I am new to scanning and I live in Walworth Co, Wisconsin and this is my first scanner. I have a Pro 97 scanner from Radio Shack.
Some of these say they use tones. All my entered channels I put under FM mode. How do I enter tones for them? How can I tell if I need tones? I have read the instructions but I do not understand what they are trying to tell me about them. If anyone can help me out it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks to anyone who can help me out. Below is the list of frequencies in Walworth Co as an example of where I live and they're tones of some type. I am wondering if I have frequencines and the reason I never hear anything is because I need a tone or something for them.
Walworth, County of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone CH Description Mode
453.67500 458.67500 WNVD481 RM 118.8 PL Fire/EMS Paging FM
453.37500 458.37500 KUO891 RM 173.8 PL Fire/EMS Dispatch FM
453.61250 KUO891 M CSQ Fireground Accountability FM
458.61250 KUO891 M CSQ Fireground Red FM
458.91250 KUO891 M CSQ Fireground Orange FM
453.91250 KUO891 M CSQ Fireground EMS FM
453.80000 WPNR843 M CSQ Fireground EMS FM
155.34000 WPDA667 BM EMS to Hospital (BLS) FM
155.40000 WPDA667 BM EMS to Hospital (ALS) FM
856.43750 811.43750 KNHY580 RM 118.8 PL 1 Sheriff FM
857.43750 812.43750 KNHY580 RM 118.8 PL 2 Sheriff FM
155.47500 KSC529 BM Law Enforcement WISPERN FM
155.37000 KSC529 BM Law Enforcement Point-to-Point FM
453.02500 458.02500 WPTS958 RM 186.2 PL Emergencies FM
151.28000 KTI389 RM MARC FM
453.82500 458.82500 KUO891 RM 173.8 PL Highway Department FM
Bloomfield Township of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.33750 458.33750 WPUY366 RM 77.0 PL Fire (includes Genoa) FM
Darien, Village of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.77500 458.77500 WNWF276 RM 131.8 PL Fire/EMS FM
Delavan, City of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.92500 458.92500 KNEV339 RM 186.2 PL Fire FM
453.65000 458.65000 KNIB478 RM 118.8 PL Fire FM
453.17500 458.17500 WPDA667 RM 186.2 PL EMS FM
453.55000 458.55000 KSJ502 RM 186.2 PL Police FM
East Troy, Village of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.67500 WPUW289 BM 192.8 PL Fire Dispatch FM
453.80000 WPNR843 M 192.8 PL Fireground FM
857.71250 812.71250 WNNM224 RM 118.8 PL Police FM
Elkhorn, City of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
154.44500 WNVZ580 RM 146.2 PL Fire FM
453.95000 458.95000 WQBT612 RM 261 DPL EMS FM
Fontana, Village of []
Frequency License Type Tone Description Mode
155.83500 WNYG615 BM 118.8 PL Fire FM
158.85000 WNYG613 BM 118.8 PL Police FM
Lagrange, Town of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.45000 458.45000 WPSA267 RM 654 DPL Fire (includes Lauderdale) FM
Lake Geneva, City of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
154.41500 WNRV589 RM 136.5 PL Fire FM
857.21250 812.21250 WNRI512 RM 186.2 PL Police FM
Frequency License Type Tone Description Mode
154.34000 WPCG429 BM 146.2 PL Fire FM
155.71500 WNSH823 RM 146.2 PL Fireground (includes Geneva) FM
Frequency License Type Tone Description Mode
154.21250 WQCR601 RM 136.5 PL Fire FM
Sharon, Village of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
460.60000 465.60000 WPYX518 RM 712 DPL Fire FM
University of Wisconsin - Whitewater []
Frequency License Type Tone Description Mode
154.08500 KJA972 RM 107.2 PL Police FM
Walworth, Village of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
460.55000 465.55000 WPGD904 RM 712 DPL Fire/Police FM
Whitewater, City of []
Frequency License Type Tone Description Mode
154.16000 WNPQ290 BM 210.7 PL Fire Dispatch FM
154.01000 KD48521 M 210.7 PL Fireground FM
156.13500 KSA493 BM 210.7 PL Police FM
Williams Bay, Village of []
Frequency Input License Type Tone Description Mode
453.70000 458.70000 WPLX398 RM 654 DPL Fire FM
This is about as basic as I can explain:
The tones are there to help filter out you hearing another station using the same frequency. A nearby police department uses 155.580 for its repeater output. So does my fire department. If you don't program a tone (also refered to as Carrier Squelch ""CSQ""), I hear both departments which I don't want and I'm sure they don't want to hear our calls. So CTCSS or DCS tones / codes are used to "close the door" to unwanted traffic. My department has a 123.0 Hz tone on the repeater and the PD has a 179.9 Hz tone. I set my radio to the shared frequency BUT, I set it to use the 123.0 Hz tone so now, i only hear my department, not the other.
