Do I understand this right? ID Scan vs ID Search

[greenham]

As I understand the manual....

If I use ID Scan.. it ONLY scans the Talk Group IDs I have programmed into my system.

If I use ID Search it will scan every FREQUENCY I have programmed leading to lots more activity but no ID displays if that Freq doesn't corresponds to a programmed TG ID

And these scan settings are changed by just cycling through the scan button.

Did I get that right?

 

[donc13]

As I understand the manual....

If I use ID Scan.. it ONLY scans the Talk Group IDs I have programmed into my system.

If I use ID Search it will scan every FREQUENCY I have programmed leading to lots more activity but no ID displays if that Freq doesn't corresponds to a programmed TG ID

And these scan settings are changed by just cycling through the scan button.

Did I get that right?

Close....

ID search does not search the FREQUENCY. It searches for talkgroups. It listens to the control channel, and jumps to the first active talkgroup. If you have that talkgroup programmed in, it will display your text tag for that talkgroup. If you don't have it programmed in, it will display the talkgroup ID.

Remember, the control channel does the equivalent of a traffic cop. Someone keys their mike, the radio is tuned to the control channnel and sends out a request for a free channel for whatever TG that radio is set to. The control channel software finds the first open channel and announces to all radios (including your scanner) there is now a conversation on TG xxx on channel 2. All radios tuned to that TG, switch to channel 2. Your scanner listens on the control channel. If you are in ID SCAN mode, it looks to see if you've programmed in TG xxx and if so, switches to channel 2, otherwise it ignores it.

If you are in ID SEARCH mode, it switches to channel 2 (presuming your scanner is not listening to another TG at the time) and then looks on your TG list...if TG xxx is there, it displays that tag, if TG xxx is not there...it displays the TG ID (xxx).

Make sense?

BTW....There's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes, but it's just "details" and not important to the general concept.

 

[wannabescannist]

Edit: I type too slow...

 

[greenham]

OK... That makes some sense. But.... What if I don't wanna hear any of the NON programmed TG Talk, IS that where the ID Scan comes in... If that is the case I understand this...

I have noticed in ID Search mode, I will get Police chatter, when all I want is Fire Dept chatter. That would be (If I understand you) because in ID Search mode, both agencies use the same control channel. Even though I don't have the TG Text in my system, it does display ID 12345 (for example) for that police chatter.

Taken one step further (again if I understand you) if I were to put in text for ID 12345 that says "Police Chatter" that it would have displayed that instead of just the ID 12345.

Gee I hope I have this right cause it makes a ton of sense... at least in my mind. Now if I am wrong, I am more confused then ever.

 

[donc13]

OK... That makes some sense. But.... What if I don't wanna hear any of the NON programmed TG Talk, IS that where the ID Scan comes in... If that is the case I understand this...

I have noticed in ID Search mode, I will get Police chatter, when all I want is Fire Dept chatter. That would be (If I understand you) because in ID Search mode, both agencies use the same control channel. Even though I don't have the TG Text in my system, it does display ID 12345 (for example) for that police chatter.

Taken one step further (again if I understand you) if I were to put in text for ID 12345 that says "Police Chatter" that it would have displayed that instead of just the ID 12345.

Gee I hope I have this right cause it makes a ton of sense... at least in my mind. Now if I am wrong, I am more confused then ever.

That is correct. A Trunked system is a shared system. Lots of agencies share it, and using the talkgroups makes each sub-system think they have their own private system...even though they don't. So yea...the control channel(s) cover everyone, they're not separate for each agency within the system. So yes, ID SCAN only listens if one of your programmed TG comes up. So if you program in only PD talkgroups, that's all your'll hear...even if the FD is sitting right beside them talking at the same time.

Obviously, two different systems, use different channels and control channels.

 

[greenham]

TA DA !!!!!!!!!

A light just flickered to life !!!!! as Greenham gets it !!!!

OK now..... can a system have more then 1 control channel. Say you have a Public safety system that hosts the EMS and PD with one set of TG's and another system say that has the FD TG's in them. Each with their own control channels.

Then lets say you wanted to hear some TG's from the Public Safety system and some TG's from the FD system all in one location for quick key purposes..

