Batboard

I think I know the answer, but I will ask anyways.

I would like to be able to scan a couple of talkgroups on a Smartzone system. The system in the radio must remain "smartzone" in the system information and not changed to WAC AMSS to prevent affliation.

If I keep the radio on a conventional only channel, and the talkgroups in from the trunking system in the scan list, will the radio still affliate to the smartzone system?

I don't think it will until the radio is selected to a talkgroup, but just in case, I thought I would ask.

Yeah, the reliablilty isn't a big deal for us. Its just a temporary "patch" I guess you could say. As long as it sorta works, I'll be happy.

If I understand the question:

You have a trunked radio that includes a programmed trunk system with the parameters set for SmartZone and AutoAffiliate is true (which is set automatically if SmarZone is selected for wide area).

You also have one or more conventional channels.

You have programmed a so-called "talkgroup scan" scan list that includes one or more t/gs on the trunked system and one or more of the conventional channels.

You ask if, during scan, the radio will affiliate.

The answer is yes.

"Talkgroup scan" permits scanning of (a) t/gs from two or more different "systems," (b) talkgroups from a trunked system plus conventional channels, or (c) both. In this mode, the radio sequences: first it listens to the first trunked system, then to the second and subsequent trunked systems (if any), then through the conventional channels. (This is why you can have a huge audio hole, missing trunked conversations even while the radio is silent, since the sequencing is based essentially only on time.) When the radio parks on each trunked system, it will execute the affiliation instructions contained in the personality screen for that system; if the system is set for auto-affiliation, it will affiliate.

Note that, with the possible exception of 9600 baud Astro systems, it is neither necessary nor a good idea to set the "wide area" parameter in the personality screen to anything but "disabled" or "none." Affiliation should be set to "None" or "Disabled" (if available) or "On PTT" otherwise (and then don't press the button.) The connect tone should be set to an intentionally bad value, so that in the event of an inadvertant press of the key, the channel grant will fail on the low-speed handshake and you won't transmit voice.

In answer to r0f's question, I believe the following is true:

A SmartZone radio, on power up, will first try to detect a valid data stream on the control channel on which it was parked when powered down. If that fails, then depending on programming, it will either sequence though all of the control channels in the sub-screen from "system" (4 can be programmed for simulcast systems, 8 for AMSS systems, and 28 for SmartZone systems), or it will first sequence the "adjacent" control channels broadcast in the data stream, which it had picked off prior to being powered down.

That's how my truck radio is setup. Most of the time its setup on a conventional channel with lots of trunked (multiple systems) channels. For the most part, it works pretty good. All the trunked systems are setup as WACAMSS. Even if I switch it over to a trunked only zone, it does a good job. If it gets quiet, I do a site search, and the traffic comes back without a problem, with no hint of the radio transmitting.