Austin, Texas Info and the 396T

[radar21]

I am considering the BCD396T for the Austin/Travis County Area as well as VHF/UHF Air & MilAir and need some opinions fairly quickly.
Does the 396T a good scanner for the new Digital system in Austin?
Has anyone heard if Austin/Travis County will be going the encryption way in the near future which would render the 396T unusable in the area.
I would like some opinions concerning the scanners ability in this area and if it will be worth the money considering the encryption issue.

 

[mfn002]

I don't think Austin will be going encrypted anytime soon.

As for the 396, I would highly recommend it. It is way more flexible than, say, the PRO96. I have one, and I swear by it. It is a GREAT scanner, and it will definitely be worth the money.

 

[W5TWX]

I've had my 396 for about a month now and I enjoy it. It's the best scanner i've ever owned. It works good with the Austin system, but I mainly listen to Round Rock since that's where i'm at. Round Rock and all of Williamson County is switching over to P25 digital by the end of the year. That was my reason for purchasing mine. The radio is fantastic and if I had to buy another scanner right now it would be another 396. You couldn't give me any Rat Shack crap. Can't stand their products at all. I've always used Uniden.
There's not any radios out there that will work with encryption so you can forget about that. I haven't heard of any encryption going on in this area or if any is on the way.
I recommend buying it and I think you will be pleased.

I also recommend buying it from COMMUNICATION ELECTRONICS out of Ann Arbor Michigan. $519.95 and free shipping. Make sure you also buy the interface cable so you can program it with your computer. It's much easier that way. If you buy it at the same time as the scanner, it's no extra charge for shipping.
Their website is: http://www.usascan.com/

 

[radar21]

BCD396T Info

Thanks everyone for the info.

 

[loumaag]

... Make sure you also buy the interface cable so you can program it with your computer. ...

The serial interface cable comes with the radio (part of the package from Uniden), if you need a USB -> Serial adapter, buy one; a dedicated USB to radio cable is nice, but limited to that function only.

 

[W5TWX]

Thanks for making the correction Lou. That's what I meant to say. In fact the model number is USB-1.