to the scanner, also check 'Copy current configuration data to SD card after format'.

Note: Do not uncheck the 'Quick Format' box.

Pre-set Fleet Maps

Contents

In Motorola II systems (no programming the fleet map required), all the blocks have size code, S0, which has a size limitation of 512 radios. In Type I systems, size codes are used in different blocks to denote the maximum number of users in that block. Notice that size code S-12 uses 2 blocks. A Motorola Hybrid system (Type IIi) has 'blocks' of the system that are Type I Fleets/Subfleets and Type II talkgroups.
The maps that are Hybrid systems are in bold.

E1P1		E1P2		E1P3		E1P4		E1P5		E1P6		E1P7		E1P8
Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code
0	S-11	0	S-4	0	S-4	0	S-12	0	S-4	0	S-3	0	S-10	0	S-1
1	S-11	1	S-4	1	S-4	1	(S-12)	1	S-4	1	S-4	1	S-10	1	S-1
2	S-11	2	S-4	2	S-4	2	S-4	2	S-12	2	S-4	2	S-11	2	S-2
3	S-11	3	S-4	3	S-4	3	S-4	3	(S-12)	3	S-4	3	S-4	3	S-2
4	S-11	4	S-4	4	S-4	4	S-4	4	S-4	4	S-12	4	S-4	4	S-3
5	S-11	5	S-4	5	S-4	5	S-4	5	S-4	5	(S-12)	5	S-4	5	S-3
6	S-11	6	S-4	6	S-12	6	S-4	6	S-4	6	S-12	6	S-4	6	S-4
7	S-11	7	S-4	7	(S-12)	7	S-4	7	S-4	7	(S-12)	7	S-4	7	S-4

E1P9		E1P10		E1P11		E1P12		E1P13		E1P14		E1P15		E1P16
Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code	Block	Size Code
0	S-4	0	S-0	0	S-4	0	S-0	0	S-3	0	S-4	0	S-4	0	S-3
1	S-4	1	S-0	1	S-0	1	S-0	1	S-3	1	S-3	1	S-4	1	S-10
2	S-0	2	S-0	2	S-0	2	S-0	2	S-11	2	S-10	2	S-4	2	S-10
3	S-0	3	S-0	3	S-0	3	S-0	3	S-4	3	S-4	3	S-11	3	S-11
4	S-0	4	S-0	4	S-0	4	S-0	4	S-4	4	S-4	4	S-11	4	S-0
5	S-0	5	S-0	5	S-0	5	S-0	5	S-0	5	S-4	5	S-0	5	S-0
6	S-0	6	S-4	6	S-0	6	S-0	6	S-0	6	S-12	6	S-12	6	S-12
7	S-0	7	S-4	7	S-0	7	S-4	7	S-0	7	(S-12)	7	(S-12)	7	(S-12)

You can tell which block a Motorola ID is in by its number.

Block	Lower ID#	Upper ID#
0	0000	8191
1	8192	16383
2	16384	24575
3	24576	32767
4	32768	40959
5	40960	49151
6	49152	57343
7	57344	65535

Size Code	Fleets	Sub Fleets	Number of Blocks	Number of Talkgroups per Block	Max IDs per Talkgroup	Max Radios per Block
S0	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	512?
S1	128	4	1	512	16	16
S2	16	8	1	128	64	64
S3	8	8	1	64	128	128
S4	1	16	1	16	512	512
S5	64	4	1	256	32	32
S6	32	8	1	256	32	32
S7	32	4	1	128	64	64
S8	16	4	1	64	128	128
S9	8	4	1	32	256	256
S10	4	8	1	32	256	256
S11	2	16	1	32	256	256
S12	1	16	2	8	1024	512
S13	1	16	4	4	2048	512
S14	1	16	8	2	4096	512

Thanks to Radio Reference.com for most of this information.

Motorola Type II Special Status Bits

Contents

Motorola Type II Smartnet systems use these status bits for special transmissions such as emergency, patches, DES/DVP scrambled transmissions, and multiselects. Motorola trunking radios directly interpret them for their special functions, thus no difference is noticed by the person with the radio. The scanner however interprets these special talk group status bits as different talk groups entirely. Below is the conversion chart for these special status bits.

TT ID + # Usage

ID+0 Normal Talk group	ID+8 DES/DVP Encryption talk group
ID+1 All Talk group	ID+9 DES All Talk group
ID+2 Emergency	ID+10 DES Emergency
ID+3 Talk group patch to another	ID+11 DES Talk group patch
ID+4 Emergency Patch	ID+12 DES Emergency Patch
ID+5 Emergency multi-group	ID+13 DES Emergency multi-group
ID+6 ?	ID+14 ?
ID+7 Multi-select (initiated by dispatcher)	ID+15 Multi-select DES TG

Therefore, if a user was transmitting a multi-select call on talk group 1808, the scanner would actually receive those transmissions on 1815. Some common uses of these status bits are as follows:

When a user hits their emergency button, all conversations on the talk group revert to the emergency status talk group (ID+2) until the dispatch clears the emergency status. Therefore, if someone hit their emergency button and their radio was on talk group 16, all communications would switch to talk group 18.

-	A lot of Fire and EMS departments dispatch tone-outs and alarms as Multi-select communications (ID+7). Therefore, if your fire department dispatch talk group is 1616, and they do dispatch tone-outs and alarms as Multi-selects, then those communications will be on talk group 1623.

