Question About Dynamic Memory

[roadman1977]

I currently have a BC796D and the frequencies/talkgroups are stored in banks. I understand that the BCD396T does not have banks but it does have dynamic memory. How is dynamic memory different from channel banks? How does dynamic memory work?? If this question has been already posted I apologize.

 

[jehm1212]

With banks and channels, you have a lot of empty memory spaces that never get used. They stay empty and use extra memory. Dynamic memory only uses as many memory spaces as you need. It is more like computer memory.

You might get a little better idea of how it works by downloading the UASD for a scanner with dynamic memory, like the 396T.

 

[steve_eg]

Think of it like this:

You have a bank dedicated to a system (your local PD/FD/EMS/Gov). In this bank you have 20 available channels. Say you only use 8. You don't want to "clutter up" this system, so you leave the other 12 channels empty. In bank 2, you have your county services setup, using only a handful of channels.

Bank 1:
Ch 1-PD-1
Ch 2-PD-2
Ch 3-PD CAR-CAR
Ch 4-FD-1
Ch 5-FD-2
Ch 6-Fireground
Ch 7-EMS-1
Ch 8-Local Government
Ch 9 through 20 are empty.

Bank 2:
Ch 21-County Sheriff
Ch 22-Sheriff Car-Car
Ch 23-County Fire
Ch 24-County EMS
Ch 25-40 are empty.

Now, with dynamic memory, you're not limited by the number of channels in a bank you can have as many or as few as you want (actually, with certain scanners (BCD396T) you are limited-it's 200 TGIDs for trunked systems, but that's irrelevant for the sake of this explanation). You can have a system with multiple groups in it.

SYSTEM 1-ANYTOWN, USA
Group-1 POLICE
Ch-1 PD-1
Ch-2 PD-2
Ch-3 PD Car-Car
Group-2 FIRE DEPT
Ch-1 FD-1
Ch-2 FD-2
Ch-3 Fireground
Group-3 OTHER CITY SVCS
Ch-1 EMS
Ch-2 Local Gov

SYSTEM 2-COUNTY
Group-1 SHERIFF
Ch-1 DISPATCH
Ch-2 CAR-CAR
Group-2 FIRE
Ch-1 DISPATCH
Group-3 EMS
Ch-1 DISPATCH

Dynamic memory allows for a more efficient setup of a scanner, both in terms of the "how" you set it up, and the scanner resources used.


Hope that this helps and doesn't confuse you too much.


Steve

 

[MarkWestin]

Hello,

Dynamic memory is probably more like what you are used to than you might expect. The typical "Banked" scanner has 10 banks of 100 channels each. On the Uniden "Dynamic Memory" scanners, Initially there are no banks (systems, and groups) or channels. You start by creating a new "System". This could be for a specific area for example. You then create "Groups". These are like "Banks" except they can be from 1 to 200 channels per group. In trunked systems, only the amount of memory necessary is used instead of a few channels, leaving the rest of the bank unused. Also, the talkgroups can be put into separate "Groups" (Fire Department, Police Department Etc.) You can have as many "Systems" as memory will allow. After using the scanner for a little while and understanding the concept, I find this new type of programming to be much easier and much more flexible than the older "Bank" method.

Mark

 

[RoninJoliet]

Just my opinion, i have a 246 Uniden scanner, i have 60% capacity used so when im tooling down the busy expressway its pretty difficult to hear something special as you have to try and find a)what system is it under, b)what group is it in, c)take your eyes off the road and scroll to the said channel, on my PRO96, press the CH # and there you are, both radios =EXCELLENT....

 

[loumaag]

Just my opinion, i have a 246 Uniden scanner, i have 60% capacity used so when im tooling down the busy expressway its pretty difficult to hear something special as you have to try and find a)what system is it under, b)what group is it in, c)take your eyes off the road and scroll to the said channel, on my PRO96, press the CH # and there you are, both radios =EXCELLENT....

What are you doing? Scrolling is never necessary. That is what system quick keys and group quick keys are for. Since the OP was talking about the difference between a 796 and 396 the limits of 246 are not applicable. However, since I also own both a dynamic memory scanner (BCD396T) and a Pro-96 (and 2096) your statement in that regard is false. Yes, on a Pro-96, you can easily toggle a memory bank on or off, but you cannot easily toggle an ID Sub-Bank on or off. I say that if you wanted to toggle Bank 1, sub-bank 1-3 off or on you could not do it driving down the road. Whereas on a 396T you can do the same thing by toggling a system quick key on or off. And toggling a group on or off (within a system) although does require two hands, does not require you to press a series of buttons then scroll to the sub-bank then press more buttons to toggle it on or off (which the Pro-96 does).

Choosing what to turn on or off is infinitely easier with a BCD396T dynamic memory radio. If you want to, you can set up a BCD396T to emulate a BC796D except that you can have "100 virtual banks" (read systems) instead of the 10 actual banks on your 796. The only caveat is that each "system" can only contain one type of system. A single trunking system or a set of conventional frequencies. But you can indeed assign more than one system to one of the 100 system quick keys to allow you to turn on multiple systems by toggling that system quick key on or off.