Is this really a BCD396XT

[gsquared18]

Another possibily for the Park Ranger challenge is to get a VHF mobile antenna with a mag mount and stick it on a metal ground plane such as a refrigerator. Quite a few hams do this with their hand helds and it works. This will be much better than any rubber duck antenna.

Great info, I'm learning so much! I just picked up the Radio Shack 800mhz rubber duckie so I'll see how that performs in general against the Uniden and post some results.

As far as a VHF mobile antenna for the inside, I have two mag-mount mobile antennas I bought for my vehicles a couple years ago. I bought it from a guy that I guess ran a radio business out of his home and was going out of business. I found him on this site a couple years ago.

Here is the same model antenna from another site:
I find it gets pretty good reception when I'm in my vehicle but is this the type of antenna you're talking about that I could use inside the house?

http://audioaddict.ie/home/index.ph...ge=flypage.tpl&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=6

 

[jimg]

Well I'll for sure be in the 800mhz range for police, fire and ems so I'm going to get the 20-293 but I love trying to monitor the Smoky Mountain Park Rangers which I hear are on P25 Conv around 166-170mhz but I have had no luck receiving it on my BR330T. I hope the 396XT will change that.

Will the 800MHz RS 20-283 give me any improved reach in that range over the stock Uniden antenna or do I have to carry a separate one for the park rangers? I know it's primarily for 800mhz but just asking.

I just received the GRE Super Amplifier, which I ordered from Grove Enterprises, Brasstown, N.C., Home and it has made a TREMENDOUS difference on all bands, even low-band,on the reception of my new BCD396XT, which I got from Grove a couple of months ago. The reception on the 396XT was already very good, but the super amp made it even better!

 

[HancockCountyHal]

Is the WalMart radio the same as the 396XT?
I didn't see any posts that stated that definitively.
Does anybody know if they carry, or plan to carry the 996XT model? I didn't see it on their website.

Thanks
HCH

 

[gsquared18]

Considering nobody answered, there is some doubt in my mind but I'd say since the price is similar if not more than the going rate of the 396XT on the internet and it' looks exactly like it, I'd bet it the same. I checked the Uniden website and there is no substandard model that supposed to be like the 396XT. I'll let you know when it arrives next week and update this thread.

Just did a search for it with the tag of Walmart in it and this site came up. Titled as the same thing Walmart had but with the "BCD396XT" in the title so I'd say it's the same exact thing.

http://www.technooutlet.com/dbl3519...90&srccode=cii_13736960&cpncode=19-32453670-2

 

[randybcd396t]

Considering nobody answered, there is some doubt in my mind but I'd say since the price is similar if not more than the going rate of the 396XT on the internet and it' looks exactly like it, I'd bet it the same. I checked the Uniden website and there is no substandard model that supposed to be like the 396XT. I'll let you know when it arrives next week and update this thread.

Just did a search for it with the tag of Walmart in it and this site came up. Titled as the same thing Walmart had but with the "BCD396XT" in the title so I'd say it's the same exact thing.

Uniden BCD-396XT APCO-25 capable Portable TrunkTracker IV

The picture is of the BCD396XT. It look to me like they just did a poor job describing the product on the website. If you want to be 100% sure, submit a product question on the Walmart site.

 

[BHinAZ]

Here is the same model antenna from another site:
I find it gets pretty good reception when I'm in my vehicle but is this the type of antenna you're talking about that I could use inside the house?

MiniScan Mobile Antenna

Looks like it has the potential to work, and it says it has a BNC connector. It also appears that you will have everything you need once the scanner arrives. Just attach the SMA/BNC adapator that comes with the BCD396XT and give it a try. At the very least, it will serve as a proof of concept.

You may have to move it around to find the sweet spot. It is amazing how just a couple of inches in a house can make a difference.

 

[SR-71]

Just wanted to post that yes this is the BCD-396XT. I just recived it two days ago. This is a big upgrade from my last scanner a RS Pro-2006.

 

[gsquared18]

I 2nd that from SR-71. Mine came yesterday and it is infact, the Uniden 396XT. Love it!!! Thank you Freescan, sending the donation right now!

 

[Bigden7456]

$558.63 @ Wal-Mart For The BCD-396XT Seems steep on Price,,even with .97 cents shipping,,when you can get it from Scannermaster for $495.00 free shipping and no Tax,,and from a place that KNOWS Scanners And Radios..

