Locking and unlocking departments in BCD-436.

[genealle]

Help! I need some hand-holding with my BCD-436.
I've been thru the manual and the Easier to Read instructions and still just don't get it.

My Site is SLATER and I keep losing the County Fire TAC Department
I presume it's my ineptitude.
When I first download the favorites list, it is present and scans fine.
How do I lockout and unlock a Department?
I tried the simple instructions step-by-step but without success.

Thanks

 

[tvengr]

How do I lockout and unlock a Department?

The easiest way is to use quick keys. If a department has a quick key and you are scanning a single system, press the decimal point twice followed by the department quick key number followed by E to toggle the department on and off.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

How do I lockout and unlock a Department?
I tried the simple instructions step-by-step but without success.
Thanks

If you want to do a temporary lockout (in this case "avoid") While scanning, press the DEPT hotkey. Use scroll knob to scroll to department you want to avoid. Press "Avoid" key once to temporarily avoid it (Avoid stops when you turn scanner off & on). If you want to permanently avoid it, press "Avoid" a 2nd time. If you have no intentions of ever monitoring said department, simply delete it from your programming. See more in depth info about avoids in the Easier to Read manual here

 

[rbritton1201]

I've had to struggle with programming of these "Smart Scanners" myself, so you're not alone. It has taken hours for me to become sufficiently familiar, mostly through repetition of doing programming, making errors in programming, making errors in direct keyboard entry, and entering the right sequential presses, etc...etc...etc...to finally make things work with respect to turning on and off Departments.

I think it's kind of a two fold endeavor, beginning first with proper programming of the "Systems" under your Favorites List to include assignments of "Departments," which all has to be properly entered under the "Edit Favorites List" button. If the "Departments" are not programmed correctly first there, it'll never work.

But, once programmed, then enter the Favorites List Number, then a period, then the System Number, then a Period, then the Department Number...Then press the "E"button on the keypad of the scanner and that will result in turning on and off a specific Department. But, first, ya' gotta have that Department Number programmed correctly, or you're screwed.

It's kind of a convoluted process and difficult to explain. These scanner are absolutely amazing in what they can do, but the programming isn't user friendly at all. I don't know if that's the hint you were looking for or not, but that's my two cents.

Help! I need some hand-holding with my BCD-436.
I've been thru the manual and the Easier to Read instructions and still just don't get it.

My Site is SLATER and I keep losing the County Fire TAC Department
I presume it's my ineptitude.
When I first download the favorites list, it is present and scans fine.
How do I lockout and unlock a Department?
I tried the simple instructions step-by-step but without success.

Thanks

 

[genealle]

The easiest way is to use quick keys. If a department has a quick key and you are scanning a single system, press the decimal point twice followed by the department quick key number followed by E to toggle the department on and off.

If I can't figure out this seemingly simple Department program, Quick Keys are beyond my ability.

 

[genealle]

Here's something else I can't get right:

I added Site (SLATER) to a new favorites list. (In Sentinel}
I went into the list and deleted Departments I didn't want to scan and didn't want to slow down the scanner.
Then when I loaded the new Fav list to scanner, it said "nothing to scan", even though the list was on.

I think Uniden needs to add a special "Dumb Mode"

 

[rbritton1201]

I only mention the following background information because I don't know to what extent you already know these things. So, please indulge me, just trying to be as thorough and helpful as I can.

They dispatch all the Fire/EMS out of one central location, including St. Charles County PD/Sheriff and the Department of Corrections. The rest of the police agencies in St. Charles County are dispatched independently via S.L.A.T.E.R. These agencies all have their own talk groups within S.L.A.T.E.R., whether they're Fire/EMS or Law Enforcement.

I think the terminology Uniden uses is confusing because, in my mind, what Uniden calls "Systems" I see as "Departments," and what Uniden calls "Departments" I see as "Systems."

Since my focus isn't Fire/EMS but Law Enforcement, I just have my St. Charles County Fire/EMS set up so that all the talk groups for Fire.EMS are under one favorites list, and I just listen for the address of the Fire/EMS call to know which agency is responding, and where the event is occurring.

If you're wanting to isolate the agencies by Fire/EMS agency, I would recommend setting each agency up independently from one another, each as independent favorites lists, each with their own assigned talk groups, giving them each their own Favorites List Name, so you can turn them on and off by agency favorites list "name." Then, you don't have to program systems or departments. Once you set things up that way, then all you have to do to use Favorites Lists is what you're used to doing, just turn on and off the independent favorites lists by Fire/EMS agency name.

There is probably a way to separate out the talk groups using what Uniden calls "Systems" and "Departments" to use quick keys under one Favorites List, but I think that would be cumbersome anyway, even if you were able to map it out, trying to remember which quick key is which agency when you want to turn on and off certain Fire/EMS agencies.

If I can't figure out this seemingly simple Department program, Quick Keys are beyond my ability.

 

[rbritton1201]

I turn on all the Favorites Lists within Sentinel, but I still have to physically turn the Favorites List on at the radio itself, or it will not scan them, and it will display nothing to scan...I turn them on at the scanner by entering the Favorites list number, then "E", each time you want to turn on (or off) a Favorites List.

Here's something else I can't get right:

I added Site (SLATER) to a new favorites list. (In Sentinel}y
I went into the list and deleted Departments I didn't want to scan and didn't want to slow down the scanner.
Then when I loaded the new Fav list to scanner, it said "nothing to scan", even though the list was on.

I think Uniden needs to add a special "Dumb Mode"

 

[genealle]

FINALLY solved my problem.

Being bored, I started poking around the menus. Under Service Types, there is a category named Fire-Tac, right below Fire Dispatch. It was set to OFF. I have never seen that TAC listing and I have never even looked at Service Types since I bought the scanner 3 years ago. Guessing maybe an upgrade added that category and left it off??