BC75XLT: BC75XLT Question - Newbie

[Huxton2424]

Hi all - Complete newbie here. Actually I’m here just trying to help my (90 year old!) aunt. My uncle knew all about this stuff but he passed away several years ago so here I am!

Her old scanner stopped working some time ago and she really misses it so she had me order a new one for her. I know nothing and she really doesn’t either. All she knew was that she wanted a handheld one and didn’t want anything ‘fancy’ as she put it, so I ended up going with the BC75XLT and hoped I’d be able to figure it out. I’m struggling to program it though. I’d consider myself intelligent generally speaking and I tend to pick up on things pretty quickly but this…I’m just in a completely unknown world here. I suspect, based on what I’ve read, that the issue is that the frequencies in our area are mostly digital and this scanner doesn’t have the capability for this. Could someone confirm this and if correct, point me in the direction of a low-cost, handheld model that *is*? Location is Noble County Indiana, town of Kendallville specifically. If that’s not the issue then I’m just completely lost and could really use some guidance in getting this thing set up. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[sallen07]

Welcome to RadioReference.

I'll start with a suggestion. You might get better answers to your question if it's in the Indiana forum. If you click on "Report" at the bottom of your post you can ask the moderators to move it. I can look at the database (link below) and make a recommendation, but there might be someone reading the Indiana forum that lives in Noble County and has first-hand experience.

Noble County, Indiana (IN) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Noble County, Indiana (IN)

www.radioreference.com

First the bad news. Yes, most (if not all) public safety traffic in Noble County is on the state-wide SAFE-T system, which is digital, and as you've already figured out, cannot be monitored using a BC75XLT. There are still a few conventional analog frequencies listed in the DB, but I have no idea if they are still used or not. In many cases there will be a link between a digital trunking system such as SAFE-T and an analog frequency that is used to page first responders, so the "Fire Dispatch" and "EMS Dispatch" may still be active, and those *could* be picked up with that scanner. But the Sheriff Dispatch is labelled "backup" so I'm guessing you won't hear anything there.

The good news is that, while a digital scanner is needed to listen to SAFE-T, it *looks* like the system in Noble County is not what is called "simulcast", so a less expensive digital scanner should work well. (Note that I said LESS expensive, not inexpensive.) If she wants a hand-held scanner, then the Uniden BCD325P2 would be an excellent choice. It also looks like all of the talkgroups for Noble County are P25 Phase 1, so a Whistler WS-1040 should work too and is about $100 cheaper but if the system is ever upgraded to P25 Phase 2 then the Whistler would not work anymore.

In the meantime, if you are struggling to program the BC75XLT, I would very much recommend that you try using one of the several programming software packages available for that scanner. Here are three:

https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/BC75XLT

Scan75 Control Program

Scan75 Control Program for UBC75XLT, BC75XLT, SR30C and AE75H Scanners

www.nick-bailey.co.uk

Uniden BC75XLT

Available software options: ARC75 for Uniden BC75XLT/SR30C

www.butel.nl

Hopefully this helps you. As I said, I would recommend that you ask the moderators to move your post to the Indiana forum in hopes that someone from Noble County will see your question and give you first-hand information.

Good luck!