Please help me understand a few optional features for the P51/P71/P72 radios

[AlexCA]

Hey guys, can you help me understand the meaning of these features and their relevance to the P51/P71/P72 platforms?

02 EDACS 3 Site System Scan ? Is this a positive or negative option?
19 M-RK I Second Bank ? What does this feature do?
30 Limited Feature Expansion ? Is this a positive or negative option? What does this feature do?
31 Smart Battery ? What does this feature do?
56 Motorola Multi-Group ? What does this feature do? Is it supported in P51/P71/P72?
61 Encryption Lite (ARC4) ? Is it supported in P51/P71/P72?

Of course, I spent several hours searching through the manuals of Ericsson, MA-COM, Tyco, and Harris, as well as a few more hours on Google, but these specific questions didn’t yield answers. That’s why I need your expertise here.

Also, it seems to me that features starting from number 40 are new and likely applicable to the M53/M73/XL/XG radios, but not to the older models. Please confirm or deny my assumption.

Thank you in advance.

 

[K2NEC]

Some of these features were likely not fully incorporated, 61 only applies to the XG line and above. ARC4 is not supported in the P series

 

[AlexCA]

Thank you for your response, you've been very helpful. Let's wait until someone provides feedback on the other features.

 

[Forts]

02 EDACS 3 Site System Scan ? Is this a positive or negative option?
19 M-RK I Second Bank ? What does this feature do?
30 Limited Feature Expansion ? Is this a positive or negative option? What does this feature do?
31 Smart Battery ? What does this feature do?
56 Motorola Multi-Group ? What does this feature do? Is it supported in P51/P71/P72?
61 Encryption Lite (ARC4) ? Is it supported in P51/P71/P72?

Not sure what you mean by positive or negative option. Either it's a feature that you need, or you don't.

02 is used with multi site EDACS scanning. There are hardly any EDACS systems left, so this is no use to the typical user
19... Same deal. This was a feature expansion on the MRK portables. If you aren't using an MRK then it's irrelevant
30 is used to feature cripple an M7300 and make it an M5300
31... Not sure, never used it
56 has to do with handling patches on a Motorola system. So unless you have a Harris subscriber unit registered on a Moto system, not something you need
61... As already mentioned only valid on XG and XL series radios. There were recently some P7300s going around with 61 activated on them, but it will not work and RPM will not let you enter ARC4 keys on a P7xx series portable.

 

[AlexCA]

Hi, Forts.

Thanks for the reply.

A negative option is, for example, Narrowband, MotoTRBO CB, explosion protection (reducing RF power to 1W), and so on. In other words, it’s an option that reduces (limits) functionality.

Now, specifically.

What exactly does option 02 provide? Does it limit scanning to 3 sites, or expand it? It doesn't matter how many systems are left, we’re talking in principle, is it useful or not? Or does it, on the contrary, limit scanning to 3 sites?

19 This option is specifically for the MRK, right? And is not applicable to the P-series, correct? The second memory bank, essentially a second zone, or what?

30 This is indeed an example of a negative option, if we believe your description.

31 It is also referred to as Battery ID. Apparently, the ability to read battery information from the chip embedded in it. I’d assume this is similar to Motorola’s IMPRES, but in a more basic form.

56 Got it. Is it accepted for the P-series, or only for newer radios? The number is very high; back in the P-series days, the list of options didn’t exceed 39 items.

 

[snoopyII]

Positive or Negative option is a rather unusual way of describing options. Forts pretty much stated it in its simplest form. You need it or you don't.

02 - There's probably no one here that can answer that with a definitive answer, (maybe Elroy can because he's down in FL, where EDACS is still in use) no one here (including myself) has probably programed an EDACS system into a radio for over a decade. It has no effect on anything other than EDACS systems. Honestly, no one probably cares. I recall it being in the majority of early M/A Com products, LPE's and Orion's when EDACS was still in widespread use. So it probably was a positive back then. If you're trying to decide whether or not to look for it in a specific radio, or to add or delete it, its irrelevant, not really a positive or negative.

19 - Yes, it's specifically for MRK's ONLY. It has no effect in the P series radios. It's not really a second zone. I think it allowed a second bank of channels 17-32 ( once activated, channel 1 would become channel 17 on the channel switch, 2 would become 18 and so forth) within the current selected system. This later became a programmable menu item in the P series. Again, most guys here haven't seen a functioning MRK in over a decade.

30 - Again, Forts is correct, there is no reason not believe his description. In the P series, it crippled a P7100 to a P5100. I seem to recall seeing in the early days of the LPE200's and Orion's as well, probably in the form of limiting channel capacity and system/group capacity. Most would refer to this as a negative option.

56 - NO, it's not supported in P series.

 

[AlexCA]

@snoopyII

Thank you for your response. Overall, I understand everything, and the topic can be considered closed. However, if anyone wishes to provide further clarification on functions that were never fully explained, I won't be opposed.

Let it be of purely academic (historical) interest, nevertheless.

 

[wanabe]

Not for nothing, but I’m still programming EDACS on my P7300 and P7200 down here in Florida. Brevard County and Volusia County still use EDACS, but Volusia has started to get their P25 system up and running ( albeit not fully, I don’t think ).

 

[brndnstffrd]

I'm not programming radios for it, but Hartford CT's EDACS system is also still going.

 

[kayn1n32008]

56 Got it. Is it accepted for the P-series, or only for newer radios?

It is only for 9600 Baud trunking, specifically on Motorola FNE. Motorola patches talkgroups differently than how Harris does it. It has zero bearing on EDACS.

 

[AlexCA]

Since you helped me figure out all the functions, let's try to finish this by solving the last one.

02 EDACS 3 Site System Scan?

Several people above have tried to answer something, but as I understand it, they themselves don’t know its exact purpose.

So, does it allow scanning 3 sites of a single system? And without it, is that not possible? What prevents this? Or can you scan, say, 10 sites of a single system without it, and it limits the number to 3 (which is called a negative option in all other radios, like in Motorola, Kenwood, Harris X*)?

Or does it mean something entirely different? Or, for instance, does option 02 not matter at all, as it is overridden by other scanning options, like option 06?

I would like to hear an answer from someone who knows exactly what it does or has a document revealing the essence of this option.

Please refrain from guesses and empty posts like "no one needs this anymore" or "it’s all been said above." They are not helpful and don’t bring us any closer to the truth.

Thank you!

 

[AlexCA]

It is only for 9600 Baud trunking, specifically on Motorola FNE. Motorola patches talkgroups differently than how Harris does it. It has zero bearing on EDACS.

Thank you for the detailed and clear explanation. Of course, I’ve heard about this, as it’s mentioned in updates and by other vendors (like Tait, Kenwood).

This is just for my understanding, as I’ve already read about this issue before, but it sounds confusing in the way Harris formulates the options.

 

[Forts]

I'm curious..

Since you helped me figure out all the functions, let's try to finish this by solving the last one.
02 EDACS 3 Site System Scan?

Why do you need to know the exact details of an old feature so badly?