Could you combine the freqs from both systems (provided they are in this case Type II) and create your own list of TG ID's?

 

[n2mdk]

TA DA !!!!!!!!!

A light just flickered to life !!!!! as Greenham gets it !!!!

OK now..... can a system have more then 1 control channel. Say you have a Public safety system that hosts the EMS and PD with one set of TG's and another system say that has the FD TG's in them. Each with their own control channels.

Then lets say you wanted to hear some TG's from the Public Safety system and some TG's from the FD system all in one location for quick key purposes..

Could you combine the freqs from both systems (provided they are in this case Type II) and create your own list of TG ID's?

You could do that put 2 seperate systems under the same system quick key. Since you can set the TGID into groups of their own and assign group quick keys for them as well and then turn them on and off.
Even in ID Search mode you can lock out IDs you don't want to hear and still search for additional ones.
I set up group quick keys for different users on the System like PD, FD, City Buses, City Services etc. then turn them on or off and still leave the radio in ID Search.
Hope this makes sense.

 

[seamusg]

TA DA !!!!!!!!!

A light just flickered to life !!!!! as Greenham gets it !!!!

OK now..... can a system have more then 1 control channel. Say you have a Public safety system that hosts the EMS and PD with one set of TG's and another system say that has the FD TG's in them. Each with their own control channels.

Then lets say you wanted to hear some TG's from the Public Safety system and some TG's from the FD system all in one location for quick key purposes..

Could you combine the freqs from both systems (provided they are in this case Type II) and create your own list of TG ID's?

A system can only have 1 control channel per site, a multi site system will have one CC per site. You can put in more the 1 CC in a bank on a GRE scanner if they are seperated by a conventional channel, but not on a UNIDEN scanner (1 CC per bank). The only problem is that the TG numbers for system A and system B will most likely be the same and the scanner will only find the first entry for the TG number.

 

[donc13]

TA DA !!!!!!!!!

A light just flickered to life !!!!! as Greenham gets it !!!!

OK now..... can a system have more then 1 control channel. Say you have a Public safety system that hosts the EMS and PD with one set of TG's and another system say that has the FD TG's in them. Each with their own control channels.

Then lets say you wanted to hear some TG's from the Public Safety system and some TG's from the FD system all in one location for quick key purposes..

Could you combine the freqs from both systems (provided they are in this case Type II) and create your own list of TG ID's?

No, that would be multi-system scanning which the 396T does not do directly. For each system, the 396 will only look for the first control channel it hears and lock on it.

You can, as noted by another answer....program 2 systems, one for EMS and PD and the other for the FC and put them on one quick-key. It'll scan one system for a few seconds, if no hit...will jump to the next system for a few seconds...back and forth. If it gets a hit on the PD and you keep getting traffic there, or "hold" a TG there...it will not skip to the next FD system. Vice Versa also....if it is held on a FD talkgroup or there is a lot of activity on the FD, you won't hear much on the PD side.

We have a statewide system here in Colorado. I have each local tower programmed as a separate system (thus each has it's own control channel) and depending on where that tower is located, I have the local PD TG's set for that system only. They are on separate quick-keys (You've got 100...no real need to "save" them) so I use that to toggle on and off various parts of the state and nearby agencies. If I wished, I could sub-divide the TG's on each tower into the separate agencies so by selecting the correct tower and group, even on teh statewide system, I'd only hear that one agency, but could quickly turn "on" other agencies by toggling other quick-keys or groups on/off.

 

[radio50]

One quirk, however

The above descriptions are excellent. But . . . there's one more item. I assume you're talking about a 996T, for example, and not an older scanner such as a 780.

Even if you have certain talkgroups programmed-in, you might not see or hear them in Search mode, if you have their "groups" de-selected. For example, I have 200+ talkgroups programmed into 10 groups for my county. However, if I have 6 of the 10 groups de-selected, then when those folks talk, I neither hear nor see them (in Search mode). But, I will see and hear un-programmed people (as well as those whose groups are still selected)!

This drove me crazy at first, coming from a 780, where it works the other way -- in Search, if it finds a programmed TG in some bank, even if the bank is turned off, it displays the identification and lets you listen.