BCD396XT adn the pre-programmed states

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stardog01

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Oct 23, 2011
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Brentwood, TN
I just received a Uniden BCD396XT for Christmas; this is my first scanner. There are about 20 pre-programmed states in the scanner that I don't currently need. I used ARC-XT software to program in my local county's frequencies, but the scanner insists on going through all the other states anyway. I clearly don't need it to scan Alaska, since I live in Tennessee. I found a lockout feature and thought I was following the steps to lock out the states, but it didn't work. So instead of scanning just my local county it takes minutes going through 20 states until it gets to the local frequencies. Then more minutes until it gets back around to the local freqs again.

Maybe I could delete the other states and just keep the local frequencies. But I don't want to permanently delete the other states in case I might be in one of those 20 states someday and do want those frequencies.

I guess my questions is: Should I permanently delete the other states, or is there a way to just temporarily disable them?

I've spend hours today and have yet to hear anything out of the scanner. I've wanted a scanner for years, but I may be in the category of a new user who can't figure it out and just sends it back. :)
 

Rt169Radio

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Aug 24, 2011
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CT
Try permanently locking them out,and when you need them you can unlock them.
 

W8RMH

Feed Provider Since 2012
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Grove City, OH (A Bearcat not a Buckeye)
You can delete them manually or with your software. They can be restored with a reset, but that will delete any other programming.

You could assign them all the same quick key and keep them locked out. They do take up memory space though.

I have not tried this but you may be able to download them to the software and save the files for future use.

Many of those systems are probably outdated by now anyway, as some areas have changed since that scanner was released in March of 2009, with all the re-banding and narrow banding, upgrades to digital, etc.

You can always reprogram the scanner to the area you move to.

And last but not least, don't get discouraged. Download from this site to your software (I prefer FreeScan) then to the scanner. Your city is conventional. You should be hearing something. You have a great radio and will enjoy it once you get the hang of it. :)
 
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trkntrlrman

RS-PRO 34, RS-PRO 60, BCD396XT, BCD996XT, SDS200
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Aug 28, 2008
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Desert Hot Springs, CA.
You can do a backup of the scanner, then clear the scanner with your computer program. If your program doesn't have this function, download freescann it will do it. Now that the scanner is clear you can download from the site and upload the area's you want... The original programs stay on the scanner so you can reload them at any time...
 

SDavis90

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Jul 21, 2006
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212
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Middle Tennessee
Don't get discouraged. It's really a nice scanner.

I went in on day 1 & hooked it up on my computer and completely deleted all the pre-programmed systems. This is before I even knew how to really program the thing, and before I ever programmed anything else. - Mainly because I knew I wouldn't need those systems, and also knowing that I could always restore them anyway by doing a reset. My set-up is saved as a profile in ARC-XT, which would enable me to reload my current set-up with a few mouse clicks.

Plus like someone else mentioned, if you need those systems in the future it would be better to just load it off the current database anyway.
 

mrwilson706

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Jul 9, 2011
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McKinney, Texas
You can delete them manually or with your software. They can be restored with a reset, but that will delete any other programming....

You could assign them all the same quick key and keep them locked out. They do take up memory space though.

I wiped it clean and started from scratch, if you don't want to go this route use the method OHI063 talked about above. Assign them all to the same quick key, zero (0) for example, then just simply turn them off all at once.

Memory shouldn't be a problem with up to 25,000 channels (frequencies), at least not anytime soon. For comparison, I'm only using 15% memory with 3793 channels.

+1 on using FreeScan if you wanted to try it.

Best regards,
Mike KK4FRI
 

ScannerWayne

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Joined
Mar 26, 2007
Messages
187
Location
Mobile AL
New 396XT

I just received a Uniden BCD396XT for Christmas; this is my first scanner. There are about 20 pre-programmed states in the scanner that I don't currently need. I used ARC-XT software to program in my local county's frequencies, but the scanner insists on going through all the other states anyway. I clearly don't need it to scan Alaska, since I live in Tennessee. I found a lockout feature and thought I was following the steps to lock out the states, but it didn't work. So instead of scanning just my local county it takes minutes going through 20 states until it gets to the local frequencies. Then more minutes until it gets back around to the local freqs again.

Maybe I could delete the other states and just keep the local frequencies. But I don't want to permanently delete the other states in case I might be in one of those 20 states someday and do want those frequencies.

I guess my questions is: Should I permanently delete the other states, or is there a way to just temporarily disable them?

I've spend hours today and have yet to hear anything out of the scanner. I've wanted a scanner for years, but I may be in the category of a new user who can't figure it out and just sends it back. :)

Hello StarDog1,

Congratulations on the scanner. Have had mine for about 4 years now and love it to death.

First off. The pre-programmed systems in the scanner are stored in a chip inside the scanner and are part of it's programming. While you can get them out of the memory, they are always available by re-setting the scanner. Of course anything new that "you" have put into the scanner will be lost. Unless of course you have saved everything using the software you have.

Now. As a suggestion I recommend that you go ahead and re-set the scanner and start with a clean slate. Using your software to re-program the scanner with only those systems you want. Once this is done you should be able to hear something from your county. While you're scanning, take some time to look at how the systems, groups and talkgroups are arranged in the software. Once you become familier with that layout, understanding what the manuals are talking about will become much easier to understand.

As to your question, Yes there is a way to temporarily disable the systems you are not interested in.

Press <menu>
Press <yes>
Scroll to the system you want to disable, press <yes>.
Scroll to "Edit Site" press <yes>.
Scroll to the site and press <yes>.
Scroll to "Set Lockout" and press <yes>.
Scroll to "Lockout" and press <yes>.
Essentially you are done locking out that system. The fastest way back to the main screen is to press the <scan> button and start from the top of these instructions.

The fastest way to to do it though is through your software. When you click on the site, the info displayed on the right should have a box for locking out that particular site. Just check it. Do that for all the systems you don't want to scan and then upload the new database to the scanner and you will be all set.

Hope this helps...

Wayne...
 

stardog01

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Joined
Oct 23, 2011
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10
Location
Brentwood, TN
Wow, some great encouraging responses! I've been out of town and didn't get to read these until tonight. I will try these ideas and will get this thing working!
Thanks so much for the help.
 
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