Reprogramming a used Uniden BCD996T

[garywinton]

Is there a way to delete all programmed channels or to return the scanner to default settings?

 

[737mech]

Is there a way to delete all programmed channels or to return the scanner to default settings?

Yes

 

[garywinton]

???

 

[737mech]

Reset

Press 2 and 9 and hold buttons while it is off, then continue to hold them down and turn the scanner on. The screen will ask confirm reset? Press E/yes

 

[garywinton]

Doesn't work. When I turn power back on it resumes scanning.

 

[hiegtx]

Press 2 and 9 and hold buttons while it is off, then continue to hold them down and turn the scanner on. The screen will ask confirm reset? Press E/yes

Also, you'll get a prompt on the scanner, asking if you want to restore the original preloaded frequencies. You don't. The data stored in the scanner is wayout of date.

 

[kayi4cle]

Also, you'll get a prompt on the scanner, asking if you want to restore the original preloaded frequencies. You don't. The data stored in the scanner is way out of date.

I agree that the preloaded systems are quite out of date. However, years ago when I bought my 996T I used the preloaded systems to learn how programming is done in a DMA radio. Before that I was used to banks. I was very grateful to have examples to go by. I eventually deleted most of the original content. The 996T is a great radio and I still enjoy it every single day! HTH.

 

[garywinton]

now that I have a group programmed, how do I scan just that group?

 

[kayi4cle]

now that I have a group programmed, how do I scan just that group?

I don't usually use the groups function. But if I recall correctly, you would assign a Group Quick Key (GQK) number to your group and then enable that group number. Here is a link to the 996T Wiki and if you scroll toward the bottom there are links to 2 different owner manuals (regular and easier to use) which I hope you will find very helpful.

BCD996T - The RadioReference Wiki

(Also, it goes without saying that you would already have the System Quick Key (SQK) enabled for the system your group is in.)

 

[garywinton]

This scanner baffles me! It seems like nothing I try works!

 

[garywinton]

OK, I'm getting there. I deleted all programmed channels and programmed mine. I named each one by town. When I scan and pick up a transmission It shows the town. Is there any way to also display the frequency?

 

[kayi4cle]

Is there any way to also display the frequency?

For conventional frequencies press New Channel, input the frequency, press Edit Name and type a short alpha tag right after the frequency, deleting “MHz” if necessary. Moving the frequency one space to the left and deleting any zeroes at the end will free up even more space. You can also come up with your own set of abbreviations.

If someone knows a way to enable other display options in the 996T I hope they will enlighten us. Some older radios (such as the BC780XLT) have a generous amount of space for the alpha tag which displays underneath the frequency so that both are shown together.

 

[hiegtx]

For conventional frequencies press New Channel, input the frequency, press Edit Name and type a short alpha tag right after the frequency, deleting “MHz” if necessary. Moving the frequency one space to the left and deleting any zeroes at the end will free up even more space. You can also come up with your own set of abbreviations.

If someone knows a way to enable other display options in the 996T I hope they will enlighten us. Some older radios (such as the BC780XLT) have a generous amount of space for the alpha tag which displays underneath the frequency so that both are shown together.

For the 996T (but not the 396T), you do have the option of display modes.

Tap the Scroll knob to activate the Function mode, then press the 0 (zero) to toggle between Display Modes 1 & 2.

Mode1 indicates the channel data under the Channel Name.

Mode 2 indicates the frequencies under the Channel Name for Conventional
systems or the TGID number for Trunked systems.

That's on page 51 of the *.pdf manual, found here.

 

[kayi4cle]

For the 996T (but not the 396T), you do have the option of display modes.

Tap the Scroll knob to activate the Function mode, then press the 0 (zero) to toggle between Display Modes 1 & 2.

That's on page 51 of the *.pdf manual, found here.

Thank you kind sir! I overlooked that in the manual. I just tried it out and while the frequency isn't very large, it is visible. Now I have a little reprogramming to do.

 

[garywinton]

I know I'm probably becoming a pest about my 996T but I still need help. Is there a way to choose to scan between systems? Or between groups?

 

[hiegtx]

I know I'm probably becoming a pest about my 996T but I still need help. Is there a way to choose to scan between systems?

What you ned to do is assign each system a unique quick key. By 'unique', I mean that the key assigned (you can use any number from 0 through 99) should be different than the other systems. The exception to that might be where a given city, county, or agency used both conventional frequencies and a trunked system. In that case, you might want to assign the same key number to both the conventional system (for that collection of frequencies) as well as their related trunked system.

The quick keys are basically of two types. For conventional systems, the quick key (QK) is assigned at the system level, so that's consided a 'System Quick Key'. For trunked systems, the QK is assigned to each tower or transmit site, so it's a 'Site Quick Key'. If you had a regional system or one with more than one transmit site, then you could either give each individual site (transmit tower) a different key number, or assign the same number to all of them, so that you can turn that entire system on or off easily, with one set of keystrokes.

See this Wiki page for an additional breakdown on this subject.