Completely new to scanners. HELP!!!!

[Newbie_scanr]

Hi. I know this sound very silly to some of you but I am completely new to the scanner field and would like some help. I recently inherited my grandfathers YUPITERU MVT7100 scanner. This little handheld scanner was simple to understand and use, even for me. My uncle gave me a Uniden BCD996t which he bought about 3 weeks ago. Apparently he doesn't understand the thing so he gave it to me. Well, news flash...... neither do I. Any help as to how I need to program this thing will be greatly appreciated. I don't know much about ID's and things like that but I am a very fast learner and I am very keen. PLEASE any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[hawkeye32]

try this it may or may not help

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BCD996T

 

[captclint]

My uncle gave me a Uniden BCD996t which he bought about 3 weeks ago. Any help as to how I need to program this thing will be greatly appreciated. I don't know much about ID's and things like that but I am a very fast learner and I am very keen. PLEASE any help will be greatly appreciated.

This link is a great place to start
:Easier to Read BCD996T/UBCD996T Manual

Next, these may help:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/DMA
Uniden DMA FAQ
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BCD996T_QandA
http://www.grove-ent.com/SCANNERPROGRAMMING.htm
There isn't much info in our database on your area, so I trust you have other sources. A digital scanner may be overkill. Basically, at least one system and one group must exist. A system is like a folder on your PC. Groups are like sub folders under the system folder. You Could put all your frequencies in the one group, but just as folders help you organize data on your PC, systems do the same thing. One very simple example is to have a system for your Area Under the area system, you might have a groups for Police, Fire, & EMS.


I recommend you get software. It will help you understand all this, and make the job a lot easier.,
Here is a list of software: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/BCD996T#PC_Programming_and_Control My favorite is ARC996 by BuTel. It allows a automatic download of any or all frequencies in your county and state from this site, and sets up trunking TGID's & para's(this is a big help). It has a neat virtual control panel that works your scanner from the keyboard., but the best part is that it logs all the information(freq & PL) and lets you see your scanner window in a much larger scale that you can actually see clearly. The logging is great when searching, but it is also handy for normal scanning. Often, I do not look up in time to see what agency was just talking, so I just look at the log. See the the examples on their web site http://www.butelsoftware.com/ You can download it on a free trial basis to see if you like it.

There are also free programs, such as FreeSCAN and BCtool, that do the same thing. Uniden also has free software, called UASD, but it does not download from this site, and does not have any logging and controls. Also, if you have a new PC or lap top, you will need a serial to USB converter from Uniden http://tinyurl.com/2cqyu4 or Radio Shack: http://tinyurl.com/2gpbsp . Another source is http://www.monoprice.com/products/pr...seq=1&format=2, for quite a bit less. It is reported to work.
Note: You would need to become a paid subscriber to this site to get the automatic down loads, but this would not be value-added, since there is nothing for your area.

 

[WB2UZR]

Have a look here:

http://myweb.cableone.net/marksscanners/index.html


Scott/WB2UZR

 

[Airdorn]

Forget the expensive 3rd party software.. that's completely unnecessary. Get the FREE and very useful software that Uniden makes for the scanner. It works well.

Read about how the scanner manages systems to scan. It'll look daunting at first, but very soon you'll have an epiphany and it will all make perfect sense.

It really is a great scanner. I wish I had an uncle like yours.

 

[Newbie_scanr]

OH thank you very very much for all your help guys. I honestly and really appreciate it. Will check out all links. Already downloded the FreeSCAN software and already played with it. This makes things alot clearer."A system is like a folder on your PC. Groups are like sub folders under the system folder. You Could put all your frequencies in the one group, but just as folders help you organize data on your PC, systems do the same thing", hey thanks for putting it simply Capt clint. I sort of understand what you are saying. Thanks for all the info. Hope you guys don't mind me asking alot more questions. Unfortunately I don't have any info for my area. Only thing I have is a Database, which I created, of all active frequencies in my area using my Yupiteru MVT7100. Don't think this is going to help me much. As for my uncle. Yes he definately is the best. Wouldn't trade him in for anything. THANX again everybody.

 

[MFD4305]

One Small Addendum

FWIW, Uniden UASD does, in fact, have scanner-control and logging features.

 

[Freebird1]

I have a similar problem as Newbie does. My father recently passed away and left me a BCD996T and I cannot understand this thing at all. I already have a BCT8 and have had good luck with it but this new one is very confusing so I was wondering if I purchase the BuTel software, which one should I buy and will it really "automaticaly" program this thing for me? Any and all help would be greatly appreciated to get this scanner working so I can remember my Dad and enjoy a hobby we both had interest in. Thanks!

