The BC245eXLT (Almost) Quick Programmer

by Mike Agner, KA3JJZ

In my search for programming and control packages for my new 245, I came across one that looked intriguing; it used Excel files instead of comma delimited files as the source of input, and the screens used looked rather simple in execution. So I decided to take a look at this package, called the BC245eXLT Quick Programmer, written by Tracy Justus, who runs the Freq Of Nature web site.

Installation
To install this package, you need to capture 3 items; the program, the update files (you must make sure you get the right updates for your operating system) and the instructions, since there isn't any help files with this package. It installed cleanly into the C:\Program Files\BC245eXLT folder. In this review, I am using a 500 MHz Celeron-driven PC using Windows 98SE as my operating system.

Introduction
When you first bring up the program you get a screen (Figure 1) that looks a bit intimidating at first, but the screen is really quite simple. The first 4 pull down boxes will be used to tell the program which column in the Excel spreadsheet will contain the titled information.

Next, we see a box labeled 'Trunk System Type'; this is obviously a box that will be used when a trunk system is being programmed. Users should note that only Conventional and Motorola systems can be programmed with this package; EDACS programming is not supported.

Underneath it is another pull down box that, like the ones above it, will tell the program from which column to pull the talkgroup (fleet IDs, for Type 1 systems) information to be programmed.

The 2 programming buttons to the right are pretty much self explanatory; one is used for programming frequencies (either conventional or trunked), and the other is used for programming your scan lists.

The start channel box is pretty clear; it tells the program from which channel to begin programming. You should insure that this channel is the same as the first channel number in your spreadsheets or the results won't be what you expect. This box will take precedence over the spreadsheet's number.

Select the scanner type from the next pull down box; either the 245 or 780 is supported, although Tracy says that this program should also work with the BC895 or PRO2052, since they share many of the same protocol commands.

The keypad box brings up a very simple keypad for scanner control. It doesn't control all of the scanner's functions, but it's fairly useful nonetheless. One should keep in mind that this software is meant to be used as programming software, not as a control package, so the inclusion of a keyboard should be considered a handy side item.

The blank box at the bottom is for the more advanced users; you can input commands directly to the scanner from here. Tracy's website also has a list of all the commands that are recognized by all 4 scanners.

The last box shows the commands being sent back and forth between the scanner and the program. That first line is very interesting; it shows the model, a bunch of zeros (unknown what this is for), and what appears to be the firmware number (although the firmware version on mine shows up as 1.04 when I use the keypad trick to find it).

There is also a line in the box indicating all the available (but not necessarily all the ones being used) banks.

Preparation
To feed this program, you will need to prepare some Excel spreadsheets. You should know that Works users will not be able to build spreadsheets and save them as .xls files; the program evidently checks the header information, and will crash if the wrong kind of spreadsheet is used.

The layout shown in the instructions differs slightly from the layout used in the sample files that are available on Tracy's website, so it appears that there's some flexibility in how the spreadsheets are built. However, for simplicity, I would suggest:

• For trunked systems, you need 2 columns; one for the frequencies for the system, the other for the Scan IDs (fleet IDs for Type 1 users) for your list
• For conventional systems, channel, description, frequency, delay and lockout are all that appears to be necessary.

Operations
The first thing you notice when you bring up the program is that the backlight turns on in the 245, and stays on throughout the session. In fact, when you leave the program, the backlight remains on, and you will need to turn it off yourself. Since the display is a bit hard to read in low light environments, this is a very handy feature. Activate the keypad by checking the box, and select the radio that you are trying to program. Keep these 2 items set at all times; they're very useful.

To start, you must load the required Excel spreadsheet. Start by going to the top, choose 'File', 'Open' then select the desired spreadsheet.

Since I keep my trunked bank first (since the county in which I live is trunked), I chose to start my programming with channel 1, with the system as shown in Figure 2. So I simply indicate that the frequency information can be found in column 1 in the top left pull down. I then indicate that my system is a Type 2 800 MHz system in the trunk type pull down box . Make sure that the starting channel number is indicated in the start channel box, and press 'Program'. The frequencies will then be loaded into the radio.

