BCD396XT / BCD996XT Firmware Update Coming

[cellphone]

I agree with "werinshades", when i travel with my 396XT to Grundy Co and LaSalle Co ILL the non multipath towers the scanner works flawless

Same thing with the Phoenix RWC system. Single tower sites (Such as site 208 White Tanks) work great, but the simulcast sites (Such as sites 101, 201, 202, 205, 301, 501) are terrible.

 

[ButchGone]

RonInJoliet, you nailed it. I used the RS/GRE 800 gain duck and while it does show stronger signals on the S-meter I have found the stock 396XT duck does much better on the simulcast system here. My suspicion is that while the RS/GRE 800 duck provides gain of the desired signal it also amplifies interference from the dredded NEXTEL sites and any multipath issues. That's the downside of gain antennas - they boost desired and undesired signals in the band. The stock duck is helically wound, or a curly round "spring-like" wire, so I think it's better at receiving signals that come to the antenna in different polarizations - like multipath digital stuff. On simulcast stuff the stock duck is much better. On stand alone, IR sites that aren't simulcast, the RS/GRE 800 duck can deliver a stronger signal by one to three bars.
I also tried a 1/4 wave stubby (3" long) and it did better than the RS/GRE duck on P25 simulcast stuff, but I too was surprised at how well the stock duck works on 800.
Those are my theories, any one want to chime in?
BG..

 

[Kingmobileaudio]

9 more days a counting err

Sent from my HTC EVO 3D using Tapatalk

 

[kruser]

9 more days a counting err

I don't know, Paul said "near" the end of February and it is now near the end so it could be any day! Then again, sometime early March could still technically be considered near the end of Februrary.
Plus he did not say what year so...

I do really hope soon as this one sounds very promising.

 

[wise871]

For all those waiting for the update, I sure hope it was beta tested in some of the effected areas and not just tweaked in the lab. Even though there are no additional updates included I hope the update resolves some of the P25 issues users are reporting.

 

[Tryton]

Looking thru all these pages, I was surprised that DDan hasn't chimed in at all.. He could be very well beta testing it.. Just a theory..

 

[cellphone]

Looking thru all these pages, I was surprised that DDan hasn't chimed in at all.. He could be very well beta testing it.. Just a theory..

I was wondering the same thing. DDan was very vocal in this thread -->http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/228798-396xt-decode-errors.html. I expected to see DDan chime in on this thread too.

 

[W6KRU]

I'm waiting on the release. Hopefully it will solve the simulcast issues that several of us are having.

 

[scanningisfun]

I'm waiting on the release. Hopefully it will solve the simulcast issues that several of us are having.

In your thread on your 396XT having trouble on simulcast, you are referencing a Motorola Type Two SmartZone system. UPman said APCO 25 systems. I wonder if it will improve all simulcast sites no matter what type of a system you may have.

Jacob

 

[W6KRU]

In your thread on your 396XT having trouble on simulcast, you are referencing a Motorola Type Two SmartZone system. UPman said APCO 25 systems. I wonder if it will improve all simulcast sites no matter what type of a system you may have.

Jacob

Good question. I wouldn't know but hopefully it will help all of us with simulcast problems.

 

[scannerowner]

Ok I believe I registered my 396XT, but my ESN doesn't show up and I know I put it in correctly. Everything else showed up just fine, just not the ESN. I'm trying to be ready for this update as well, but didn't know if I'm missing anything?! I bought the scanner from Bearcat Warehouse around a year or so ago...

 

[zzdiesel]

It should be OK if you've updated it before.

 

[scannerowner]

I believe they updated it, because it has the latest firmware, but I'm not sure other than that...

 

[DaveNF2G]

Do the XT scanners even have ESN? I thought that only applied to the HP-1 and any future models.

 

[sjlamb]

do the xt scanners even have esn? I thought that only applied to the hp-1 and any future models.

menu -> settings -> see scanner info -> firmware version

 

[scannerowner]

My ESN was the same as my serial number... Maybe that's why it didn't show up. How will we be notified of this update when it becomes available?

 

[Tryton]

My ESN was the same as my serial number... Maybe that's why it didn't show up. How will we be notified of this update when it becomes available?

Either keep looking at this post or keep checking This page. If it shows any number higher than 1.04.00, then it has been released..

 

[N0WEF]

I do have one question, and it may be dumb, but Uniden, is it possible to leave the previous firmware up on the site? (In case this update causes unforeseen problems(Worse decoding) on some systems) So people can downgrade if needed.

With the whole problem kinda coming to a head lately, and the great hope for this FW update, I fear a huge backlash if some people(warranted or not) see decreased decoding, or other problems caused by this update.

Just a thought.

 

[CoolCat]

I do have one question, and it may be dumb, but Uniden, is it possible to leave the previous firmware up on the site? (In case this update causes unforeseen problems(Worse decoding) on some systems) So people can downgrade if needed.

I'm not sure if the firmware updater and/or scanner allows/supports firmware rollbacks, but if it does then all you have to do is download the current firmware before they release the new version. Once its saved on your computer, you could reinstall it anytime you want.

 

[N0WEF]

Once its saved on your computer, you could reinstall it anytime you want.

Good Idea!

I'm more worried about others than me... I can only imagine the backlash if things don't work out!