Capacity Plus

Sales Training

Contents
What is Capacity Plus?
Trunking capabilities
Capacity Plus Capabilities
Digital Features Supported
Rest Slot function
Data revert functionality
Fault tolerance

Programming Overview
Programming logic
Programming a system

What is Trunking?
A trunking radio system differs from a conventional radio system in the way it
shares channels between radios

Conventional

Trunking
A trunking system shares a pool of channels

1 channel to one or more groups of user

Employs no logic in call handling
Usually 1 call to 1 channel
(2 to 1 with MOTOTRBO digital)

for a large number of users (talkgroups)

Automatically assigns available channel to
requesting user
Lowers probability that calls will be blocked
because an open channel will be found
easier
Allows fewer channels to support larger
amounts of users

Convenmtional vs. Trunking

Conventional

Trunking

Channels dedicated to talkgroups

Channels Shared by Talkgroups

Channel
Channels

Channel

Channel

Low complexity, low cost

More efficient use of channels

Higher traffic density
Simple user operation
automatic channel selection, call queuing

What is Capacity Plus?

Increase in the capacity of MOTOTRBO

systems!
Single Site Trunking
Up to 12 voice channels and 24 data revert slots
Up to 1200 users

What is Capacity Plus?

Single site trunking configuration
Software ONLY design : NO CONTROLLER NEEDED
Trunk up to 12 digital voice slots

Digital
mode
only!

Dedicate up to 24 additional digital data revert slots

Supports 255 Talk Groups
65,535 programmable radio IDs
Capacity for up to 1200 active radios PLUS larger amounts of data
Digital Feature Only

System Configuration
12 dynamic voice/data channels

Off the Shelf

3rd-party IP
switch

24 dedicated data channels

RDAC

RDAC Remote, Diagnotics and Control

Motorola provides a software application that allows a system
administrator the ability to monitor and control repeaters within the
system (analog or digital)
The following features are available:

Repeater Diagnostics

Repeater Control

Read Enabled/Disabled Status

Read Analog/Digital Status
Read Wide or Local Area Status
Read Transmit Power Status
Read Available Channels
Read Inbound RSSI
Read IPv4 Address and UDP Port

Change Status Active or

Disabled
Change Channels
Change Power Level
Reset Repeater
Repeater Interrupt

Repeater Alarm
Reporting
Detect and Report Receiver Lock
Detect Failure
Detect and Report Transmitter
Lock Detect Failure
Detect and Report Overheating
Detect and Report AC Power
Supply Failure
Detect and Report Main Fan
Failure

Operates over an IP network or locally via USB or GPIO connection

RDAC can only communicate with one wide area system at a time

RDAC User Interface

Main
interface

Diagnostics
Screen

Control
screen

Configuration
screen

Typical End Users

Airports
(domestic)

Events

Hafen
Shopping
Malls

Local
Transportation
(Buses, Taxis,)

Bank
Districts

Manufacturing

Hardware Requirements
MOTOTRBO repeaters from July Shipped with 1.5 release firmware
MOTOTRBO subscribers
Shipped or upgraded with 1.5 release firmware
IP Switch: from a 3rd Party
Note: Radios not upgraded to a firmware version 1.5 or later will not
be able to operate on a Capacity Plus System

Capacity Plus Features

PTT ID

Emergency (w/ TG revert)

Call Alert

Radio Check

Individual Call

Radio Inhibit

Voice Privacy

Talkgroup Scan

All Call/System Wide Call

All Call
All radios listen to the All Call
(including radios listening to other calls)

Transmitting radios make late entries

After they end their current transmissions

Multi-System Support: Zones

The subscriber can support different system types on the same radio!
Only 1 system can be active at a given time
Multiple zones can be programmed in any subscriber
More then one of a system type can exist on the same radio!

Zone 1: Capacity Plus System 1

Zone 2: IP Site Connect System
Zone 3: Conventional Digital System
Zone 4: Capacity Plus System 2

Note: It is also possible

to program a subscriber
to access different system
types by simply changing
knob positions!

