Updates are Coming

[UPMan]

Not formatted as nicely as the email, but here is the official pre-announcement announcement. It really contains everything I can say at this time, but feel free to discuss it amongst yourselves.

March 3, 2008
Change is In the Wind

In This Issue

• Why am I Getting This Newsletter?

• Updates are Coming!

• What’s Next?

• Thanks for Being There!

Why am I Getting this Newsletter?

Great question, and I can answer that two ways:
First, when you registered your scanner, you “opted in” to receive important information about firmware updates. This opt in isn’t used for any other reason (in fact, this is the first time I’ve taken you up on your offer). To stop getting updates like this one (or if you know someone who wants to start getting these), just log in at My Uniden, select Edit My User Accountfrom the menu on the right side of the page, and uncheck (or check) the box at the bottom of that page.
If you meant “Why am I Getting this Newsletter now?” the simple answer is:
Updates are Coming!

That’s right, updates are on the way for your scanner. Here is an advanced peek at some of the major improvements we’ve been working on:

• Improved decoding on P25 Multipacket Systems – OK, all you guys on the Virginia STARS system (and others), this is one I know you have been chomping at the bit for…and I wish I could hand it to you today, but we’ve just a bit more to go on it. Have just a little more patience…I’m sure you will agree that it was worth the wait. Our testers in Virginia and elsewhere confirm that the scanners now perform near flawlessly on these systems.

• <LI class=MsoNormal style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt">Improved P25 Baseband decoding – this will improve the digital decoding quality on all P25 channels…those on P25 systems, Motorola Type II systems, and conventional channels. The challenge that “the other guys” sound better on digital than we do was taken to heart…and I think you’ll like what you hear. <LI class=MsoNormal style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt">Much less BRAAAAP! Digital noise is virtually eliminated on the BCD996T and greatly reduced on the BCD396T. Why the difference? The architecture of the BCD996T (especially the digital/analog/both option for channels) lets us do some things that we can’t quite fit into the BCD396T. But testers on both models report that their ears are much, much happier, now. <LI class=MsoNormal style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt">No more beeping! That’s right, EDACS beeps on well-received systems should be a thing of the past after this update. <LI class=MsoNormal style="mso-list: l8 level1 lfo12; tab-stops: list 36.0pt">Improved auto-threshold adjustment. I should say “no threshold adjustment” because we’ve taken it all auto. The settings remain in the menus to maintain compatibility with UASD and the other great software out there, but the setting itself is just a placeholder now.
• Finally, and I know that this has really bugged at least one of you, when you resume from holding on a channel with the BCD396T, the scanner will now start from the next channel, not back to the first.

What’s Next?

Well, before we can roll out those great improvements, we need to finish testing and put the finishing touches on some pesky details. Meanwhile, there are a couple of things you’ll need to do to get your scanner ready for this update. These updates should be available on My Uniden in the next week or so (I’ll send you a quick note when we add them to the site).
Update BC_VUP to Version 2

Soon, you’ll find a new version of the BearCat Version Updater on our web site. Installing this new version will automatically remove the old version. When you run it, you’ll notice a new option to enter a Registration Key. You can ignore that, for now (more on this in a later UPDate).

Update your BCD996T’s Firmware

New firmware will soon be added to the My Downloads area. You use the standard firmware updater (BC_VUP) to apply this update to your scanner.

This update brings your scanner up to date on all updates prior to the upcoming Version 2 update. It also changes the scanner to display both the ESN (electronic serial number) and the ESN checksum when you go to the “See Firmware Version” menu.
Update your BCD396T’s Firmware

We’ll add a new update to the My Downloads area in a couple of weeks. This update is applied using a special one-time tool called “ESN Loader.” In addition to bringing your BCD396T up to the latest firmware version, it adds an ESN and ESN checksum to your scanner. Once the update completes, you will find the ESN and ESN checksum on the “See Firmware Version” menu in your scanner.

Update your Registration on My Uniden

The registration area for your scanner will soon include a place to put both the ESN and the ESN Checksum for your BCD396T or BCD996T.The web site will not accept the numbers if they are not valid. It is very important that we have an accurate ESN for future updates, so take a moment to update your records, as soon as you apply the above updates.

Why Do We Need Your ESN?

As we create new firmware loads for your scanner, we sometimes use information licensed to us by third parties. For those updates, we need to keep careful track of which scanners do and don’t include the update. We might also need to charge for some of these updates in the future, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure that any for-pay update has features you’ll be glad to pay for. Oh, and this first major update is free!
To manage this process, we are setting up a system that will create a registration key for any major update we come out with (a major update changes the first digit of the firmware version…right now we are still in Version 1, but Version 2 is on the horizon and I can almost glimpse a Version 3).
Since the registration key will be generated from your scanner’s ESN, and will be unique for every scanner, getting your ESN right is critical for making your update work (if you use a key for another scanner or don’t enter a key, your scanner will not work until you successfully apply the update with the key).
Thanks for Being There!

Well, I’m told that this update is already too long to be called “brief”, but I couldn’t close without thanking you for your business, input, and support. Your feedback is critical to our success. If you have a question, feel free to ask me: I can be found lurking the boards at RadioReference and also on the BCD996T and BCD396T and other Yahoo! Groups for Uniden products. I recommend you ask all your questions in the public forums…many times other folks have the answer and can help you out before I get around to checking out those boards (and they sometimes have a better answer than I can come up with).
Look for these updates in the next few weeks. I’ll send you another quick note when they arrive, along with detailed instructions for applying the updates to your scanners.
Paul Opitz
Product Manager
Uniden America Corp.

