Need help programming Uniden BCD996XT

[theadog52398]

I use freeSCANN to program my Uniden bcd996xt. My primary goal is to listen to MCSO in Queen Creek. They are dispatched through the east talk group. (MCSO - East). I am located in Pinal County boarding the Maricopa County line. Whenever I pull up the Maricopa County System I get over 15 Sites and Groups. All I wanna do is download the right site that goes with Sheriff - East County? I'm kinda new to all of this stuff. Ive put all of them on my scanner and MCSO - East comes up within different Sites/Groups, which is really confusing. Your help would be really appreciated. Also, how do you have it showing when the dispatcher is speaking? I've seen it on a few video's. Thanks in advance!

 

[cellphone]

I don’t use FreeScan, so I cannot guide you on exactly how to program, but I can give you some general tips.

For sites if you are just interested in MCSO East, and you can receive the Thompson Peak site very well, then you can get away with only programming that site as it will carry most of the East talkgroups all the time. This is the main East site, and other sites in the East Valley are smaller filler sites that don't carry talkgroups unless a unit is affiliated with them. If you can receive other sites (Bronco Butte, Mesa, Chandler, etc) you can also program these especially if you get a much stronger signal than Thompson Peak. If you won’t take the scanner mobile, you will not need the other main sites (White Tanks and Central Court) as you probably won’t receive them very well from Queen Creek.

For talkgroups, program everything you want to listen to. I would for sure program all of the Sheriff East talkgroups. Program for “Scan” mode rather than “Search” and you will only hear the talkgroups that you program.

To identify when the dispatcher is speaking, you can program Unit IDs. You will also need to set up the scanner to display unit IDs, and set how you want it to display. There are 3 display modes for the 996XT. You can label the dispatcher IDs in the software. As I am typing this, Unit ID 52980 is the East Dispatcher. There are probably many other dispatcher IDs, but I rarely listen to MCSO so I have not documented others. Once you get it set up, you will see unit IDs as they talk, and you can make notes and update your programming. Some other Unit IDs that you might be interested in are FOX (helicopter) units. Here are some of the FOX unit IDs that I have logged in the past – 46718, 46719, 46805.

Hope this helps.

 

[theadog52398]

Reply

I don’t use FreeScan, so I cannot guide you on exactly how to program, but I can give you some general tips.

For sites if you are just interested in MCSO East, and you can receive the Thompson Peak site very well, then you can get away with only programming that site as it will carry most of the East talkgroups all the time. This is the main East site, and other sites in the East Valley are smaller filler sites that don't carry talkgroups unless a unit is affiliated with them. If you can receive other sites (Bronco Butte, Mesa, Chandler, etc) you can also program these especially if you get a much stronger signal than Thompson Peak. If you won’t take the scanner mobile, you will not need the other main sites (White Tanks and Central Court) as you probably won’t receive them very well from Queen Creek.

For talkgroups, program everything you want to listen to. I would for sure program all of the Sheriff East talkgroups. Program for “Scan” mode rather than “Search” and you will only hear the talkgroups that you program.

To identify when the dispatcher is speaking, you can program Unit IDs. You will also need to set up the scanner to display unit IDs, and set how you want it to display. There are 3 display modes for the 996XT. You can label the dispatcher IDs in the software. As I am typing this, Unit ID 52980 is the East Dispatcher. There are probably many other dispatcher IDs, but I rarely listen to MCSO so I have not documented others. Once you get it set up, you will see unit IDs as they talk, and you can make notes and update your programming. Some other Unit IDs that you might be interested in are FOX (helicopter) units. Here are some of the FOX unit IDs that I have logged in the past – 46718, 46719, 46805.

Hope this helps.

@cellphone Thanks for taking the time to explain everything. One thing I noticed that's very weird is I am unable to receive MCSO - East on Thompson Peak. I was in the middle of queen creek when I tried and I was also sitting still. All it says is "Finding Cntrl channel". I get a very low signal (1 to 2 bars) whenever I listen to East on "CentralCourt/Dwn". I was listening when I was in the middle of Queen Creek. It can get a little choppy at times.... As I was driving away from Queen Creek into Pinal County I picked up the East channel good on "TwrsMtn/CrownKin" (Stayed at about 3 bars.) I have my scanner in my mustang. I have a radioshack 30- 1300 MHZ. It's a Magnet-mount.
(Magnet-mount mobile scanner antenna : Mobile Scanner Antennas | RadioShack.com). Maybe it's because I'm traveling at a fast speed whenever I am tuned in? Don't know. Once again, Thanks for replying.

 

[cellphone]

One thing I noticed that's very weird is I am unable to receive MCSO - East on Thompson Peak. I was in the middle of queen creek when I tried and I was also sitting still. All it says is "Finding Cntrl channel".

I am not familiar with reception in the Queen Creek area, but I would think that you should be able to receive Thompson Peak unless another mountain/hill is blocking the signal. You are about 30 miles from the transmit site, so depending on obstructions you might be out of range. I am about 25 miles from the site in Ahwatukee and receive it at 1-2 bars inside my home on a handheld antenna. Can anyone else comment on receiving Thompson Peak transmitter from Queen Creek?

I get a very low signal (1 to 2 bars) whenever I listen to East on "CentralCourt/Dwn". I was listening when I was in the middle of Queen Creek. It can get a little choppy at times....

This is expected when you get down to about 1 to 2 bars especially when moving.