Uniden Bearcat 210XLT

Sportster883 · Jun 20, 2015

I just purchased one and I am waiting for it to be shipped to me. Seller said that it is tested and works great. Only thing is it does not have the owners manual. Also it is in excellent condition. Can anyone tell me their thoughts and opinions? I will post more about it when it arrives at my door. Thanks everyone.

dgruver911 · Jun 20, 2015

Oh yes, the 210. My first programmable scanner back in the late 70's. Nice little VHF/UHF scanner. The only issue back then was the internal birdie on 39.58, which at that time was widely used in Kansas. It does use the old AM/FM car radio type Motorola plug for an outside antenna, so start digging for an adapter if you want to use an outside antenna. Hope it still works decently!

SCPD · Jun 20, 2015

Uniden BC-210XLT

Hi Sportster- The above mentioned scanner was good in it's times but is only single conversion meaning you will get intermod in a heavy RF area. However, it is very easy to program so email me and I can assist you. I see your from Oregon and I think most of your state is trunking and that will NOT work properly but it is a simple keyboard to type in frequencies and has great audio. This was the first one that was made by Uniden Corp of America in Japan. Prior, it was Electra Corp of Cumberland, IN and Uniden bought out the Bearcat name in 1987. Members, correct me if I am wrong with the year please?
Hope you have a nice Father's Day if you have kids.

Bob

Ronaldski · Jun 20, 2015

Manual -
http://www.repeater-builder.com/uniden/pdf/bc210-owners-man.pdf

SpectrumAnalyzer · Jun 20, 2015

Bearcat 210XLT

Lately there seems to be a resurgence of vintage radios come back to haunt Unidens corporate elite, not that I find fault with them producing rather expensive consumer grade scanners that by the mere nature of the Monolith produced complex communications equipment but in order for Uniden to keep up with the new technology while keeping cost down there has to be a compromise in producing high end technology monitoring, decoding, periodic firmware & software upgrades never before encountered since analog voice inversion scrambling, Uniden "COULD" however remind their customer service employees that their "PAYING" customers may not always be right but they are still customers nonetheless & gross disrespect, ignorance of the product, blatant incompetence, unprovoked arrogance & hostility will in no way ever be tolerated, okay, off the box.

Unbeknownst to a lot of people this site provides links (In blue) to user manuals at the bottom of each scanner/receivers history page, yours is here, take care & good luck with your new/old toy.

www.radiopics.com/Bearcat/Uniden Bearcat_BC210XLT.htm

Nasby · Jun 20, 2015

If I recall, this scanner retailed for around $200 back in the mid-1980's.

I would guess its worth about $15-$20 now.

Great unit back in the day. But very limited in usefulness in today's radio world.

typesix · Jun 20, 2015

Bob3655 said:
Hi Sportster- The above mentioned scanner was good in it's times but is only single conversion... Bob

It is a double conversion scanner.

trentbob · Jun 20, 2015

... I still have my BC-210... got it in 1977?... it was the first scanner I could enter a freq directly (not using tabs with codes on the Electra BC-101)... it was a great radio in it's day... but no PL tones... only 10 ch... very noisy and not much use in todays world of scanning... you can still get a pl-259 MOT pin at any RAT SHACK... Bob...

SCPD · Jun 21, 2015

BC-210XLT With No Manual

Hi Sportster883---This is such a easy scanner to operate. No trunking, no 800mhz but I am sure you can download a instruction manual or purchase one from Uniden America parts department by getting information in Texas. Hope this helps you! You can also PM me once you get it at your door.
Enjoy your used scanner as this was pretty good in it's times.

Bob(KB2GQK)
Uniden Bearcat BCT-15X Westchester County, NY

Sportster883 · Jun 30, 2015

Hello everyone, thanks for all of your helpful advice and opinions on this Uniden Bearcat 210XLT scanner. I finally got it and it came from a non smoking home from the original owner. He said that he bought it new in 1982. He lost the manual but explained that it was very easy to program. I noticed that some of these models have a small battery for the memory and this one does not. I looked inside and no battery I could see inside. Did some of these scanners not have the battery or am I just not seeing it ? Also no dust or dirt on the inside and all the internal parts look just fine nothing burned or hot. I programmed 20 channels in and it's working great. Now I do have a question. It seems like the Electra Bearcat IV is a tiny bit more sensitive on some channels or picks them up clearer than the new Uniden Bearcat 210XLT ? I am using the factory telescopic antenna on both models with a piece of clear plastic fuel line to protect them from static electricity. I also have them both plugged into a surge protector. So if anyone has any tips, tricks, ideas, and or questions please feel free to ask. Have a great day everyone.

