Trunking Primary Control or All Channels

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mvinsable

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So, I have had the radioshack pro-164 scanner for almost a week. When I look up the city I am trying to program (Bend, Oregon) it gives a list of "primary control frequencies" and then some additional ones (that are not listed as "secondary control"). Should I program all the frequencies into the bank, or just the "primary control" ones??
here is the frequencies: Deschutes County Public Safety Trunking System, Bend, Oregon - Scanner Frequencies

And, if you only need the "primary control" ones, then why do they list the other ones that are not "primary" or "alternative control"?

Also, the bank is set to motorola, and each channel should also me set to "MO", right?

Thank You!!
Looking forward to information.

- Matt
 

whiskeytango

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yea each channel should be set to MO along with the bank being set to MOT.

of your 10 freq's used, 4 are control channels...they send out a digital noise that tells certain radios to listen when a certain user keys up.
 

SCPD

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I would & do program them all in because soner or later they they will ( may) change the CC's & when that happens you will think "OH NO" what did i do to mess things up".. If you have all the frequencies to begin with you keep on scanning along with out interruptions
 

mvinsable

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I would & do program them all in because soner or later they they will ( may) change the CC's & when that happens you will think "OH NO" what did i do to mess things up".. If you have all the frequencies to begin with you keep on scanning along with out interruptions

So, I should program them all in? I tried it before but it seemed to mess things up for some reason... but I could try again - if it they will change to control channels?

Thanks for all the info everyone!
 

Caddop22

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I agree with RS, put them all in. The CC's bounce and you might be better off using them all.

Here in Bama they Re-Banded and some of the old and some new freqs were used. Don't take the chance.
 

hfxChris

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The control channel should only be bouncing between the ones identified as control channels in the database - if it's using other frequencies, those should be submitted to the db as additional control channels.
 

midnightcaller

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Bend oregon

I used to come to Bend and put inthe 800 meg freqs at the time, did not have a trunk scanner. but they use to change the CC every day I had a freq book that said that SO I would put them all in, and not take the chance

they also had a great PIZZA PLACE called Izzy Pizza is it still there I think thats what it was called
 

rvictor

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The control channel should only be bouncing between the ones identified as control channels in the database - if it's using other frequencies, those should be submitted to the db as additional control channels.

And they probably will be in due time, but in the meanwhile, I'd just as soon have my scanner keep working without interruption. If one is short of memory space, then I'd just put in the designated control and alternate frequencies, but if I have plenty of memory, I can't see the disadvantage to putting them in when you initially program the system.

Dick
 

k8tmk

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I just program in the main control channel and any alternate control channels. Only one of the systems I monitor in Southwestern Michigan has ever changed thier control channel to the alternate, and then it was only for a very short time. Putting both main and alternate channels in provided flawless operation here.

I don't know what all is involved in reprogramming commercial radios, but I suspect each radio would have to be reprogrammed separately, and it wouldn't be cost effective to completely change control channels very often (if ever).

Randy
 

ilgrant

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I prefer to put all the frequencies in. Control channels do change and occasionally may run into an instance where a CC not labeled as a primary may become the CC.
 

JoeyC

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I prefer to put all the frequencies in. Control channels do change and occasionally may run into an instance where a CC not labeled as a primary may become the CC.

Thats why you should always put the primary AND the secondary channels in. There will never be more than 4 I don't believe. If the total of primary and alternatives do not equal 4, then you can program everything to be on the safe side.
 

greenthumb

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There will never be more than 4 I don't believe. If the total of primary and alternatives do not equal 4, then you can program everything to be on the safe side.

Just to add a tidbit here, there won't be more than 4 in Motorola 3600 bps SmartNet or SmartZone. In P25 or EDACS, there can be more than 4 depending on how the system administrator configures the system, and depending on manufacturer of P25 system, some may not be "primary" or "secondary" - they are just pooled and not used in any certain priority.
 

hfxChris

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I actually find this very interesting. The TRS I monitor here in Nova Scotia very, very rarely changes control channels. In fact I've only seen a site switch to its' alternate cc once before. Now granted this system has 69 sites, and I obviously can't monitor them all. So I find it very interesting that some systems/sites switch control channel this frequently, and with so many different alternates.
 

DaveH

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I actually find this very interesting. The TRS I monitor here in Nova Scotia very, very rarely changes control channels. In fact I've only seen a site switch to its' alternate cc once before. Now granted this system has 69 sites, and I obviously can't monitor them all. So I find it very interesting that some systems/sites switch control channel this frequently, and with so many different alternates.

My observation is that SmartZone systems rarely change CC's, but SmartNet systems
(particulary single-site) may change CCs once a day.

Dave
 

WayneH

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The changing of the control channel every hour is a legacy quirk newer single-site (and Simulcast) controllers have inherited. With SmartZone the site controller operates in a slave mode and acts on the Zone Controller's actions, so it has a different mode of operation.

Controllers like the 6809, MTC3600 and StartSite will roll their control channels amongst their list. Even though continuous duty stations came out long ago it's just one other thing Motorola has kept around like Motorola is so fond of doing. If anything not rotating them causes an improper load balance since with SZ systems the alternate control channels are not used unless the non-restricted traffic channels are all in use. That's why it's best to designate only two possible CC's.
 
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