Scancat Lite Plus - First Impressions

by Mike Agner, KA3JJZ

About the time I was finishing up the AFS780 review, I came across a release from Computer Aided Technologies stating that they had released a programming package of their own called Scancat Lite Plus. Not only did it suggest that it could program the new Uniden digital TrunkTrackers, but it could also handle the venerable BC895XLT and BC245XLT. Unlike many of their other packages, this one is inexpensive, so I ordered it. It came a couple of weeks later on a CD and I proceeded to sit down and play with it.

Installation
Installation was fairly easy; simply clicking on the setup.exe program did the job. Numerous DLLs and OCXs were loaded. On my Windows 98SE machine, the installation performed fine without any incidents. During the installation process, you get a screen outlining all the scanners that the software will handle. When the installation process is complete, you get 2 icons; one for the program and one for the documentation (in PDF format).

Initial Setup
When you click on the Scancat Lite Plus icon, you are greeted by a splash screen [Figure 1] with a few options. Hit 'Program Radio' and if this is the first time you have run the program, it will state that a 'caddola.RSD' file is loading. Once this executes, you will have a series of blank grids that somewhat resemble an Excel spreadsheet. While you might be tempted to go ahead and start typing, you need to set something up first.

On the initial screen, you might have noticed that the software was set up for the PRO-95. If this isn't the scanner you want to program, you must first tell Scancat Lite Plus the make/model, the COM port, speed and a couple of other items. Using the 'Files' pull down, select 'Settings for radios' [Figure 2], and the configuration screen pops up [Figure 3].

Not only do you need to set up the COM port and so on, but there's a timing bar, plus 2 other selections; one is to be checked if you are using WinXP/2000 or ME, and the other is what appears to be a read/write buffer accelerator. While selecting the OS is not a real problem, getting the timing down, and finding out whether your PC can handle the additional load of an accelerator is a matter of experimentation.

Some scanners will support an auto configuration; Scancat Lite Plus will attempt to set the radio and COM ports with this function. If your scanner supports it, press 'auto configure'. If you're finished, press 'accept'.

We'll come back to the autoload tab in a little while but for right now, it's probably best to click on the tab, then turn that option off. [Figure 4] Note that it's normally turned on.

Navigation
The form this program uses is intended to be a 'one form fits all'. It actually consists of 2 parts; the conventional (or 'frequency') view [Figure 5] and the 'trunking' view (if the scanner supports it), which holds scan lists, pull downs for system types, size codes, VHF/UHF trunking, EDACS and several other functions [Figures 6] [Figures 7] [Figures 8]. If the scanner does not support trunking, it is disabled.

If you're new to programming, it might be a bit overwhelming to see these functions all at once. Fortunately, there's an easy way to adjust this. From the 'Database View' pulldown, select 'Frequency view' to show only the conventional data, or 'trunking view' to show the trunking functions [Figure 9].

Reading Data In
If your radio already has data in it, you can download it, but you need to pay attention to the kind of radio you have. Many RS scanners can simply clone their data, while some Uniden radios require that you download data bank by bank. This selection can be found under 'Load/Read Radio', then select 'Read frequencies from radio to selected bank' [Figure 10]; note that according to the documentation, this will read 'Read Entire Radio' for RS scanners. In my case, since I'm using Uniden scanners, there was a reminder to have the radio in 'RMT' mode; after I clicked on the OK, the download began.

Downloading talkgroups (it's referred to as 'fleet ids' here) is done in a similar manner. Again, under 'Load/Read Radio' select 'Read Fleet IDs from Radio to selected bank'. Here, there is a little difference- not only does the scanner have to be connected to the PC, you must *manually* place the scanner in trunking mode. Once the scanner is trunking, the form slides over to the 'trunking view'. If the radio does not support alpha tags, you'll get a prompt to supply a 16 character ID (which is echoed for each talkgroup loaded). The download then executes. Note that alpha and bank tags are also downloaded, if the scanner supports them.

In each case, the timing bar (which was set up when the configuration was done earlier) plays a crucial role in making sure that no data gets missed, or in the case of downloading talkgroups, that the program waits a sufficient amount of time before attempting to access your scan lists. If you get frequencies that are missed or scrambled, or you see messages saying that there's no trunking data in a bank, increase the value of the timing bar.

