Pro-164 Motorola Trunking

[jfhtm350]

I have read the manual (although not too informative) and done some research here on the internet and I have some questions to ask. Maybe somebody can help me out.

I want to program the Knox County Public Safety (Motorola Type II Smartnet) Trunking System in my Pro-164. Knoxville/Knox County Public Safety Trunking System, Knoxville, Tennessee - Scanner Frequencies
I am going to program it into bank 7, an empty bank.

1) Ok, so i need to set my bank type to Motorola Trunking mode.
2) Set the 800mhz system type (normal or splinter).
3) I do not need to fool with the base, offset and step settings since it is only 800mhz right?
4) I do not need to fool with the motorola type I fleetmap settings right? all the blocks are set on type 2

Now if the trunking bank is setup correctly:
1) Program the control channel into channel 700. (854.41250c)
2) Progam the talkgroups into the subbanks i want to listen to and set the bank closed. ( I just want to listen to certain ones Police,Fire)
3) Done and Scan.

Question 1: Is the above the correct way to program it?
Question 2: Are the Alternate control channels voice channels when the primary control channel is working or are they control channels all the time?
Question 3: If I dont set the bank closed to what i want to listen to, will it just track the first person that shows up on the control channel until they are done talking and then go back to the control channel and repeat?

I live in the next county over and im getting a blotchy signal from the primary control channel so i cant really test my settings to see if everything is working. But i want everything to be working properly for when i visit Knox County.

 

[GregFromOregon]

1) Ok, so i need to set my bank type to Motorola Trunking mode. YES
2) Set the 800mhz system type (normal or splinter). NORMAL
3) I do not need to fool with the base, offset and step settings since it is only 800mhz right? BECAUSE ITS MOTOROLA II AND NOT REBANDED
4) I do not need to fool with the motorola type I fleetmap settings right? all the blocks are set on type 2. CORRECT
Now if the trunking bank is setup correctly:
1) Program the control channel into channel 700. (854.41250c)I PERSONALLY PUT IN THE ALTERNATES ALSO
2) Progam the talkgroups into the subbanks i want to listen to and set the bank closed. ( I just want to listen to certain ones Police,Fire)MAKE SURE IT IS SET TO MOTOROLA
3) Done and Scan.
Question 1: Is the above the correct way to program it? LOOKS LIKE YOU GOT IT
Question 2: Are the Alternate control channels voice channels when the primary control channel is working or are they control channels all the time? VCs
Question 3: If I dont set the bank closed to what i want to listen to, will it just track the first person that shows up on the control channel until they are done talking and then go back to the control channel and repeat?YES, ANY TGID THAT TRANSMITS, WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THEM PROGRAMMED IN TO YOUR SCANNER, YOU WILL HEAR. AND EVERY TIME SOMEONE UNKEYS IT GIVES YOU A CHANCE TO HEAR OTHER USERS. SO CORRECT.

If you are outside 20-30 miles,depending on terrain, you might not get a good enough signal. Go try it is the best way to find out how ya did, but from what you posted it sounds good.

Here is an easier to understand manual from Marks Scanners -> Easier to Read Pro-97/2055 Scanner Manual works for the 300/400 and the 163/164 also

Happy scanning!!!

 

[N8IAA]

1) Ok, so i need to set my bank type to Motorola Trunking mode.
2) Set the 800mhz system type (normal or splinter).
3) I do not need to fool with the base, offset and step settings since it is only 800mhz right?
4) I do not need to fool with the motorola type I fleetmap settings right? all the blocks are set on type 2

All of the above are correct.

Now if the trunking bank is setup correctly:
1) Program the control channel into channel 700. (854.41250c)
2) Progam the talkgroups into the subbanks i want to listen to and set the bank closed. ( I just want to listen to certain ones Police,Fire)
3) Done and Scan.

You need to put in the alternate CC's also. There are times that the system may change to them, causing spotty trunktracking.

