BCD396XT Or BCD436HP Which to buy?

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al95

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I'm planning in buying one of this scanner. I need to know one thing how many frequencies can the BCD396XT have before it reads full? And how many will the BCD436HP hold before it fills up? I have both the Pro-106 and and the BCD396T and both of them are full.


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teufler

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Up to 500 systems, 1,000 total sites (max 256 per system), 20 groups per system, and 25,000 channels (500 max IDs or 1,000 frequencies per system).
 

W8RMH

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It takes a lot to fill one of these scanners. If you delete the pre-programmed systems you will never use you can free up a lot of memory.

I have 79 systems, 104 sites, and 5834 channels in my BCD396XT and am only using 17 percent of the memory.
 

MesquiteWx

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I'm planning in buying one of this scanner. I need to know one thing how many frequencies can the BCD396XT have before it reads full? And how many will the BCD436HP hold before it fills up? I have both the Pro-106 and and the BCD396T and both of them are full.

As stated they can hold a lot and it is hard to fill up.

With that said though since you're in Texas you won't be able to load the entire TxWARN system in it's entirety in case you're interested in that. It will have to be broken up as there is a limitation on how many TGIDs, freq etc you can have per system. Other than that it will hold a ton. I pretty much have all of North Texas loaded and it is barely even putting a dent into the storage.
 

Alliance01TX

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Which One to Buy...

Make opinion is unless you have read, in detail, the current RR Forums relative to the new products released by Uniden (issues noted / product returns, etc...) you might be better off either getting a 396 or awaiting to see if Uniden can vastly improve the new units (536 / 436)... as apparently several key issues in decoding P25 and audio issues, etc...

This was one of those infamous "Surprises" that has set-back even some of the most-loyal "Company Men" whom will rarely ever say a tiny negative thing - Sorta like the old "Baghdad Bob"....

The other option is to await to if / when (50/50) Whistler does in fact release a product later this year. Could be a ruse or they may find a golden opportunity.

Additionally, I would try to find a local unit (536/436) in your area a "try-before-buy" as the reported issues are more than most expected it seems on the new Uniden models.

I suspect the competitor is watching this closely and likely delaying any release until they can leap-frog Uniden - if they are not then they are missing a royal opportunity indeed...

I do-not own any of the above models and have a Uniden HP-1 (Home Patrol) and overall been a good unit and works "ok" on P25 Phase 1 (does not do Phase 2) but if that is 'as good as it gets' I am awaiting to if if the competitor releases a unit as to Contrast and Compare...

Just my opinion only.

Bill
 

maalox

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homepatrpl good scaner i have 1 also that might be a good choice al95 i usually do not buy new scanners i wait till they get all the kinks out first happy scanning.
 

DaveIN

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You can fill up the memory in either radio, but you won't hear everything you programmed in a timely manner. You would need a method to listen to just the agencies you have a specific interest in. In the BCD436HP you can do that by turning Service types on and off for the agencies you want to hear, you can hold on a system, department, trunked site, or channel from the keypad. The BCD396XT won't do this easily, but you can set quick keys for direct entry from the keypad (on both radios).
 

LordJ

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Love my 396xt. Up to 500 systems (20 groups per system) 25,000 Channels. Can't imagine ever filling it..The size is perfect, the build is tough (not Commercial tough, but tough) Easy to learn and use. Would certainly purchase same if needed to, the 436 is just too big, with no real feature upgrades that I would need...Just my thoughts...
 

Jay911

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I'm planning in buying one of this scanner. I need to know one thing how many frequencies can the BCD396XT have before it reads full? And how many will the BCD436HP hold before it fills up? I have both the Pro-106 and and the BCD396T and both of them are full.


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The 436 holds the entire US and Canada RadioReference database straight from the factory. (Note: some systems aren't included, namely the ones the radio can't decode, like OpenSky, LTRNet, etc.)

There's also no numerical limit on talkgroups - look at a system like Michigan's MPSCS. It has a ridiculous number of talkgroups, and they're all in the 436.

It's virtually impossible to "fill it up".
 

whsbuss

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To the OP - do you/will you need P25 phase II support? If so the 396 will not decode it.
 

al95

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Still can not choose one of them. Will have to go to YouTube and see some videos. My BCD396T is not full it's only 17% full right now and reprogramming the radio as I'm typing this to liking. I'm might go with the BCD436HP if the issues that some owners have are resolved.


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al95

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I will purchase the BCD436HP very soon. I know about the SD card issue I'm not planning on removing it often. Uniden is working on fixing some issues with firmware updates.
Thanks to everyone that responded to my question.
 

desert-cheetah

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I'm torn. Currently I have a pro-106 and it's fine because nothing is P2...yet. I hear-tell the PD on the reservation where I work is going to migrate to P2 in the fairly near future so I will need a capable radio if I want to keep listening, which I do, even when our office moves back to the main building at the end of June. I'll still be close to the reservation and I've heard good calls from that PD. The thing that has me torn is that nobody local has the 436 in stock yet and the bugs people are having with them. Or I could wait to see what Whistler has, but the initial units likely won't be P2 capable.
 

whsbuss

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I'm torn. Currently I have a pro-106 and it's fine because nothing is P2...yet. I hear-tell the PD on the reservation where I work is going to migrate to P2 in the fairly near future so I will need a capable radio if I want to keep listening, which I do, even when our office moves back to the main building at the end of June. I'll still be close to the reservation and I've heard good calls from that PD. The thing that has me torn is that nobody local has the 436 in stock yet and the bugs people are having with them. Or I could wait to see what Whistler has, but the initial units likely won't be P2 capable.

Actually there have been less issues reported with the 436 than the 536. The only thing we really don't know from a features perspective is the siren app and how the wifi will work.
 

ofd8001

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I've got a 396XT and like it quite a bit, but I like my 536 even more. The P25 audio decode is significantly better on the 536 than the 396XT.

There have been numerous times where I've tried to program my 396XT for a trip somewhere and have gotten the dreaded "No Resources Available" which means I tried to program in too much stuff in the scanner.

The 436 and 536 models are a little different than the 396XT when it comes to the memory architecture. There is no set limit on the number of systems/sites/channels you can program into the 436 or 536. When you are programming such things in these scanners, you are actually creating a "Favorites List" which is a combination of systems/site/channels. There is a limit on the size of the Favorites List file, that being 1 MB. I've got a couple of fairly elaborate Favorites Lists in my 536 and the biggest one of them is 66KB. So there is ample room.

Another consideration is whether the P25 Phase II "stuff" is coming your way. If that's probable, then the 396XT is not a good choice as it will not decode such systems.

The last consideration is the value you place on your time in programming your scanner. While changes to existing radio systems, such as frequencies and talkgroups don't happen that often, they nevertheless do. The 436's ability to "grab" the latest data from the RR database with a few minutes of computer time may be well worth it. This is even more valuable if you are someone who does a lot of travelling and like to bring a scanner along. You would require substantially less time to program your 436 for a trip as you would a 396XT.
 

al95

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I know that the display lights up. Does the keypad light up in this radio BCD436HP?


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