A lost newbie to the Uniden BCD 396XT

[Gigawatts]

Well, here it goes my first post. I think I'm posting this in the right section, if not please let me know.

I'm very new at scanners and probably bought to complicated of one for my first. I have a Uniden BCD 396XT which seems to have everything one would ever want, but i'm having problems. I've read through the manual and picked up some good info, but I think looking through it made me even more confused. Id like to know what type of software would be the best to program with, what cord I need to connect to my computer, and any info, books, websites that will better my understanding of this bad boy.

I bought this mainly to just scan my county and the surrounding counties. I'd like to go into law enforcement when I'm done with school and besides going on the ride-alongs I thought another great way to learn about the job is just to listen on the radio.

(I have a mac book pro. Are there programs that will work with this? Or do I need to dust off the old pc and just use for my scanner needs.)

Any and all information is greatly appreciated,

 

[kb8rvp]

Not sure of your location but some good links for the BCD396XT:

Easier to read manual Easier to Read BCD396XT Digital Scanner Manual

Freescan programming software FreeSCAN - Sixspot Software

I keep an older laptop going because it has a serial port that works with the programming cable that comes with the scanner. If you need a USB cable you can get one from Uniden USB Cable For All Uniden DMA Scanners - Accessories at Uniden

Or you can get one from scanner master Uniden USB Cable

Good Luck
Mike

 

[DJ88]

There are different software programs that will work for the 396XT, and everyone has their favorite one, so you'll get different opinions here. I use Freescan. It works well and best of all, it's free. The others may/will offer you a free trial, but for long term use, you have to pay for them.

 

[captclint]

(I have a mac book pro. Are there programs that will work with this?

No programs currently available. ARCXT and Freescan will work fine on a Windows machine.

 

[crooksight]

Newbie here also

Gigawatts, i mirror your thoughts. my first post also. Glad to see caring & helpful folks on here.
My BCD396XT should arrive today ? snagged a USB interface cable online which arrived yesterday. have downloaded driver for it. Trying to gleen as much info as possible. seems like we are in the same boat.
some helpful info: Uniden BCD396T Intro - YouTube
http://www.uniden.com/content/ebiz/uniden/resources/ownersmanuals/BCD396Tom.pdf
have , i think programmed the butl arcxt software and waiting to see how the upload goes to the unit.
Fingers crossed & howdy to all from Middle Tn. .
btw, my handle (crooksight)comes from my old Bucksin wearing days of black powder rifle tournements *
Thanks,
tim

 

[Gigawatts]

Thanks for all the replies thus far.Sounds like I will be dusting off the old laptop and giving Freescan a go. For right now I'm just going to load my local city police and fire/ems as a trial run. Once I start to understanding the radio better I'm sure i'll have most of Kansas programmed and possibly run a different software, but it sounds like freescan is hard to bet for the price

Also, is there away of programming manually? I've heard that this could be complicated, but being new to the game I thought I would try. I listened to what I thought was the programmed police station, but nothing.

Crooksight, you'll love your new scanner, but it can be confusing at times, so hang in there.

 

[DJ88]

Also, is there away of programming manually? I've heard that this could be complicated, but being new to the game I thought I would try.

Yes, you can program it manually. Go to post #2 on this thread and click on the link for the Easier To Read BCD396XT Digital Scanner Manual.

.

 

[hiegtx]

Thanks for all the replies thus far.Sounds like I will be dusting off the old laptop and giving Freescan a go. For right now I'm just going to load my local city police and fire/ems as a trial run. Once I start to understanding the radio better I'm sure i'll have most of Kansas programmed and possibly run a different software, but it sounds like freescan is hard to bet for the price

Also, is there away of programming manually? I've heard that this could be complicated, but being new to the game I thought I would try. I listened to what I thought was the programmed police station, but nothing.

Crooksight, you'll love your new scanner, but it can be confusing at times, so hang in there.

Gigawatts & crooksight,

You might also look over this Wiki page, as well as the linked articles it references, as you begin to get acquainted with your new scanners:
Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[russellmaher]

Hello Gigawatts and crooksight: I would like to welcome you both to RR, it's good to have you aboard.

