BC125AT

[dmg1969]

Thank you, Fred. I appreciate it.

Dave

[dmg1969]

Well, my BC125AT was delivered yesterday. I played around with it last night and got to know how to use a lot of the features. I programmed in most of my local PD, Fire and EMS frequencies. It picks up GREAT in my house even just using the rubber ducky antenna. I used the DC adapter in the car on the way into work (again just using the standard antenna) and it still picked up pretty good. It is sitting on my desk here at work attached to the AC adapter and charging. This weekend, I will put the external RS antenna on my vehicle and see how much better that picks up. I have not yet received the mount from The Mount Guys. That should be here today or tomorrow. So far, I am very impressed with this unit!

Dave

[pinballwiz86]

Looks sharp! Glad you're liking it!

[dmg1969]

The only thing that I just found that I don't like is that it says it doesn't charge when it's on the AC or DC adapter if the scanner is on. That seems very counter productive. Other than that, I am loving it.

Dave

[Bob3655]

Originally Posted by dmg1969

Well, my BC125AT was delivered yesterday. I played around with it last night and got to know how to use a lot of the features. I programmed in most of my local PD, Fire and EMS frequencies. It picks up GREAT in my house even just using the rubber ducky antenna. I used the DC adapter in the car on the way into work (again just using the standard antenna) and it still picked up pretty good. It is sitting on my desk here at work attached to the AC adapter and charging. This weekend, I will put the external RS antenna on my vehicle and see how much better that picks up. I have not yet received the mount from The Mount Guys. That should be here today or tomorrow. So far, I am very impressed with this unit!

Dave

Dave-You canot beat the price/quality of this scanner. Only problem I had was it eats batteries up fast. I had to recharge after 4 hours every time. I sent it back to my distributor as a DOA.

Bob

[dmg1969]

Yeah...like I said, other than the issue of it not charging when scanning, I love it. It's a keeper.

Dave

[Joe1956]

Originally Posted by dmg1969

The only thing that I just found that I don't like is that it says it doesn't charge when it's on the AC or DC adapter if the scanner is on. That seems very counter productive. Other than that, I am loving it.

Dave

It will charge, though much slower, and it won't charge via a USB hub.

This is from the pdf manual (page 24):

"The scanner has a built-in circuit that charges the included
Ni-MH batteries when a USB cable connects it to a computer
(NOT to a USB hub) or to an AC or DC adapter that provides USB
charging power. Verify that the battery selection switch is set to
Ni-MH and that only Ni-MH rechargeable batteries are inserted
in the scanner before connecting it to your computer."

[Joe1956]

What kind of a site is this? I posted an error, but like a puppy I have to sit on the newspaper before I can correct my error?

I'm 56 years old. I don't need "moderating".

Remove me from the database.

[loumaag]

Originally Posted by Joe1956

What kind of a site is this? I posted an error, but like a puppy I have to sit on the newspaper before I can correct my error?

I'm 56 years old. I don't need "moderating".

Remove me from the database.

It is the kind of site that has rules, rules that you agreed to when you signed up for the site. All new members are moderated, this is to cut down on the amount of SPAM that a large site such as this attracts. It is done so that we can stop such SPAM before the membership sees it, in other words, we get to kill it in the Moderation Queue. If you find this a situation that you can't live with, please feel free to move on; however, you also agreed to the part of the rules that say, once you post or supply information, that information or post belongs to the site, so although you may move on, what ever you have left here will stay. As I am actually older than you, take some advice from a more experienced individual: Before you agree to anything, read what you are agreeing to.

[pvf]

Originally Posted by SquierStrat

Can anyone confirm if this scanner has a delay on opening the squelch (and annoying squelch tails) with ctcss/dcs tones enabled, like the 396xt and 346xt and every other uniden scanner has... ?

Well, I think I can. This is my first new scanner in a long time and I'm definitely a novice but it sure seems slow to "open" compared to my IC-R10 and much slower than my RS PRO-404. Since this is my first forray into a tone-enabled radio, I was hesitant to chalk this up to anything other than user error but after some experimenting, I think I can say it's the radio. I should add that it came with the current firmware and I've done numerious factory resets. I currently have 4 channels programmed in Bank 1, no priorities, and with CC on or off I miss transmissions or the are cut up. The scanning sure seems fast but feels as if it can't get out of it's own way. I was excited for this new radio and took the plunge with ARC and RR subscription but if something important is going on I grab the Icom or the GRE. Again, it may just be that I'm "doing it wrong."

