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Sentinel (Uniden software)

From The RadioReference Wiki

Sentinel

Software package published by Uniden, for their HomePatrol-1, HomePatrol-2, BCD436HP, BCD536HP, SDS100 and SDS200 scanners; freeware that allowing all users to download and try, before purchase of the scanners. Both version give the user the ability to Update Firmware, Update the Radio Reference Data Base (RRDB), build, create, edit and maintain Favorite List, Systems, Departments, analog & digital channels (Talkgroups), frequencies and various other attributes including Services Type to Monitor all via the software package for Windows based PC's and not MAC (See Below) and requiring a free PC USB port a USB A - USB Mini B connection cable and/or a MicroSD card reader and/or adapter for standard sized SD cards. Follow Uniden recommendation on install.


Current Versions

Windows 11

Enabling .NET Framework 2.0 and 3.0

Windows 10 and earlier
  1. Go to your Start -> Control Panel -> Programs and Features
  2. Go to "All versions continue here" below.
Windows 11
  1. Click Start and type "optionalfeatures"
  2. Click the search result for "optionalfeatures"
  3. Click "Control Panel"
  4. Go to "All versions continue here" below.
All versions continue here
  1. On the left, click "Turn Windows features on or off"
  2. Check the box next to .NET Framework 3.5 (includes. NET 2.0 and 3.0)
  3. Windows will install the framework.
  4. Reboot your computer.

Sentinel Pages


Options for running Sentinel on an Apple Mac running macOS

Covers options like running Windows natively, using a Virtual Machine (full-featured Windows inside macOS), or simply running Sentinel inside macOS using a lightweight Windows runtime environment.

Options for running on an Apple Silicon Mac

The above only applies to Intel Macs. The newer Apple Silicon Macs can run some Intel software using Rosetta 2, but it can't run an Intel-based OS like Windows. Apple Silicon uses the ARM instruction set, so ARM native software runs nicely there. Microsoft has a version of Windows 11 for ARM under development, and is free to download. Once Windows 11 is run as a virtual machine on Apple Silicon, MacOS allows it to use Rosetta 2 to run Intel applications. Such as Sentinel.
This article gives instructions for three different ways to run ARM Windows on a Apple Silicon Mac. Of the three, UTM is the simplest and least expensive (it's free). I've run Sentinel with it on an M1 MacBook Pro, so I know it works. Just remember you're running a version of Windows that's still under development, so things are a little rough around the edges.
One oddity with UTM (Parallels and VMWare probably have their own quirks) to be aware of: When you plug the scanner into the USB port (you'll probably need a USB-A to USB-C adapter) select Mass Storage Device on the scanner when asked. At this point, the scanner will mount as a disk on the Mac. In order for Windows under UTM to see the USB device, eject the mounted scanner from MacOS. At this point the Windows VM should see the scanner, and you can use it in Sentinel.


Installing Sentinel on Linux

One option is to follow this thread: I have Sentinel Working with Linux Mint LMDE5 Thread

Another option is to use Wine:

1) Install Wine and .NET 3.5 SP1 according to the Wiki article.
2) Download Sentinel from https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/BCDx36HPSentinel
3) Extract to a directory such as /tmp, substituting your path and filename:
unzip -q /path/to/BCDx36HP_Sentinel_Version_2_05_03.zip -d /tmp/
4) Run the setup under Wine:
wine /tmp/BCDx36HP_Sentinel_Version_2_05_03/setup.exe
5) Follow the prompts to install. A link to the software should appear on your desktop.

Using Sentinel Under Wine

For the SDS series, the unit must be in mass storage mode and be presented as a floppy disk in Wine for Sentinel to see it correctly. Unfortunately, this must be done each time you connect the device, until a process can be found to do this automatically.

1) Place the SDS into mass storage mode and connect to your computer.
2) Launch winecfg:
winecfg
3) On the "Drives" tab, highlight the drive letter corresponding to your SDS device.
4) Click "Show Advanced".
5) Change the "Type" to "Floppy Disk".
6) Click OK.
7) You can now read, write, and update the firmware on your SDS.
8) Be sure to eject the volume in Linux before disconnecting your SDS, to allow all writes to be committed.

Sentinel Searches

Bearcat Warehouse

Bing

RadioReference

The Scanner Guys

Scanner Master

YouTube

Zip Scanners