I was getting a little bored with public safety and digital, so I picked up a Uniden BC898T analog scanner to play with on aircraft/MilAir, and other services I normally don't monitor much these days.
Naturally my first quest was what software would best suit me needs. Already having both Butel's ARC898, and 3D Technologies ScanControl, I loaded them both up.
I immediately checked for upgrades, and was disappointed to find that Butel has done nothing more with ARC898. ARC898's user manual is still in
draft, dated 09/2004. The software only made it to v 1.1. It is what it is.
It's Web Frequency Catcher is at best, very basic. It allows you to do a normal cut & paste of frequencies only, from RR's database. It misses all the other info, such as alpha text tags, CTCSS/DCS codes, etc. Butel never added the valuable RR database import functionality that most all their other software has.
If you're sending date to, or from the scanner, you'll have time to make a cup of coffee, and drink it! I have the baud rate set to it's highest speed, yet data transfer is painfully slow, even if you have the delay option set to it's minimum.
So with that, I decided maybe ScanControl was the way to go. I was currently registered with the full v 6.0.0, which entitled me to a free upgrade to their latest v 6.1.2. Installation (even on Vista), was flawless, and I was up and running in seconds. Although ScanControl does not have a direct import feature for RR's database, it does have what they call DataGrabber. At first I thought it was just a different name for Butel's Web Frequency Catcher. ScanControls DataGrabber is awesome! It uses a similar highlight/cut/paste scheme, but it's an intelligent one! It grabs the frequency, alpha text tags, and CTCSS/DCS codes! It has numerous other useful features in this process that are too lengthy to go into here, but you can view them in action video on their web site! Data transfer speed is extremely fast. You have just enough time for a sip of coffee, if you already made it and poured it in your cup!
ScanControl is the only
low cost, easy to use software that supports programming and control & monitoring of the Uniden BC245XLT, BC895XLT, BC898T, BCT8, BC780XLT, BC250D, BC785D, BC296D, BC796D, SC230, BC246T, BCD396T, BR330T, BCT15, BCD996T Scanners and the Radio Shack PRO2052.
ONE PROGRAM SUPPORTS ALL LISTED RADIOS! The full version is only $59.95.
ScanControl
http://www.scannersoft.com/
I'm not your typical Butel-Basher! Overall I'm usually satisfied with Butel's software, and over the years I've purchased many different versions. For the most part, it does what it's supposed to do. For some reason I feel Butel has abandon any new development on some of it's software. Possibly due to greater demand in other areas.
It's always good to go back to some of your software and see what's been done with it while you were away. You might be pleasantly surprised, as I was with ScanControl!
ScanControl v 6.1.2 vs. Butel ARC898
Linear Mode
