Motorola Type II

Key takeaways

Motorola Type II belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Motorola Type II to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Motorola Type II from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Motorola Type II refers to the second generation Motorola trunked radio systems that replaced fleets and subfleets with the concept of talkgroups and individual radio IDs. There are no dependencies on fleetmaps, therefore there are no limitations on how many radio IDs can participate on a talkgroup. This allows for greater flexibility for the agency. When scanning Motorola IDs, each Type II user ID appears as an even 4- or 5-digit number without a dash (example 2160). With the introduction of Type II, the "System ID" was also introduced. This is a four digit identifier unique to each trunking system. The purpose of the System ID is to allow radios to operate only on that specific system, and to identify each system. The System ID also allows for enhanced security because a radio now requires a System Key, unique to the System ID in order to be programmed onto any given system. Type I systems do not use unique System IDs, thus the possibility exists for overlapping coverage in busy areas. The term SmartNet refers to a set of features that make Motorola Type I and II trunked systems APCO-16 compliant. These include better security, emergency signaling, dynamic regrouping, remote radio monitoring, and other features. The following is true of a Type II SmartNet system:

Up to 28 system channels Up to 65,534 unique radio ids Up to 4,094 talkgroups Use of odd-numbered talkgroups Priority Scanning of talkgroups

Status bits Type II SmartNet systems uses status bits for special transmissions such as Emergency, Patches, DES/DVP encrypted transmissions, and Multiselects on Motorola Trunking systems. Motorola Trunking radios directly interpret these status bits for their special functions, therefore no difference is noticed by the user. Some Scanners may interpret these special talkgroup status bits as different talkgroups entirely. Below is the conversion chart for these special status bits:

Dec ID + # Usage ------------------------------------------------------- ID+0 Normal Talkgroup ID+1 All Talkgroup ID+2 Emergency ID+3 Talkgroup patch to another ID+4 Emergency Patch ID+5 Emergency multi-group ID+6 Not assigned ID+7 Multi-select (initiated by dispatcher) ID+8 DES Encryption talkgroup ID+9 DES All Talkgroup ID+10 DES Emergency ID+11 DES Talkgroup patch ID+12 DES Emergency Patch ID+13 DES Emergency multi-group ID+14 Not assigned ID+15 Multi-select DES TG

Therefore, if a user was transmitting a multi-select call on talkgroup 1808, the trunktracker would actually receive those transmissions on 1815. Some common uses of these status bits are as follows:

When a user hits his emergency button, all conversations on the talkgroup revert to the emergency status talkgroup (ID+2) until the dispatch clears the emergency status. Therefore, if someone hits his emergency button and his radio is on talkgroup 16, all communications will switch to talkgroup 18. When an emergency is declared, the system automatically strips any patches present on the talkgroup and places the talkgroup in emergency with +2 and any patched talkgroups as a Multiselect (+7) with the console repeating subscriber audio from the talkgroup in emergency. A lot of Fire and EMS departments dispatch tone-outs and alarms as Multi-select communications (ID+7). Therefore, if your fire department dispatch talkgroup is 1616, and it does dispatch tone-outs and alarms as Multi-selects, those communications will be on talkgroup 1623. SmartNet systems also added a scanning feature, called "Priority Monitor," which permitted priority scanning of talkgroups. The subscriber radio has the choice of selecting two priority talkgroups (one high and one low priority in addition to eight non-priority talkgroups). When the radio is in the middle of a voice call it is continually receiving sub-audible data on the voice channel indicating the talkgroup activity on the other channels of the system. If a talkgroup ID appears which is seen as a higher priority than the active call, the radio will switch back to the control channel to look for the late entry data word indicating which channel to tune to. This voice channel sub-audible datastream has a limitation in the number of bits it can use to represent a talkgroup ID. Because of this the last digit of the talkgroup ID (right-most) is removed. The radio then presumes any ID it receives is an odd-numbered talkgroup ID. This is the reason behind odd numbering of talkgroups on SmartNet systems. If the systems administrator assigned odd AND even numbered talkgroups there would be a lot of confusion with the Priority Monitor feature when reading the data over the voice channel. This was a problem with the Radio Shack PRO-92 with the 1.00 firmware as it used only the sub-audible data to track trunked systems.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Motorola Type II

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Motorola Type II claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Motorola Type II before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Motorola Type II ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Motorola Type II

In research: Motorola Type II appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Motorola Type II in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Motorola Type II is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Trunked radio systems, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Motorola Type II outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Motorola Type II in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Motorola Type II means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Motorola Type II out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Motorola Type II in simple terms?

Motorola Type II refers to the second generation Motorola trunked radio systems that replaced fleets and subfleets with the concept of talkgroups and individual radio IDs. There are no dependencies on fleetmaps, therefore there are no limitations on how many radio IDs can participate on a talkgroup.

Why does Motorola Type II matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Motorola Type II?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Motorola Type II.