Hey, I came across your frequency DB, and it's truly amazing. My only question though is next to some of the frequencies, you see "Mode" followed by AM or FM. What does that mean, and can any scanner pick up those frequencies? Thanks a lot (I have a Uniden BC246T)
A beginner question...
- Thread starter MrRevesz
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br0adband
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Welcome to the forum and to the hobby. You picked one of the very best scanners ever made, the BC-246T, and you'll get a ton of enjoyment from it, but it'll take some time to learn how to handle it and get it programmed. You can do it by hand, obviously, but it's highly recommended that you use a piece of software to help out. The most popular software to use with the BC-246T is called ARC246 and can be found at: www.butelsoftware.com You might consider joining the Yahoo Group for that software also, which is here: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/arc246t/
I myself had a 246T in the past and I'm about to buy another one this week because they're just so cool - that's my opinion and I'm not alone. I've been in the scanning hobby for over 35 years myself, since I was basically around 5 years old. Things sure have changed a lot but the basics still remain the same: you use a scanner to listen in on the happenings in the world around you.
Enough babbling for now...
AM and FM modes differ in the methods of signal transmission. I'm not going to try and turn this into a radio wave diatribe, suffice to say this: your 246T can handle AM mode and FM mode transmissions perfectly, nothing to worry about there.
The most common use for AM mode is aircraft communications: the stuff that pilots communicate to airport towers, other planes, long range air route traffic control centers (ARTCC). The civilian "air band" goes from 108 MHz to 136 MHz, and the transmission mode is AM.
The military air band, aka MilAir, is a much much larger chunk of real estate in terms of frequency allocation. It reaches from about 225 MHz to 406 MHz, basically. That's where military aircraft (duh!) do their communications, refueling operations, etc. The 246T unfortunately doesn't have MilAir coverage, one of the only things I consider a negative about that most awesome little scanner.
FM mode is the most common transmission method on the planet today. Nearly everything from mall security to construction sites, to police departments, fire/EMS services, local governments, etc - they all use hardware that works on FM mode. There's also a breakdown into wideband FM and narrowband FM - wideband is what you hear from an FM radio, music, etc. The 246T can pick up wideband FM if it's transmitted on a frequency that the 246T can be programmed to receive, but the audio will be a bit garbled because it's a different FM transmission mode. The 246T can handle FM and narrowband FM (NFM) just fine.
There's a lot to learn about this hobby if you're new to it, so don't give up when it seems a bit overwhelming - if that even occurs. One webpage that I myself and many other people will tend to recommend to learn more about the 246T is this one:
http://myweb.cableone.net/marksscanners/246/246.html
That's an "easier to read" 'manual' because the actual printed manual that comes with the scanner can be very tough to comprehend. The biggest hurdle for a new 246T owner that's also new to scanning might be the memory management system because it's so totally unique and new. If you're an old hat at radios and scanners, then it's a bit of a change, but if you're really new to all of this, you're getting off on the best possible first step since you're not going to have to "unlearn" the old ways. So congrats...
Also, check the RR (RadioReference, how we refer to this forum and website) wiki page for the BC-246T at:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BC246T
Again, welcome, and enjoy your stay. If you've got questions, just ask...
ps
Forgot to mention that CB radio uses AM mode also... the 246T can pick that up as well, but you'll need a fairly decent antenna that can actually receive such low frequencies (longer antenna = lower frequency reception improves). CB radio is in the upper 27 MHz range sooo...
I myself had a 246T in the past and I'm about to buy another one this week because they're just so cool - that's my opinion and I'm not alone. I've been in the scanning hobby for over 35 years myself, since I was basically around 5 years old. Things sure have changed a lot but the basics still remain the same: you use a scanner to listen in on the happenings in the world around you.
Enough babbling for now...
AM and FM modes differ in the methods of signal transmission. I'm not going to try and turn this into a radio wave diatribe, suffice to say this: your 246T can handle AM mode and FM mode transmissions perfectly, nothing to worry about there.
The most common use for AM mode is aircraft communications: the stuff that pilots communicate to airport towers, other planes, long range air route traffic control centers (ARTCC). The civilian "air band" goes from 108 MHz to 136 MHz, and the transmission mode is AM.
The military air band, aka MilAir, is a much much larger chunk of real estate in terms of frequency allocation. It reaches from about 225 MHz to 406 MHz, basically. That's where military aircraft (duh!) do their communications, refueling operations, etc. The 246T unfortunately doesn't have MilAir coverage, one of the only things I consider a negative about that most awesome little scanner.
FM mode is the most common transmission method on the planet today. Nearly everything from mall security to construction sites, to police departments, fire/EMS services, local governments, etc - they all use hardware that works on FM mode. There's also a breakdown into wideband FM and narrowband FM - wideband is what you hear from an FM radio, music, etc. The 246T can pick up wideband FM if it's transmitted on a frequency that the 246T can be programmed to receive, but the audio will be a bit garbled because it's a different FM transmission mode. The 246T can handle FM and narrowband FM (NFM) just fine.
There's a lot to learn about this hobby if you're new to it, so don't give up when it seems a bit overwhelming - if that even occurs. One webpage that I myself and many other people will tend to recommend to learn more about the 246T is this one:
http://myweb.cableone.net/marksscanners/246/246.html
That's an "easier to read" 'manual' because the actual printed manual that comes with the scanner can be very tough to comprehend. The biggest hurdle for a new 246T owner that's also new to scanning might be the memory management system because it's so totally unique and new. If you're an old hat at radios and scanners, then it's a bit of a change, but if you're really new to all of this, you're getting off on the best possible first step since you're not going to have to "unlearn" the old ways. So congrats...
Also, check the RR (RadioReference, how we refer to this forum and website) wiki page for the BC-246T at:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BC246T
Again, welcome, and enjoy your stay. If you've got questions, just ask...
ps
Forgot to mention that CB radio uses AM mode also... the 246T can pick that up as well, but you'll need a fairly decent antenna that can actually receive such low frequencies (longer antenna = lower frequency reception improves). CB radio is in the upper 27 MHz range sooo...
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Thanks! I' love the scanner, it's already so much fun, however there is one thing that catches my attention. Most things I pick up kind of click... what i mean by that is, someone will be talking, and every like 4 seconds, it cuts out for a sec and kicks back in... any idea on this?
n2mdk said:
thanks! was the close call, shut it off and worked great
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