Thanks to the Radio Reference.com for this information.

SAME Event Codes

Contents

Standard	Event Code	Warning
			Watch
				Advisory
***	Any Event				Any
AVA	Avalanche Watch		X		Avalanche
AVW	Avalanche Warning	X			Avalanche
BHW	Biological Hazard Warning	X			Biological
BWW	Boil Water Warning	X			Boil Water
BZW	Blizzard Warning	X	X		Blizzard
CAE	Child Abduction Emergency			X	Child Emergency
CDW	Civil Danger Warning	X			Civil Danger
CEM	Civil Emergency Message	X			Civil EMG
CFA	Coastal Flood Watch		X		Coastal Flood
CFW	Coastal Flood Warning	X			Coastal Flood
CHW	Chemical Hazard Warning	X			Chemical
CWW	Contaminated Water Warning	X			Contam. Water
DBA	Dam Watch		X		Dam Break
DBW	Dam Break Warning	X			Dam Break
DEW	Contagious Disease Warning	X			Contagious
DMO	Practice/Demo			X	System Demo
DSW	Dust Storm Warning	X			Dust Storm
EAN	Emergency Action Notification	X			EMG Notify
EAT	Emergency Action Termination			X	EMG Terminate
EQW	Earthquake Warning	X			Earthquake
EVA	Evacuation Watch		X		Evacuate Note
EVI	Immediate Evacuation	X			Evacuate Note
EWW	Extreme Wind Warning	X			Extreme Wind
FCW	Food Contamination Warning	X			Food
FFA	Flash Flood Watch		X		Flash Flood
FFS	Flash Flood Statement			X	Flash Flood
FFW	Flash Flood Warning	X			Flash Flood
FLA	Flood Watch		X		Flood
FLS	Flood Statement			X	Flood
FLW	Flood Warning	X			Flood
FRW	Fire Warning	X			Fire
FSW	Flash Freeze Warning	X			Flash Freeze
FZW	Freeze Warning	X			Freeze
HLS	Hurricane Statement			X	Hurricane
HMW	Hazardous Material Warning	X			Hazardous
HUA	Hurricane Watch		X		Hurricane
HUW	Hurricane Warning	X			Hurricane
HWA	High Wind Watch		X		High Wind
HWW	High Wind Warning	X			High Wind

IBW	Iceberg Warning	X			Iceberg
IFW	Industrial Fire Warning	X			Industrial Fire
LAE	Local Area Emergency			X	Local EMG
LEW	Law Enforcement Warning	X			Law Enforcement
LSW	Land Slide Warning	X			Land Slide
NAT	National Audible Test			X	National Audible
NIC	National Information Center			X	National Info
NMN	Network Notification Message			X	Network Message
NPT	National Periodic Test			X	Nation Period
NST	National Silent Test			X	Nation Silent
NUW	Nuclear Power Plant Warning	X			Nuclear Plant
POS	Power Outage Advisory			X	Power Outage
RHW	Radiological Hazard Warning	X			Radiological
RMT	Required Monthly Test			X	Monthly
RWT	Required Weekly Test			X	Weekly
SMW	Special Marine Warning	X			Special Marine
SPS	Special Weather Statement			X	Special WX
SPW	Shelter In-Place Warning	X			Shelter
SSA	Storm Surge Watch		X		Storm Surge
SSW	Storm Surge Warning	X			Storm Surge
SQW	Snow Squall Warning	X			Snow Squall
SVA	Severe Thunderstorm Watch		X		Thunderstorm
SVR	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	X			Thunderstorm
SVS	Severe Weather Statement			X	Severe WX
TOA	Tornado Watch		X		Tornado
TOE	911 Telephone Outage Emergency			X	911 Phone Outage
TOR	Tornado Warning	X			Tornado
TRA	Tropical Strom Watch		X		Tropical Storm
TRW	Tropical Storm Warning	X			Tropical Storm
TSA	Tsunami Watch		X		Tsunami
TSW	Tsunami Warning	X			Tsunami
VOW	Volcano Warning	X			Volcano
WFA	Wild Fire Watch		X		Wild Fire
WFW	Wild Fire Warning	X			Wild Fire
WSA	Winter Storm Watch		X		Winter Storm
WSW	Winter Storm Warning	X			Winter Storm
**A	Unrecognized Watch		X		Unrecognized
**E	Unrecognized Emergency			X	Unrecognized
**S	Unrecognized Statement			X	Unrecognized
**W	Unrecognized Warning	X			Unrecognized

Related Links

Contents

Finding EDACS LCN order - I have found a procedure at the Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page which explains how to find the LCN order for an EDACS system if you don't know the order. Look for 'Finding EDACS Logical Channel Numbers' by Todd Hartzel near the bottom of the page.

Determining Type I Motorola Fleetmaps - You can try a method I found at Radio Reference.com. Determining Type I Motorola Fleet Maps by Dave Goodson.

Determining Base/Step/Offset for VHF/UHF Motorola Systems - I have found an explanation at Radio Reference.com that describes how to do this if you don't have the information. The Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page also has an explanation. Look for 'Determining Base and Offset Frequencies for the BC245xlt' by John C.

Decimal/AFS Conversion Chart - Here is a Conversion Chart to help convert your IDs.

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Last updated
October 26, 2019

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