Posted by CraigH on April 25, 2001 at 20:34:18:
In Reply to: WSP PL's posted by Michael on April 24, 2001 at 11:43:08:
: What do I need to program WSP's PL's into the scanner. I see them listed in
: Brackets. I'm not sure what I have to program to get them. I am new at listening
: at WSP.
: Thanks
*********
PL (Motorola Private Line, GE Channel Guard) is a CTCSS "Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System" that is used to "mask" any other co-channel users or unwanted "noise" that may be present on that frequency. It does not eliminate other RF signals, rather it simply filters them out of your radio. It effectively provides for a private user network on a particular frequency.
Some (not all) scanner radios, are equipped with PL circutry, and can accept any of up to 36 possible "PL" tones per frequency. There are about 50 PL tones in the industry. All new radio equipment now comes equipped with both PL and DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) which is a newer, more modern, version of this same idea.
As the posts below state, you don't need to have the PL tone programmed in your radio to monitor, but it can make the monitoring more enjoyable when there is unwanted noise on the frequency.