 

[gsquared18]

This thread was not created to show off the price of Wally World's internet price, we were trying to find out if the version Walmart was selling was actually the 396XT because they have it labeled weird. I couldn't buy it without the 12 month same as cash and Walmart was the only one offering that deal so I had to take the price pinch.

 

[click23]

Greg,

A couple of things I forgot to tell you about the freescan file I sent. The "UnknownBlountFed" is listed in the database as possibly the ANG base, I cannot pick it up very well here could you see if any of the talkgroups are in the open or are they all encrypted.

Also, the see if you can pick up the control channel on the "Unknown Site" in the TRVS system. For the Sevier county LTR system, there is a thread on it in the Tennessee section.

 

[gsquared18]

I left those unknown ones out for now and added some more frequencies to the "TYS/National Guard system. I have the PD,FD and EMS conventional systems in there for now just to hear what's out there but odds are, I'll lock em out or remove those since the trunked systems provide better communication. But thanks so much for the file, you really saved me a couple hours of going through the process even though I know how to program the scanner.

Question though. When trying to assign a Quick key to a Mot2 or LTR system, I get the warning that changing the number might conflict with GQK within the system even if it's the 1st time I'm assigning a QK. What happens next is that some of the sites within the system automatically get assigned GQK with the same number (in this case,7 which is what I assigned the system QK to). These sites don't have frequencies in them but I'm scared to delete or lock them out in case they are needed. Hope I'm making sense. Here's one of the systems I'm talking about. I can send my Freescan file when I get home if that helps.

SevierCo Trunk
PigeonForgeFire
Sevierville PD
Sevierville Fire
SevierCo Sheriff
SevierCo FD-EMS
[7] Sevierville Site
[7] Newport Site
[7] Gatlinburg Site

 

[sjlamb]

This thread was not created to show off the price of Wally World's internet price, we were trying to find out if the version Walmart was selling was actually the 396XT because they have it labeled weird. I couldn't buy it without the 12 month same as cash and Walmart was the only one offering that deal so I had to take the price pinch.

Regardless of why the thread was created; I find it amazing that it drew 30some replies to speculate on the obvious; which could have been confirmed by a simple call to Wal-Mart's 800 # if in doubt.

 

[cpuerror]

I think you might be getting groups and sites mixed up. A trunked system cannot be assigned a quick key on these scanners, only sites can. You can however virtually "assign" a quick key to a system by setting all the sites to the same one. It's warning you that you will wipe out any existing site QKs if you do so. So while you cannot assign QKs to these systems, you can "assign" them.

Your GQK are only used for TGID groups. They aren't related to site QKs, and you can set them independently. Nothing will break if you assign a QK to a site with no frequencies in it. I hope that clears everything up.

I

Question though. When trying to assign a Quick key to a Mot2 or LTR system, I get the warning that changing the number might conflict with GQK within the system even if it's the 1st time I'm assigning a QK. What happens next is that some of the sites within the system automatically get assigned GQK with the same number (in this case,7 which is what I assigned the system QK to). These sites don't have frequencies in them but I'm scared to delete or lock them out in case they are needed. Hope I'm making sense. Here's one of the systems I'm talking about. I can send my Freescan file when I get home if that helps.

SevierCo Trunk
PigeonForgeFire
Sevierville PD
Sevierville Fire
SevierCo Sheriff
SevierCo FD-EMS
[7] Sevierville Site
[7] Newport Site
[7] Gatlinburg Site

 

[gsquared18]

Regardless of why the thread was created; I find it amazing that it drew 30some replies to speculate on the obvious; which could have been confirmed by a simple call to Wal-Mart's 800 # if in doubt.

I find it amazing that you "speculate" without even knowing that I "obviously" tried to call Walmart first. Didn't think I had to explain that in my original post. I also "find it amazing" that you have so much confidence in Walmart customer service that you feel the need to tell me this thread was a waste. I had trouble getting them to give me any facts beyond the title and description that was already in the listing. So I came here where the "professionals" are to ask for their opinion.

And Mr. Scrooge, if you read back a bit, you'll see not all of the "30some" replies to this thread that you slapped you're own digital ink on were even about the original question and I actually benefited from the posting because I got a pre-built freescan file for my area. So, go troll in someone else's thread or Santa may put a lump of coal in your stocking. Happy Holidays!

 

[gsquared18]

I think you might be getting groups and sites mixed up. A trunked system cannot be assigned a quick key on these scanners, only sites can. You can however virtually "assign" a quick key to a system by setting all the sites to the same one. It's warning you that you will wipe out any existing site QKs if you do so. So while you cannot assign QKs to these systems, you can "assign" them.

