Have you used “paid programming” from the offering companies

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Handiman

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and how well has it worked for you?
I have a BCD436HP and I haven’t had much luck listening to or even the radio stopping on any P25 programming. I am sure I’m not entering the correct or enough programming.
The main local area is in D/FW Tx, and particular the NE Tarrant County.
Includes Grapevine, Southlake, Keller, NRH, Haltom City and Fort Worth.
I am thinking of paying for programming for my area as they feel confident that their programming will work.
Thanks in advance for your time.

RKF
Uniden BCD436HP, w/DMR
 

troymail

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No way - generally, it's a waste of money as you really need to learn and know how to program it yourself. This stuff changes all the time and if you don't know how to do it, when your radio stops working, what do you do then? What happens if/when you decide to travel and want to listen to something else?

These companies are basically doing what any user should be able to do for themselves using freely available information.

In most cases, they also have no way to verify what they've programmed will even work in your environment.
 

KC2YQW

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Little Egg Harbor
I believe the 436 radio is compatible with the BCDx36HP Sentinel program. Easiest way to find out is to use a microSD card reader to load the radios microSD card into the computer. From there, you should be able to load the Sentinel software and program your radio that way.
 

SCPD

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I agree use the sentinel software on pc. It may seem difficult at first but is pretty easy to catch onto.
 

Skypilot007

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No way - generally, it's a waste of money as you really need to learn and know how to program it yourself. This stuff changes all the time and if you don't know how to do it, when your radio stops working, what do you do then? What happens if/when you decide to travel and want to listen to something else?

These companies are basically doing what any user should be able to do for themselves using freely available information.

In most cases, they also have no way to verify what they've programmed will even work in your environment.

I could not agree more! Learn to program the radio on your own, in the long run you will be much happier and you may actually hear something on it.
 

SteveSimpkin

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I agree with the advice above. Aside from that, the BCD436HP contains the full RR frequency database and should not need much in the way of traditional scanner "Programming". Enter your current location (Zip code), select the services you want to listen to and away you go. You will need to update the database from time to time using the free Uniden Sentinel software. You can also use Sentinel to enter frequencies which may not be in the database, such as local ham repeaters. There are a lot of videos showing how to use Sentinel to get you started.
 

N9RMA

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U Tube is your friend. Lotsa good vids on programming the X36 . Bob N9RMA
 

hiegtx

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Dallas, TX
and how well has it worked for you?
I have a BCD436HP and I haven’t had much luck listening to or even the radio stopping on any P25 programming. I am sure I’m not entering the correct or enough programming.
The main local area is in D/FW Tx, and particular the NE Tarrant County.
Includes Grapevine, Southlake, Keller, NRH, Haltom City and Fort Worth.
I am thinking of paying for programming for my area as they feel confident that their programming will work.
Thanks in advance for your time.

RKF
Uniden BCD436HP, w/DMR
Besides having the correct sites loaded, if you are setting up the scanner to use the main database, and your location, you also need to have the correct service types enabled. By default, the x36HP scanners as well as the HP-1 & HP-2 have the 'Dispatch' service types set. So, Law Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, EMS Dispatch, and Multi-Dispatch would be utilized. However, much of the traffic is on the talkgroups listed as 'Tac' or 'Talk'. So be sure that 'Law Tac' 'Law Talk', 'Fire Tac', and 'Fire Talk'. Enable the corresponding types for 'EMS' and 'Multi'.

If you are using a Favorites list, attach it to a post so that someone can look it over to see if anything obvious stands out.


Attaching an *.hpe file to a post


If you have made changes on the scanner not entered in Sentinel, use Sentinel to "read from scanner". Then, export the resulting Favorites list(s) into an *.hpe file. Do that by clicking on File, then selecting "Export to .hpe file" from the drop-down menu. Then, attach that to a post and upload so that we can take a peek & see if anything is out of place.

Note: To upload an *.hpe file, to the Forums, you must change the file extension to one acceptable per forum requirements. To do that, note where your exported *.hpe file is saved on your PC.
Using Windows Explorer, find the file.
There are two ways to do this. You can either change the file extension itself, or compress the file using 7-Zip or other file utility. The *.zip file extension can be attached to a post and uploaded to the Forums.

