Cool thanks a bunch, I figured trying that out last night, just waiting for an alert, LOL. Now is there any way to:
A) Program more than 2 sets of tones for 1 channel?
B) Is there a way to scan QC-II channels? In other words say 1 channel is for my county station & another channel is for my neighboring county station, could I scan both of those while standby mode so I can alert for both county channels? I've tried but every time I scan it opens up the channels and no longer muted.
C) If there isn't a way to scan the channels muted, if I leave it on scan with the channels unmuted will the radio still alert tone if either Station gets toned out?
Thanks again for your help!
A) No.
B) In theory, you can include a "muted" (i.e., unmuting criterion set to "AND") in a scan list, and, in theory, the radio will stop on the channel if it detects valid freq and tone and then unmute if it further detects valid two-tone. In practice, however, a QC-controlled channel will seldom work correctly if it is scanned. The reason has to do with the timing of the two tones; if the channel is in a scan list being scanned, the radio will "enter" the channel almost inevitably after the first tone has started being sent and the radio will not hear the required length of tone.
C) Same answer: "muted" or not, a channel landed on during a scan will almost always cause tone detection to fail.
Why I have put "muted" in quotes: All channels are muted until "receiver qualifications" are met.
If the channel is programmed for CSQ, then receiver qualification is simply valid freq.
If the channel is programmed for PL, DPL or NAC, then receiver qualification is valid freq plus valid tone.
If the channel is programmed for PL, DPL or NAC and also programmed for a "signalling system" (e.e., MDC, QC II, DTMF), then:
If the signalling parameter is programmed for "OR", the radio will unmute on valid freq and valid PL or valid freq and valid signal, and
If the signalling parameter is programmed for 'AND," the radio will unmute on vlid freq, valid PL, and valid valid signal.
As a generalization, signalling can be employed either to make the radio like a pager (sometimes a/k/a "Stat Alert") or as voke alarm (sometimes a/k/a "SelCall"). Usually you program "OR" for Stat Alert and "AND" for SelCall.
For instance, one of my clients is a fire department, a number of whose officers have "call back" obligations in the event of a multiple alarm. Each of these officers is issued a "take home" radio programmed for the dispatch channel plus QC signalling programmed "AND." This means that the radio, which is always turned on, remains silent during routine dispatch traffic (which would otherwise drive everyone else in the house batty), but opens audio if Fire Alarm presses a console button to send the QC group tone, after which Fire Alarm makes an announcement of the alarm and incident status. This avoids having to have the Fire Alarm operators making multiple phone calls to the call back staff, when they have their hands full filling the alarms and doing other things.
Now, there is a way to do what you want to do, but you'd have to get your department to alter its programming scheme. You would set a two-tone pair for each of the stations, where each pair would you the same B tone. You'd then program the console changing the duration of the B tone to 8 seconds (versus the standard 1 second B tone). The company radios would be programmed for A-B, which means that each would open only on its own pair. Your radio would be programmed for Long B, which means that it would open on the long B tone sent as a part of any of the pairs. Neat, but unlikely that you could get anyone to make these changes.