Data Capabilities
Capacity plus supports all legacy data capabilities:

GPS

Text Messaging (Application and unit to unit)

Telemetry

RDAC Application

Data capabilities have been enhanced to support larger fleets

Rest Slot: the key to Capacity Plus

Acts as a dynamic home slot

Can be any slot on the system

Rest Slot will roll to different voice slots in the system

Frequently changes during system use

Slot 1

Rest Channel
Is only the home for inactive radios

Slot 2

Slot 3

IP Switch

Slot 4

How does it work?

Slot 1

Slot 5

Slot 2

Slot 6

Slot 3

IP Switch

Slot 7

TG C

Slot 4

Slot 8

Process is repeated over and over ensuring optimal performance!

How does it work? - Repeater

1.

All new calls always start on the Rest Slot

2.

When a call starts, the Rest Slot:

1.

Selects an idle slot to be the new Rest Slot

Informs all idle subscribers to move to it

Converts itself to a traffic slot

Begins repeating audio to radios

When a call ends on the Rest Slot:

The repeater informs the radios of the new Rest Slot

The radios then move to the new Rest Slot

How does it work? - Subscriber

1.

All possible Voice Slots are programmed into the subscribers

1.

Radio must know of the channel to utilise it

Upon power up:

Radio performs a passive search for Rest Slot

1.

Listens for an active rest channel

If all channels are idle:

A polite wakeup message is sent to known channels

Known = programmed into radio

Messages are sent one by one to each channel

Rest Slot Benefits

1.

Allows system to be shared channel friendly since it can still operate with
interference

Easier to satisfy the FCC frequency coordination requirements since protected

channels arent required

1.

No control slot required

No wasted channel capacity = LOWER SYSTEM COSTS!

The request and grant control mechanism is removed from the equation,
allowing for quicker system access time

Understanding Capacity Plus Preference

Levels

The repeaters in a Capacity Plus system use a metric or weighting system to determine which channel should be the next rest
channel and therefore the next voice channel. For example, if there are 4 repeaters in a Capacity Plus system and the fourth
repeater happens to be vulnerable to interference then you can set its Preference Level number to a higher value than the other 3
and it will be chosen to be the rest channel less often than others.

If RF channels had the same performance, coverage and resistance to interference there would be no need for this control. But
often this is not the case. Theres no point in granting equal access to the fourth repeater if it has inferior coverage (for example).

Lower Preference Level numbers mean higher preference. Higher numbers mean the channel will be chosen less often as the next
rest/voice channel.

All the repeaters in a system may have the same value

(eg all 4 repeaters could have a Preference Level of 1) or they

all could be different.

Data on Voice Slots

All data is sent on trunked Voice Slot

Enables single repeater (2 slot) trunking

Data will contend with voice calls for channel resources

Recommended that data load is small to minimize voice call

channel busies

Revert & Voice Slots

Data on Revert AND Voice Slots

The ability to offload data on Revert Slots

This is data from a subscriber to an application server

Example: GPS Location updates

Example: Text messages to text server

Server to SU data on trunked Voice Slots

More efficient

Radios do not have to scan Data Revert Slots

Minimizes late entry scenarios for voice calls (Voice Quality of Service)

Radios receive messages when idle

Example: Text message from server to radio

SU to SU data on Trunked Voice Slots

Radio to radio text messages

Note: You cannot utilize one

slot for data revert and the
other slot for trunking

Capacity Plus Data Revert

A Capacity Plus System can be designed to have a data

subsystem

This system contains a group of dedicated repeaters that are

used to offload data only

They are NOT used for voice

12 repeaters can be combined to create a revert system

24 data revert slots

These slots, like voice slots are programmed into the subscriber

Radio subscribers move to the revert slots to send data

Do Data Revert Slots Trunk?

The Data Revert Slot does not trunk

Radio is programmed for all known revert slots

Radio will cycle through the list for revert data transmission.

If channel is busy, it will switch to the next revert channel in the

list to transmit data.

