Scancat-Gold for Windows
The software supports many radios including scanners and radios from AOR, Drake, ICOM, Kenwood, Yaesu, NRD, Lowe, WJ, and RadioShack scanners equipped with Optoelectronics OS456 or OS535 boards. This release supports the new ICOM R8500, AOR5000, and the Opto Scout version 3.1. Complete 800 MHz coverage is possible on the AR2700 and AR8000. Two ICOM units can be controlled at the same time if one covers HF, and the other VHF/UHF, or you are scanning multiple banks, and you are using the CT-17 interface. CTCSS and DCS tone search is supported on RadioShacks equipped with the Opto board, or Icoms equipped with the Opto DC-440 Tone reader and the CI-V interface. Unlike software that only supports a particular radio, Scancat can be used with multiple radios, a nice feature when you own more than one radio with an interface. I used Scancat on my AR8000, Drake R8, ICOM R7100, and an Opto OS535 equipped PRO-2035 while writing this column. A nice feature is that the scan files you create with Scancat, can be used with any radio it supports. It will translate any modes not supported on the radio to a compatible one. The program can import data from the Percom Spectrum CD-ROM, Mr. Scanner's CD-ROM, Grove's FCC DataBase, Tom Sundstrom's Schedules, Dbase, MS Access, comma delimited, and Btrieve files. This is especially handy if you have files from other software packages, trade files with others, or use FCC databases. This release of Scancat can also SCAN directly from Dbase, MS-Access, Foxpro, and Btrieve files. A utility for converting text files into frequency files, SCANPORT, is also included.
The software allows a user to control the radios tuning, via the keyboard and mouse. Panels of buttons on the display allow access to many features by simply clicking on them with a mouse. A search range between a lower and upper frequency may be programmed, and the stepping increment, delay times, and other parameters may be specified. These parameters may be set on a per record basis when using a scan file. A file of specified frequencies may be scanned, and multiple files of frequencies may be linked together for scanning. Scanning by bands, and scanning of multiple bands is also possible. Twenty preprogrammed bands, and many preprogrammed scan files with Shortwave, marine, utility, and hot frequencies are included with the software, or available for download from the Scancat web site. Prior versions of Scancat were limited to 400 frequencies in a scan file, but this version does not have that limitation when scanning a disk file. A database "browser" window is used for looking at or working with these files. Individual or global settings can be edited. Auto mode and increment features can be enabled to help when using a database file that lacks these settings. A blank file can be used to enter frequencies from scratch, as the target of an imported file, or because most of the radios supported can have their memories read, the contents of a radio may be saved into a disk file. An existing file may be loaded, edited, sorted, and for most radios, loaded into their memories. A scan file may be searched for when using a scan file. A file of specified frequencies may be scanned, and multiple files of frequencies may be linked together for scanning. Scanning by bands, and scanning of multiple bands is also possible. Twenty preprogrammed bands, and many preprogrammed scan files with Shortwave, marine, utility, and hot frequencies are included with the software, or available for download from the Scancat web site. Prior versions of Scancat were limited to 400 frequencies in a scan file, but this version does not have that limitation when scanning a disk file. A database "browser" window is used for looking at or working with these files. Individual or global settings can be edited. Auto mode and increment features can be enabled to help when using a database file that lacks these settings. A blank file can be used to enter frequencies from scratch, as the target of an imported file, or because most of the radios supported can have their memories read, the contents of a radio may be saved into a disk file. An existing file may be loaded, edited, sorted, and for most radios, loaded into their memories. A scan file may be searched for text, sorted by field, printed, or exported. Search results can be saved into a disk file, and the logged details of scanning can be analyzed. Different logging options are supported including ones for interactive and unattended monitoring. These can be a powerful tool for the user that wants to collect information on the signals they've monitored. Logging results may be printed or saved to a file on disk. An automatic feature is provided for identifying and locking out any birdies on the receiver being controlled. This feature remembers to skip these frequencies any time this radio is used in the future, and saves the user time and aggravation. The main scanning window features slider bars that allow you to adjust the dwell, hang, delay, and command timings on the fly. This is great for making adjustments while scanning to optimize performance.
Spectrum Analysis is supported on radios that provide a squelch and signal strength information via their interface. Hits and signal strengths are easily seen using this visual display. A new feature is the ability to display a graphic file as a map, and define areas on it that when clicked will instantly tune your radio to a frequency. You can define up to 1000 hot spots on the BMP format graphics file. Alarms can be set for records in a scan file, and when they are active, the user is notified. A terminal emulator named Quickterm is included for use with a TNC or similar demodulator while running Scancat. It features multiple windows and macro features.
I found Scancat to be easy to install and use. Its importing and logging features, as well as support for many different radios are strong points. The user's manual and telephone support are strong reasons for a person considering a computer control setup for the first time to take a good look at Scancat Gold for Windows. Users of Opto equipped scanners who want the quickest scanning speeds possible will find that Scancat Gold for Windows doesn't scan as fast as some other software products, especially those that run under DOS, but it does implement pipeline tuning techniques possible with those two boards. Several new optimization features (not tested here) for faster scanning have been included in their current release, to ensure fast scanning and the ability to detect and stop on a signal. The Squelch Sample Rate is used to verify that signals are not being missed during scanning, and the Previous Frequency feature can be used to compensate for when a scanner may stop on a channel after the channel with the signal was detected. The software can then reverse scan back to the active channel. This feature is useful when trying to scan at very fast rates, which are less useful if they scan past a signal you want to hear.