traditional row of lights to show scanning activity. A row of
switches was used to enter binary code to store individual
frequencies. In some later models a punch card or metal comb
was used to load the binary code.
The true predecessors of today
!
s modern scanning receivers are
those first radios to use a numeric keypad to store frequency
information and control the radio, and numeric LCDs to show the
programmed information and display the status of the radio. The
row of lights was replaced with a row of zeroes or other display
elements in the LCD to show scanning activity.
As it became possible to increase the memory capacity of these
microprocessor controlled scanners, designers started looking
for ways to organize this expanded memory to make operation
easier for users. This lead to the typical bank/channel memory
organization that is still used in many scanning receivers today.
This design works well when scanning conventional, non-trunked
frequencies.
Trunking presented new challenges for designers. Early designs
operated in trunking or conventional mode, but not both at the
same time. Because programming for trunked systems includes
many parameters not normally used in conventional radio
scanning, it was necessary to design a completely separate user
interface for entering trunking parameters and scanning trunked
systems. Soon after the first early models were released, new
“multi-scanning” receivers appeared that allowed users to scan
different combinations of trunked systems or conventional
channels simultaneously.
Trunking scanners soon earned a reputation for being complex
and difficult to program. Even experienced expert users were
frustrated when confronted with the challenges of programming
and operating a trunked scanning receiver. Part of the problem
with trunking scanners was the way that trunking functionality
was added to the radio. Until recently, trunking functionality was
forced into the traditional bank/channel scanner design. This
created confusion and frustration for users, who had to learn two
different methods for programming and controlling their scanners
– one for conventional, non-trunked channels, and another for
trunked systems and talkgroups.
GRE
!
s engineers have studied the challenges of programming
and operating today
!
s current crop of trunked scanning receivers.
We have also carefully studied how scanning hobbyists like to
use their radios, and the role the Internet plays in the scanning
0715 User Manual
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