You can also type your data into the forms, but this program is not very manual-friendly; like AFS780, using the tab key (which you would use in an Excel program) does not always move you from column to column. At one point while I was fooling around with it, the tab key jumped me to the bank tab near the top of the form. Use the up/down/right/left keys to navigate, or click on the column you want with your mouse. Also, be aware that there are limits to the length of some fields (such as the 'description' column). If you hit that limit, you get locked up; simply backspace out of it and adjust as necessary. There are pull downs for the tones [Figure 11], steps [Figure 12], and mode [Figure 13], as needed. If there was data already in the column, you will be placed at the end of the field, and will need to backspace (don't hit delete) to remove it and make it available to be changed.

This program can also download data from the 'National Communications' website. You can select whether to check out an issue, or go to the Nat Com website by selecting 'Download Frequencies from Nat Com Web site' off the 'load files'/'source files' selection [Figure 14]. If you hit 'Download Frequencies , and Fleet Ids', [Figure 15], you'll be taken to the Nat Com website. Note, though, that some options cost money to get the files, while others are free.

Once you have the data, the program puts it in an 'upper database' [Figure 16]. You load this database by selecting the 'files' menu; select 'Load Files', then 'Source files' then select the appropriate file type from the menu [Figure 14]. You cannot edit this upper database; however, you can copy data by highlighting it, then paste it using 'Paste highlighted frequencies to Lower Database ' from the 'Edit' pulldown [Figure 17].

There are a couple of options to help you select the records you want. If you want to select all the records in the upper database, use 'select all records in source file'. If you're looking for something specific, you can try to search the file by keyword. Notice the 'other' selection in [Figure 17]; use that, then a prompt asking you for the keywords to search appears [Figure 18]. Enter the keywords, then if the program finds them, it highlights them and tells you how many records were selected.

Talkgroup information can be inserted from the website using the same method, but you select 'Load Nat-Com Trunk ID' from the 'Source Files' selection. You paste this data using the 'Paste Highlighted Fleet Ids to lower database' from the 'Edit' pulldown (note that you should be in the trunking view to perform this function)

The documentation also mentions that the program can accept data from an Excel spreadsheet, but you should be aware that the layouts should match, and the frequencies/fleet ids need to be in adjacent columns. In addition, you can use Control-C, Control-X and Control-V (or use the 'Paste from clipboard' option in the edit pulldown [Figure 17]) to perform copy/paste from a spreadsheet or within the forms. You can copy columns or banks, depending on the way the spreadsheet is set up.

If you completely messed up, and want to restart a bank from scratch, select 'Erase records in selected lower bank'. You can clear selected records in the upper database with 'Clear selected records in source file'. Note that it simply unselects the records, not deletes them. Once you're done, you can close the upper database by selecting 'Close Top Database' from the 'Database View' pulldown [Figure 9]. If you messed up several banks, or even want to just start a whole new file, go to the 'File' pulldown and select 'NEW-clears entire lower database' [Figure 2]. In addition, Scancat Lite Plus can accept data from other Scancat applications or Escanner. This data can have extensions of .RSD, .FRQ or .SCN (the SS6 extension is used by Escanner). I tested this by taking a .RSD file from a Yahoo group, and loading it into the program. It worked without incident.

Finally, for those radios that support it, there's a selection to download all the search ranges into the 'search ranges' form. Just select this option from the 'Load/Read Radio' pulldown. The page where the search ranges can be edited is shown on [Figure 19].

Saving And Reloading Data
Ok, you've got your data the way you want it - now it's time to save it. From the 'Files' pull down, select 'Save file' then 'Save personal file' [Figure 20]. You then get a dialog box in which to name it. Notice that the default name that's shown only applies to the first session with a new radio [Figure 21].

Give it a new name with a .RSD extension, which you must supply. An interesting twist - which I wish other programs did - is that a backup copy is created in a 'BackupRSD' directory.

How about if you are building a large file, and you're not quite finished with the lower database, or a Nat Com file? Well, this is where the autoload function comes in [Figure 4]. If you supply the name of the .RSD file you need in the 'Personal Database' box, and, if needed, the Nat Com file in the 'Source Database', then check the 'Autoload Databases' box. If you leave the program , then come back later, both databases will automatically be reopened.

Uploading Data
To upload frequencies, fleet IDs and search ranges, simply select the desired upload from the 'Load/Read Radio' pulldown [Figure 10]. (Notice that they parallel the download functions). In each case, the program will prompt you to ensure the scanner is in 'RMT' mode (Uniden radios), and if you're trying to upload talkgroups ('fleet IDs'), not only must the PC and scanner be communicating, but the scanner must be *manually* placed into trunking mode. Once again, if frequencies are mixed up or corrupted, or the program complains about not detecting a trunk mode, increase the value of the timing bar which was set up in the configuration section.