marksmith · Jun 30, 2015

Sportster883 said:
Hello everyone, thanks for all of your helpful advice and opinions on this Uniden Bearcat 210XLT scanner. I finally got it and it came from a non smoking home from the original owner. He said that he bought it new in 1982. He lost the manual but explained that it was very easy to program. I noticed that some of these models have a small battery for the memory and this one does not. I looked inside and no battery I could see inside. Did some of these scanners not have the battery or am I just not seeing it ? Also no dust or dirt on the inside and all the internal parts look just fine nothing burned or hot. I programmed 20 channels in and it's working great. Now I do have a question. It seems like the Electra Bearcat IV is a tiny bit more sensitive on some channels or picks them up clearer than the new Uniden Bearcat 210XLT ? I am using the factory telescopic antenna on both models with a piece of clear plastic fuel line to protect them from static electricity. I also have them both plugged into a surge protector. So if anyone has any tips, tricks, ideas, and or questions please feel free to ask. Have a great day everyone.

Have a 220xl, 20-20, and a 250. All of them are deceased but the carcasses are still there. All were great scanners in their time.

Yes. I believe the 210xl might be less sensitive than the Bearcat IV. The 210xl had the first edition of the synthesized frequency as opposed to hard and fast crystals, which are optimal in terms of reception and rejection of interference.

Mark
536/HP1e/HP2e/996P2/996XT/396XT/PSR800/PRO668/PRO652

bee · Jun 30, 2015

My mom, bought the 210 in the early 1980's for about $200.00. A great scanner at the time.

In some areas, in might still be useful.

Dann · Jun 30, 2015

The 210 was a great scanner back in the day, I still have the one I bought in 1977, I had it on lay away for a few months to pay for it.

Craigmoe · Jul 1, 2015

Have three (3) 210 XLT's and all still working. Good scanner, mostly all metal case,
great for aircraft as well.

Citywide173 · Jul 1, 2015

It should be pointed out that this thread is referring to three different scanners, all based in the same case, which might be leading to some confusion.

The Bearcat 210, circa 1977 which had a memory battery RigPix Database - Bearcat/Uniden - BC-210 (by Electra Company)

The Bearcat 210XL, circa 1981 RigPix Database - Bearcat/Uniden - BC-210XL (by Electra Company)

The Bearcat 210XLT, circa 1989, which did not have a memory battery RigPix Database - Bearcat/Uniden - BC-210XLT (by Uniden)

There was also the Bearcat 210XW from the 80's RigPix Database - Bearcat/Uniden - BC-210XW (by Uniden)

eaf1956 · Jul 1, 2015

Sportster883 said:
I noticed that some of these models have a small battery for the memory and this one does not. I looked inside and no battery I could see inside. Did some of these scanners not have the battery or am I just not seeing it ? .

A long long time ago I bought a 50 channel Uniden scanner (I forget the model) which was one of the first types without a battery. It developed a memory issue to where the programmed information would change by itself. Sent it back to Uniden for repair they did some circuit revisions with transistors and it didn't help. I ended up giving the scanner away.

typesix · Jul 1, 2015

A lot of newer scanners use a capacitor for memory backup.

slicerwizard · Jul 1, 2015

Hm, why would newer scanners use volatile memory? Even my 1990-era Pro-43s have non-volatile EEPROMs.

Citywide173 · Jul 1, 2015

slicerwizard said:
Hm, why would newer scanners use volatile memory? Even my 1990-era Pro-43s have non-volatile EEPROMs.

Look at the clock issue in the x36HP series....no one said the manufacturers were smart

marksmith · Jul 1, 2015

eaf1956 said:
A long long time ago I bought a 50 channel Uniden scanner (I forget the model) which was one of the first types without a battery. It developed a memory issue to where the programmed information would change by itself. Sent it back to Uniden for repair they did some circuit revisions with transistors and it didn't help. I ended up giving the scanner away.

That was the 250. Had 5 banks of 10.
Have had a couple. Original back in the day. Had similar problems as described. Got to the point I had to program it every time I turned it on because all the channels would default to something that was out of band.

Then I bought one about 10 yes ago on Ebay used for about $20. That one also died shortly after getting.

Mark
536/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/
396XT/PSR800/PRO668/PRO652

Uniden Bearcat 210XLT

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