It has been many years since I was in the scanning hobby. Many years defined as a 10-channel digital Uniden that went as high as 512mhz. I was the cat's meow on the block at the time.
My interest was sparked again, after weeks of lurking on the forums I jumped and bought a 396XT tonight; it should be here by next week. I'm quite excited.
Hi Alex. Congrats on your new scanner purchase and welcome to RadioReference
I also started my scanning hobby with a 10 channel Uniden scanner, the [original] BC60XLT (they later produced a 30 channel model with a full frequency display that used the same BC60XLT model number). Looking back, I wish I had kept it, but I sold it on eBay several years ago.
Will I need any type of "special" USB cable, or will a standard cable from a camera work?
No, a camera cable will NOT work. The little connector on the 396XT is a serial connector (not USB). The primary reason for this is to allow GPS connection. The 396XT comes with a serial data cable (with a standard RS232 plug). If you have a desktop computer then it probably has a serial port. If you do, then you can use it right out of the box without having to buy anything else, but If you use a laptop or "all-in-one" PC then chances are you have only USB ports. If this is the case then you will have to purchase the Uniden USB-1 cable, or use a USB-Serial adapter with the factory serial cable.
Where do I start? I've looked at software programs to simplify things. There seems to be a lot of positive things about ProScan. If I understand right, I can become a paying member and download the scanner database from Radio Reference and import it to ProScan...to put it into the scanner.
I have never used ProScan so I can't say anything good or bad about it (they do offer a 30 day "free" trial, so you can certainly test it out first before spending any money on it. Many/most of us (myself included) use
Freescan for programming our Uniden DMA scanners. Freescan is a free (and does not require registration or activation), great, easy to use, full-featured program that can easily handle all your programming needs. If you pay for a Premium Subscription here at RR, you can directly import systems from the RR database. Alternatively, you can use Freescan's EZ-grab feature to copy systems from a website (including the RR database pages); this works fairly well but it is nowhere near as easy as a direct import.
So where do you start? I would recommend you purchase a RR premium subscription (they offer several subscription options at different price points). To view options and purchase a subscription, click on your user name at the very top of any RR web page (you may need to login first, it is a separate login from the forums). Then download and install Freescan. You can setup and edit your scanner's setup ahead of time so it will be ready to upload to your scanner when you receive it in a few days. The 396XT uses Uniden's DMA memory architecture; it is a fantastic memory system that is easy to use once you know how it works, but you need to read up a bit first or you'll may get very frustrated with it.
Is it as simple as downloading the database and transferring to the scanner?
Yes and No... Yes it is that easy (if you already understand how the scanner works), however you just made a giant leap in scanner technology. The 396XT is a top of the line, high end scanner, but it is also very complex when compared to the basic 10 channel model you had before. The
Easier-to-read-396XT manual is your best resource to learn how to use that scanner. And if you get stuck, there are plenty of us here who are willing to help you as well
Good luck and happy scanning