If you live in a rural area, tones really aren't that big of a deal. The more urban your area is, they higher chance of another agency being assigned the same frequency you are wanting to monitor. Using your tones will help filter out the unwanted traffic.
PRO-97 Tones
For the '97 you'll want to press mode while on the channel for the frequency you want. For your county sherriff for instance you'll want to press mode until CT comes up on the upper right corner of the display. Then, in program mode you'll want to press the FUNC button and then mode again, that'll bring you to a different screen where you can enter your PL (or CT) code. For your Co Sherriff that would be 118.8, the scanner will tell you if you are trying to enter an invalid code.
I guess if i enter these CT codes will the signals be any cleaner that come to me over if I do not enter them?
My other question is instead of entering my frequencies with FM should I always use the CT option and that way it will look for the tones as well? Any advantage to useing the FM option?
Last edited: Dec 7, 2005CSQ is the ABSENSE of any tone. Don't add any tones and it's CSQ.
Ok one more question so far on this.
if I don't put the ct or dc code in I can still listen to all of them correct? the CT or DC code only narrow it down. So it's not a form of encryption or security. I can always listen to them, but I can choose to narrow them down if I wanted to but it's not necessary?
If i'm not getting channels that are overlapping eachother do I receive any benefits to entering the CT or DC codes? any less noises, hums, or improved audio?
Last edited: Dec 7, 2005Ok one more question so far on this.
if I don't put the ct or dc code in I can still listen to all of them correct? the CT or DC code only narrow it down. So it's not a form of encryption or security. I can always listen to them, but I can choose to narrow them down if I wanted to but it's not necessary?
If i'm not getting channels that are overlapping eachother do I receive any benefits to entering the CT or DC codes? any less noises, hums, or improved audio?
There's two scenarios where entering the the PL tone or DCS code may help.
The first is when you have two or more agencies on the same frequency. Entering the code will enable to narrow the channel down to the one you want to hear. If you have the channel space, you may want to enter the channel a second (or third, or whatever) time, and text tag the additional agency with their PL or DCS code.
The other time the code or tone may help is for certain channels where you are getting interference, making the scan hang on that channel unless you either lock it out or turn the squelch way up, losing sensitivity. In some cases, I've been able to enter the PL or DCS and the scanner will ignore the interference (lfrom another electronic device) and can use a looser squelch setting.
In the absence of one of those scenarios, then the tone or DCS has no real effect on what you hear or the clarity of it.
it does hang on some static on some frequencies so I might give it a try. Thanks for you help. I just got this scanner from Radio shack and pretty much dove in thinking the directions would tell me everything I would need lol.
it does hang on some static on some frequencies so I might give it a try. Thanks for you help. I just got this scanner from Radio shack and pretty much dove in thinking the directions would tell me everything I would need lol.
Much like the owner's manual of a car teaches you how to drive. NOT!I'n not sure if you understood that if you choose the CT or DC mode without entering a code (such as 131.8, 156.7, 023, 462) the radio will scan for any tones being used with that transmission. If you don't know the tones being used for different users sharing the same frequency, you can note the type of traffic being heard with the various tones and by content associate the tone with the user.
