CTCSS tone search scan.

[kc]

What sort of price is it necessary to pay to get a PMR with CTCSS tone search scan fitted ?
I like the concept of PMR but I want to do more than listen to others. I want to be able to know what frequency, what CTCSS they using.

[Guzzy]

That is a very good question. The manufacturers don't really seem to pay it much attention. Even on the radios that can do it.

My Alinco DJ-446 can, although it scans the CTCSS tones at about 2 tones every second and there are 38 tones. That's a minimum of 16 seconds to scan the entire tone range!

My Alan 456R, which is a really good, full feature PMR446 radio - can't. It can do everything else, but that!

It's very hit and miss as to if the manufacturer includes it or not.

A lot of the radios say they can 'scan' but don't specify if that is channels or ctcss/dcs or both.

Can't say I've ever used CTCSS scan. If I'm using the radio to communicate with a group, I always make sure I know what CTCSS they are using when we decide what channel to use. Most of my friends don't even know the difference between channels and CTCSS codes. They think it's all the same thing, so will normally quote the channel as "2-22" anyway.

Unless somebody is using Channel 8, CTCSS 8 - I never interrupt them. From personal experience and lots of face to face conversations I've had with PMR446 users. Nobody likes to be interrupted on their "private channels".

[Sandhound]

I like the concept of PMR but I want to do more than listen to others. I want to be able to know what frequency, what CTCSS they using.

Its not rocket science to find what CTCSS tone is being used.
Being a Ham Radio Operater I would have thought you would know how to do it.

You can either use a scope or computer+soundcard to find the CTCSS tone frequency being used.

[Guzzy]

If a radio has CTCSS encode/decode, but no "tone scan". Another way to find out which tone is in use, is to switch on the CTCSS on your radio and then cycle through the CTCSS tones. When you can hear what is being said, bingo! You've found it!

[kc]

I'm not really into all singing & dancing stuff. (High tech for me is using 1750 kHz tone burst on the VX-7R.)
We have a couple of PMR's (& yes I do know how to bypass a lack of CTCSS tone scan search facility,) But given the fact that for me part of why I would buy a dfecent one would be to scan with it. I just wondered if they were worth the money.

[Guzzy]

... But given the fact that for me part of why I would buy a dfecent one would be to scan with it. I just wondered if they were worth the money.

Hard question to answer for someone else...

If you buy a high specification (ie. expensive) PMR446 radio just to listen and scan for used CTCSS tones, then I would imagine you would be better off buying a scanner like the Icom IC-R5 (it has the PMR446 6.25kHz steps), It can listen to so much more than just PMR446 frequencies.

I guess the reason most people buy the expensive PMR446 radios is because of the improved component performance, physical durability and generally increased life span due to physical component strength, rather than any expectation of 'more' features.