BC246T Opinions please?

[xpawel15x]

I'm thinking of getting one of them to add to my collection. It is my first Uniden scanner and I hope it will not dissapoint me. What's everyones opinion on this scanner? How's the Audio, Reception, etc compared to the Pro-97 or any other RS scanner? Thanks to all who post their opinion.

 

[n2mdk]

First off let me say I like it for what it is, small, handy to carry around, the DMA memory even if limited on the 246 is still a better system than just about anything else. If you live in a good area with lots of RF signal you should be fine. For lack of a better way to put it Uniden scanners are somewhat deaf compared to the GRE's, to put it mildly. If overload is is a problem then the Unidens are fine.
One more thing looks like there is a BC346XT coming in the near future from what I see posted in the Upman avatar thread.

 

[kellykeeton]

2nd that post, depends on what you want to listen to. works fine for 800mhz but the blue angles were just in town and my BCT15's could pick them up with no issues. The 246 couldnt pick up anything at all. all a give and take

its cheaper then the 330 and gets the job done. as for the new 346 i would assume its in the 300 range. you might as well get the 396 and have the possibility to have future proof unless your somewhere that apco is not a issue at all.

 

[cpuerror]

The 246 is a pretty good buy. The 2AA power source is nice to have, its easy to program, lots of features and inexpensive. The 2 big downsides for me is that it doesnt have mil air coverage, and the overload. Down the street from me is a fire paging transmitter that will come in clear and loud with no antenna attatched, and with an external antenna it punches through can be heard on many other frequencies. But other uniden scanners I have had connected to that antenna don't seem to have that problem. So if you live close to a powerful transmitter you may want to look for something else.

 

[blinddog50]

You can get a used 330 for under $200.
If I had to pick between the two I would have to choose the 330.
Just think you might be more satisfied in the long run.
Just check the database and make sure your area is analog.

Do I like the 330's.....Got four of them.

 

[xpawel15x]

Hmm...now that I think about it.. I could REALLY go for the BCD396T. Looking at all the features and it just looks nice! What features does the PSR-500 have that the 396 doesn't ? Does 396 do digital 700mhz? The only downside is the SMA connector... does the sma to bnc adapter cause loss of signal ? Also does the 396 have a signal strengt meter? Sorry for all the questions guys I'm just really in the mood for a top shelf scanner.

 

[ka3jjz]

A signal strength meter??? You are joking, right? There's a good reason why old timers sometimes referred to s meters as eStimate meters...

Anyway, I have the 396. The SMA connector (and yes, a SMA/BNC plug is provided) causes very little loss.

You can start doing your homework by comparing the digital trunktrackers with the list of features you want. Lots of folks seem to think the GRE scanners are better in the digital audio recovery, but the downside is that the front end is a tad too hot, and sometimes can overload. The 396's front end, to me at least, is fine - and I live in an urban area. An occasional squawk from a pager, nothing too bad. I use it mostly mobile with an Austin Spectra and travel next to a rather large tower with all sorts of antennas on it.

Anyway this wiki article lists all the digital trunktrackers - note that anything underlined or in blue is a link. Click on the model of interest and you'll be taken to the appropriate article

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Category:Digital_Scanners

73 Mike

 

[UPMan]

Due to space limitations in the display, the 396 reports out only 0-5 bars for RSSI. However, it will report out 1024 levels of RSSI through the PC protocol.