I-Call for BC796

[koleary]

I notice that this scanner can pick up i-call. Can someone tell me what I need to do in order to pick up i-call. All i did was program i-Call to 'on' but the horrible manual stated something about entering in Unit number?

Any info wil help.

 

[fmon]

In the bank with I-Call on enter ID 70000 if the bank is Motorola or i00000 if EDACS. Use the . for the little i. BTW, I list these is Scan List 10-10 for each bank.

 

[Jay911]

In the bank with I-Call on enter ID 70000 if the bank is Motorola or i00000 if EDACS. Use the . for the little i. BTW, I list these is Scan List 10-10 for each bank.

Sorry to correct you, but it's 700000 (five zeroes). And having them in the scan list is only necessary if you are ID Scanning. If you use ID Search, you don't have to do anything so long as I-Call is set to ON or ONLY.

The use of 700000 means 'everything' to the scanner. Radios in Motorola trunk systems are assigned an ID number between 700001 and 765535 (or thereabouts). So if you knew the specific ID of a radio that you wanted to monitor and hear only its I-Calls, I believe you could just enter that radio number.

 

[richster]

I believe you could just enter that radio number.

Jay is exactly right. But this is only valid for Motorola Type II (or higher)systems. If you are entering radio numbers on older Motorola systems such as Type II/i Hybrid systems, you have to use the "." to designate it an I-Call ID.

I don't even think I-Calls are possible on a Type II/i hybrid, the one here was mothballed a couple of years ago and replace with an ASTRO type II Mixed Mode.

i00000 if EDACS.

fmon is exactly right in this case for EDACS systems. Just plain ".0" will work as well for the wildcard. You cannot directly enter the radio ID's like you can with Motorola systems. You have to use the "." first to designate it an I-Call ID.

As well the 796D or even all BC's that will handle I-Calls, have the capability of tracking I-Calls on both EDACS 9600 baud (wide), and EDACS 4800 baud (narrow) systems.

This is not the case for Motorola systems. BC radios that do I-Calls only track I-Calls on 3600 baud systems only.

Regards,
Richster.

 

[loumaag]

This is not the case for Motorola systems. BC radios that do I-Calls only track I-Calls on 3600 baud systems only.

Umm, there is another kind of Motorola system? And before you jump to answer, remember APCO-25 is not a Motrorola system.

 

[richster]

This is not the case for Motorola systems. BC radios that do I-Calls only track I-Calls on 3600 baud systems only.

Umm, there is another kind of Motorola system? And before you jump to answer, remember APCO-25 is not a Motrorola system.

Hi Lou,

I read that Bearcat scanners that follow I-Calls will not follow I-Calls on Motorola systems with 9600 baud control channels. I know APCO-25 is a type of compliancy, but I was talking about the differences in motorola baud rates. I don't know why they won't follow I-Calls on Motorola systems with 9600 baud control channels, I think it's because 9600 baud systems use a totally different protocol from 3600 baud systems. I'll have to do some more reading.

Regards,
Richster.

 

[koleary]

I-CALLS BC796

Thanks all for the responses.

I program it but was just wondering how much the iCall is used. I usually hear police/fire say go to one of the TAC channels to do talking. Do they really use the ICAll function to there radios. I bet some don't even know that this fuction even exists.

Have not go one icall yet. Seems in my system that they don't use it that much.

Just wanted to see if other areas use their ICall fuction.

 

[richster]

Re: I-CALLS BC796

No problem. I'm just glad to to tell you what I know based on my experiences.

Don't be discouraged that you haven't heard any I-Calls yet. Police, Fire, and EMS services rarely use I-Calls because the information they convey are meant for everyone in their group to hear all at the same time. A police officer wouldn't give out a BOLO using I-Call because he would only be able to contact 1 radio at a time. It would take him/her forever.

If this is a Motorola system you are listening to, the "I-Call wildcard" will be able to pick up the phone patches being made on the system as well.

Regards,
Richster.

 

[fmon]

I agree with Richster, few are used on my system (School Board and Building Inspectors), though I did hear a fireman call another late one Sat night. He was advising the other that "this place is jumping tonight". I could hear the Electric Slide playing in the background :lol:

Also, the one EDACS system in my area pops up sometimes with I-Call. Usually city services.

 

[koleary]

I-calls bc796

I set it up using . (which goes tio i ) and then 0. I see it being 700000 now. Is this set up for the wildcard that you talked about. I am pretty sure that this is wildcard. Please let me know. Thanks once again for all the knowledge.

 

[troymail]

In my local system, the I-Call was used heavily when the first
TRS was installed. Over time, it got used less and less often
because everyone carries cell phones and many people use
Nextel direct-connect instead.

My local Sheriff department seems to still use the I-Call fairly
heavily even today... mostly supervisors talking to each other
and they don't want the rest of the Sheriff units to know what
they are chatting about....

 

[Jay911]

Re: I-calls bc796

I set it up using . (which goes tio i ) and then 0. I see it being 700000 now. Is this set up for the wildcard that you talked about. I am pretty sure that this is wildcard. Please let me know. Thanks once again for all the knowledge.

Yes, that's the right wildcard. You should be good to go.

Like everyone else is saying, though, not many people use I-Call in a lot of areas any more. I think the last time it was used on the system I monitor is when me (with my fire radio) and a dispatcher friend played with it a year or two back.

 

[koleary]

i-calls bc796

Thanks guys for the reply. I believe my PD etc uses Nextel instead of iCall beacuse I do hear them say, "Call me on my NExtel' Of well, I least I have it programmed correctly in case someone does use it.

Once again thanks for the answers.