parnass@ihuxf.UUCP (Robert S. Parnass, AJ9S) (01/03/84)
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CompuScan 2100 Computer Controlled Scanning Radio
The Electra Company of Cumberland, Indiana, announced the
new Bearcat CompuScan 2100 computer controlled scanner
radio.
This radio scans up to 200 channels in selectable banks, and
connects to a home computer (not supplied) via an RS-232
serial port. It will be available with software on 5.25"
diskette or tape cassettes for many popular computers. I
think the first offering will be for a Commodore 64.
Physically, the scanner is a low profile box with squelch
and volume controls, and several connectors. Other controls
are computer driven through the RS-232 interface. This
scanner looks feature wise like a Bearcat 300, but with a
personal computer serving as the control element. Some of
the features listed on the data sheet:
+o frequency coverage:
a. 29-54 (includes part of 10 and all of 6 meter
bands)
b. 118-136 (commercial AM aircraft band)
c. 136-174
d. 421-512
+o audio output: 1.0 watt RMS with internal speaker, 2.0
watts with external speaker
+o antenna: supplied with telescoping antenna, base, and
20 feet of coaxial cable with BNC connectors. (looks
like the manufacturer doesn't want the antenna too
close to the computer!)
+o sensitivity: 0.6 uv for 12 dB SINAD, all VHF-FM bands,
1.0 uv for 12 dB SINAD, Aircraft and UHF bands.
+o connectors:
a. external power supply
b. external antenna (finally! a female BNC type)
c. RS-232 interface
d. remote control interface
This scanner makes full use of the computer display. The
software furnished drives the scanner and a menu interface
which allows users to set scanning options, such as:
+o frequencies for up to 200 channels
+o individual channel lockout
+o individual channel delay, which delays the resumption
of scanning for a few seconds after a station ends its
transmission.
+o up to three nested priority channels
+o up to 4 lines of textual information for each channel,
which will be displayed on the CRT when the scanner
stops on that channel.
+o automatic search and store, which allows entering of 2
frequency limits, scanning between the two limits, and
storing frequencies on which activity was found.
+o a Count register for each channel, to count the number
of transmissions detected by the scanner on selected
frequencies.
+o 4 auxiliary switches to control external devices, such
as a tape recorder or alarm when a signal is received
on a designated channel.
One may obtain a specification sheet by calling Bearcat at
(317)894-1440.
It's a shame that the frequency coverage does not include
the 800 - 1200 MHz bands. A computer controlled scanner may
be put to good use in these bands to track trunked radio
systems. Coverage of the military aircraft band in the 200
- 400 MHz range and the federal "secret" band in the 400 -
420 MHz range would also be appreciated.
I'd be interested to know if source code and documentation
will be supplied so a user could develop truly custom scan-
ning algorithms, rather than using forms-type software to
just set options in a rigid, mundane scanning scheme.
Bob Grove, in an article in the January 1983 issue of Moni-
toring Times, stated that the CompuScan 2100 will scan 12
channels per second, but the search mode is extremely slow,
at one increment every 2 seconds! The list price is
expected to be near $600.
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Robert S. Parnass, AT&T Bell Laboratories, ihnp4!ihuxf!parnass (312)979-5760 jml@druny.UUCP (01/10/84)
I saw the Bearcat CompuScan 2100 at Comdex. Unfortunately, my initial impression was not good. The scanner was connected to a Commodore 64 and every time it found a frequency with something happening, the C64 went to it's disk to find the appropriate info belonging to that frequency. The program is written in BASIC (or so the salesperson said) and it was slow. It would take several seconds to find the info on the disk, by which time the scanner would have taken off trying to find another active frequency. Therefore, the display was useless in search mode. The idea is good however, as happens all to often, the implementation was lacking. The scanner itself was a nice machine, and the potential with a fast micro is good. It would probably be better with a micro that had a hard disk or ram-disk. John Leon druny!jml AT&T Information Systems Labs