Uniden BC898T User Defined Fleet Maps, Type I Programming Information, Size Code Restrictions

User Defined Fleet Maps

Type I Programming Information

When a Type I system is designed, the address information for all the ID’s is divided into 8 equal sized blocks, numbered 0–7. When you program your scanner to track a Type I system, you must select a size code for each of these blocks. When you have assigned a size code to all 8 blocks, you’ll have defined the fleet map for the system you are tracking. Each size code determines the number of fleets, subfleets, and ID’s each block will have. For example, a size code of S-4 has one fleet, which is divided into 16 separate subfleets, and it has a total of 512 individual ID’s.

When a block is assigned a size code, the fleet or fleets created within the block are assigned a Type I ID. The way these ID’s display on your scanner depend on the block number and the block’s size code. When a Type I ID appears, the leftmost digit represents the block which contains the ID.

The next two digits identify which fleet is active, and the last digit(s) identifies the subfleet.

The details concerning how the size codes are selected by a Type I System designer are highly dependent on the specific needs of the system’s users. Some organizations might want many subfleets with only a few radios each, while another organization might want only a few subfleets with many radios each. Your task is to program your fleet map with the same size code assignments as the trunked system. If you do this accurately, you’ll track all the Fleet-Subfleet combinations used by the system. In other words, you’ll hear complete communications while monitoring a trunked system.

If you don’t already know the size codes used, you’ll have to guess at them. But since you don’t have to figure out all the blocks at once, this isn’t as hard as it seems. Select a size code for a block, and then press SCAN. Now listen to the communications. If you decide you are receiving most of the replies to the conversations with ID’s assigned to the block you just programmed, then you’ve probably selected the right size code and can work on the next block of the map.

Finally, for most public safety systems there are some size codes which are more common. S-3 and S-4 are probably the most common, followed by S-10, S-11, and S-12.

Size Code Restrictions

If you select size code S-12, S-13, or S-14, there are some restrictions as to which blocks can be used for these codes.

S-12 can only be assigned to Blocks 0, 2, 4, or 6.

S-13 can only be assigned to Blocks 0 and 4.

S-14 can only be assigned to Block 0.

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