What is the Difference Of A UID & an ID?

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17TLS02

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Hey what is the difference of a UID and an ID? Can i monitor them using my scanner if they are running off of the same that i program in or am i not able to listen to UID's?
 

Voyager

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If you mean the difference between a UID (AKA RID) and a TGID, the former is the individual Radio (or Unit) ID, and the latter is a TalkGroup ID which is used for many radios to communicate.

If you really mean UID vs ID, the only difference is semantics.
 

scanman1958

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UID = Unit ID Usually displays the individual radio ID. A lot of people like to get them and label them in their scanners. Example...One specific UID could be a specific EMS unit and is always that unit. You can take the UID and label it as "Medic 10" on the screen.
 

wb0wao

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Collecting and identifying UID's is very useful for agencies that assign patrol units/HT's to an officer that they retain from shift to shift. MHP assigns a vehicle and a HT to each trooper when they are assigned to a Troop. They take the vehicle home with them as well as the HT. With the MHP you can set up a UID listing in your scanner so whenever a unit transmits, you can have the scanner display their "call". I have most of the Troopers in Troop E identified with both their car and HT so when they come on I know it is State Car 1145 or their HT. It also is great for fire apparatus and EMS units as they never change. Fixed stations, such as dispatch consoles never change either.
 

Voyager

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I always mark the cars as cars. Same with portables unless I know it's user-assigned.
 

W8RMH

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UIDs are needed to identify the radio when the emergency button is activated. It also indicates the unit number on the dispatcher's screen when that unit transmits. These numbers can be permanently assigned or change daily, where the comm center is updated at the beginning of each shift.

Your scanner may receive these depending on the manufacturer / model. If the UIDs are programmed into the scanner you will receive all transmissions from those units regardless of the TG being used. This will include phone patches, unit-to-unit, etc.

Some systems use an UID structure where you can tell which unit or type of unit it is from the number itself - http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Franklin_County_Public_Safety_Radio_IDs
 
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W8RMH

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For smaller departments might not be as useful.
Sometimes a Car is not assigned to a particular officer.
At he beginning of the shift the dispatcher is given the car or radio ID number and programs it into the dispatch computer as assigned to that unit so it will display as the proper unit. I was an officer back in the 90s and even before trunked systems we did this.
 

KCoax

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Several of the local PD have the UID for portable as the LEO serial (badge number) and the car radio as the car number.
 

danzan77

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Do you have to know the frequency or can you just enter the tgid in. Or can you input all three freq, uid, and tgid.

Sent from my LGL52VL using Tapatalk
 

scanman1958

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Once you get your system programmed and running you have to go into the settings menu and turn on the unit id function.
 
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