Bearcat 260

[43firefighter]

picked up an old bearcat 260 from my father

does anyone know how many channels this will hold- I can oly get it up to 16 which seems like a weird number. Also the volume is real low. Any ideas.
Thanks for all the help.

Tim

 

[zonian149]

From StrongSignals.net

BC260 (Electra): 1983 vintage. Super heavy duty metal
cabinetry and lit controls, aimed at mobile use for firemen,
police, etc. Few frills, only 16 channels, no aircraft, but
generous coverage of federal bands omitted in the older
Bearcat scanners. Good sensitivity. Lots of audio. Good
internal construction. Backlit keyboard allows operation in
the dark, but the keyboards on some units require high
pressure to operate. Brightness control for display and
keyboard, but multiplexor circuitry for vacuum fluorescent
display produces audible whine which may be annoying in a
quiet room. Backlighting may fail in some units due to poor
contact on connector used to fasten light panel to front
circuit board. 9 volt regulator transistor Q28 (TIP29) may
fail, causing blank display while leaving audio intact.
Method of connecting an external speaker is awkward.

 

[MacombMonitor]

It is a 16-channel scanner, which was usually more than enough back in the day. Your volume control may need cleaning. Radio Shack carries cleaner than may help.

I found this info on the web, regarding the BC260.

http://www.scancat.com/newbscn2.html

BUYING A USED SCANNER RADIO by Bob Parnass, AJ9S
BC260 (Electra): 1983 vintage. Super heavy duty metal cabinetry and lit controls, aimed at mobile use for firemen, police, etc. Few frills, only 16 channels, no aircraft, but generous coverage of federal bands omitted in the older Bearcat scanners. Good sensitivity. Lots of audio. Good internal construction. Backlit keyboard allows operation in the dark, but the keyboards on some units require high pressure to operate. Brightness control for display and keyboard, but multiplexor circuitry for vacuum fluorescent display produces audible whine which may be annoying in a quiet room. Backlighting may fail in some units due to poor contact on connector used to fasten light panel to front circuit board. 9 volt regulator transistor Q28 (TIP29) may fail, causing blank display while leaving audio intact. Method of connecting an external speaker is awkward.

 

[43firefighter]

260

thanks for the info
i was going to put it in my car but will probably just keep it in my office
i was suprised thie thing even worked
its also really heavy