Announcing the BCD396XT and BC346XT Scanners

[DonS]

People are forgetting that the GRE is NOT USB, its just got a USB cable.. thats all.

I think some people are thinking the GRE is USB, so they think / ask Uniden should have USB as well.

I don't think people are thinking that, given that they've been asking for USB since before the GREs were released.

If USB is needed in your situation (your not using GPS, or using a laptop etc) just buy the USB cable or cheap USB/Serial adapter.

Agreed.

People seem to have an aversion to "USB-serial adapters", not understanding that, from a Windows application's point of view, there's absolutely no difference between a serial port provided on the USB bus and one built into a motherboard's chipset. As long as the drivers "work", the ports are equivalent.

 

[ctrabs74]

[*]EDACS ESK Tracking – tracks systems that have implemented EDACS System Keys

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't most EDACS ESK users operate in digital (read: unmonitorable ProVoice)? Or are there actually a few EDACS ESK users which operate analog?

 

[khoelldobler]

I am old-school and I personally like serial ports... RS232 style ports. I feel USB ports are sometimes loose fitting, and can be accidently pulled loose often. When I buy or usually order a new computor, I order it with one old style RS232 com port. I couldnt live without one when it comes to my dos laptop for programming radios. Getting back to the new scanners, I dont mind the add-on connector cable or adapter, or extra drivers for adapted USB cables as long as they work correctly. Getting it all to work in one fashion or another is all that matters to me. If we can afford a 500 dollar scanner, we should be able to come up with cash for a cable or two if needed. Just my 2 cents worth, have a great day. PS, I am excited about the 2009 release of this new rig.

 

[w9zro]

man I cannot wait for this radio !!!!! ALMOST BOUGHT A PS500
one question; with this rebanding BS; will it be able to track out of the box(cc only on a rebanded system)or will the "tables" have to be put in??? I tried a couple of searches and never found a definite answer

also i UNDERSTAND about the plethora of features the radio has (like an expresso maker,back sctatcher,nuclear fission generatior,nexrad realtme,flux capacitor,waffle iron)
but I guess I am old skool and like turn on and go and once it is setup i leave it alone.

one thing we kinda missthe point on is will it scan frequencies perfectly
I hope youse guys understand where I am comming from
I think sometimes we (ME) get our priorities mixed up
I like the simple things in life


man I kinda miss my old Regency HX650 and HX1000

tiny

 

[UPMan]

For 800 MHz systems, you will have the choice of Standard, Splinter, or Custom. For rebanded systems, you'd select Custom and enter the appropriate table (there is currently only one table being used for all known rebanded systems, but there is a possibility of an alternate table being used on some systems, so this entry is manual for now).

I don't know of any scanner by any mfr that cannot perfectly scan frequencies.

 

[w9zro]

maybe perfectly was the wrong word maybe I should have said adequately


Thanks Paul for the info on the rebanding issue and such a FAST response
I am not a noob but most of the rebanding stuff escapes me. especially reading the info on it

TiNy

 

[UPMan]

Ok. I don't know what "adequately" means in this context.

For rebanding, you'll basically set it up just like you've had to do for VHF or UHF systems, with a custom table that looks like:

[FONT="Courier New"]Band Plan	Base Freq	      Offset	Polarity  Spacing
	Lower	        Upper			
1	851.025 MHz	854.0000 MHz	440	+	25 kHz
2	851.0125 MHz	868.9875 MHz	0	+	25 kHz[/FONT]

 

[w9zro]

AHHH O.k.
I guess I am a little dence as it is friday
Thanks Paul I understand now really


Thanks Again
TiNy

 

[khoelldobler]

Hi UPMan, qwik question... I am new to rebanding, but I am very familiar with my UBC3300XLT and since it takes so long to program it manually, I had chosen to use the BuTel ARC software for qwik complete programming. This method works best for me, as I have 2 fat thumbs when it comes to manual insertion of frequencies and trunk / Talk group / scan set-up. I love the fact that my BuTel software for my current scanner allows me to utilize RR as a source for instantly downloading trunk & conventional frequencies... with this new 396XT scanner, will I have to worry so much about rebanding or is it all automatic when I use new software to download all of my favorite frequencies from the RR site. I hope the downloading from RR using correct programming software, adjusts correctly into the scanners memory, the proper allocations of the rebanded changes. It might be a silly question, but I learn something new from you every day. Thanks.


