BCD396XT Help Needed

[rvenneman48]

I am about to pull my hair out with this scanner. I even ordered the updated manual from Scanner Master and I still can not make heads or tails of this scanner. I want to enter some frequencies to scan.

When I press scan, the Alaska preprogrammed scans. That is all I get.

Here is what I want to do. I have the frequencies for the Oregon State Parks. 159.225 and 159.390. I want to enter them and name those two frequencies and name the group OSP, just as Alaska is named. And then select OSP and scan. No place in the Factory or Scanner Master manual does it say where to do it.

I get all this information, which I would like to learn.But, for a novice, wouldn't be a great idea for a Quick Start section, to take one step by step to do some of the basic functions. Or, is this scanner for experts and not for new users.

Can someone direct me to a site or a help group to help me get started with the scanner. I have a PC but will not have access to it until the Fall. So, what I do I am doing by the scanner itself. I use a MAC, and understand there is NO programming apps for a Mac.

Thanks

 

[captclint]

When I press scan, the Alaska preprogrammed scans. That is all I get.

Here is what I want to do. I have the frequencies for the Oregon State Parks. 159.225 and 159.390. I want to enter them and name those two frequencies and name the group OSP, just as Alaska is named. And then select OSP and scan.

First, you need to create a system into which you can put a group named OSP. Easier to Read BCD396XT Digital Scanner Manual - creating Conventional systems You could name the system "State Agencies" for example, and then add one group for OSP, and another group for State Police Or, you could create a system called OSP, and a group under it called OSP. There are no right or wrong ways to create and a name systems and groups under them.
Then see Creating Groups. Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs.
I like to think about Systems as the main folder on a PC, with Groups being subfolders.

Then you need to disable the Alaska scan. Here is a list of the quick keys: reprogrammed systems in order to disable them, hit"." and then the numbers for the systems while it is scanning.

You should find Easier to read manual more helpful than the manual

 

[rvenneman48]

Thanks for the reply. I am going to try this.

 

[Blackink]

BINGO !!!......

I like to think about Systems as the main folder on a PC, with Groups being subfolders.

I couldn't have said it better myself !!!!
In fact I did think about that same scenario about a month or two ago.

When I first stumbled onto this hobby and started reading about scanners and programming, I too was quite confused with most of it.
I started out slow and read what I could. Then when the scanner arrived, I started playing around and trying to understand THAT and how it worked.

Once I learned how to use FreeScan with my scanner and saw how the Systems, Groups, etc...., were laid out, I looked at the whole setup as Systems as the main folder on a PC, with Groups being subfolders, etc....

It'll come to you. Be patient, read the Easier to Read Manual for your scanner as mentioned earlier, and don't be afraid of making a mistake......you can fix it!

Good Luck

 

[nanZor]

The whole subfolder thing was what got me over the hump and suddenly the easier to read manuals made total sense. I just needed a real-world big concept to make it sink in.

The pre-loaded systems got me confused at first, so I just deleted everything and started fresh.

This is the analogy that worked for me with conventional stuff:

Systems are like file cabinet drawers. You can alpha-tag it.

Groups are like hanging folders within those drawers. You must have at least one. You can alpha-tag them.

Channels are like documents. The documents can be as simple as just having the frequency on it. Or it may contain even more detailed info such as PL, alpha-tag, and other details.

You can see the simplistic conversion from the old-school 2-dimensional Bank/Channel setup, to a 3-dimensional System / Group / Channel format. And unlike the old 2D system which had pre-defined limitations, with dynamic memory, you are not limited (within reason) to the amount of systems, groups, and channels you have.

It is up to you if you prefer lots of systems with a small amount of groups inside, or just a few systems with a lot of groups inside. You are the manager of the office-filing system.

You can manually manipulate the opening and closing (lock/unlock) all these things via the menu structure, but most people find that assigning System Quick Keys, and Group Quick Keys, to their own liking to manipulate them from the keypad. The buttons you assign to them are whatever you desire.

This kind of big-concept is what broke the doors down when I first got started.

 

[GrumpyAeroGuy]

Excellent discussion and explanations.... helped me a lot.

Am still thinking about adding a 396 to my collection, and trying to get a head start. This thread made it crystall clear (to me for the first time). Of course, I can be a bonehead about these things sometimes.

 

[W5RGP]

This even helped me see the light with my 996xt
Thanks

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