The Newbie has some other questions

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bessy77

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Hello Radio Wizards!!! I have a few other questions I was hoping you could help me with.

Some of you might know that my name is Michelle and I purchased a Uniden BC246T Scanner for my boyfriend for Christmas. Now I am pretty computer savvy but know ZERO about Scanners. So here are my questions....

1. I want to added new frequencies to the scanner. I purchased it with just our county on it but wanted to add our neighboring county myself. Someone recommended that a good way to add stations is to get software. I am looking at the following:

ARC246T from ...

http://www.butel.nl/

Do you think this is a good software for a Green Scanner Thumb like myself? Do you recommend any other software or "get your scanner programmed" quick fixes ??

2. If my boyfriend is on the road and I know where he is going can I program the local frequencies of where he is headed into the scanner?

3. Lets say we are in NY and I program the scanner to Louisana's local police and fire, would we hear that in NY or we would have to be in Louisana?

4. Is there a limit to the number of programmed frequencies you can have in the scanner? I have the BC246T

I think thats it. I apologize in advance if my questions were elementary to you Scanner Guru's

Trying to be a good girlfriend..

Michelle :)
 

hoser147

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Im not familiar with the Uniden Software but I wouldnt get any till ya here from the members on here who have experience with the software.............Oh by the way Id say he is a Lucky Man Take Care Hoser
 

n2mdk

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Ames, IA
I like ARC246 it isn't perfect, for some reason a lot of times I have to import the system twice, because the first time it's not always correct. I simply delete the one that is incorrect and use the right one. When I say download with the software and a Premium subscription here you can download directly from the database into the software.

Your only going to here the local frequencies while in the area so in NY you will only get your local stuff.

The scanner has a decent memory but it wont hold everything, that's the reason the software is hand, you can create Systems you want to put in then delete them out of the scanner and load others easily, plus if you need to reload those things you have them stored for future use.
 

slicerwizard

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Toronto, Ontario
bessy77 said:
1. I want to added new frequencies to the scanner. I purchased it with just our county on it but wanted to add our neighboring county myself. Someone recommended that a good way to add stations is to get software. I am looking at the following:

ARC246T from ...

http://www.butel.nl/

Do you think this is a good software for a Green Scanner Thumb like myself? Do you recommend any other software or "get your scanner programmed" quick fixes ??
ARC246 will be fine for your needs / abilities.


2. If my boyfriend is on the road and I know where he is going can I program the local frequencies of where he is headed into the scanner?
Yes, you can, but you can't test your handiwork. However, you can upload the system files that ARC246 creates to this forum and get the experts to vet them. If you ask nicely, you can probably get locals in the areas you're interested in to send you their ARC246 files.


3. Lets say we are in NY and I program the scanner to Louisana's local police and fire, would we hear that in NY or we would have to be in Louisana?
No, scanners typically only pick up local traffic.


4. Is there a limit to the number of programmed frequencies you can have in the scanner? I have the BC246T
There is, but it's not that small. Since you'll be keeping copies of all of your systems on your PC, you can always delete some from the scanner as required.


Trying to be a good girlfriend..
Damn... He's a lucky bastard!



Damn...
 

bessy77

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THANKS! I am buying/downloading the software tonight! :)

Awwwwe Thanks! He better love it! I try to be a good Girlfriend.

:)
 

LEH

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bessy77 said:
1. ... Do you recommend any other software or "get your scanner programmed" ...

3. Lets say we are in NY and I program the scanner to Louisana's local police and fire, would we hear that in NY or we would have to be in Louisana?

4. Is there a limit to the number of programmed frequencies you can have in the scanner? I have the BC246T

Bessy,

For part of question 1. There are several good applications to work with programming the 246. If you want to save some money until you feel better about the process, check out the Uniden software. It is not as robust as some of the other tools, but if you own the radio, the unlock key is free.

For question 3, there are some frequencies that could be heard from LA in NY, but not typically. You may load the LA frequencies into the scanner and you may hear something on some of those frequencies, but they will normally be assigned to systems fairly close to you.

The radio spectrum is of limited size, so frequencies are used by different agencies in different parts of the country. The higher the frequency, the shorter the range they typically can be picked up (there are some laws of radio frequency propogation which I won't even try to go into here that could allow more distant reception). An example of frequency reuse is 154.400 MHz. It is used by NYCFD for the Queens bourogh. Here in SE Virginia, it was the dispatch frequency for the York County Fire Department. A couple of months ago (because of one of those frequency laws), I was able to hear Queens dispatches here in Virginia. Only lasted about an hour and half though.

For question 4. Yes, there is a limit to the number of frequencies and/or talk groups that may be stored in the 246. I believe the number is around 2400, but that is trying to use my memory rather than looking it up. :D

If your boy friend travels alot, a couple of things you may want to put into one talk group (or a couple of search groups) are airline frequencies. I am going to upset a lot of scanner enthusiats here, but I am not talking about the air to ground frequencies, but the operations frequencies at the terminals. For many airlines, these fall into the 460.6-461 MHz range (or 5MHz higher). I've heard a lot of interesting info over these frequencies while sitting in the airport. TSA would be nice, but they are digital and the 246 is not a digital scanner.

Lastly, tell him there are a lot of jealous guys out here who would love to have a girl friend like you.

Merry Christmas and welcome to RR.
 
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