Close Call? For MARCS or MARCSIP

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westons6668

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I have a BCD396xt Scanner and I have the systems working great. I'm trying to figure out the Close Call function. I'd like to monitor for communication on the public service, MARCS, or MARCSIP systems. Can Close Call do trunking systems? Are there resources to help me configure if possible?

Thank you.
 

kma371

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Close call is primarily used to monitor communications in a very close distance, say a few hundred feet. It wouldn't be useful in the application you are looking for.
 

westons6668

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I'm hoping to pick up communications from police, fire, EMS, or helicopters while I'm driving or on I 70 right outside my apartment. I think they use trunking systems and not sure if close call picks those u. Now, I keep hitting the scan button or changing systems; hoping to catch the communication. I'm not very successful. I was hoping close call would help.
 

wdz

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Close call is primarily used to monitor communications in a very close distance, say a few hundred feet. It wouldn't be useful in the application you are looking for.

Seconded. That's not what close call does. It's looking for high power transmissions in your proximity. In theory if you were standing by a MARCS tower it would pick up the conventional frequency but it's not going to trunk.
 

westons6668

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Thank you for the response. I have 4 systems with 8 sites. Please let me know if I've made mistakes.

Public Safety
Columbus City

Public Service
FranklinCounty

OhioMARCS
Columbus
Mobile

OhioMARCS-IP
Columbus City
Columbus MARCS
FranklinCounty
Mobile

Everything seems to be working.

Thank you all for the CloseCall information. I'll abandon my efforts there and focus on the trunking.
 
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Voyager

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Close Call works on trunking systems under the same criteria as any other signal - nearby and being the strongest signal in the band. It will pick up mobiles and portables fine. It may have an issue with the trunking station since there may be a control channel and a voice channel both transmitting at the same time, and those two signals will likely be of the same signal strength and block any hits from either. The control channel alone is more likely to hit when no voice channels are active.

CC will generally not work with TDMA transmitters such as portables and mobiles using P25 Phase II, but will still work with TDMA stations that transmit full-time carriers.

The best way to find new things on a trunking system is to use ID SEARCH with normal programming.
 

guttapercha

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Why not just program a bank or two with the input frequencies? This would be pretty straightforward.
 

cbehr91

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Thank you for the response. I have 4 systems with 8 sites. Please let me know if I've made mistakes.

Public Safety
Columbus City

Public Service
FranklinCounty

OhioMARCS
Columbus
Mobile

OhioMARCS-IP
Columbus City
Columbus MARCS
FranklinCounty
Mobile

Everything seems to be working.

Thank you all for the CloseCall information. I'll abandon my efforts there and focus on the trunking.

COIRS is the system used by the north/west suburbs including Dublin, Hilliard and Worthington. Again, depending on where you are and what you want to listen to you may want those too. Otherwise looks like you have everything covered.
 
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