Technical information
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computers with this hobby seemed only natural. And the latest milestone was the introduction of devices which
allowed me to connect my computer to my scanner. Not only could I link the data in the computer to my
scanner, I could now do things the scanner’s processor was incapable of.
Early products to computerized scanning were somewhat primitive but welcome nonetheless. Most of the
function was to extend the keyboard functions of the scanner to the computer. I’ve seen these devices
sometimes referred to as "button pushers". In some cases, they do to allow for coupling frequency numbers to
the names of the frequency users so they could be viewed on the computer monitor. It’s a great feature
not having to look up a frequency number on paper to figure out who is using a frequency, however some of
the newer scanners now offer this as a stock feature. Other options were also available such as the logging
of active frequencies and the ability to upload or download frequency data to and from the scanner which
tends to be faster than having to program a scanner by hand.
While the industry has not developed any certain terminology for describing the differences for these new
technologies, I have invented a few of my own definitions. I define the upload / download of frequency
data to and from the scanner as "computer assisted", and for those devices which take complete control over
the scanner, I define them as "computer controlled". Optoelectronic’s OptoScan fits this term "computer
controlled" to a tee. In fact, the OptoScan goes a number of steps further by providing additional functions
which are not found on the stock scanners it was designed for (Radio Shack’s PRO-2005, PRO-2006,
PRO- 2035 and PRO-2042) such as CTCSS / DCS (PL) tone control and readout, DTMF decoding, signal
strength readout and increased scanning speed. One of the greatest things about true computer controlled
scanning is the virtually unlimited bank and channel capacity. With Probe, you can have up to 99 banks, each
bank can contain up to 1000 frequencies. These 99 banks are held in a "group", and you can have up
to 4000 groups (only one group can be scanned at a time). Needless to say, capacity is no longer a concern.
Having seen other products which offered the ability to connect the computer to the scanner, I was most
impressed with the OptoScan. In my opinion, it was well engineered and wonderfully thought out. More
importantly, the OptoScan allowed the software developer to take complete control of the scanner’s functions.
Previous products simply allowed you to send commands to the scanner, and in some cases, read
back a limited amount of information from it. The OptoScan provided feedback on the actual status of the
scanner, which in layman’s terms, provides virtually error free, fast and dependable operations.
While some have been miffed at Optoelectronic’s omission to provide software and software assistance for
their product, I was quite pleased with their policy of being "software neutral". Not because it presented
opportunities for software developers such as myself, but as a hobbyist, it meant developers would be enticed
to fully usurp the OptoScan’s capabilities without having to compete head on with the manufacturer.
This is very important if one understands how very limited the market for this technology is, and as a result,
how difficult it is to recoup development costs. In other words, we could have been easily stuck with
one piece of software provided by Optoelectronics to run the OptoScan rather than having the many software
options from a variety of vendors we now have. This variety has led to many new and innovative features
which otherwise can’t be found on the stock scanner or in other computer controlled scanning devices where
the manufacturer has kept a lock on the protocol thus limiting new innovations and proliferation of
"computer controlled scanning" in general.
Probe V3.0:
To understand Probe V3.0 and its purpose, it is important to understand the primary objectives for developing
it. Over the years of developing software, I’ve learned there is no such thing as pleasing everyone. Of course,
that doesn’t mean I don’t try. But I’ve learned it’s important to have objectives and to define your niche. When
folks ask me which is the best software for the OptoScan, my response is "it depends on what you’re trying to
do". Another way of putting it is some folks like Chevies and others like Fords. With Probe, there were specific
objectives involved. To develop these objectives, I spent months working with my friends at SABRE and with
others around the country who shared my interests in computer controlled scanning. Here is a short summary