Or, using Windows Explorer, rename your file one of these two ways:
For illustration, let's call your exported file 'MyFile.hpe' (without the quotes).
<Right><Click> on the file & choose Rename from the pop-up menu.
You can then rename your file to MyFile.txt, or MyFile.hpe.txt in order to attach it to a post. Whoever views the file will need to reset the file name back to MyFile.hpe, then it can be imported into Sentinel for viewing.

I would also suggest that you request your thread be moved to the Texas forum. Someone there might have information of any upgrades or changes planned for this system. To do that, do not create a new thread. Instead, click on the red outlined triangle in the upper right corner of your original post, and request that a moderator move your thread to the state forum. Besides myself, there are a number of additional members from the DFW area that frequent the Texas forum. Any one of us can look at your file to check for errors or omissions, and can also provide you an *.hpe file to try.


Depending on your exact location in North Richland Hills, you may also be hampered by Simulcast Distortion. See this article in the Wiki. But first, you should verify that your programming and settings are on target.


I advise against paying one of the dealers to program your scanner for you. First is the cost. Anywhere from $60 and up, depending on whether you want one, or more than one, county covered. Also, what are you going to do when something changes? Send the scanner back to the dealer & pay to get it updated? That can get expensive. Anything the dealer can do for your 436HP you can do yourself, by using the Sentinel software, once you make sure it's database is current. Start Sentinel on your PC. Now, look at the lower left corner of the window. The date there is the date of last update. If it is several months, or more, out of date, that's not helping things. To check the date of the database file on your scanner, first press Menu (the bottom rubber-covered key on the left side of the scanner).
Now, scroll down & select Manage Full Database from the menu, by highlighting it, then pressing the Enter (E) key to select.
On the next screen, scroll down & select Information, then Enter to select it.
The date shown is that of the current database on your scanner. That needs to be current, if you are not using a Favorites list. The current database is dated 11/05/2017. If it is considerably older than that, update the database in Sentinel, then write that to the scanner. More information on doing that can be found here.
 

Nasby

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Ohio
If you have confidence in the person doing the programming and the cost is reasonable ($25-$30) then it could be worth doing.

You could download and save the programming that you paid for and then study how the programmer set things up. This would help you to learn how to do the programming yourself in the future if you ever wanted to make changes.

I look at it as a person's time being worth something. If you spend 8-10 hours trying to program it yourself and are still getting nowhere, then spending a few bucks to have it done right might be worth it.

Afterall, scanning should be fun. For many, programming is not part of the fun.
 

hiegtx

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Dallas, TX
If you have confidence in the person doing the programming and the cost is reasonable ($25-$30) then it could be worth doing.
Yes, if the person doing the programming, whether hands on, or by providing a file. But the dealer sourced programming options start at a much higher cost, and generally are just a dump of channels possibly in range, that show in the RRDB.

You could download and save the programming that you paid for and then study how the programmer set things up. This would help you to learn how to do the programming yourself in the future if you ever wanted to make changes.
Also a good idea. WHich is why, in the earlier days of scanners such as the 396T & PSR-500 (and their siblings), I always recommended to not be too quick to delete the preprogrammed channels, since a user could compare them with the information in the database, and perhaps see how the information online looked when programmed.

I look at it as a person's time being worth something. If you spend 8-10 hours trying to program it yourself and are still getting nowhere, then spending a few bucks to have it done right might be worth it.
Again, not a bad idea if the person doing the programming had some insight into how the area systems are utilized. But online dealer programming does not bring that into play. It's mostly a dump of what fits the description for the area, with no correlation with what is actually in use.

Afterall, scanning should be fun. For many, programming is not part of the fun.
:p
 

Handiman

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Dec 4, 2010
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North Richland Hills Texas
I agree with everything above.
I have used the Sent. software but I do not hear anything. So I feel I’m missing something somewhere. So I thought by comparing their working (program)if it does I can find where I am missing it.
I’m also dealing with FTW Police haveing encryption so I expect that not to work.
It’s just everyone makes this sound so simple and I haven’t had any luck.
I disagreed with the YouTube help. They have videos for the simple thing and some of them are not exact.
I know I can learn this but time is lacking for now and I would like to enjoy hear some scanner noise.
 

hiegtx

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Dallas, TX
I agree with everything above.
I have used the Sent. software but I do not hear anything. So I feel I’m missing something somewhere. So I thought by comparing their working (program)if it does I can find where I am missing it.
I’m also dealing with FTW Police haveing encryption so I expect that not to work.
It’s just everyone makes this sound so simple and I haven’t had any luck.
I disagreed with the YouTube help. They have videos for the simple thing and some of them are not exact.
I know I can learn this but time is lacking for now and I would like to enjoy hear some scanner noise.
Ft Worth PD, Arlington PD, Grand Prairie PD, among others, are all out of reach because of encryption. Fortunately for your listening, NRH (which is in the Combined Dispatch group), and the NETCO cities are not using all encompassing encryption.

