BC365CR assistance

[scanmeup721]

What state do you live in? There are regional forums listed at RR by state. I’d ask the administrator to move your post over to the state forum where hopefully you could hookup with someone who could be “hands on” with you.

I am trying to post my questions in a forum but have not been successful I am technically challenged
I live in Broome County NY. I just received a Uniden BC365CR for Christmas I am having trouble programming it not sure if I have an old list of frequencies or because it is analog or I just don't have a clue what I am trying to do.
I don't know where to turn for help. I had a hand held scanner for years and really enjoyed it but I am lost with this one.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums, let's have a look at the RR database shall we? Broome County emergency services operate on an Central New York Interoperable Communications Consortium (CNYICC) & I really hate to be the bearer of bad news but your BC365CRS which is an analog-conventional only scanner won't track it. You'll need a P25 Phase-II (TDMA) capable trunk tracking scanner (see list here) to handle the system. Strongly recommended to go with a Uniden SDS100 (handheld) or SDS200 (base) to overcome likely simulcast distortion you'll encounter with the Broome East and West simulcasts. Expect a significant learning curve if you don't have experience with any of Uniden's recent scanner offerings but there are plenty of resources here on the forums at your disposal.

Trunking Basics - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

You can certainly monitor mode "AM", "FM" or "NFM" frequencies in your county or nationwide with the BC365CRS but that's all that your scanner is limited to

 

[n1chu]

…and that’s the trouble with scanners as Christmas/Birthday presents, where someone asks what you’d like and you tell them “A scanner!”. Santa needs a lot more input so he can deliver the proper scanner to you. You have the wrong scanner for your area. Best to return it, put your money towards a Uniden SDS100 or SDS200. You should ask this forum’s admin to move your post over to the regional forums, listed by state also. That will help you find someone in your vicinity that is willing to help. And someone who is familiar with what you will need to monitor what you are interested in. Location is everything when buying a scanner. A local scanner enthusiast will probably be able to show you a working scanner set up for your local.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Santa needs a lot more input so he can deliver the proper scanner to you.

Santa needs a crash course so he can jump on Radioreference to help new users research what scanner will best fit their listening needs. I guess that makes us Santa's helpers in a way

 

[n1chu]

Santa needs a crash course so he can jump on Radioreference to help new users research what scanner will best fit their listening needs. I guess that makes us Santa's helpers in a way

In a sense, yes. I’ve always been concerned on how newbies go about determining which scanner to buy. When I first started out there were RadiobShack Patrolman series tunable receivers. Then came single band 4 channel crystal controlled, then 8, then dual band (which were actually two circuit boards, one accepted 4 VHF low band crystals and another 4 VHF high band crystals. (UHF was just around the corner as repeaters became more common, something the amateurs (hams) are credited with, but the mode stayed the same… all were FM. It wasn’t too hard to decide on a scanner as a newbie. But frequency spectrum was finite. And when there were no more frequencies to allocate something needed to change. That opened up the 800 MHz band, and with it the intricacies of trunking. Newbies were in trouble… no longer was it a case of grabbing a box off the shelf and paying the cashier on the way out the door. Now they needed to determine what band each agency they wanted to monitor was using. And it only got more complicated as time went on. Today, it’s a matter of doing your homework before one could then decide which scanner models are available to choose from. Then, to add insult to injury, encryption. I wish I had a dime for each horror story I hear of someone buying a scanner to listen to their home town police only to find out later the police comms were encrypted. I’ve found scanners at tag sales going for $5 because, according to their owners they never were able to “get anything on them”! One look at the scanner and knowing that encryption was in play told me the scanner was probably ok, just not for that local. I didn’t have the heart to tell them about the encryption… it’s not like me saying something was going to give them the ability to monitor their local police…