Capacity Plus Data Revert: Value Proposition

Greatly increases channel efficiency

Voice calls do not disrupt data

More data can be offloaded on system
Example: Faster GPS update periods

Understanding the subscriber revert process

Subscriber cycles through its list of data revert slots to send its data
Subscriber evaluates up to 4 data revert channels

Tries to find an idle channel and TX the data

Example 1

Example 2

Evaluate 1st channel in list busy

Evaluate 1st through 4th channels all busy

Evaluate 2nd channel in list busy

Evaluate 3rd channel in list idle

Return to trunked channels and set a random

hold off timer

Transmit data

Return to trunked channels

Random hold off timer expires radio looks to

send data again

Evaluate 5th channel in list idle

Transmit data

Return to trunked channels

Data System: Trunked Control Station

Capacity Plus Systems utilise a Trunked Mobile control station

Connects to an Application Server

Always follows rest slot

Returns all data ACKs to the subscribers (from application)

Delivers text messages to radio system from text applications

Legacy data applications still also utilise control stations

Must be programmed with all known Voice Slots

Sends all data on the voice slots (Rest Slot)

Systems can have more than one (1) Trunked Control Station

Driven by the amount of application data sent to the radio system

Can be dedicated to a range of radios

Example: TCS 1 can address radios 1-100, and TCS 2 can address radios 101200

Mobile Control Stations Summary

Subscriber cycles through its list of data revert slots to send its data
Subscriber evaluates up to 4 data revert channels

Tries to find an idle channel and TX the data

Trunked Control Stations

These stations move with the rest slot
and send data to your radio fleet

Data Revert Control Stations

Up to 24 stations can be utilized to
receive data from your radio fleet

Understanding the Control Stations

Trunked Control Station

101001

Application Server

101001

Revert Control Station

Slot 1

Slot 1

Revert Control Station

Capacity Plus Rest Slot

Capacity Plus Data Revert System

Operation:
1)

Upon power up a radio sends its registration data to an application, this is sent on the Legacy Control
Station (this operates like conventional MOTOTRBO today)

2)

The Trunked Control Station returns the ack to the most current rest slot

Data Reverts Channel: How it works?

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 5

Slot 6
S
5
S
6

Application Server

IP Switch

Slot 3

Slot 4

Slot 7

Slot 8

S
7
S
8

Do I NEED Data Revert?

It is not required to create a data revert system

Radios can be programmed to send data on voice slots

This can reduce data reliability and QoS

Especially in very large fleets

Data Revert loading table

Repeater 1
Update
Period
1 Minute
2 Minute
3 Minute
4 Minute
5 Minute

Repeater 2

Repeater 3

Repeater 4

Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots Revert Slots
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
320
60
120
180
240
300
360
420
480
80
160
240
320
400
480
560
640
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800

Every Revert Repeater added greatly increases the amount of supportable subscribers

Fully Loaded Capacity Plus System

12 Voice Slots

Up to 1200
Subscribers

RDAC

24 Data Slots

GPS

36 Control Stations

TEXT

Telemetry

Capacity Plus Application Support

Most existing 3rd party applications will be usable on Capacity Plus,

however
due to some data enhancements some slight modifications will need to
be made by the developer of your application

Motorolas Text Messaging & Location Services Suites, have

NOT been optimized to work with Capacity Plus

Fault Tolerance Conditions

Voice Repeater Fails

IP Switch fails

Receive an indication on RDAC

If its being used

Receive an indication on RDAC

If its being used

System remains operational

Will operate with less capacity

Radios will continue to trunk but only on

the repeater that they were on at the time
of failure

Heavily loaded systems could experience

higher instances of system busies

All repeaters revert to a 2 slot trunked

configuration

Radio distribution will impact system

performance

All Channels are busy

Radio will bonk

Display radios will exhibit system busy

string

System Planing &

Programming

System Planning: Channel Frequencies

Is this a new system?

Are the frequencies being used new?

