New 396XT 1.11.01 Firmware Available

[Jay911]

People that whine & complain about not getting updates for the old scanners make me shake my head. I have a 2007 Subaru WRX. It doesn't have sat nav, but the newer models do. Demanding updates for the 396T/996T is like me charging into the Subaru dealership and demanding they fit sat-nav into my car for free.

W9NES, you need to slow down your typing and proofread and THINK before you post. You have corrected peoples' spelling when they are right and you are wrong in two different places - "simulcast" and "firmware" are the correct spellings. And just because the 396T/996T and 396XT/996XT look the same and function similarly doesn't mean that firmware upgrades can be done for each of them as easily as the other. The internal design is surely markedly different. If you could make the 396T do the same things as the 396XT with simply firmware updates, why did Uniden go through the trouble of designing, building, and selling the XT line of scanners? That costs money, you know.

You're going to have to come to grips with the fact that other people do know what they're talking about, and if that conflicts with your beliefs, desires, and opinions, that's too bad.

 

[Diggie]

I don't have the older T model, but here are my thoughts. High-end scanners are not cheap, and there's going to be a lot of people out there who bought the T because when the XT came out it was more affordable, or who already owned one and couldn't justify spending more money on the XT. Now, I don't know if the T has the same P25 issues as the XT did, but some people here clearly perceive that it does. It doesn't matter to those people what justifications you give them for why they shouldn't expect a firmware update for their older scanner - they're enthusiasts just as much as you are and are presumably aggrivated by any problem just as much as you were also. Some people will say that Uniden should support hardware that's only a generation old, others will say that it's too old to support, and I see The UPMan account has posted a policy of not committing to pre-announcing updates also. You can only expect those who believe their concerns are being unfairly disregarded to voice a grievence. However, at the end of the day, I find it odd that people are coming out against the T owners on this one. The fact is, Uniden can either decide to make their T customers happy with the Uniden brand by providing them the update they want, or they can decide that the cost of doing so outweighs the benefit, and risk alienating those customers in future.

From my perspective the way to sell next generation devices to a limited specialist market (aside from expanding the target audience as with the Home Patrol line) is to keep your established customer base happy and to provide enough value in the new device that they will want to upgrade, not because they are forced to by lack of support. Here's an alternative perspective to consider - if Uniden released a new device tomorrow and refused to fix some important issue that popped up in the XT because it was suddenly the previous generation, how would you feel about investing more of your hard-earned money into that brand by buying newer model, knowing at any point it too could become the previous generation? The issue is not so simple now, is it?

Finally, I think both sides ought to go back and read UPMan's post again. Firstly, he did not say that Uniden will not release a new firmware for the T, merely that if they were going to do so it's their policy not to pre-announce it. Secondly, he pointed out that they have in fact released updates to scanners well past their normal support lifetime, which you could interpret as saying "we like to provide long term support", i.e. an update for the T may still come. Thirdly, when he talked about support for models ending years later, it wasn't even the 396 series he referenced. So in my opinion, you should not be counting out the possibility that a T update is also in the works. However, the ambiguity is clearly upsetting some T owners...

 

[ButchGone]

Since no one has chimed in I will try another way. Has anyone successfully updated their 396xt from the current 11.1 update BACK to the last 1.10 upgrade? The newest update made my simulcast decoding worse that what it was.
BG..

 

[fxdscon]

Since no one has chimed in I will try another way. Has anyone successfully updated their 396xt from the current 11.1 update BACK to the last 1.10 upgrade? The newest update made my simulcast decoding worse that what it was.
BG..

http://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-scanners/257482-uninstall-111-a.html#post1890276

 

[GTO_04]

This update was way too easy! (j/k). Well done!

GTO_04

 

[davidmc36]

Am I missing somethng, or does this updater require a live Internet connection at the time of update? That's awkward if you don't have home access. Probably explains why the 996XT update isn't out - ripping the unit out of an in-dash installation to get it near a network drop is going to be a non-starter.

I do my 996T updates and programming with a laptop and WiFi right in the car. If they ever were to come out with an update for it I would hope it will be the same format. Easy as pie.

 

[Lynch_Christopher]

Just finished updating my 396XT very easy installation only took about five minutes. Had no problem with either of the links.

 

[kruser]

I do my 996T updates and programming with a laptop and WiFi right in the car. If they ever were to come out with an update for it I would hope it will be the same format. Easy as pie.

Either that or if you don't have a wireless connection available, it would be nice if Uniden would still publish the actual firmware files so you could copy that and the older BC-VUP 2.0.0.7 file to a laptop and upgrade the scanners that are mounted in hard to access locations.

Looking at the twiki sites for the models that now have newer firmware available that use the newest BC_VUP 3.00.xx application, none of those firmware versions are posted for a direct download. Only the older firmwares for use with the older BC_VUP 2.xx version updater are posted.

Or a feature in the new 3.00.xx updater that will allow you to download and store the version(s) that you want so you can do the upgrade away from an active internet connection. Heck, maybe the BC-VUP 3.00.01 versions does that already. I don't recall it asking me if I wanted to save the latest 396XT 1.11.01 firmware as a file or not though.

If not, then I agree with the person you replied too (FlashP) and that Uniden should give the user an option to save these firmware files for later install where you don't have an internet connection or have to upgrade lots of radios like a large news TV station would have. As it is now, it appears that it makes you download the radio specific FW file each time you do an upgrade or downgrade.

I just tried BC-VUP 3.00.01 and no, it does not allow you to download and save the firmware for later install.
It wants the scanner connected before it will proceed past the point of picking the version you want.