Put yourself into trunk search mode by pressing SEARCH on the keypad, then hit MANUAL. This will stop the radio at the first scan list, first entry for this bank. We are now ready to program the scan IDs I want to keep for my radio. Figure 3 shows the set up for the program. Indicate that we want to pull the talkgroups out of column 2 by the pull down under the trunk system type. Keep the trunk type as E2-800. Remove the frequency data on the top left, then press 'ID Program' Note that the program pauses a moment before loading, but when it does, it's very fast. You should see the last ID in your list in the scanner. You can now either scan (it'll start checking the IDs you just programmed) or search (and it will now show every ID it encounters).

Programming a Type 1 system is similar (Figure 4); however, you must indicate 'E1' in the trunk system type box. This worked just fine, but the program crashed when I tried to load the fleet IDs, complaining that there was a type mismatch. I believe that it was having a problem with the dash that seperates a fleet and sub-fleet ID. Unfortunately, you can't search yet, either, since there was no facility for programming the correct fleet map. You have to exit out of the program and do this manually.

A similar problem exists with programming a 400 MHz trunk system (Figure 5). You must indicate 'E2-UHFi' in the trunk system type box. The frequencies can be loaded, but because there's no facility for programming the base and offset, you cannot go into scan mode to program the scan IDs. You must exit, program the base and offset, come back in and finally upload.

Testing the other system types was not completed because they don't exist in my area.

Conventional programming is a bit different, however. As shown in Figure 6, you can say 'none' in the trunk system type box, and you must indicate where to find the frequency, delay and lockout columns in your spreadsheet. Just go to each box and use the pull down menu to show each column and what is to be programmed from it. Make sure that your starting channel number is correct, then press 'Program'. Again, it all happens very quickly.

Quirks And Qualms
Unfortunately, this program appears to be a bit unstable. Don't try to minimize it, or it will crash with a run time error. As mentioned before, the spreadsheets must be in Excel format; adapted spreadsheets (such as creating them in Microsoft Works, then saving them in .xls format) won't work either. It appeared that when the program crashes, it can also cause other problems; in my case, if it crashed because I minimized the screen, I lost my mouse drivers and a few system utilities. Rebooting was necessary before things returned to normal.

Compatibility
Since Tracy mentioned that this program might work with the BC895, I prepared a test file of conventional frequencies (trunked programming is not supported because the command list is different) and attempted to load them up. Upon checking the results, some channels were loaded correctly, some got zeroed out and some were completely ignored. I tried using both the 245 and 780 selections, and both got the same results. So it appears that this program is incompatible with something in the BC895. I don't have a PRO-2052, so I could not test that radio for compatibility.

Impressions
It's a shame that this program doesn't support the other Motorola trunk types fully, nor does it support EDACS programming. It's not a hard program to use, Excel spreadsheets are certainly easier to create than a comma delimited file, and it's fast. The keypad function is handy, too. Using spreadsheets makes documenting the data in the file rather easy. Conventional programming is a breeze with this package.

Unfortunately, Tracy has said that he wanted to incorporate the Quick Programmer into a control package he was writing, and had also planned to allow importing other file types. But it seemed to him that there were many other packages out there that did the same thing, and he has abandoned the project. That's a shame, because with just a little more work, this program, with its unique Excel based approach, would be just as valuable as a pure programming package. As it is, though, it's a competent conventional and Motorola Type 2 programmer, and if that's all that is in your area, this package works very well.

UPDATE - 01/30/2002
Well, a couple of weeks after this review was posted, Tracy dropped me a line and said that he has decided to refine this software. It has since been renamed to Control Freq Jr and has had several updates since then. Please see the Strong Signals Software Board for specific information. Perhaps if enough people ask for it, the issues with Motorola Type 1 and UHF trunked programming could also be addressed.

Mike Agner, KA3JJZ
ka3jjz@erols.com

Related link: Freq Of Nature