No statement contained in this message may be construed as a guarantee of performance.

All update details are subject to change prior to release.

All company and product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners. © 2008. All rights reserved.

[tonsoffun]

That some good news UPman, thanks. When registrating and going through that process, how about if you purchased the scanner used and don't know the date purchased or where it was bought?, then what.
Thanks
Ron

[jafo818]

Thanks UPman! This is great news. I got the email about an hour ago.

[timjude]

Originally Posted by tonsoffun

That some good news UPman, thanks. When registrating and going through that process, how about if you purchased the scanner used and don't know the date purchased or where it was bought?, then what.
Thanks
Ron

The way i understand it as long as you keep the scanner you have with that key that is assigned to it there will be no issue there just keep the key and the scanner together..correct me if i am wrong..And the biggest issue i had with the 996t was the volume being like day and night from analog being so loud it would scare the neighborhood and the digital being so low i needed a hearing aid..Hope this is a fix for that as well..

[UPMan]

Originally Posted by tonsoffun

That some good news UPman, thanks. When registrating and going through that process, how about if you purchased the scanner used and don't know the date purchased or where it was bought?, then what.
Thanks
Ron

Make your best guess or make something up (I prefer the former).

[scannerdweeb]

any updates to reduce the brraaappp in the 796d? or the intermitant locking on ch1 when using priority scan? P-25 performance? Can't afford a new digital scanner again yet. scannerdweeb.

[brandon]

Great news and thanks for the UPdate UPman.

Question about EDACS beeps fix: is this referring to the problem where you will be tracking an EDACS system, then suddenly after the transmission the scanner goes BEEP BEEP BEEP, then followed with a BLUURRRRP until finally the scanner goes back to normal monitoring. This drives me absolutely nuts and sometimes causes the scanner to miss the officers reply (since the scanner is still going BEEP BEEP BEEP). It doesn't happen very often but enough to be reminded of the quirk. This occurs with a BCD996T on the Riverside Co EDACS system that comes in at full scale. I do not have this problem with my other Uniden scanners.

[bpsmicro]

Man, it sure would be nice if the unit serial numbers were included on the outside of the box (like most other higher-end electronic stuff does), so I don't have to go crawling around on the floor of my car trying to read the serial number so I can register it. :-(

The whole "pay-for updates" thing is intriguing. ProVoice decoding? That's about the only thing *I'd* pay for, but I'll be looking forward to the future announcements anyway.

The whole "no more manual threshold setting" part has me a bit worried. But I suppose if the new auto-only stuff doesn't work, we'll hear about it soon enough. :-)

Brad.

[jmtyra]

Wow, good info!!!

I think this needs to be stickied! =D

[Dave520]

Those changes sound great!
With these changes that are coming, do you expect any changes or updates to the UASD Software?

Thanks for the info.

Dave

[ButchGone]

Thank you Paul and everybody at Uniden for continuing to bring us updates on your products. I have always prefered Uniden to GRE/Rat Shack because of different reasons, and keeping the products up to date is another. I look forward to the new downloads, and whatever will follow the 396 in years to come.
BG..

[JHaislet]

I can't think of any major features I'd want in the 396T, much less updates I'd have to pay for...besides the ability to have fire tone out/weather alert active, without clipping while listening to other systems, but I think this is a hardware limitation (probably need two tuners in the 396T to do this).

Surprise us!

BTW, paying for firmware updates that FIX pre-existing problems/issues will go over like a lead balloon...this would imply that after the next major firmware release, everything will be working perfectly and all current issues resolved...not to mention issues that crop up with the new release...

While that's a lofty goal, it just doesn't seem feasible that this next release is going to be issue-free in that regard.

Hopefully Uniden will be able to issue two firmware update trees: one with just the firmware updates that address outstanding issues (at no cost), and another that expands on the functionality with the licensed software/firmware (charge licensing fees).

Once again, surprise us, as the 1+ year hiatus between now & the last firmware update (January 2007) has kinda left a lot of us high & dry, while yearning for more.

[DickH]

Updates are coming - finally. It's amazing what competition can accomplish!

[Deeke]

Thanks for the heads up.

[Deeke]

Originally Posted by bpsmicro

Man, it sure would be nice if the unit serial numbers were included on the outside of the box (like most other higher-end electronic stuff does), so I don't have to go crawling around on the floor of my car trying to read the serial number so I can register it. :-(

The serial # can also be viewed by going to menu>see scanner info>firmware version.
If you loose the box or the ser# is filed off, it's still there on the screen and no need to mess up the clothes crawling on the floor.

[mancow]

Do I smell MDC?

[LordJ]

I would pay for a firmware update that gives me CC DND on my 396...but not a crazy amount...Oooh, and Voice Inversion descrambling, and and and and...

[DaveNF2G]

Given that the U.S. market for scanners is orders of magnitude larger than any other, it is unlikely that Uniden will include features that are illegal there.

[pogbobo]

Originally Posted by mancow

Do I smell MDC?

dont tease ... i'd buy a 996 tomorrow if that were true ...

[Jay911]

Dave, what has anyone mentioned that's illegal?