If yes, have propagation studies been completed

Are there any interference issues that need to be

addressed?

System Planning: Channel Loading Considerations

How many users will be on the system?

Will the system add new users in the future?

Applies to voice and data users

System planners should design the system to accommodate future users that
may be added

It is possible that more channels may need to be added if larger volumes of

subscribers are added

Capacity plus ideally can support 100 subscribers / slot

If attempting to put 300 subscribers on a 2 slot voice system busies could

result.

Adding more data radios or shortening the GPS update period could also drive
the need for more revert slots on the system

Plan accordingly!

See the MOTOTRBO System Planner for detailed loading specifications

System Planning: Future Considerations

How many users will be on the system?

The number of users and talk patterns should drive the amount of
voice slots required

High traffic patterns will require more channels in the system to

ensure a good QoS

Will the system add new channels, talk groups in the future?

Applies to voice and data revert channels

It is important to note that all subscribers will need to be

reprogrammed if new channels or TGs are added in the future.

See the MOTOTRBO System Planner for detailed loading specifications

Know Your System Topology!

MOTOTRBO CPS has been slightly changed to accommodate

Capacity Plus programming

System programmers still need to follow the same logic as

programming a conventional system

Plan the system in advance!

Programming methodology
Like a conventional system plan the following:
1.

What are / how many voice channels do I need to program?

2.

What are the Talk groups that I need to program?

3.

What TGs do I need to hear on MY radio?

4.

Will I be using a data application

5.

If using data revert, what are the channels?

6.

Do I need more than 1 zone?

1.

Do I need to access an IP Site Connect system

2.

Do I need to access a conventional system

Example: Simple System Design

1.

Plan number of Talk Groups and users in each

2.

It is also helpful to plan ID schemes and assess assumed traffic loading

3.

Evaluate data traffic assumptions

Talk Group
Name

Talk Group ID

Users / Group

Activity

Applications

Group A

100

40

High

GPS 3 min update

Group B

120

60

High

NO

Group C

130

50

High

NO

Group D

140

50

Low

GPS 3 min update

This system will have 200 users and 4 talk groups

It will also require data revert channels (90 radios sending 3 minute GPS updates)

Example: Simple System Design

Talk Group Name

Talk Group ID

Users / Group

Activity

Applications

Group A

100

40

High

GPS 3 min update

Group B

120

60

High

NO

Group C

130

50

High

NO

Group D

140

50

Low

GPS 3 min update

In the following example we will program 2 voice repeaters (4 voice slots)

We will program 1 Data Revert Repeater (2 data slots)

Note: at 3 minute intervals 1 repeater (2 slots) can accommodate 120 subscribers

We will program 1 portable for all the channels referenced and 4 Talk groups, as well
as a few private ids.

Guidance on the following programming

The following slides will highlight changes specific to Capacity Plus

programming

They assume that basic programming i.e. radio ID, group ID programming etc.
are understood.

Program a Voice Repeater

Open a repeater sample:

Right click on zone: add Capacity Plus Voice Channel
You may delete the default channels once you
add the capacity plus channel.
Program frequency information etc.
Note: Adding a single channel automatically creates 2 Voice
Slots labeled 1& 2. (Slot Channel ID above)
Rename the channel if desired

Program a Voice Repeater

On the Networks tab turn on IP Site Connect.

Designate the repeater a Master or Peer. Note only 1 Master
is required per Capacity Plus system

Program a Voice Repeater

Repeat the same process for the secondary repeater,

however, note that in the slot channel ID field you need to
increment the Slot channel ID to 3, which will automatically
create a 4th slot

Program a Data Revert Repeater

Programming a Revert Repeater is straightforward, click on zone,

add Capacity Plus Data Channel, rename as required.
Program frequency information etc.
Like, Voice Channels, you will need to turn on IP Site Connect in
the Networks tab

NOTE: Capacity plus uses the IPSC protocol even though it operates in single site only.