Printing Data
OK, so there's still a few of us dinosaurs left that like hard copy printouts. Or perhaps you need a quick listing for a meeting. Scancat Lite Plus gives you several options to accomplish this. On [Figure 5], there's a selection called 'Quick Print'. Click this and you get a simple configuration screen. One very nice item on this screen is a 'Print preview' [Figure 22]. 'Quick print' does what it says - it prints banks, channel, frequency and alpha tag..

There are 3 other options for printing, which can be seen on [Figure 23]. There's an option to 'Print Upper Source Database (it's self explanatory). 'Print All Personal Banks' , and ' Print Personal (Selected) Banks' work the same way as 'Quick Print', but in addition, it also prints out the tones, lock out status, talkgroup IDs, lists and tags. The Print Personal selection only prints out a given bank, while All Personal prints all banks.

Other Functions
There's 2 kinds of help files - one that's text based, the other which is HTML-based. Both give basically the same type of information as found in the PDF documentation file that was mentioned earlier. Examples can be found in [Figure 24] and [Figure 25].

Exiting this program is a little strange; you are returned to the splash screen (modified for the correct scanner in case you changed it). You must close the screen yourself.

Does It Work?
There's a large (and growing) number of scanners that this program supports (and several that are not RadioShack/GRE models). I can see where being able to load data from another site (such as the 'National Communications' site) might be attractive, and these functions work very well. Navigation, while a bit clunky, works pretty well once you get used to the various keys and restrictions.

There are a couple of significant flaws in this program that concern me. The first is the basic screen design; it's very complex, and there's no consideration for adjusting for the various abilities of each scanner. For example, the 895 cannot handle EDACS, I-calls (found on the trunking view), the attenuator settings or mode changes (found on the frequency view). The trunking view is available on banks that are not trunking. Things like this would easily confuse a newcomer and without specific information on what each scanner supports, it's very likely frustration and confusion would be the result.

Some experimentation is currently under way to try to alleviate this problem. Jim Springer is working on the grids and layouts to try to 'black out' those functions that don't apply to a specific scanner. While initial trials look good, the grid system used by this program was developed by a third party, and is evidently not easy to modify. The release date for these changes is therefore uncertain.

If you're not familiar with Scancat/Escanner products, there's no real explanation of what the various files types mean. This is an easy path to confusion.

And speaking of information and documentation, there's a very big lack of any scanner specific information in the help files or in the PDF file. 2 steps critical to correctly using this program - how to insure each scanner is communicating with the PC, and how to put it in trunking mode (if available) is notably missing. This information is freely available on the RadioShack web site, various Yahoo groups devoted to a particular model and several third party offerings.

To partially address this problem, Jim Springer and myself are developing a document (which may be available on the Scancat web site, as well as part of the download), that lists the various scanners that are supported, and their various characteristics to be expected while using this program. Hopefully by the time this review reaches print, a first draft will be available for review.

In addition, it appears that some functions aren't quite working yet. Examination of the Quick Print example [Figure 26] shows that bank A channel 1 is overlaid with other text; PL programming for the 895 isn't correctly supported. These problems are being addressed as this review is being written.

The last item really has nothing to do with Computer Aided Technologies - rather, it has to do with the age and accuracy of the data on the National Communications website. A quick scan of Central Maryland data shows it to be full of errors and inaccuracies; it's hard to evaluate the data for other states, but if this is the case for them as well, then it's probably best to view this data as a first step only. Much more accurate information can be had from various Yahoo email scanning lists; here, Scancat Lite Plus's ability to import Excel files as well as other Scancat products files would come in handy.

The Final Word
Right now, as it is today, there is still room for improvement in its basic design and navigational functions. I would recommend this package to serious scannists; novices will find themselves a bit confused unless they first understand the basic functions of their radio, and take the time to play with the program a bit. However, contacting Computer Aided Technologies is very easy; they have their own Yahoo group, email support, and a basic FAQ as well as the scanner document that we mentioned earlier for help.

If some more consistent testing and documentation are applied to Scancat Lite Plus, I see no reason why this couldn't be a low-priced winner in the programming market. If you're interested in checking this program out for yourself, take a look here.

Mike Agner, KA3JJZ
ka3jjz@erols.com