Uniden 210WX in Wake Co.?

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shawnc1959

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Apologies in advance for the newbie question ...

My father had a Uniden Bearcat 210WX scanner (I'm guessing circa late '70s/early '80s), and when he passed away years ago in PA, I held onto it though I never used it myself. Now that we're trying to "declutter", I came across it in the back of a closet and tried to see if it still worked.

The weather function seems to operate fine; it has a specific "Wx" button which almost immediately picks up a continual broadcast of the National Weather Service ... so I guess that means it's still in working order(?). Using the frequency database on this web site, I looked up Wake County and some of the services it lists are at frequencies which, according to a manual I found for this scanner online (http://www.repeater-builder.com/uniden/pdf/bc210-owners-man.pdf), it should be able to pick up. But I don't seem to have any luck getting anything other than weather; I've even just let it scan frequencies but it seems unable to pick up anything.

Is it just that radio technology used by municipalities today has evolved beyond what an antique like this can access? Thanks in advance for your feedback.
 

drayd48

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Nov 4, 2012
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Apologies in advance for the newbie question ...

My father had a Uniden Bearcat 210WX scanner (I'm guessing circa late '70s/early '80s), and when he passed away years ago in PA, I held onto it though I never used it myself. Now that we're trying to "declutter", I came across it in the back of a closet and tried to see if it still worked.

The weather function seems to operate fine; it has a specific "Wx" button which almost immediately picks up a continual broadcast of the National Weather Service ... so I guess that means it's still in working order(?). Using the frequency database on this web site, I looked up Wake County and some of the services it lists are at frequencies which, according to a manual I found for this scanner online (http://www.repeater-builder.com/uniden/pdf/bc210-owners-man.pdf), it should be able to pick up. But I don't seem to have any luck getting anything other than weather; I've even just let it scan frequencies but it seems unable to pick up anything.

Is it just that radio technology used by municipalities today has evolved beyond what an antique like this can access? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

You are correct. Wake county is using an older motorola system but it is way advanced beyond your scanner. If you look on the county radioreference page, they are running on a trunked 800MHZ system. You may still be able to pick up the VHF county fire paging channel only but that is about it. It may not receive well (depends on the power output / distance from tower). So all county comms are using the trunked system which your scanner will not do but you may be able to pick up the VHF paging channels (and any other VHF/UHF channels and weather) only for the county. Hope this helps
 

shawnc1959

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Sep 11, 2016
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You are correct. Wake county is using an older motorola system but it is way advanced beyond your scanner. If you look on the county radioreference page, they are running on a trunked 800MHZ system. You may still be able to pick up the VHF county fire paging channel only but that is about it. It may not receive well (depends on the power output / distance from tower). So all county comms are using the trunked system which your scanner will not do but you may be able to pick up the VHF paging channels (and any other VHF/UHF channels and weather) only for the county. Hope this helps

Thanks for the confirmation. Would this pretty much be the same situation just about anywhere (modern comms equipment beyond the capabilities of this old scanner)? Wondering if there's any value time-wise in trying to sell it or better off just taking it to the electronics recycling center.
 

drayd48

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Nov 4, 2012
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Thanks for the confirmation. Would this pretty much be the same situation just about anywhere (modern comms equipment beyond the capabilities of this old scanner)? Wondering if there's any value time-wise in trying to sell it or better off just taking it to the electronics recycling center.

You could still put in the VHF paging / simulcast channels in that scanner, but you will only be able to hear the dispatch channel (Wake County, North Carolina (NC) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference)
 

RohnsRadio

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Location
Duplin County, NC
If you still have the scanner, I may be interested in buying it from you. Rather not see it go to the scrap heap.
 

RohnsRadio

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Dec 25, 2001
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Location
Duplin County, NC
If you still have the scanner, I may be interested in buying it from you. Rather not see it go to the scrap heap.
 
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