BC125AT: Jimbir (newbe) needs help

[jimbir]

I've recently received my new BC125AT scanner. I turned it on and, wanting to see something happen, I pushed the scan button. The screen showed that all the banks were selected and number 1 was blinking. Numbers were appearing on the screen and, occasionally the scanner would stop at one and a hissing – crackling noise would come from the speaker. A number like 1-14 would also appear. I'm assuming this is the bank and channel number. I tried to switch to bank number 2 by pressing 2 on the keyboard. The screen showed "scan mode all locked". There are a couple places in the operators manual and tell how to unlock channels. I've tried them all but can't get the all locked message to go away. I can't make anymore progress using the scanner. Can someone help me get out of this predicament?

 

[trentbob]

So Jim you know that scanners have to be programmed. I have not owned that radio for quite a long time but it is a favorite for Aviation but it is an analog scanner as opposed to a digital scanner.

So I'm curious Jim what research did you do before buying this radio? Did you look at the database to ascertain if the radio would work on the systems that are used in North Tonawanda, New York?

Unfortunately Niagara County uses a phase 1 simulcast digital system which your radio is not capable of receiving. North Tonawanda Police and Fire use this system as do many of the larger municipalities. There's also a good deal of encryption with the Sheriff's Department and police in the county. No radio can pick up encryption but again it's a moot point as your scanner cannot pick up digital transmissions. The fire department and some police frequencies appear to be in the clear.

If you just bought the radio from a reputable dealer you might want to consider swapping it out for a digital radio that can at least pick up Phase 1 simulcast. I would avoid Whistler radios and stick with Uniden.

You get what you pay for. Because your county has a simulcast system, you could encounter simulcast distortion if you purchase a BCD 436. The only simulcast capable portable scanner is the SDS 100.

 

[jimbir]

Thanks for the reply. I know it's limitations. I'm only interested in aviation.

 

[K4EET]

<deleted>

@trentbob beat me to it and in greater detail.

 

[trentbob]

So Jim, just some suggestions, you usually have a 30-day window to return a radio. There's nothing wrong with your radio as far as performance so the dealer might charge a restocking fee or maybe not depending if you swap out for a more expensive radio. I'm including a map of your system which has one simulcast site and multiple towers or sub sites. What happens in a simulcast system is the same thing is transmitted from each tower simultaneously that your radio is calling for, therefore you get the simulcast distortion you heard tell of.

Depending on your location as you move around in between the towers determines whether or not you're going to get this distortion which results in missed and broken transmissions.

Depending on your location and if you are in a fixed location you might get satisfactory results from one of the non simulcast capable Uniden digital radios. The SDS 100 is the only portable radio that is simulcast capable as it has an SDR chip.

The reason I don't recommend Whistler is, they are just older radios, they do make the ws1040 which is Phase 1 capable portable but it's a rebranded Radio Shack Radio which is a rebranded GRE radio that was introduced 15 years ago and does not do well with simulcast.

So here's a suggestion, go on the New York State forum and look for the threads that deal with Niagara County. There should be some stuff there. You can do a search. See what the folks there say about what radio works the best

Here's a map of the coverage area of the Niagara County p25 Phase 1 simulcast system. You can see how the towers are very close to each other.

 

[trentbob]

Thanks for the reply. I know it's limitations. I'm only interested in aviation.

Already then, I see by the number of posts that you were probably still being moderated and even though you wrote your post 48 minutes ago it just showed up now. I didn't see it till this second. That would have saved a lot of words LOL.

Plenty of members use your radio for Aviation and I'm sure somebody will be happy to jump in and straighten things out for you, good luck.

 

[INDaviation]

If a bank is completely empty it will say All Locked. Figured that out when I entered a bunch of alpha tags but forgot to add the actual frequencies

 

[jimbir]

I've decided to return the BC125AT and buy a BCD325P2

 

[Scan125]

I've decided to return the BC125AT and buy a BCD325P2

Just remember for the scanner to SCAN you HAVE TO HAVE channel data entered into a bank! Ifo you do not all you will get is noise and ALL LOCKED OUT

To pick up anything with no channels programmed then you have to use the SEARCH facility and for your interest the Air Band Search.

This applies to the BCD325P as well!