BCD536HP Discussion Thread

[dispatcher812]

A Question on the GPS Receiver, in the info in from this link: WebHome < NewScanners < TWiki it lists the model number of the scanner as Uniden GC-GPSK but all I can find is a BC-GPSK. Note the difference in the first letter. Is the one in the info a typo?

 

[UPMan]

BC is correct. I've fixed the typo on that page.

 

[dispatcher812]

BC is correct. I've fixed the typo on that page.

Excellent, thank you.

 

[motorman105]

Hi Upman,
I'm going to purchase a 536 and ISO mount it in my car. I see in the owners manual, uniden does not supply the screws. Could you find out the correct size of the mounting screws for me and anyone else on the forum who plan on mounting the 536 in this manner?
Also, since the 536 will be mounted ISO style and I can't just pop it out to connect to my computer for updates and programming, could I use a long USB Cable? I'm talking 40-50 foot? Yes, I know it sounds crazy but that's MUCH cheaper than buying a laptop. They are available and aren't expensive. I just wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any loss of signal over such a long cable.
It would be so much easier to use the sleeve to mount this but that's not an option for my 2011 Forester.
Thank you!

 

[dispatcher812]

Hi Upman,
I'm going to purchase a 536 and ISO mount it in my car. I see in the owners manual, uniden does not supply the screws. Could you find out the correct size of the mounting screws for me and anyone else on the forum who plan on mounting the 536 in this manner?
Also, since the 536 will be mounted ISO style and I can't just pop it out to connect to my computer for updates and programming, could I use a long USB Cable? I'm talking 40-50 foot? Yes, I know it sounds crazy but that's MUCH cheaper than buying a laptop. They are available and aren't expensive. I just wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any loss of signal over such a long cable.
It would be so much easier to use the sleeve to mount this but that's not an option for my 2011 Forester.
Thank you!

Can't you just update it using the micro SD card?

 

[fxdscon]

Can't you just update it using the micro SD card?

Yes, you can.

.

 

[kd7eir]

Hi Upman,
I'm going to purchase a 536 and ISO mount it in my car. I see in the owners manual, uniden does not supply the screws. Could you find out the correct size of the mounting screws for me and anyone else on the forum who plan on mounting the 536 in this manner?
Also, since the 536 will be mounted ISO style and I can't just pop it out to connect to my computer for updates and programming, could I use a long USB Cable? I'm talking 40-50 foot? Yes, I know it sounds crazy but that's MUCH cheaper than buying a laptop. They are available and aren't expensive. I just wanted to be sure there wouldn't be any loss of signal over such a long cable.
It would be so much easier to use the sleeve to mount this but that's not an option for my 2011 Forester.
Thank you!

I believe the screws are 4mm. As for updating and programming, simply eject the SD Card from the front panel and take it inside to update/program, then pop it back into the front panel.

If you look at page 9 in the owner's manual, you can see the slot for the SD Card right under the . and 0 keys.

 

[mvt]

Will this scanner be able to monitor aircrafts? If so Civilian, Military or both? How about airport and airliner communications?

 

[smithken]

Hi Upman,
I'm going to purchase a 536 and ISO mount it in my car.

The ISO mount for the 536 is the same as the ISO mount for the 996XT so if your 996XT is already ISO mounted you just need to pop it out and but the 536 in.

 

[motorman105]

Great! I just got on my 59 year old knees and looked at the tower of my Dell and see a slot that says SD/MINI I never used that before but I guess that's where SD card goes. That's great!
Thanks guys!

 

[ofd8001]

MVT: The new scanners will monitor aviation bands. The frequency database associated with the Sentinel software has airports and aviation frequencies included. I just checked and it has O'hare and Mideway on it.

Motorman105: If your computer doesn't accept the SD card, you can get card readers/writers that connect to a USB port on your computer. I think the ability to update scanner information by removing the SD card will be a blessing. I think it's going to be much easier to pop out the card and plug it into my desktop computer than connecting a laptop. Even more so if I do some recordings and want to store them on a higher capacity storage device.

 

[motorman105]

Thanks ofd8001, that's a great idea, I'll do that.

 

[ofd8001]

I've got a question about the USB cable that will come with the 436/536, that being will the cable "work" with Windows 8?

When I migrated to Windows 8 about a year ago, I found that my USB-1 cables didn't work. I got around that by getting a USB to Serial adapter and use the original 232 programming cable. I believe the issue was that the USB-1 cable used the HXA chipset which didn't get along with Windows 8. That USB/Serial adapter I got has the HXD chipset and all is well with that.

 

[kd7eir]

I've got a question about the USB cable that will come with the 436/536, that being will the cable "work" with Windows 8?

When I migrated to Windows 8 about a year ago, I found that my USB-1 cables didn't work. I got around that by getting a USB to Serial adapter and use the original 232 programming cable. I believe the issue was that the USB-1 cable used the HXA chipset which didn't get along with Windows 8. That USB/Serial adapter I got has the HXD chipset and all is well with that.

The likelyhood that any recent product would ship with a USB 1 cable is virtually nil. I'm not even sure if anyone even makes a USB 1 cable anymore. USB 2 is being phased out in favor of USB 3 on virtually all recent systems, so at the worst I would expect Uniden to ship a USB 2 cable.

Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using Tapatalk 4

 

[UPMan]

The cable requires no drivers. The unit itself looks like a "Mass Storage Device" when connect for updates, so requires no proprietary drivers. The Sentinel software runs under Windows 8.1 (but must be run as administrator).

 

[Voyager]

The cable requires no drivers. The unit itself looks like a "Mass Storage Device" when connect for updates, so requires no proprietary drivers.

That's some of the best news I've read yet. The downfall of USB is the drivers that must be updated for each new OS, and if they aren't, you are relegated to using an old OS (hence an old PC). I've run into this with other products. Since it uses standard "Mass Storage Device" drivers, those should come standard in any OSs for many decades to come.

Joe M.

 

[cifd64]

Think I will wait till after the initial release. I think the design is sharp, very sharp. No remote head concerns me. Yes, it has an app for smartphones. But unlike the remote head, it is illegal in many states to operate a mobile device while driving. Now, before all you over-sensitive types get your panties in a bunch, yes. I know the scanner is a mobile device. But the remote head is much less conspicuous.

Is there any plan in the future to produce a remote head for the 536?

 

[Butelsoftware]

Mass storage mode does not require a driver but Serial port mode for remote PC control requires a USB driver.

Gommert
Butel Software

 

[Voyager]

Mass storage mode does not require a driver but Serial port mode for remote PC control requires a USB driver.

Gommert
Butel Software

Are you sure you don't have those backwards?

Everything that communicates USB needs a driver. It may be built-in to Windows (as many mass storage drivers are), but the driver is there somewhere.

Serial, on the other hand, is a hardware standard, so no driver is required. It doesn't make sense a serial port would need a USB driver when no USB port is involved.

Joe M.

 

[RF23]

I think you are both correct but I think Gommert was referring to the serial port MODE of the HP-1 and not the serial port of a computer.

At least that is what I think now.