We have a lot of helpful members here, as you have found out, ready to offer guidance and advice to the newcomers such as yourselves.

I too was going to chime in regarding your questions but you have gotten the right advice from the other posts above, so all I will say is read what's been posted, take your time to learn your scanners, and have lots of fun with them. It can be a steep learning curve, but it can be done and we've all been there.

Again, welcome and best wishes,

Russell

 

[Segfault]

I'm in the same boat. Used to be a pro when all radio transmissions were analog (yes I'm that old). Then decades without this hobby ... now I'm looking at that BCD 396XT and wondering why I cannot hear a thing ... methinks I programmed it ...

 

[Blackink]

One way I learned about programming my BCT15X manually was, once I had uploaded the frequencies for my area from the RR database, and had the scanner actually scanning correctly (took me a couple of tries the first time I used FreeScan), I started pushing the buttons to get me "inside" my scanner to see how things were set-up and how to get to certain areas inside the scanner.
I didn't worry about messing something up due to the fact if I did, I could re-upload the frequencies again from the FreeScan file I created.

Welcome to RR, Good Luck, and enjoy your new scanner.

 

[Gigawatts]

Just finished ordering the USB cable, and geeez shipping wasn't cheap for just a little cable. Thank you kb8rvp for the store link.

 

[natedawg1604]

Hi there,


If you really want to use your Mac with Freescan or other scanner programming software, you will have to get virtualization software (ie Parallels, virtual box, etc) and a Windows License. Also because you have a Mac I would STRONGLY urge you to get a "FTDI" brand Serial-to-USB cable (chipset). On Mac's you really need it. You may not find FTDI in any local stores, so you should plan to order it online. And don't even bother looking for an "equivalent" to FTDI unless you enjoy wasting a lot of time. (Even though it might superficially appear that your just buying a passive "adapter" cable, your not! Converting serial to USB requires an actual IC chipset, which you will not be making yourself, and Mac's seem to need FTDI to properly process Serial-to-USB signals).

 

[Gigawatts]

Ok, I had to to a break for awhile. The USb cord came into day and after downloading the necessary things including freescan I thought I was good to go, but it turns out i'm not. So on free scan this is where I am at. I have a [p25s] system 1 that has a [p24s] site 1 which has a [GRP] RHPD/FIRE ( I live in Rose Hill, KS) Then I typed in the names and the TGID's (2355,2356,2357,2359,2460,2358) and uploaded to the scanner.
At this point I got an error stating it was unable to set wx? and no APCO band plan available for site 1? I went back to the APCO and selected default and tried uploading again. This time it worked, HOWEVER, the names and TGID's are on the scanner but when I go to system one and push scan I get the message "nothing to scan"
So what in the heck did I do wrong. I'm looking forward to continue learning about all this and actually use this scanner to its fullest, but this learning curve is kicking my butt.

Thank you,

 

[natedawg1604]

Okay, you are on the right track with getting Freescan working. As a general matter when you are first starting out you should always consider the KISS principle (i.e. keeping it as simple as humanely possible), carefully break everything down step by step. So, "WX" most likely relates to a pre-programmed "service search" for the weather channel, which has nothing whatsoever to do with a trunked system.

Also I would STRONGLY recommend printing out a copy of the "enhanced" 396XT manual located at Easier to Read BCD396XT Digital Scanner Manual. I would then proceed to read it with a highlighter, and then read it again, and again, etc. You will likely read about concepts that won't make complete sense until after you've played with the scanner a LOT.

In order to listen to a trunked system (such as a P25 system) you do not have to "program" a single TGID, you can simply put the scanner in "Search" mode. At this point I would forget about programming TGID's, because you first need to properly program the P25 control Channels. Also with P25 you shouldn't need to set any "band plan" (if it is a true P25 system). The P25 protocol automatically sends data messages to the scanner containing all necessary "band plan" information. All you need to worry about with P25 is identifying the "CONTROL CHANNEL(S)" and ensuring the control channels are properly programmed for each trunked "site". Expect to play with the scanner for hours, beat your against the wall (proverbially) and then play with the scanner for many more hours. But you WILL figure it out!