See this for a way to build a Favorites list using Sentinel. That's something I put together for someone in the Houston Metro area, but the same methods can be used in your area as well. Have you verified that the database in Sentinel is up to date? Current date is 11/05/2017.

I can export you a 'starter' list if you want, but if you move your thread to the Texas forum, and make a request there, you'll more likely get a response from one of the members actually in Tarrant County. I'm in Dallas County, and many of the Tarrant agencies are out of range for me from home, although I can monitor them when visiting friends in the mid-cities, or when heading west on I-20 to spend the day down in Stephens County.
 

marksmith

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No way - generally, it's a waste of money as you really need to learn and know how to program it yourself. This stuff changes all the time and if you don't know how to do it, when your radio stops working, what do you do then? What happens if/when you decide to travel and want to listen to something else?

These companies are basically doing what any user should be able to do for themselves using freely available information.

In most cases, they also have no way to verify what they've programmed will even work in your environment.
I could not have said it better myself.

By paying someone else to program it, you are paying for the privilege of not leaning how to do it yourself, costing double to get nothing.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others
 

jonwienke

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It's sort of like paying another guy to "service" your wife. No one is likely to be happy with the arrangement long-term, except the hired help.
 

mikewazowski

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Makes it easier to troubleshoot when you have a problem or someone changes frequencies or talkgroups.
 

troymail

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This is another user's example of why getting someone else to program your radio may sound like a good idea at first but possibly not so much later:

https://forums.radioreference.com/radio-shack-scanners/361572-rs-pro-106-help.html

We see this all too often.

Even if/when systems are stable, I've encountered users who manage to press lots of buttons and lock out channels/talkgroups and even entire systems with no idea how they did it or how to recover.

These things only result in major frustration and could even result in the radio being put in a corner and ignored/go unused over time. Not something you want to do when you are spending hundreds of dollars on a piece of equipment.

EDIT: another thread > https://forums.radioreference.com/ohio-radio-discussion-forum/361273-help-updates-dayton.html
 
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Handiman

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Location
North Richland Hills Texas
Here is a question I haven&#8217;t been able to determine, on the display of my BCD436HP there are 2 rows of (?) Favorite List Numbers. I know where in the Sentinel software the first (upper row) is in the software but what page/area is the 2nd row entered into the software.
Also entering a zip code doesn&#8217;t work in my area, when I use the zip code method I get Dallas more than local stuff. I wish it were that easy.

Hiegtx, I will dig into my programming with the help of your info this week after work. Thank You
And thanks to the other info from everyone
 

troymail

Silent Key
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
9,981
Location
Supply (Lockwood Inlet area), NC
Here is a question I haven&#8217;t been able to determine, on the display of my BCD436HP there are 2 rows of (?) Favorite List Numbers. I know where in the Sentinel software the first (upper row) is in the software but what page/area is the 2nd row entered into the software.
The first row is the favorites lists quick key numbers.
The second row will display the system or department quick key numbers.

Details can be found here:
Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual

Also entering a zip code doesn&#8217;t work in my area, when I use the zip code method I get Dallas more than local stuff. I wish it were that easy.
Zip code programming tends to bring in far too much stuff and for the reason, I see it as really only a starting point but not how I would program a scanner for the long term. There are lots of reasons why you get so much stuff when programming in this manor.

However, there are a few things you can do to reduce the amount of stuff loaded - the two primary being

Setting the range
Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual
Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual

Setting service types
Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual

If there is stuff the radio stops on after adjusting the settings, you can "Avoid" individual channels, "departments" (groups of channels), or even entire "systems".

http://new.marksscanners.com/536/436_536.shtml#scan_avoid
 
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K2RNI

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Jun 1, 2016
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Kingman, AZ
I would just put the money torwards a radioreference subscription and get FreeScan that way you could just pick an choose what systems you want to download or put on the whole database for your areas. Just substitute freescan for whatever other program you can get though because the developer said they won't add support for bcd436hp and 536hp.
 
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