Zone, Site, System Question

[krybka]

Hi,
I posted here since the systems in question are in NJ. If there is a better forum for the question please advise.
I have a BCD396T and a BC246T. I use BuTel for both. I have NJSP on the 246 - I used "State of New Jersey Troop B North" in the database for setting it up. In the database the NJSP are shown as 3 "Trunked Radio Systems". Each system has 1 "Site". In the 246 I have 1 system that is programmed from "State of New Jersey Troop B North" using those trunked frequencies. What little I know about programming trunked systems came from getting that into the 246.
Now I am trying to program Morris County into the 396. In the database Morris County is shown as 1 system with 4 sites that appear to be related to 4 zones. I scanned both the 396 manual and the ARC396 manual and couldn't find references to "Sites" and "Zones". When I imported Morris County into ARC396 it set-up 4 systems even though the database shows Morris County as 1 system.
What are "sites" and "zones" compared to "systems" and how should they be programmed?
Thanks,
Ken

 

[policefreak]

Basically in one system (Morris County or Burlington Co, NJ in my case) there may be several sites or zones. Each site is set up in a different part of the county. Program into your radio the one that is closest to you and/or the one that your town is in. Also if you pass through different zones on your way to work or whatever, maybe program those zones into your radio.

 

[W2SJW]

OK, here's a plain-english description that I hope won't confuse you.

The NJSP Troop B system is considered a 'single-site' system, for all intent & purpose. The system has multiple transmitter sites, but they all broadcast the same control-channel data & voice transmissions simultaneously. All you need are the 4 control-channel frequencies listed in the database (and set your radio to CC-only mode), and you will hear the same thing from Phillipsburg to Newark, and from Somerville to Sussex.

Morris County is a bit more complex. The county is divided into 4 zones of the system. They all identify with the same SysID, but they don't carry the same data all the time. If you put all the control channels into a single 'system' on the 396, you run the risk of the scanner locking on to a control channel in either zone 3 or 4. If there is no user active in those parts of the county, you will never hear anything (a user must afilliate to that zone during his/her travels before the system will carry audio from the talkgroup they are on, on that zone's frequencies.

Your best bet is to create 2 seperate systems in the 396 - one for zone 1 & one for zone 2. The 2 simulcast zones carry the lion's share of radio traffic on the system.

This is one of the times that the PSR-500 has the 396 beat - You would create 2 TSYS entries (one for each zone), but only enter the talkgroups once. Then you assign the talkgroups to the 2 seperate scan lists simultaeneously. The 396 will require you to enter all the talkgroups you wish to listen to twice...

 

[krybka]

OK - it's starting to make sense. In Morris County I am usually in Zone 1, sometimes though I use the scanner closer to Zone 4. Will I be able to hear the same traffic (all Muni PD traffic) that I heard in Zone 1 if I only scan Zone 4.

Thanks,

Ken

 

[W2SJW]

Ken,

You will not hear anything on zone 4 unless someone is actually in that section of the county & the system recognizes them being there.

Chatham is the far-east end of the county. If a unit from any of the towns that use the TRS would, let's say, be running a detail that takes them into Chatham, then would be the only time you would hear the talkgroups on zone #4.

Check this out: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking_Basics

Go down to the 'Networked Sites - Affiliation' section. Lou Maag couldn't have said it any better! :lol:

 

[krybka]

OK - I got that (barely)
How do you determine which "default" zone a PD is in? For example, Harding; I pick them up on Zone 1 but the Chatham Tower - Zone 4 (which I believe is actually in Long Hill Twp.) is much closer for a good portion of the township.

 

[W2SJW]

Most of the municipal-level stuff will always be on zone 1 or 2. The other two zones would only really carry county-level users like the senior buses, county DPW, sheriff, etc...