BCT15X: BCT15X

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N9JIG

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Does a digital scanner have a faster pl tone than a analog such as the BCD996PS verses the BCT15X are the same
Not necessarily. Uniden and GRE/RS/Whistler use different methods to decode PL and DPL codes, Uniden's seems to be a bit faster in my observations, to display the decoded tone. The Uniden 15 and 996 series use the same methods so they shoudl display them just as fast.
 

Bonkk083

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Not necessarily. Uniden and GRE/RS/Whistler use different methods to decode PL and DPL codes, Uniden's seems to be a bit faster in my observations, to display the decoded tone. The Uniden 15 and 996 series use the same methods so they shoudl display them just as fast.
Would the Uniden decode very weak signals
 

N9JIG

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That depends on a lot of factors, such as antenna, elevation etc. Even 2 identical radios from the same production run might vary in performance on individual bands. I once had a pair of BCT15's with serial numbers with only the last digits different. One worked great on VHF, the other less so but worked better on the local analog 800 system.
 

Bonkk083

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That depends on a lot of factors, such as antenna, elevation etc. Even 2 identical radios from the same production run might vary in performance on individual bands. I once had a pair of BCT15's with serial numbers with only the last digits different. One worked great on VHF, the other less so but worked better on the local analog 800 system.
Is the squelh knob location the same between the BCD996P2 and BCT15X, I'm being told by people that analog scanners that squelch goes closer to minimum than digital
 

ka3jjz

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That depends on your local environment. No one can help you with this, really. Try both and if one is too low, use the other. Experiment

Mike
 

Whiskey3JMC

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What is the best squelch setting 1 or 2
For what? Many factors influence this, some of which are outlined in post #11. Setting squelch low pulls in more distant signals. Setting it to 1 on an analog group of frequencies causes most scanners to hit the noise floor (static hiss) and stop scanning.
 

N9JIG

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Is the squelh knob location the same between the BCD996P2 and BCT15X, I'm being told by people that analog scanners that squelch goes closer to minimum than digital
The physical location is the same but whether the squelch takes affect at 1, 2 etc. depends on your local RF floor (the level of RF noise at your location) and can vary from room to room.
 

Bonkk083

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The physical location is the same but whether the squelch takes affect at 1, 2 etc. depends on your local RF floor (the level of RF noise at your location) and can vary from room to room.
Would it be best to get the BCT15X for vhf frequencies or the BCD996P2 in case of some agencies I monitor going digital
 

N9JIG

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Would it be best to get the BCT15X for vhf frequencies or the BCD996P2 in case of some agencies I monitor going digital
If there is a chance that they are or will go digital then I would start with the 996P2 unless they are using simulcast then you need the SDS200 (expensive but the SDS200 is the only desktop scanner that works well on simulcast).

If all you plan on listening to is analog (such as railroad, aircraft or marine channels) then the BCT15X works great for that.
 

Whiskey3JMC

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Would it be best to get the BCT15X for vhf frequencies or the BCD996P2 in case of some agencies I monitor going digital
Up to you really, there's about a $250 price tag between the two. Though if there's talk of agencies by you going digital, usually the trend is going with P25 Phase-II & often simulcast systems so if your budget affords it, go with the SDS200, you can't go wrong with simulcast with these scanners
 
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