 

[n2mdk]

If all you need it the programming ability then the less expensive ARC996Basic is the way to go. Will it program the scanner "automatically" no not really but since you have the Premium Subscription it will make programming it all that much easier. Sine the 996 is a complicated scanner getting everything set up correctly will take some work on your part. The software will allow you to get the info from the RR database using the software get things set the way you want then upload the info into the radio.

 

[Freebird1]

I just got the ProScan download....will it help me out at all or just confuse me even more?

 

[ka3jjz]

Much too broad a question to answer. Be more specific about what you need help with, and there's lots of folks here to help...73 Mike

 

[Newbie_scanr]

Hey Freebird.

I've been messing around with FreeSCAN software for the past two days now. It helps...ALOT!!! I sort of understand now how this thing works. Only prob I have is that I don't have any info of Systems in my area. I know the traffic offices here are using Motorola MTH100 radios (I think this is what they call tetra trunking). The police is using some sort of Motorola radio as well (I'm yet to find out what the model number is. Hopefully this will help somebody who knows how, to tell me what to program into this scanner) fire department and EMS don't have a clue what to look for.
Freebird..............freescan is free. Download it here http://scannow.org/download.htm.

 

[andrewccm]

I have tried several of the apps and right now my favorite is BCTool. It is in late beta stages and is free. Works very well and integrates with RadioReference's database.

 

[Freebird1]

I still have yet to hear anything but the weather on this thing! Now I know why my Dad had it on a shelf for the last year and a half! I realize i have much to learn about scanning but man this thing is like some sort of alien technology to me! My BCT8 while outdated is so much easier to program. All i really want to do to start out with is get the local law, fire, ems etc. etc. I will worry about trunking later but I cannot even get this thing to connect to my PC. I have the USB1 cable but have no clue what to set the baud rate at or any of this sort of things. If I get lucky and find someone locally that has already programed one is it true that I can just clone it to mine?

 

[Freebird1]

I have managed to figure out the BAUD but the ports are still a mystery and I even found some frequencies for my area but i cannot figure out how to only scan my area....for instance it still scans nation wide, military, FM radio etc etc. On my BCT8 I have banks that I can can scan and it will only scan these selected banks....how do i do this with the 996? I havent given up yet

 

[mciupa]

Unfortunately I don't have any info for my area. Only thing I have is a Database, which I created, of all active frequencies in my area using my Yupiteru MVT7100.

I just noticed your location Newbie_scanr , Capetown , South Africa. !

Would you submit those confirmed freq's to RadioReference's DB ?
I had a look at the South African link: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?coid=239 and only saw one entry for Johannesburg. Thanks.

 

[Newbie_scanr]

MCIUPA.

No prob buddy. But how do I do this? It is currently in Word format. About 6 pages long. Some freqs might be outdated now because this document has been going around for the past few years. Will submit anyway as soon as I know how and where to do this. Maybe if someone else have a look at it they could maybe help me with programming this scanner for my area or at least tell me what I am to listen for. As i said I know the freqs for the police in my area but this is only via conventional scanning. Still do not know how to prog the scanner to follow them. Their freq range falls between 417,705Mhz and 420,895Mhz.
Stillneed somebody to tell me what I am to listen for to get the control channel or ID or I don't know exactly even what to ask for LOL.
Anyway thanks again everybody for the help.

 

[captclint]

MCIUPA.

Will submit anyway as soon as I know how and where to do this.

Start with this linik http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/, and work your way to country, and conventional, ZA-Sou8th Africa,Countywide, NA, country wide or new agency. You will see that this is a text input that could be pasted from word. The main thing is to first describe the country, province or political subdivision and City, at the top, and then fill in the fields as best you can to match the example, and follow the format:

Luzerne County
Frequency     Input   License  Type   Tone     Alpha Tag  Description 
159.46500   155.02500   WDK38   RM   156.7 PL   Luz F&A   County Fire & Ambulance RPTR (Primary)

You should try to verifiy frequency info before you submit, since the list is an old one. As for how to program, have you looked at the info I gave for system folder, and group, and then http://myweb.cableone.net/marksscanners/996/996.html#program freqs/ids ?

 

[Newbie_scanr]

Hi. Could anybody tell me where I can find control channel info for my area (Cape Town, South Africa), PLEASE?

 

[TheUrge]

I wish someone would give me a 996T for free