bcTool

[kevin390]

I have my scanner plugged into my computer and no lie I been trying to program my BCT-15 for about 5 hours. I have no idea where to start and I tried allot of ways. Could someone PLEASE help me get going . I read what there was to read on the Wiki and I am still lost. Thanks in advance for any and all help..................Ray

 

[ka3jjz]

There's not enough information here to diagnose the error. Are you using a USB converter? Which one? Did you load the drivers? Did you get the most recent drivers from the manufacturer or distributor's website? Did you get a COM port assigned? What OS are you running (XP, Vista, 7, ect.?)
Did you configure the front or back port as documented in the manual?

For bctool specific questions, Rob is quite active on his Yahoo group - but we're not quite there yet.

73 Mike

 

[WouffHong]

Bct15

I have my scanner plugged into my computer and no lie I been trying to program my BCT-15 for about 5 hours. I have no idea where to start and I tried allot of ways. Could someone PLEASE help me get going . I read what there was to read on the Wiki and I am still lost. Thanks in advance for any and all help..................Ray

Don't make the mistake *I* made - I had connected to the rear RS232 Connector instead of the front one. :roll: :roll:
Oh, Well..
Mac

 

[kevin390]

There's not enough information here to diagnose the error. Are you using a USB converter? Which one? Did you load the drivers? Did you get the most recent drivers from the manufacturer or distributor's website? Did you get a COM port assigned? What OS are you running (XP, Vista, 7, ect.?)
Did you configure the front or back port as documented in the manual?

For bctool specific questions, Rob is quite active on his Yahoo group - but we're not quite there yet.

73 Mike

I am using a USB converter. It's a Gigaware USB-A to serial cable from Radio Shack hooked up to the one that came with the BCT15. I am running Windows XP Home computer. COM port assigned? I really don't know what that is. As for serial port, The Cable I got from Radio Shack says-This Cable features single chip ( ASIC ) USB to serial communication, and a data transfer rate up to 128Kbps-. In the BCT15 manual on page 67 it states you set the front port to match the speed used to communicate with your PC (default 115200 bps) and the back port to the speed used to comunicatewith an attached GPS device (default 4800 bps ) . I really don't know the speeds so I set them front at 115200 and Rear at 4800 bps. As for bcTool I got as far as it was saying communcationing with my scanner after trying to down load frequencies. I let it run for about 20 minutes and it was still saying it was communcationing and nothing was getting programmed into my scanner. One more thing when I am trying to load my scanner what should it be turned on to? Once again Thanks for your time.............Ray

 

[ka3jjz]

Your description doesn't say anything about getting the most recent drivers and installing them, nor does it say anything about making sure the COM port that was assigned when you installed drivers matched what BCtool is expecting. You might have to dig through Gigaware's (or RS) website to see if you can find up to date XP drivers, or perhaps find the ASIC website. Every one is kinda different that way.

You can see whether you have a COM port assignment in Device Manager. Perhaps XP recognized it and installed, even if the drivers aren't totally up to date. I'm not at my PC at home, and am restricted on this PC as to what I can see here, but if memory serves me, it would be Control Panel/System/Hardware/Device Manager. If you have an assignment, make sure the port is actually available (some Blackberrys and other devices load a driver, and it remains resident - meaning it ties up a port - whether the device is really connected or not, for example).

The author of BCtool, along with numerous users, are available on this Yahoo group;

bctool : bcTool

73 Mike

 

[kevin390]

I don't know if this makes any sense but how do you change the port. It says I need to be in com-3..Ray

 

[ka3jjz]

I can't install BCtool on this machine at work. It would probably be faster to get on the Yahoo group and ask (or if someone else would answer here...) 73 Mike

 

[PJinNJ]

Well

I had a similar issue with my 246T but no one ever asked me if I had enabled the radio through the menu to be in Xfer mode. I did that and all was well. Not sure if your radio has a similar thing but check the user manual.

 

[kevin390]

Well I am slowly getting this. No, I dont see any Xfer mode. But another question. How do I get the frequencies from Radio Reference to the bctool line up. I have Orange County and State Police but I need to tex-tag them and edit the channels. One more question can I take frequencies from any web-site and put them in the bctool menu? Once THANKS for any and all your help...........Ray

 

[eorange]

To select your COM port in bcTool, click Options on the menu, then Serial Port/Network.

 

[kevin390]

I finaly got it, I feel like I just gave birth. My BCT15 is programmed. Now to work on my pro-2055. Here I go again...........Ray

 

[ka3jjz]

Just FYI - insofar as getting data from RadioReference, it's under 'Tools' then 'RadioReference'.

Re your PRO-2055 - use Win97 from Starrsoft. Start another thread (or better, use the search tools) if you have questions about that software.

Glad to hear you got it going 73 Mike