Rebanding and UCAN

[3mary2]

I really had trouble loading the UCAN System along with the Rebanding tables. Thanks to the wonderful time and consideration afforded me by N7UO and glajlu my goal was completed. Now here in Las vegas the SNACC just decided to reband last friday. With the information you guys gave me, I just added the rebanding table and I am still listening to the control channels without a glitch.
I remember thinking to myself, darn I still programmed the UCAN system wrong as I went through your area July 3rd around 0600 hours and hadn't heard much from the system. My first reaction was I had managed to screw up the programming even with all the great help given to me. Then on the return trip home alot of the talkgoups were working. Duh Utah doesn't have the crime problem Vegas has so that's why the scanner was so quite.
Again gentleman many thanks epecially to N7UO and glajlu and all the rest of you in Utah for your time and consideration.

 

[Observer1]

Depends on what part of Utah you're listening to. Having friends who work for Vegas Metro and for SLCPD, they tend to have very similar call volumes.

But 0600 hours is a rather slow time for most police agencies....especially on a weekday.

 

[qlajlu]

I don't feel like I did that much, but kudos are always nice to get. Thank you.

As Observer1 says, time of day has a lot to do with what you hear.

Hope the trip was a safe one.

 

[ghill106]

Help please

This is my first post here and I need some help. I am trying to reprogram my scanner us bctool. I input the control frequencies for Davis and Weber counties but my scanner is not picking anything up. Do I need to use a custome band plan to pick anything up. I looked at the custom band band plan here but it does not look like the plan on the bctool programming page. All that it has for entries is base freq. 1,2 and 3. and a step offset 1,2 and 3. Does anyone here us bctool and do I need to put something in this plan and then write it to my scanner for it to pick anything up?

By the way I am using a bcd396t.

 

[ka3jjz]

BCTool does not support rebanding - it's been in the middle of a rewrite for quite some time. FreeScan does. However, the first thing to ask is whether your 396 has had the firmware upgraded. Firmware 3.0 or better is required for rebanding support.

Click on the blue text for the FreeScan website.

The Uniden Twiki site has the link for the 396 firmware updates. Do NOT shortcut any steps - they MUST be done in sequence.

73 Mike

[edit] Here are some additional links - again, all in blue;

* Uniden 396T Firmware updates

* Common firmware upgrade issues and how to fix them

* FreeScan user guide - see the 'Create/edit site' link for specific instructions on entering the items for rebanding

 

[qlajlu]

This is my first post here and I need some help. I am trying to reprogram my scanner us bctool. I input the control frequencies for Davis and Weber counties but my scanner is not picking anything up. Do I need to use a custome band plan to pick anything up. I looked at the custom band band plan here but it does not look like the plan on the bctool programming page. All that it has for entries is base freq. 1,2 and 3. and a step offset 1,2 and 3. Does anyone here us bctool and do I need to put something in this plan and then write it to my scanner for it to pick anything up?

By the way I am using a bcd396t.

Welcome to the Utah Forum of RR.com​

ghill106!​

I wanted you to know that your post has been seen and I'm pretty sure that someone with experience on the BCD396T will be along to help, but after staying in the shadows for four years, you already know how things work. In the meantime, I need to ask how long have you had your scanner and whether or not you have downloaded the updates outlined here, on Uniden's Web site.

You also mentioned band plan and that would be a very likely suspect in holding you back. Here, again, you need to turn to Uniden's Web site and look at the information on the band plan for Motorola 800 MHz systems, which is what UCAN is.

I see that ka3jjz has already given you some advice on programming software. Also be aware that having a Premium Subscription to this Web site unlocks features you may want to take advantage of, including importing data from the Database for your scanner's use.

Again, welcome. Pull up a chair and get comfy. Ask questions and don't be a stranger. You've already hung out in the shadows for over four years, let's get acquainted.

 

[ghill106]

Thanks

Hey guys thanks for the help. I have had my scanner for four or five years but it has just been collecting dust. Decided it was time to start using it again. Yes, I have downloaded all the firmware updates after I was finally able to get a cable from Uniden, they were on back order forever. I downloaded the freescan software and it works great. I am going to subscribe to Radio Reference today, its a small price to pay for my sanity. It drives me nuts when I can't figure out how something works. Thanks again for the help.

 

[bchris]

... I downloaded the freescan software and it works great...

After I formulated a reply for your original problem I realized that I am not sure if your whole scanner is now working great or if only FreeScan is working great. Since I already created a reply, I guess I will post it anyway.

I dont have a BCD396, but I do have a BR330 and a BCT15. If someone else comes along with better info, use theirs. In the meantime I'll give it a try.

In the instructions for the rebanding update from Uniden they provide a suggested Band Plan. It does the same thing as the plans on this web site, but it is presented in a way that makes more sense for the Uniden scanners. Below is a screen shot of my setup from FreeScan.

You said that you entered the CC freqs for Davis & Weber, so you must already have at least 1 system set up. If not, right-click in the left-window area of FreeScan, then choose 'New System'. Make sure the system(s) are set up as 'Mot type II / P25'. The only box I have checked is 'Use Motorola End Code'. Also, for now I think you should choose 'ID Search' instead of 'ID Scan'. That way we wont need to enter any TGID's until we make sure everything else is working.

Click on the + sign next to the system name on the left of the screen. If you have already created a site for this system, left-click on the site name to select it. If not, left-click on the system name, then right-click and choose 'New Site'. The site type should be 'Mot Custom/Reband'. Check the box for 'Control Channel Only'. Enter the band plan from my image attached below, which is per the Uniden update instructions. On the 'Trunk Frequencies' tab, enter the CC freq and the 3 backups for this site (if it is Davis or Weber). I think everything else on all tabs can remain at defaults.

Upload this to the scanner, then make sure the scanner is scanning. You should be hearing tons of traffic. If not, press the Hold button on the scanner while the system is being scanned (while its name is displayed on the screen). If there were NO TG's ACTIVE right when you pressed the Hold button, you should now be hearing the squawk of the FSK data from the control channel, and after a few seconds the screen will show something like '7202h-0002'. The FSK audio should sound crisp and clear and not have any static like pops and clicks. The signal strength will also be shown on the bar graph. If you get to this point and something did not work like I said it should, PLEASE let us know what DID happen and we will go from there.

-bc

 

[ghill106]

Up and running

Hey guys, Yes I am up and scanning again. I used the band plan mentioned and was able to switch the new system info with the old info that was in my scanner and retain my old tgid's and such and all is well. Now just some modifications to my talk groups and such and I am good to go, again thanks for all the help and advice. Happy scanning I'll talk at you later.