Programming Summary

We now have 2 Voice Repeaters programmed

Slots 1&2

Slots 3&4

We now have 1 Data Revert Repeater

Slots 1&2

You will need to verify that you have turned IP Site Connect on for
both repeaters.

Capacity plus uses the IPSC protocol

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Add CapPlus Private IDs Who do you want to be able to talk to?

Add CapPlus Group IDs Build What Talk Groups do you need access to?

CapPlus RX Group Lists What Talk groups do you need to hear?

Add Voice Channels in Pool One covers both slots (only 1 entry for each repeater)

Add Data Channels in Pool One for each slot (2 entries for each repeater)

Build Voice Channel Lists add Voice Channels in order

Build Data Revert Lists order doesnt matter

Add a CapPlus Personality to regular Zone

Reference Voice List

Reference Data List

Reference RX Group List

Reference TX Contact

Remove any default Analog or Conventional Digital Channels that you are not
planning to use.

Program a Subscriber Radio: Private IDs

Add Capacity Plus private IDs

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Add CapPlus Group IDs Build What Talk Groups do you need access to?

Program a Subscriber Radio: Group IDs

Add Capacity Plus Group IDs

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

CapPlus RX Group Lists What Talk groups do you need to hear?

Program a Subscriber Radio: RX Group List

On the RX Group List, highlight TG List 1 under

Capacity Plus.
Then highlight and add the TGs to this list.
These are the TGs that you wish to hear on your
subscriber.
You may rename this list.

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Add Voice Channels in Pool One covers both slots (only 1 entry for each repeater)

Programming the Subscriber: Channel Pool

Capacity plus subscribers contain a special zone called a Channel Pool

This zone allows programmers to add all the channels that may potentially be
used in the system

Analog

Digital

Capacity Plus Voice

Capacity Plus Data

This zone is deliberately not viewable by the end user

This becomes a holding place for all channels that dont need to be directly
accessed by the end user

Via channel knob / rocker

Or via menu

Reasoning: There is no reason for the user to physically access a data revert

Program a Subscriber Radio: Add Voice Channels to Channel Pool

Under Channels, you will see Channel Pool, right

clicking on the Pool will allow you to add any type
of MOTOTRBO channel. Add Capacity Plus Voice
Channel this will create a single channel, however
it will encompass (2) Voice Slots

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Add Data Channels in Pool One for each slot (2 entries for each repeater)

Program a Subscriber Radio: Add Data Channels to Channel Pool

Right clicking on the Pool will allow you to add any

type of MOTOTRBO channel. Add Capacity Plus
Data Channel this will create a single channel,
however it will encompass (1) Voice Slots. This will
need to be done twice / repeater.

Program a Subscriber Radio: Add Data Channels to Channel Pool

Note: Adding a Data channel only creates (1) data

slot, therefore (2) must be added / repeater. You
will need to assign a slot to each data channel
created. All channels (voice & data) can be
renamed to coincide with their function

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Build Voice Channel Lists add Voice Channels in order

Program a Subscriber Radio: Create Voice Channel List

Under Capacity Plus entry, Create a Voice

Channel List, this is all the channels that will be
accessible in the Capacity Plus system. Add them
according to their slot order, i.e. 1&2, then 3&4.

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Build Data Revert Lists order doesnt matter

Program a Subscriber Radio: Create Data Revert List

Follow the same process for the data channel list.

Order of addition to the list does not matter.

CPS Quick Start Subscriber checklist

Add a CapPlus Personality to regular Zone

Reference Voice List

Reference Data List

Reference RX Group List

Reference TX Contact

Remove any default Analog or Conventional Digital Channels that you are not planning to
use.

Program a Subscriber Radio: Create A Capacity Plus Personality

Under the Zone, right click and Add Capacity Plus

Personality, you may delete the rest of the
channels in the zone once added. These channels
are defaulted there. You can also rename the
personality to be more descriptive

Program a Subscriber Radio: Program the Capacity Plus Personality

If using data, turn on

ARS

Add Voice list created in previous step

1
Add Data list created in previous step

Add RX list created in previous step

Choose Contact TG

Listen / Talk to only one talk group

1.
2.