Question 1: Is the above the correct way to program it?
Question 2: Are the Alternate control channels voice channels when the primary control channel is working or are they control channels all the time?

Question 1. See my above answer.
Question 2. Yes.

Question 3: If I dont set the bank closed to what i want to listen to, will it just track the first person that shows up on the control channel until they are done talking and then go back to the control channel and repeat?

Yes, if you leave the bank in OPEN mode, the next TGID the CC decodes will be what you hear. So, if you want to listen to just the PD and FD, set the bank to CLOSED.

I live in the next county over and im getting a blotchy signal from the primary control channel so i cant really test my settings to see if everything is working. But i want everything to be working properly for when i visit Knox County.

Since you don't state what antenna you are using, I presume that you are using the stock rubber duck, it won't receive as well. If you get the RS 800MHz antenna, it may improve the signal. A lot depends on the distance from the closest tower to you in Knox county.

HTH,
Larry

 

[jfhtm350]

Yes i can pick up the control channel here at the house but its weak and chases some of the conversation, but not reliable enough to scan from here.

Ok what about this:
Program in the primary control channel and the alternate control channels and just lockout the alternate control channels so i dont hear just random conversations when it is scanning the ones that are voice channels at the moment. Or does the scanner scan the bank and only pick up the channels that are broadcasting control channel signals and not let me hear the alternate control channels that are on voice mode at the moment? That is if i got them all on motorola mode.

 

[jfhtm350]

Right now im using a diamond RH77CA antenna.
I thought about getting the 800mhz antenna but i wanted the antenna to pick up better from low to high.

 

[jfhtm350]

Ok i just had another thought about this.
The scanner has 5 subbanks for TGID's on each bank.
What if i put the ones in want to hear into one subbank and others into another subbank and turn the subbanks on and off to hear the ones i want to hear at the moment.
Will that work like that?

 

[FLA2760]

Right now im using a diamond RH77CA antenna.
I thought about getting the 800mhz antenna but i wanted the antenna to pick up better from low to high.

I have the Diamond RH77CA antenna too but for 800MHz I use this.

800MHz Scanner Antenna - RadioShack.com

 

[jfhtm350]

I have the Diamond RH77CA antenna too but for 800MHz I use this.

800MHz Scanner Antenna - RadioShack.com

How much better does it pick up a signal in the 800-900mhz band than the diamond.
I had actually bought the RS telescoping center loaded whip antenna before i bought the diamond and i didnt care for that one. It seemed like it picked up great but it was too awkward and top heavy to suit me, and i didnt want to have to keep adjusting the length on it. I know thats not the same one your talking about.

 

[N8IAA]

Ok what about this:
Program in the primary control channel and the alternate control channels and just lockout the alternate control channels so i dont hear just random conversations when it is scanning the ones that are voice channels at the moment. Or does the scanner scan the bank and only pick up the channels that are broadcasting control channel signals and not let me hear the alternate control channels that are on voice mode at the moment? That is if i got them all on motorola mode.

The object of having a scanner that does CC only trunktracking, is to use all available CC's, main and alternate. That way, you don't miss out on what you want to monitor on that system. The scanner scans for the CC that is sending out data. Then decodes the data into a format that we can hear. Locking out frequencies is not the way to control what you hear. Using the sub banks and CLOSED mode, is how you control what you want to monitor. If you only want to listen to FD and PD, you can use two sub banks to do that, or, one if you don't have a lot of TGID's.
OPEN mode hears everything that goes on in the system. The only control you have in that mode is the LOCK OUT key (LOUT). When you hear a TG you don't want to monitor, you press that key. It may help if you go to the RR Wiki and read some of the articles on trunktracking for beginners.
HTH,
Larry

 

[N8IAA]

How much better does it pick up a signal in the 800-900mhz band than the diamond.

