Motorola Trunked Systems

Please note that these pages are meant as general instructions. While most of the information here applies to all scanners, some options may not be available on certain scanner models. Model-specific options are indicated in the text.

A Motorola system can be an 800 MHz, 400 MHz (UHF), or 100-200 MHz (VHF) system. Below are some examples of these Motorola systems from RadioReference:

Motorola 800 MHz System

Another Motorola 800 MHz System

• Even though some (or all) of the System Voice channels are APCO 25, this system, and others like it, is correctly programmed as a Motorola 800 MHz system, per the information given for the System Type.

Motorola UHF System (400 MHz band)

Motorola VHF System (100-200 MHz band)

• Here is a conceptual layout diagram of a basic Motorola system. (Click here for a legend of the diagram.)
• You can download a planning worksheet for Motorola systems as a pdf file or an Excel spreadsheet file.
• For more information on the different types of Motorola systems and how they work, see the Motorola page at Radio Reference's Wiki.

Programming a Motorola System

To program a Motorola system, you'll need to program the required elements in following order:

Create a system

1. Go to the Program System menu and choose New System .
2. The scanner will prompt you for the System Type. Select MOT .
3. When the scanner prompts you confirm, tap YES .
4. The scanner creates the system with a default name. Select Edit Name if you want to change it.
5. If you need to change any of the system properties, you can do that now. Unless a property is Required , you can operate the system without changing the default settings.

System properties

All of these options can be found under your scanner's Program System menu. If necessary, the sub-menu and option name on each scanner are listed beside the property.

Property	Option name
Required
Fleet map	Edit Fleet Map (Required for Motorola Type I or Type I/II Hybrid systems only)
Recommended
Name	Edit Name
Number tag	Set Number Tag
Optional
Automatic Gain Control (AGC)	BCD396XT and BCD996XT: Set Audio AGC
	BC346XT, BC346XTC, and BCT15X: Not available
Record	BCD996XT and BCT15X: Set Record
	BCD396XT, BC346XT, and BC346XTC: Not available
Delay time	Set Delay Time
Emergency alert	Emergency Alert
ID format	Set ID Format (DEC/HEX)
ID scan/search	ID Scan/Search
Priority ID scan	Priority ID scan
Status bit	Set Status bit
Available operations
Copy a system	Copy System
Delete a system	Delete System
Review locked-out IDs	Rvw ID:Srch L/O
Clear all locked-out IDs	Clr All L/O IDs

Create at least 1 site

Each Motorola system can contain up to 256 sites, and all systems must contain at least 1 site.

1. On the Program System menu, select the system you just created.
2. Go to the Edit Site menu and select New Site .
3. If you need to change any of the site properties, you can do that now. Unless a property is Required , you can operate the system without changing the default settings.
   (Note: If you have multiple Sites for your county, you will need to add multiple Sites. See example images above. You will notice that Travis County is listed for seven different Sites. This means you will want to enter seven different Sites. You may also want to enter surrounding counties, depending on your location.)

Site properties

All of these options can be found under your scanner's Edit Site menu. If necessary, the sub-menu and option name on each scanner are listed beside the property.

Property	Option name
Required
Band plan	Edit Band Plan
Recommended
Name	Edit Name
Quick key	Set Quick Key
Optional
Attenuator	Set Attenuator
Hold time	Set Hold Time
Location information	Set LocationInfo
Lockout	Set Lockout
Modulation	Set Modulation
P25 wait time	BCD396XT and BCD996XT: P25 Waiting Time
	BC346XT, BC346XTC, and BCT15X: Not available
Startup key	Set Startup Key
Available operations
Delete a site	Delete Site

Create at least 1 frequency in each site

Each site must contain at least 1 frequency.

1. On the Edit Site menu, select the site you just created.
2. Go to the Set Frequencies sub-menu and select New Frequency .
3. Enter at least 1 frequency for this site. (Note: Enter any RED & BLUE System Frequencies listed for that particular Site. If you have multiple Sites for your county, be sure to enter the correct RED & BLUE System Frequencies listed for each Site. See example images above.)
4. If you need to change any of the frequency properties, you can do that now. Unless a property is Required , you can operate the system without changing the default settings.

Frequency properties

All of these options can be found by selecting the frequency under the Set Frequencies sub-menu. If necessary, the sub-menu and option name on each scanner are listed beside the property.

<tdSet Lockout

Property	Option name
Required
None
Recommended
None
Optional
Lockout
Available operations
Delete a frequency	Delete Frequency

Programming a system for Scanning

Once you create the system and at least 1 site, you can scan the system in ID Search mode. In this mode, the scanner stops on all system traffic for talk groups you have not locked out. If you want to use ID Scan mode, you'll need to program channels into the system. In ID Scan, the scanner only stops on talk groups you have programmed into a channel.

Create a channel group

Each Motorola system can contain up to 20 channel groups.

1. On the Program System menu, select the system you just created.
2. Go to the Edit Group menu and select New Group .
3. If you need to change any of the channel group properties, you can do that now. Unless a property is Required , you can operate the system without changing the default settings.

Channel group properties

(All of these options can be found by selecting the group name under the Edit Group menu. If necessary, the sub-menu and the exact option name are listed beside each property.)

Required	None
Recommended	Name (Edit Name)
	Quick key (Set Quick Key)
Optional	Location information (Set LocationInfo)
	Lockout (Set Lockout)
Available operations	Delete Group

Create a channel

Each trunked system can contain up to 500 channels.

1. On the Edit Group menu, select the channel group you just created.
2. Go to the Edit Channel menu and select New Channel .
3. Input the Talk Group ID (TGID) for this channel. (Note: You will enter the required DEC numbers that apply to the agencies that you wish to monitor. See example image below.)
4. If you need to change any of the channel properties, you can do that now. Unless a property is Required , you can operate the system without changing the default settings.

Motorola 800 MHz System

Channel properties

(All of these options can be found by selecting the channel name under the Edit Channel menu. If necessary, the sub-menu and the exact option name are listed beside each property.)

Required	TGID (Edit Talk Group ID)
Recommended	Audio type (Analog or digital) (BCD396XT and BCD996XT only) (Set Audio Type)
	Name (Edit Name)
	Number tag (Set Number Tag)
Optional	Alert (Set Alert)
	Record (BCD996XT and BCT15X: Set Record; BCD396XT, BC346XT, and BC346XTC: Not available)
	Lockout (Set Lockout)
	Priority (Set Priority)
	Volume Offset
Available operations	Copy Channel
	Delete Channel

This page applies to the following scanner(s): BCD996XT BCT15X BCD396XT BC346XT BC346XTC Users Guide