Its easy to program a Capacity Plus radio to talk and listen to a single talk group
When creating RX list ONLY add the single TG that you wish to hear
Add that TG as your Contact Name on the Capacity Plus Personality

ONLY add TG A to Rx
List

TG A is the contact
name on the Capacity
Plus Personality

Programming Summary
Sowhat do we have?
2 Voice repeaters

1 Data Repeater

Slots 1&2
Slots 3&4
Slot 1
Slot 2

4 Talk Groups

Understanding Capacity Plus Beacons

The Capacity Plus repeater hosting the rest channel will send out a beacon every Beacon Interval (ms). The subscriber units listen
for the beacon and if they dont hear it in the specified interval theyll go thru the Voice List looking for the next rest channel. If a
subscriber hasnt found a rest channel in the Rest Channel Acquisition TOT (min) then it will sound a tone indicating to the user
that it has lost the system.

The intervals for the repeater and subscriber should be set to the same value.

Understanding Capacity Plus RSSI Threshold

FCC Type 1 compliance may not be an issue for areas outside the
United States. However, the RSSI Threshold (dBm) is used in
Capacity Plus systems to determine if a repeater is available to
become the next rest channel or not.

For example, if the RSSI Threshold (dBm) is set to -115 for repeater
1 in a 4 repeater Capacity Plus system and the rest channel is
currently on repeater 2. Repeater 1 may have RF interference
(analog or digital) above that threshold at -110dBm then repeater 1
channel will be considered busy and it will take itself out of
contention to become the next rest channel and the next rest
channel would end up being assigned to repeater 2, 3 or 4.

If you always want the repeater to be considered a candidate for

the next rest channel assignment regardless of ambient RF levels
you should set this value to the maximum -40dBm value.

Improving Channel Capacity by Adjusting Hang Times

MOTOTRBO supports message trunking by keeping a channel reserved for the duration of hang
time after a transmitting radio has de-keyed the microphone. During the hang time, only the
members of the ongoing call can start a transmission.

The advantage is that it provides guaranteed access to the channel for the duration of a call.

The disadvantage is that the channel remains unused during the hang times.

To improve channel utilization, change the call hang time in the repeater.

Set to Zero (0) - system acts as if the channel is allocated for only one transmission
(Transmission Trunking)

Reduce call hang time from the default value - may improve overall call throughput if there
are many members in a group, and they are replying instantly to the group call

Increase call hang time from the default value if the group members are not replying
instantly to the communication and the channel still needs to be reserved, to prevent group
call participants from switching to other group calls or loosing the channel when the system
may becomes busy with other calls

Ways to Improve Data Throughput

Compress the UDP/IPv4 headers between radios (including control stations)

applies to clear, Basic Privacy, and Enhanced Privacy transmissions in both repeater mode
and direct mode
transparent to server applications
Radios sends compressed data messages only if the feature is enabled, but they process
compressed data messages even if the feature is disabled. A legacy MOTOTRBO radio
cannot receive compressed data messages.

Use unconfirmed data message

Note: GPS data in IP Site Connect and Capacity Plus modes is always unconfirmed and not
configurable

Transmit a data message with or without the preambles

MOTOTRBO radio sends one (in repeater mode) or two (in talkaround mode) preambles for
increasing the battery life.
If there are legacy radios (i.e. release 1.4 or earlier) in the system, all the radios in the
system should be configured to send battery saver preambles.

Call Priority in Capacity Plus Mode

If there is more than one calls active in a Capacity Plus system, then a radio joins its
most preferred call in the following conditions:

The call that the radio was participating in, ends

A radio powers on, or returns from a fade when all trunked channels are not
busy.

The preference list for a radio (in decreasing order) is:

All Call

the radios transmit talkgroup

the radios receive talkgroup

Call priority is enforced by a radio only while it is entering a call. Once the
radio joins a call, it will not look for any other high-priority call in the system
(except an All Call).