PL stands for private line; it is a sub audio signal that becomes part of the radio transmission, from radio to radio. In the past technology used was called carrier squelch; this meant that unless another radio was transmitting on the same frequency, your radio would not break squelch, in other words, the speaker comes on.

As more and more people started using two-way radios, people started to listen to others on the same frequency. By adding PL to your frequency the radio must now be programmed for the same frequency and the same PL code. This helps reduce but not eliminate  you listening to someone else’s conversation.

By no means does PL make your conversation secure; it just merely mutes the speaker so no sound comes out until both conditions are true (same frequency and same PL). DPL, digital private line works on the same concept as PL, but it’s digital. They both work pretty much alike.

Again, it’s important to remember that neither technology PL nor DPL will make your conversation secure, all one needs to do is press the monitor button on the radio to hear everyone on that frequency,  regardless of PL or DPL.

Below are the PL and DPL codes used to program current radios.

VALID MOTOROLA PL CODES

XZ  67.Ø	WZ  69.3	XA  71.9	WA  74.4	XB  77.Ø	WB  79.7
YZ  82.5	YA  85.4	YB  88.5	ZZ  91.5	ZA  94.8	ZB  97.4
1Z 1ØØ.Ø	1A 1Ø3.5	1B 1Ø7.2	2Z 11Ø.9	2A 114.8	2B 118.8
3Z 123.Ø	3A 127.3	3B 131.8	4Z 136.5	4A 141.3	4B 146.2
5Z 151.4	5A 156.7	5B 162.2	6Z 167.9	6A 173.8	6B 179.9
7Z 186.2	7A 192.8	M1 2Ø3.5	8Z 2Ø6.5	M2 21Ø.7	M3 218.1
M4 225.7	9Z 229.1	M5 233.6	M6 241.8	M7 25Ø.3	ØZ 254.1

VALID MOTOROLA DPL CODES

Ø23	Ø25	Ø26	Ø31	Ø32	Ø43	Ø47	Ø51	Ø53	Ø54	Ø65	Ø71	Ø72
Ø73	Ø74	114	115	116	122	125	131	132	134	143	152	155
156	162	165	172	174	2Ø5	212	223	225	226	243	244	245
246	251	252	261	263	265	266	271	3Ø6	311	315	325	331
343	346	351	364	365	371	411	412	413	423	425	431	432
445	446	452	455	464	465	466	5Ø3	5Ø6	516	521	525	532
546	552	564	565	6Ø6	612	624	627	631	632	645	652	654
662	664	7Ø3	712	723	725	726	731	732	734	743	754

Codes shown in red are not standard and are not recommended.

Not even close, the best you’re going to get is about half a mile to a mile before you get static. These radios put out very little power, but it’s not the power that prevents the radio from talking further, it’s all the obstacles, the trees, the buildings, the people, even the weather.

You can actually have a conversation with someone on the moon if there was nothing in the way and very little power would be required. They can advertise this by using the term “ideal conditions”. Unfortunately we do not live in a world that has the ideal conditions for these radios to provide even close to the advertised maximum range.

Again to be crystal clear, you will get half a mile before you start running into static.

Yes I can see where that can be quite annoying, the old Motorola CP200 radios did not have that option. You will need to take your radio back to the dealer and have them reprogram the radio to omit this tone using the Radio Service Software (RSS). This setting is under the general option setting and applies to the entire radio.

The options are:
– no tone whatsoever
– tone only for analog channels
– tone only for digital channels.

Many people have complain about this and the first thing we do is make sure the setting is set to “No tones” whatsoever.

• Accelerated Life Test – a Motorola proprietary developmental process of rigorous laboratory testing that simulates years of field use.
• Built-in Noise Reduction Microphone – reduces background noise to allow clear, understandable transmissions in heavy noise environments.
• Call Alert – lets a caller “page” you via your radio.
• Channel Scan – lets you monitor specific operating channels.
• Priority Scan – allows you to choose one channel to be monitored with more frequency than the others.
• Operator Selectable Scan – lets you program the channels in the scan list to be monitored and select a priority channel.
• Scan Nuisance Delete – allows you to temporarily delete a non-priority channel from the scan list.
• Talkgroup Scan – lets you monitor any combination of trunked systems, subfleets, or conventional channels in the same scan list.
• Dual Mode Capability – provides the flexibility of trunked and conventional repeater operation from one radio.
• Private Conversation – allows communication exclusively between the initiating radio or control station and the radio called.
• Privacy Plus Trunking – provides fast, automatic and democratic communications access not provided by conventional radio systems.
• Radio-to-Radio Cloning – allows you to duplicate one radio’s operating parameters into another like radio of the same sub-band using a simple cloning cable.
• Internal Voice Operated Transmission (VOX) – lets you activate radio by voice alone, for hands free operation.
• Multiple Coded Squelch Capability Private-Line (PL) or Digital Private-Line (DPL) – lets you receive only the calls intended for you, and place calls to only those that accept the designated code.
• Push-to-Talk Interface – allows a dispatcher to identify transmitting radios and monitor airtime usage.
• Quik-Call II Signaling – provides an efficient way for dispatcher to initiate a page to an individual or group.
• Field Programmable using the Radio Service Software – changes can be made to the radio frequencies or other individual characteristics.
• Talkaround – lets you bypass a repeater and talk directly to another unit.
• Telephone Interconnect – gives you the capability to initiate and/or receive telephone calls using your radio.
• Time-out Timer – limits the amount of time a user can continuously transmit on a channel.
• Voice Selective Call Signaling – provides an efficient way to initiate a voice page message to an individual or group.
• Emergency Alarm – used by radio operators to inform dispatch personnel of critical or life threatening situations through a data transmission.
• Programmable Channel Spacing  (Wide Band Frequency Separation) – gives you more versatility of channel spacing.
• Alphanumeric Display – lets you name and view channels or talkgroups in words instead of numbers.
• Busy Channel Lock-Out – prevents users from “talking over” each other by restricting transmission if activity is detected on the channel.
• Horn and Lights Capability – activates a vehicle’s horn and headlights when a Call Alert signal is received and the operator is away from the vehicle.
• Military Specifications Mill Std. 810 C, D, and E – the U.S. Department of Defense’s most rigorous standards for radio performance in harsh environments.