I have multiple BCD996P2 scanners.
You're probably facing memory limitations in that model... there are several reasons why those older models are lower cost...
Although not the same, even the "flagship" Uniden x36 models have limitations regarding in how much can be in a single favorites list (1 Mb). They do allow import of multiple entire large systems - including the 2,500+ set of talkgroups for NC VIPER - and beyond.
Why in the world would you need to listen to 500+ TGs? Mike
Remember - you aren't "listening" to 500+ talkgroups -- you are monitoring a system and
might see/hear those talkgroups.
There are lots of reasons -- a few:
1. when occasional "unusual" talkgroups appear in your area - nice to know what it is rather than having to go look it up on a computer
2. when you are running in search mode looking for new talkgroups - if you don't program them all, you'll end up with a whole lot of false alarms (things that are already in the database)
3. mobile/roaming on large statewide or regional (or even some county) systems....
I'll stop here.
EDIT: User's manual says:
You can store up to 20 ‘Groups’ per ‘System’ with up to 1000 frequencies or 500 IDs in each
‘Group’. You can have 1000 total channels per conventional system and up to 256 ‘Sites’ if
you have enough memory. You can have a maximum of 500 Systems, 1000 Sites, and 25,000
Channels.
I suppose they could change things - but it could also be a performance issue on these models if the "system" becomes too large.