22
The Basics
transmissions. In your PRO-97 scanner, the DCS feature can
be used to block the reception of transmissions on a shared
channel to only those that use the DCS tone that you have
specifi ed. DCS mode also features a Code Search setting
that allows you to instantly display and store unknown
codes into the channel memory. DCS data can sometimes
be heard as a low “purring” sound in the background of a
voice transmission. Some DCS systems transmit a special
“turn off code” at the end of each transmission. The turn off
code causes a properly equipped receiver to mute before
the transmission ends, eliminating the “squelch tail” burst of
noise the commonly occurs when the signal is lost.
Motorola mode
You can set your scanner so it decodes the talk group IDs
used with Motorola trunking systems. This setting is called
the Motorola mode.
Motorola systems are trunking systems used primarily by
business and public safety groups to effi ciently allocate a
small number of frequencies (as few as fi ve) to many groups
of users (as many as several thousand). To do this, each
group of users in the system is assigned to a specifi c talk
group. For example, the east side patrol offi cers might all
be assigned to talk group 2160. One channel in the system
is continuously transmitting data that identifi es which talk
groups are active on which channel. In addition, this talk
group information is also transmitted as subaudible data on
each active channel.
When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel
set to the Motorola mode, it fi rst decodes the talk group
ID data included with the transmission. In the open mode,
the scanner stops on the transmission and displays the talk
group ID on the bottom line of the display. In the closed
mode, the scanner only stops on the transmission if the talk
group ID matches a talk group ID that you have stored in the