jdavidson said:
I'm inputing systems into my two new Bearcat 996 and 396 radios. I notice that the system descriptions on the radio reference site doesn't necessarily match the descriptions on the scanners, so I'm not always sure what systems to set up in the scanners.
Example: what system set up do I use for Clark County/Las Vegas NV?
Thanks,
Jeff
Clark County/Las Vegas NV Motorola Type 2 800 Standard. The owner's manual gives you a few points on recognizing the differences between a splinter system & a standard.
Clark County, in the database, is listed as "Motorola Type II SmartZone". The Type 2 is your first hint, the second is the 800mhz of the system frequencies. SmartZone is a Motorola trademark that does not enter into programming your 396. See the
Wiki for an extended discussion of types. Your 996 would make use of the different sites (towers) to monitor the entire system.
The one that trips up the most people is confusing a system that has APCO-25 (digital) talkgroups, like this one,
Grand Prairie, in my area, with a true P-25 standard system.
The system description for Grand Prairie is:
System Type:Motorola Type II SmartZone
System Voice:Analog and APCO-25 Common Air Interface
Some people see that on the system voice line & try to program those as P-25 (Motorola P-25). It does not track or receive reliably. It should be set up as a Motorola Type 2 800 Standard, just like your Clark County. The scanner will automatically figure out which talkgroups are digital and which are analog.
A true P-25 system like
this one
does need to be programmed as Motorola P-25 to receive & trunk track correctly. It's system description:
System Type

roject 25 Standard
System Voice:APCO-25 Common Air Interface Exclusive
There is a "Radio System Types" file in the 396 Yahoo
group that covers many of the system type conversions as to what they should be in the scanner. An 'easier to read' 396 manual
here.