My current, non digital UBC3300XLT scanner currently has approx 400 freq's stored into it... some Motorola trunking & some conventional, and almost every single one of those freq's were downloaded from RR using BuTel. It was a breeze, and I basically want to duplicate those same freq's into the 396XT with the addition of my local Sheriff which is trunk - digital common air exclusive. If this is all I want to store, is rebanding an issue for me or will I possibly achieve great speedy success.

 

[UPMan]

That would be entirely up to the software authors. AFAIK, there is no flag on the database to show whether they are rebanded, however, so determining this programmatically might be difficult. You might still have to do some manual intervention in your software of choice...but that is all speculation since the software doesn't exist, yet.

Take it up with Gommert.

 

[TAS]

Sensitivity and Selectivity

Uniden has always been the leader when it comes to innovation by bringing firsts to the commercial scanner market. My first Uniden scanner was the BC760xlt back in '92. It was the first scanner to offer CTCSS (with the card). Then in '97 came the BC235xlt, the first to bring trunking to the market. It is this the type of innovation that has kept me coming back right up to my 396T. The only area I feel is in need of serious improvement is sensitivity and selectivity. Head to head the GRE PSR-500 is substantially more sensitive than the 396T. I would have them side by side on the same frequency with the same antenna and find that the GRE would be coming in relatively clear while the 396T would be static if anything at all (on weaker signals).

UPMan, has there been any effort to improve the on the new BCD396XT over the 396T? I would seriously appreciate if you could relay this suggestion to Uniden if they have not. I would certainly be happy to pay more for improved sensitivity and selectivity on my 396T or a future XT. It would essentially make it, for me, the perfect scanner. Over the years I have always felt that this was the main weakness in Uniden scanners.

I certainly like the NAC decode on the upcoming XT and especially like the TGID user differentiation (P25 One-Frequency Trunk). I look forward to the release of the XT. Thanks for your input.

TAS

Any thoughts on the Sensitivity and Selectivity UPman, Thanks.

 

[scannersnstuff]

with regard's to the above post.although i can not speak for uniden,i would not expect an answer or an answer that state's that the s and s will be improved.
my psr-500 beat's the crap out of the 396 for sensitivity.the 396 beat's the crap out of the 500 for interference rejection.i love both of those scanner's for the stuff that each of them do.i sold my bcd396t with the expectation of buying the bcd396xt.i'm very happy with the upgraded fire tone out search,backlight color's,nac decoding etc.if i had to decide to carry one over the other,it would still have to be the psr-500.if you have to hear it,this is where the psr-500 shine's.if i can carry more than 1 scanner <like in the car>, i will bring both.both great scanner's.if they could take the psr-500 and combine it into the form factor,and add some feature's of the bcd396xt,that would be the SUPERSCANNER of all time. !!!!!.

 

[SCPD]

Correct me if I'm mistaken, but don't most EDACS ESK users operate in digital (read: unmonitorable ProVoice)? Or are there actually a few EDACS ESK users which operate analog?

Provoice is un-monitorable, but a buddy of mine said a few systems, Such as Denver are EDACS analog with ESK, so this will track that until they get smart and move to Provoice.

I didn't see, but does it allow for NAC programing? Any clues to a Price?

 

[KE4ZNR]

I didn't see, but does it allow for NAC programing?

Yep

Any clues to a Price?

Hint: Reread the first post in this thread...the answer is there...
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[UPMan]

User's Guide (including a complete software reference) is now available on line for both models.

Uniden Scanner Manuals Site

 

[kellykeeton]

interesting format will uniden be going to all wiki user guide now? this is cool. i would like to see every product in the word have something like this.

 

[UPMan]

Using this format (or something like it) is our plan going forward for the high-end scanners. Their complexity really calls for a 400-page manual. Well, now you have one!

 

[kellykeeton]

very cool

 

[Eng74]

I wish there would have been more than 10 tone out's. Is there any chance that this could be updated with the firmware later?

 

[kellykeeton]

I wish there would have been more than 10 tone out's. Is there any chance that this could be updated with the firmware later?

you can always buy more radios