This afternoon and evening, I have been able to get my radios up and running. Having assignments every weekend has prevented me from spending time building the databases for the Leavenworth Area—but I was able to spend this afternoon building a new database for listening to all of the activities happening on my scanners. I loaded area public safety and fire networks, as well as local railroad frequencies. Having done this in various areas, I was able to learn several lessons learned from today’s work.
My first lesson was that knowing the area helps when selecting databases. This may sound obvious, but when I arrive to an area, I want to get listening as soon as I can. In the summer, I did not spend enough time understanding the maps before selecting the data bases. The result was a quite scanner. The tip, then, is to do a thorough map analysis when arriving to a new location. The maps will give the location of closer communities and potential repeaters sites.
Along with the map analysis for database selection, the map comes in handy for learning the area. Since we have been in Leavenworth for about six months, I have a better understanding of the road networks than I did when I first arrived. Having a map in the summer would have helped me understand different activities on different roads earlier.
A third lesson to be learned when setting up a radio database is that patience is your best friend. I think I set up a good database today. However, the database will continue to need refinements. Having the patience to spend time reviewing the database in the future will go a long way to having the best scanning experience.
Every time we move, I enjoy setting up a new radio database—and this was no exception. Next time, I hope to not wait so soon!