As someone posted, it depends on the distance and strength of the system's signal. 800MHz signals are not designed to be as strong as conventional simplex or repeater channels. Otherwise, they would interfer with other systems close by. The Diamond is a great antenna for VHF/UHF. Not always 800MHz. You might be amazed as to how well the RS 800MHz antenna works on local VHF/UHF, as well as, trunked systems I personally use a variety of antennas to monitor a variety of different frequencies and modes.
HTH,
Larry

 

[GregFromOregon]

Ok i just had another thought about this.
The scanner has 5 subbanks for TGID's on each bank.
What if i put the ones in want to hear into one subbank and others into another subbank and turn the subbanks on and off to hear the ones i want to hear at the moment.
Will that work like that?

Yes, thats a very common way to do it

 

[GregFromOregon]

Yes i can pick up the control channel here at the house but its weak and chases some of the conversation, but not reliable enough to scan from here.

Ok what about this:
Program in the primary control channel and the alternate control channels and just lockout the alternate control channels so i dont hear just random conversations when it is scanning the ones that are voice channels at the moment. Or does the scanner scan the bank and only pick up the channels that are broadcasting control channel signals and not let me hear the alternate control channels that are on voice mode at the moment? That is if i got them all on motorola mode.

NO, dont lock out any frequencies. Its sorta like it stays on the control channel until it gets a voice transmission, then it jumps to the frequency that the control channel tells it to. If you lock out a freq, it will not go to that freq if the CC tells it to even if the TG is one you want to listen to.
That is simplified, but read this to understand better -> Trunked Radio Systems - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[DickH]

Question 3: If I dont set the bank closed to what i want to listen to, will it just track the first person that shows up on the control channel until they are done talking and then go back to the control channel and repeat? ...

Just to clarify one small point. A person's conversation does not show up on the control channel. The data on the control channel is de-coded by your scanner, then the scanner tunes to the freq. being used for that conversation. When that person releases their mic button, then the other person pushes theirs, the control channel assigns a new ffreq. to that conversation and directs your scanner to tune to the new freq.
Sounds complicated and it is, and it all happens in a fraction of a second.

 

[FLA2760]

How much better does it pick up a signal in the 800-900mhz band than the diamond.
I had actually bought the RS telescoping center loaded whip antenna before i bought the diamond and i didnt care for that one. It seemed like it picked up great but it was too awkward and top heavy to suit me, and i didnt want to have to keep adjusting the length on it. I know thats not the same one your talking about.

With 800Mhz systems that are not in my county it has done well. The Diamond does well on VHF-UHF for me.

 

[N1BHH]

A better choice of antenna will always be one that is mounted outside. The higher the better. I am using mag mounts on my air conditioner and have little trouble hearing what I want. Just get the antenna outside and you'll hear much better.

 

[jfhtm350]

well this all clears up the questions i had. Thanks everyone.
You give me long enough and im sure i will come up with another question.

 

[FallenAnjel]

Hi jfhtm350 ! I just bought a Pro-164 at the beginning of December. I used to use the Win-97 program from Starsoft and manually type in all the freq's and then upload to the scanner. I didn't have the $25 to buy the program at the time, so I took advantage of the ARC300 software's 30 day trial (Will DEFINITELY buy in Feb) and paid $15 for six months of Radio Reference to download frequencies directly to the software.

Aside from a little moving bands around and a little tweaking, I had 5 banks of both trunked and conventional frequencies up and running in about 45 minutes. Best thing I ever did, and I'll never manually program a scanner again.

If you decide to do what I did, and need some help, let me know and I'll try to help however I can.

 

[jfhtm350]

Yea i have the cable and the arc300 software, but you have to pay to download from this site. Well i cant say i agree with that because the users are the ones that provided the frequencies and i have submitted a few thats not on here. Thats not a big deal to me i guess because i can copy and paste what i want to program.

I am one of those people that likes to understand why this goes here and why that goes there and what it means, you know.

I downoaded the Win97 also and although it does pretty much the same thing, i like the arc300 alot better.