[pinballwiz86]

Originally Posted by pvf

Well, I think I can. This is my first new scanner in a long time and I'm definitely a novice but it sure seems slow to "open" compared to my IC-R10 and much slower than my RS PRO-404. Since this is my first forray into a tone-enabled radio, I was hesitant to chalk this up to anything other than user error but after some experimenting, I think I can say it's the radio. I should add that it came with the current firmware and I've done numerious factory resets. I currently have 4 channels programmed in Bank 1, no priorities, and with CC on or off I miss transmissions or the are cut up. The scanning sure seems fast but feels as if it can't get out of it's own way. I was excited for this new radio and took the plunge with ARC and RR subscription but if something important is going on I grab the Icom or the GRE. Again, it may just be that I'm "doing it wrong."

I'm new to the hobby. But perhaps lowering the squelch would let the scanner "open up" faster instead of deciding if the signal is strong enough to break squelch.

[pvf]

No luck. Even on 0, I'm still missing the beginning of transmissions.

[loumaag]

Originally Posted by pvf

No luck. Even on 0, I'm still missing the beginning of transmissions.

Set the squelch to the normal spot it should be and remove the tone squelch, set it CSQ only. ("None" in normal Uniden parlance.) That will solve the problem you are having on both ends of the transmission; however, if you have interfering signals, you will also hear them.

[SquierStrat]

Originally Posted by pvf

Well, I think I can. This is my first new scanner in a long time and I'm definitely a novice but it sure seems slow to "open" compared to my IC-R10 and much slower than my RS PRO-404. Since this is my first forray into a tone-enabled radio, I was hesitant to chalk this up to anything other than user error but after some experimenting, I think I can say it's the radio. I should add that it came with the current firmware and I've done numerious factory resets. I currently have 4 channels programmed in Bank 1, no priorities, and with CC on or off I miss transmissions or the are cut up. The scanning sure seems fast but feels as if it can't get out of it's own way. I was excited for this new radio and took the plunge with ARC and RR subscription but if something important is going on I grab the Icom or the GRE. Again, it may just be that I'm "doing it wrong."

thank you! unfortunately, thats what i was expecting. The problem happens no matter what i have the squelch set at, and no matter what i have the modulation set to. the only thing that fixes the delay at the beginning is turning off the tones.

[pvf]

Originally Posted by loumaag

Set the squelch to the normal spot it should be and remove the tone squelch, set it CSQ only. ("None" in normal Uniden parlance.) That will solve the problem you are having on both ends of the transmission; however, if you have interfering signals, you will also hear them.

Thanks for this. The channels open much faster with tones off but I still have some transmissions that are clipped in the beginning. The Icom and GRE don't do this. It would seem that the Uniden is an under performer in it's channel opening speed. Again, I have 3 channels programmed in Bank 1 and am scanning only Bank 1. I still can't tell if Close Call affects the speed but it seems to. Does anyone know if it does?

[loumaag]

Originally Posted by pvf

Thanks for this. The channels open much faster with tones off but I still have some transmissions that are clipped in the beginning. The Icom and GRE don't do this. It would seem that the Uniden is an under performer in it's channel opening speed. Again, I have 3 channels programmed in Bank 1 and am scanning only Bank 1. I still can't tell if Close Call affects the speed but it seems to. Does anyone know if it does?

If you are scanning and also have close call on, it will interrupt anything you are listening to, including an active transmission. Not being a smart aleck here, but why would you routinely have close call on at all?

[hertzian]

Originally Posted by Bob3655

Dave-You canot beat the price/quality of this scanner. Only problem I had was it eats batteries up fast. I had to recharge after 4 hours every time. I sent it back to my distributor as a DOA.

To double your battery life, you should not have been running with the backlight display on continuously - this is a handheld driven by only two AA's, and not a mobile 996XT. This has been measured and timed (see the review subforum) and typical use for full backlight is 4 hours, while using the display backlight sparingly (keypress, menu etc) will net one about 8 hours.

In other words, it was not DOA, but a minor case of unfamiliarity.

I think Uniden is doing a fantastic job with power management on the 125 - as long as one realizes that they are dealing with only two AA's and not a 3-or-4 cell brick.

[dmg1969]

I have mine set to only turn on the back light squelch or key press. So far, i have not had a battery issue.

Dave

[pvf]

Originally Posted by loumaag

If you are scanning and also have close call on, it will interrupt anything you are listening to, including an active transmission. Not being a smart aleck here, but why would you routinely have close call on at all?

I suppose it's the same reason that anyone would have CC on.

I guess what I'm wondering is if other folks find the BC125AT to be a slow scanner, slow at opening it's squelch, compared to other scanners like the PRO-404. I have these two set up similarly (3 channels programed in a single bank, no priority, no tones, no delay, ascending order, minimal squelch, [no CC])) and the Uniden chops noticable MS off the front of transmissions that the GRE doesn't. Is something wrong with my Bearcat or is this just the way Uniden are?

[UPMan]

Also, in the BC125AT, you have the option of Close Call DND. In that mode, the scanner will not interrupt anything you are listening to (it inhibits the check during live reception).