Programming Channels Manually

Summary: Entering a frequency into a channel by hand, naming it, and setting its CTCSS/DCS, modulation, priority and delay.

Before the scanner can scan anything, at least one channel needs a frequency in it. Everything here is done from the keypad, without a PC.

Entering a Frequency

Press Hold, enter a channel number (1-500), then Pgm/E to open its channel menu. Scroll to Enter Frequency, press Pgm/E, then type the frequency using the number keys and . Clr for the decimal point. The scanner rounds whatever you enter to the nearest valid step for that band, and warns you (Out of Band) if you’ve typed something outside any supported range. If the frequency already exists on another channel, it asks you to confirm before storing a duplicate.

Naming a Channel (Text Tags)

Channels default to a name based on their bank and channel number, but you can replace that with up to 16 characters of your own from the channel menu’s Edit Tag option – turn the scroll control to pick each character and use the left/right keys to move the cursor.

CTCSS/DCS Per Channel

From the channel menu’s Set CTCSS/DCS, choose: Off (opens on any signal), CTCSS or DCS (only opens for a specific tone or code you then select), CTCSS/DCS Search (displays whatever tone is present but still opens on any signal), or No Tone (only opens when no tone is detected).

Modulation

Set Modulation lets you force AM or FM for that channel. Airband channels are locked to AM and can’t be changed.

Priority

Each bank can have one channel marked as its Priority channel via Set Priority – see the Scanning & Priority Modes article for how the different priority modes use it.

Delay

Set Delay controls how long the scanner pauses after a transmission ends before moving on – useful for catching a reply. The default is 2 seconds; you can also set a negative delay, which does the opposite and automatically moves on after holding briefly on a transmission, even if it’s still going.

Deleting a Channel or Clearing a Bank

Delete Channel wipes just the selected channel; Clear Bank wipes every channel in that bank at once. Both ask you to confirm before doing anything.