On almost every system using multiple repeaters individual repeaters are chosen using different tones. In this way, repeaters with overlapping coverage won't be keyed up by one radio at the same time. Some systems use the same tone on the output frequency in order to identify which repeater is being used. Devices in dispatch read the tones and the console the dispatcher uses will display the repeater a mobile is using. For the scanner owner this allows identification of which repeater is being heard, which can help one understand the traffic being received. For the systems I listen to I have memorized the tone of each repeater on the various systems I listen to. It comes with so much time living in the same place where there hasn't been a lot of changes to the systems. I do have one system programmed where I put the various tones in different channels and program alphanumeric tags showing the repeater associated with those tones. I don't do that on all the systems because it eats up memory and even in a rural area 500 channels is not enough. In addition having the radio scan through all those channels will cause you to miss many transmissions.
repeater pl tone
I want to program one of my local repeaters into my portable, but I'm having trouble with the pl one this repeater. 1 web site has the pl as csq, another site has the pl as 103.5 and a third site has the pl space blank. So now i have csq,blank,or 103.5. which pl do I enter The repeater is waorje. thanks
Unfortunately I do not have this model of scanner, so I can't help with the nuances of it.
I'd suggest consideration be given to getting scanner programming software and become a RR premium subscriber. The software and subscription will work hand in hand allowing you to download the RR database "stuff" to program your scanner.
This will save you time, reduce the risk of data entry errors and most importantly, put the right things in the right places to program your scanner.
I want to program one of my local repeaters into my portable, but I'm having trouble with the pl one this repeater. 1 web site has the pl as csq, another site has the pl as 103.5 and a third site has the pl space blank. So now i have csq,blank,or 103.5. which pl do I enter The repeater is waorje. thanks
From the looks of it, the WA0RJE repeater doesn't have much information on the page of the club that runs it. Their Facebook page seems to indicate that 103.5 PL is likely needed to use the repeater. It should be noted that using a tone is not necessary if you only plan on monitoring on a particular frequency. It's only needed if you have a desire to filter out interference from someone else that might be using the same frequency, or if you plan on transmitting on the repeater (with a license).
From the looks of it, the WA0RJE repeater doesn't have much information on the page of the club that runs it. Their Facebook page seems to indicate that 103.5 PL is likely needed to use the repeater. It should be noted that using a tone is not necessary if you only plan on monitoring on a particular frequency. It's only needed if you have a desire to filter out interference from someone else that might be using the same frequency, or if you plan on transmitting on the repeater (with a license).
For listening PL is irrelevant. If the repeater broadcasts a CTCSS tone on it's output then setting the tone on your receiver will allow you to only hear that repeater. But a repeater with a PL tone requirement does NOT broadcast that tone on it's output. If you set CTCSS for a repeater that is only doing PL then you'll stop hearing that repeater.
Unless you have a strong signal from two repeaters that interfere with each other I would forget about programming any tones into your scanner. Or, as on Saltspring Island, a repeater can use one CTCSS tone for digital and another for Analogue. If you don't want to hear digital noise from it you should set the appropriate CTCSS tone.
For listening PL is irrelevant.
Unless you have a strong signal from two repeaters that interfere with each other I would forget about programming any tones into your scanner.
I see this bit of advice here on RR from time to time, and it always perplexes me. I use CTCSS or DCS (aka PL tones) for every agency/frequency that uses them. If a tone isn't listed in the RR database for a given agency/frequency, then I will use my scanner to search for a tone. And if I find one I use it. In my area I have a number of frequencies used by two or three different agencies. For these frequencies I set up multiple channels, one for each agency with the appropriate tone and alpha tag. This way I know who I'm listening to. It's true this approach uses up some extra channels in the scanner, but there aren't enough cases of this to matter a whole lot. And for the newer DMA scanners the channel usage is really a non-issue.
But there are other benefits besides knowing who I'm listening to. First off, I virtually never have a scanner lock up on an annoying intermod signal caused by a pager transmission, or some other RF trash. I have my base scanners hooked up to a rooftop antenna, and I live near a lot of radio, TV and pager transmission towers, so this would be a common problem for me were it not for PL tones.
Also, in some cases using a PL tone can eliminate the annoying 'squelch tail' at the end of transmissions. This is with systems where the repeater continues to broadcast a 'silent' carrier signal for a half second or more after a transmission ends, and it only works if it is set up so it stops sending the PL tone AFTER a transmission ends, but BEFORE it drops the carrier. What happens is, your radio will close its squelch immediately when the PL tone stops, and if that carrier signal from the repeater is still present at that moment then you won't get the annoying burst of static people refer to as a squelch tail. It makes for much more pleasant listening, at least to my ears. This all depends of course on how the techs have the repeater set up, and seems to work better with some scanners than others.
OK, enough said in defense of tones me thinks.