Your GQK are only used for TGID groups. They aren't related to site QKs, and you can set them independently. Nothing will break if you assign a QK to a site with no frequencies in it. I hope that clears everything up.

Ok, now I'm confused A trunked system can't be assigned a quick key? I believe you but it's not registering with me. This is a snapshot of my quick key assignments of the systems in my radio. Some are trunked and some are conventional:

1 Air Medical
2 Knox TRS
3 FD-EMS MultiCon
4 Highway Patrol
5 Air Frequencies
6 Loudon Co
7 Gatlinburg Site
7 Newport Site
7 Sevierville Site
8 SevierCo Conv
9 GSMPR
10 BlountCo Conv
11 Federal
20 Shared


The three with the "7" in front of them are all under one system which is the one I was inquiring about above. Here it is again:

SevierCo Trunk
PigeonForgeFire
Sevierville PD
Sevierville Fire
SevierCo Sheriff
SevierCo FD-EMS
[7] Sevierville Site
[7] Newport Site
[7] Gatlinburg Site

This is how the system came from the RR database. The ones with the number in front of them don't have frequencies or ID's so what are these? The other 5 in this system have the freqs and ID's so what are these the sites or the groups?

All I know is as it is set up now, I can hit the quick key 7 and turn on the system and then selectivly turn on/off the 5 services above using the GQK. The other 3 just flash back and forth on the top row of the display.

 

[rmiller818]

A trunked system it self is not assigned to a quick key, you assign the sites that make up the system to the quick key. In many cases you may only have one site for a system, so assigning it to a quick key is kinda like assigning the whole system.

Now, if you have a system that has multiple sites you can assign each site to a different quick key and turn each on or off as you please. Or you could assign them all to the same quick key and in a sense turn the whole system on or off at the same time.

SO, no you cannot assign systems to a quick key, you assign the sites that make up a system to a quick key.

 

[gsquared18]

Noooow it makes sense. Thank you so much people

 

[gsquared18]

1 Air Medical
2 Knox TRS
3 FD-EMS MultiCon
4 Highway Patrol
5 Air Frequencies
6 Loudon Co
7 Gatlinburg Site
7 Newport Site
7 Sevierville Site
8 SevierCo Conv
9 GSMPR
10 BlountCo Conv
11 Federal
20 Shared


SevierCo Trunk
PigeonForgeFire
Sevierville PD
Sevierville Fire
SevierCo Sheriff
SevierCo FD-EMS
[7] Sevierville Site
[7] Newport Site
[7] Gatlinburg Site

So the top group = Sites
The bottom = Groups

Did I pass?

 

[click23]

Close, take a look at the file that I sent you.

With all of the listings on the left collapsed, show + not -:
Everything with [CNV] beside it is a conventional group.
The remaining entries are trunked systems, Motorola or LTR..
Under each of the trunked systems you have two types of entries, sites and groups.
Groups are labeled as GRP, sites are everything else.

Now look at the SevierCountyUHF system, you see five groups (GRP) and three sites (LTR). How this works is that each site from this system can "see" each of the group. Back on you BR330T, to program this system you would have to have three individual systems, one for Gatlinburg, Newport and Sevierville. Lets assume you wanted all three systems to be able to "see" all of the groups. You would then have to program each of the five groups under each of the systems, so you would have the group info in the scanner three times, even though it is the same info. To do the same with your 396XT, you only need one system, and only need five groups programed, not 15. You do not have to have the groups listed in three different times, because each site within a system "sees" the groups programed to that system.

This might help:

BR330T
Gatlinburg System - trunking information is stored here
-PigeonForgeFire
-SevierCntySherif
-SevierCountyFire
-SeviervilleFire
-SeviervillePD

Newport System - trunking information is stored here
-PigeonForgeFire
-SevierCntySherif
-SevierCountyFire
-SeviervilleFire
-SeviervillePD

Sevierville System - trunking information is stored here
-PigeonForgeFire
-SevierCntySherif
-SevierCountyFire
-SeviervilleFire
-SeviervillePD

BCD396XT

Sevier County System
-Galinburg Site - trunking information is stored here
-Newport Site - trunking information is stored here
-Sevierville Site - trunking information is stored here
-PigeonForgeFire
-SevierCntySherif
-SevierCountyFire
-SeviervilleFire
-SeviervillePD

Each site, under the same system, "sees" each group in that system, it is just a more efficient way of memory management.