F121 no, F5021 yes
Either would work. I got in touch with ICOM and the radio cannot do the auto-scan the way Motorola's will. I have a solution programmed that was acceptable.
Thanks.
The newer radios have auto-scan capability, but alas, the bulletproof F121 does not.
FYI, the new F5011 (ostensibly 4-channels) can scan more than 4. I often set up radios with the four main "P" buttons assigned to MC-1 through 4, using P0-Repeater, P1-Direct, P2-Local Weather, and P3-Weather Scan.
The .icf files are interchangeable between the Fx011 non-display and Fx021 display radios. As far as I've been able to tell, the main difference between radios is the physical faceplate, but I have not explored all corners of the envelope.
To make that happen I program memory channel 3 to the local weather channel, then program MC-4 though whatever to the rest of the channels to be scanned. MC-4 is tagged auto-scan. I mark the scan list, set a non priority scan and let 'er rip. Works pretty slick.
You can also use a fixed priority scan setting the main talking channel as Priority 1 and add in RX-only channels. That is a bit trickier to get right, but works for "company truck radios" that need to listen to other things, like volunteer firefighters scanning paging and operational channels.
The weather scan example:
