Just Upgraded To BCD396XT!

[pinballwiz86]

I saw the BCD396XT for a good price on eBay. So I bought it to be able to listen to the Missouri Highway Patrol.

Any tips or tricks anyone would like to share? I'm upgrading from the 346XT and I'm also happy to have mil air as well.


Thanks.


I'll post a pic when I get it in. (I'm excited I guess, lol.)

 

[pwscott]

Be sure to get the Butel's software for your 396XT and a subscription to Radio Reference. Both worth the cost big time. Also the Nifty Guide to the 396XT is helpful. Ham Radio Outlet sells them. Enjoy.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[awattam]

Freescan is also a good software and its free...($0)

 

[pinballwiz86]

Thanks for the tips! Scanner should get here by Monday.

 

[ka3jjz]

This article from our wiki (links are always blue) has lots of links to just about everything you will need to get started. Be sure to check out the Easier to Read manuals (they're linked at the bottom) and don't bother with the manual Uniden made - whoever wrote that should be fired....:.>>

Program your DMA Scanner - The RadioReference Wiki

Mike

 

[pinballwiz86]

Haha yeah I looked at the manual online and was like..hmm. Lol.

Thanks for the tip on the "Easier To Read" manuals. I actually used that site to help me program my 346XT trunking scanner. I will definitely use that site again for the new scanner. Really helpful.

Pics are still forthcoming...

 

[LordJ]

Have a look at PROSCAN. ProScan
(I'm not affiliated with Proscan, it's just that having used both software offerings, I found Proscan the better of the two)

 

[awattam]

I might give ProScan a try then. I have always stuck with Freescan but I am always open to try something new.

 

[oracavon]

I absolutely love ProScan. It works with multiple radios and is actively supported and updated. The only downside is the initial cost, but it includes all future updates (which occur reasonably often). If you're OK with the cost, though, I don't think you'll find anything better.

Also, ProScan doesn't work with the new radios (346/536), but that's not an issue for me. Last I heard, the author left open the possibility that it might someday be updated for the new radios, but wasn't sure if and when he would have the time to do it. I, for one, appreciate that fact that supporting existing users is a higher priority than adding the new radios immediately.

 

[debnkip]

You will love your new scanner, I just got my BCD396XT from eBay as well. I used the Freescan program to set it up and it was a breeze, they have some how-to you tube videos that will walk you thru the process, I almost felt guilty not having to set around for 20 hours trying to manually program the scanner ;-)

 

[pinballwiz86]

You will love your new scanner, I just got my BCD396XT from eBay as well. I used the Freescan program to set it up and it was a breeze, they have some how-to you tube videos that will walk you thru the process, I almost felt guilty not having to set around for 20 hours trying to manually program the scanner ;-)

I will definitely get the FreeScan software, thanks.

Do you have to buy a separate cable to connect the 396XT to your computer?

 

[teufler]

Used freescan with the ezgrab function. Rolla, troop i has gone digital, several agencies in rolla. Crawford cty has not gone digital. Dent cty sheriff has one talk group. You can get washington shirley tower from west of cuba. There is a cherryville tower that moswin operates off of. An outside antenna, you should beable to get weldon springs and there is alot of activity there. Now that you have a 396xt, welcome to hours and days and weeks and months of programming, to fine tune your radio,

 

[pinballwiz86]

Used freescan with the ezgrab function. Rolla, troop i has gone digital, several agencies in rolla. Crawford cty has not gone digital. Dent cty sheriff has one talk group. You can get washington shirley tower from west of cuba. There is a cherryville tower that moswin operates off of. An outside antenna, you should beable to get weldon springs and there is alot of activity there. Now that you have a 396xt, welcome to hours and days and weeks and months of programming, to fine tune your radio,

Thanks for the info! Much appreciated. What other agencies in Rolla besides the Rolla PD?


What do you mean exactly by weeks of fine tuning? Thanks again.

 

[ka3jjz]

He means that you will be making lots of tweaks to the programming before you're satisfied with what you have. And he's right - I know I went through the same

Mike

 

[jcpse]

I will definitely get the FreeScan software, thanks.

Do you have to buy a separate cable to connect the 396XT to your computer?

I have had excellent success with freescan as well.

The cable provided with the scanner is what I use to program. It terminates in a DB 9 connector, which my laptop does not have. So I had to purchase a DB 9 -to- USB adapter, but it was worth it and works great.

 

[teufler]

there are groups, on MOSWIN, in Phelps, Maries, Dent counties, as well as MOHP. Primarily Police and Sheriff offices. UMR in Rolla is also on MOSWIN. So far Crawford County is not. The 396xt also performs excellent on Analog systems as well. The 396xt does not have banks, so get used to the new vocabulary, systems, sites, and groups. Also you might scratch around and find an old computer that has db9 inputs. I have kept an old 396 dos based computer that has all my radio software on it. Files for RCA, Kenwood, Motorola RSS, Midland, Yaesu. The older computers are still good for programming with.

 

[pinballwiz86]

Got the scanner today and a couple QSL cards! I programmed in the "conventional" frequencies. Now to tackle "P25"....wish me luck, lol.

 

[pinballwiz86]

Okay that wasn't so bad. Took me 10 minutes to program in the Highway Patrol! Lol...the voices sound like robots.

A question. Why do I sometimes see a signal bar like there is someone talking but no squelch is broken?

 

[frazpo]

Okay that wasn't so bad. Took me 10 minutes to program in the Highway Patrol! Lol...the voices sound like robots.

A question. Why do I sometimes see a signal bar like there is someone talking but no squelch is broken?

You should always see a signal bar while monitoring a digital system. That is the signal of the control channel.

 

[pinballwiz86]

You should always see a signal bar while monitoring a digital system. That is the signal of the control channel.

That makes a lot of sense! Haha. Thanks.