Completely new user here with some 396XT questions if you have the patience..
My son is visually impaired and had a Bearcat 200 scanner which he literally wore out.
He purchased a BCD396XT on the assumption that it would work much the same - but was faced with a steep learning curve because of the differences (I was of no help as I know '0' about electronic stuff) - but he managed to ask enough questions far and wide to get it working for him.
Unfortunately our local area Regional Services have mostly now changed or soon will to a Digital Project 25 (P25??) talk group system and he is pretty much without anything to keep him entertained now as he hasn't found any way to capture that type of signal with this newer scanner.
Remembering that I am not electronics at all knowledgeable or friendly, does anyone has the patience and fortitude to try and help us get his scanner working to receive this type of signal setup? Will the scanner continue to access the older analog-type signals along with the P25 type if we are successful in this venture?
I understand from him (and I stand to be corrected) that we will first need to get a Radio Reference subscription to enable us access to the newest channels for downloading to the 396XT?
Next he tells me we will also need a BuTel subscription/software to allow us to input this RR info into the scanner (we have a 396XT to USB cable setup purchased with the scanner when new).
What I am not at all knowledgeable about is where to go from this point. I have a windows 7 based laptop with which we hope to make all of this happen - but I have no concept of where or what to do past this point.
Am I further ahead to try and view YouTube videos to try and gain some idea of how this should work or is(are) any of you out there in Unidenland brave enough to take a crack and advising and babysitting us sufficiently to make P25 signals a reality for us?
Any and all assistance and suggestions are much appreciated - with the warning that comments and radio-lingo should be kept fairly simple and basic for this 'Scanning for Dummies-type' ...
Much appreciated - Randy and Ryan in Northern Ontario Canada.
My son is visually impaired and had a Bearcat 200 scanner which he literally wore out.
He purchased a BCD396XT on the assumption that it would work much the same - but was faced with a steep learning curve because of the differences (I was of no help as I know '0' about electronic stuff) - but he managed to ask enough questions far and wide to get it working for him.
Unfortunately our local area Regional Services have mostly now changed or soon will to a Digital Project 25 (P25??) talk group system and he is pretty much without anything to keep him entertained now as he hasn't found any way to capture that type of signal with this newer scanner.
Remembering that I am not electronics at all knowledgeable or friendly, does anyone has the patience and fortitude to try and help us get his scanner working to receive this type of signal setup? Will the scanner continue to access the older analog-type signals along with the P25 type if we are successful in this venture?
I understand from him (and I stand to be corrected) that we will first need to get a Radio Reference subscription to enable us access to the newest channels for downloading to the 396XT?
Next he tells me we will also need a BuTel subscription/software to allow us to input this RR info into the scanner (we have a 396XT to USB cable setup purchased with the scanner when new).
What I am not at all knowledgeable about is where to go from this point. I have a windows 7 based laptop with which we hope to make all of this happen - but I have no concept of where or what to do past this point.
Am I further ahead to try and view YouTube videos to try and gain some idea of how this should work or is(are) any of you out there in Unidenland brave enough to take a crack and advising and babysitting us sufficiently to make P25 signals a reality for us?
Any and all assistance and suggestions are much appreciated - with the warning that comments and radio-lingo should be kept fairly simple and basic for this 'Scanning for Dummies-type' ...
Much appreciated - Randy and Ryan in Northern Ontario Canada.