OK, so I'm new, and I've listened to over 24 hours of broadcast from my local PublicSafety Service.
They are on APCO25 system.
What I'm unclear about is how the system works.
So I know there's a control channel. There are also different channels. How does the scanner allow you to hear everything from the system? I also know that sometimes units are asked to respond on a specific channel, do I hear that channel if I'm on the control channel? How do the units switch between channels, is it preprogrammed channel selection on the unit's radio or something, or how does it work?
In theory, for some reason I think that I'm supposed to hear all the traffic, but in reality I'd think that if the scanner is picking up all the traffic there'd be overlap between different channels meanwhile the units would be able to operate on those channels without being stepped on by other channels, hence thats why they are on a diff channel in the first place. But then what is the purpose of the control channel if you can't monitor all other channels. Doesn't the control channel (based on trunking systems) basically tells your radio to move to another channel? Do the units do it manually, or the dispatch moves them over to another channel? Would that cause confusion if it wasn't manual? So what's the purpose of the primary/control channel? Is it just a naming convention in APCO25 for central channels where dispatches are made?
They are on APCO25 system.
What I'm unclear about is how the system works.
So I know there's a control channel. There are also different channels. How does the scanner allow you to hear everything from the system? I also know that sometimes units are asked to respond on a specific channel, do I hear that channel if I'm on the control channel? How do the units switch between channels, is it preprogrammed channel selection on the unit's radio or something, or how does it work?
In theory, for some reason I think that I'm supposed to hear all the traffic, but in reality I'd think that if the scanner is picking up all the traffic there'd be overlap between different channels meanwhile the units would be able to operate on those channels without being stepped on by other channels, hence thats why they are on a diff channel in the first place. But then what is the purpose of the control channel if you can't monitor all other channels. Doesn't the control channel (based on trunking systems) basically tells your radio to move to another channel? Do the units do it manually, or the dispatch moves them over to another channel? Would that cause confusion if it wasn't manual? So what's the purpose of the primary/control channel? Is it just a naming convention in APCO25 for central channels where dispatches are made?