I really think they need to change that as it could be a bear for those that must update many scanners. I could see a large TV station that may have dozens of the scanners in vehicles and the like. And when custom mounted, that even complicates things ever more if they are hard to remove. Not everyone has easy access to an internet connection at all times!

Other than that, I do like the new firmware updater over the old.
At least with the old though, you downloaded the actual FW so you could install it when you do not have an internet connection or at a later time.

Like you said, just use a laptop but with no internet, you need to be able to download the files to the laptop first.

Hopefully Paul will see this and give it some thought. I'd imagine a new version of BC-VUP could be written that does allow you to save the FW image for later install.

Then all the FW versions should be put on the site so the newer BC-VUP can grab them and save them on the drive. Not just the newer FW's like are available now but the older versions also.

That's my thoughts on this matter!


edit: Uniden should make ALL FW versions available for download and the user would use the older BC-VUP 2.xx version for the upgrades or add the ability to download and save the FW versions into the newest BC_VUP 3.xx updater with an option to load the FW from a file (the version you saved earlier when you had an internet connection) instead of pulling it from the internet each time.

 

[kbehning]

Kruser,

PM Sent.

 

[Anderegg]

Is there a way to reflash the OLDER firmware into my 396XT? I updated to the new version last night, and went to work, and 25% of the transmissions I receive are loud, VERY LOUD, motorboating sounds, static, and little lips with no reception that holds on the talkgroup. My scanner did NOT do this previously........I mean, every other transmission being a 1-3 second FULL BLAST burst of static is something I would have noticed previously!

UPDATE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Seriously, this scanner is now unusable for my job as a journalist, is there a way to go back to the old version? :-(

Oh yeah, I am also now getting RANDOM talkgroups on the wrong channels, as if they were patched, but they are most def not!

Paul

 

[fxdscon]

Is there a way to reflash the OLDER firmware into my 396XT? I updated to the new version last night, and went to work, and 25% of the transmissions I receive are loud, VERY LOUD, motorboating sounds, static, and little lips with no reception that holds on the talkgroup. My scanner did NOT do this previously........I mean, every other transmission being a 1-3 second FULL BLAST burst of static is something I would have noticed previously!

UPDATE AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Seriously, this scanner is now unusable for my job as a journalist, is there a way to go back to the old version? :-(

Oh yeah, I am also now getting RANDOM talkgroups on the wrong channels, as if they were patched, but they are most def not!

Paul

Scroll down to the bottom of this page where it says "Attachments".

BCD396XTFirmwareUpdate < UnidenMan4 < TWiki


.

 

[Anderegg]

Thank you fx! I rolled back to 1.10.0 and now my scanner is back to normal. No motorboating, no 1-3 second static bursts, works just as it did before the evil 1.11.0. When the scanner did decode with the new firmware on my simulcast systems, it DID NOT improve the broken and choppy digital reception at full signal.

Paul

 

[wise871]

I'm up in the Atlanta area again which allowed me to try out the new firmware upgrade for the 396XT. Sorry to say I was disappointed with the outcome on both the Atlanta P25 and the Cobb P25 systems. Luckily my dad has the 396xt and HP-1 so I was able to do a side by side comparison when I got to the house. I found the new firmware resulted in missed or garbled transmissions were the 396xt with the previous firmware was working like a champ. I have since re-flashed my 396xt back to the previous firmware and it works like a champ. Today I’m planning on running both HP-1 side by side. On my drive into Atlanta I did discover my HP-1 with new firmware was silent until I entered the I-285 beltway. Before, my HP-1 always picks up the Atlanta P25 when I entered Fulton County along I-85. I use favorites list and no GPS so distance was not the cause of this. Thanks to Uniden for trying. I know every system is different. Is there anyone else in the Atlanta Metro area seeing the same thing?

 

[Chris-KH2PM]

I endured 2 days of excessive 'motorboating' while monitoring the NC VIPER Wake County Simulcast system (zone 1) here in Raleigh NC. Almost every transmission would be affected by 1-2 seconds of control channel noise, and my other digital scanners nearby while testing would work fine (PRO-96 and BCD-396T). The XT would miss at least the first two words before it'd start to decode. Reverting was easy. Backed up my programming with FreeScan first just in case, but it was not an issue.

Same goes for another local 396XT user monitoring the same VIPER system. He's going to revert back to 1.10.00 too.

I appreciate the Product updates, UPMAN, and look forward to continued support of the 396XT. Unfortunately 1.11.01 did nothing for VIPER simulcast 3600 monitoring, as I still continued to have issues of talkover from another TalkGroup, in this case an EMS patient info TG, coming out over a police talkgroup. Monitoring with Trunk88 confirmed that it was the XT having an issue and not a problem with the trunking system.

This is the VIPER system I'm referring to:

Voice Interoperability Plan for Emergency Responders (VIPER) Trunking System, Various, North Carolina - Scanner Frequencies

 

[rbrtklamp2]

Have any of you who are having problems and reverting back to other firmware tried to get better reception by using the two hidden menu items that you can find by pressing hold while powering the unit on? I don't get where all the problems are from I live in a area with a notoriously bad LSM multi site system. For those who don't know me I am referring to site 1-01 on the Starcom21 system in Illinois. At first I had the same issues all of you are complaining about until I started playing around with the P25 Adjust mode and P25 Adjust level. I lowered my values drastically and now get crystal clear audio when at home and little distortion (compared to what it was) when mobile in my truck. My levels ended up being 7 for P25 Adjust mode and 15 for the P25 Adjust level. Different systems will have different ranges and settings but I found what works best for my system and you can too if you just do some testing with different values for these settings. I'm not saying its going to sound as good as your APX or XTS radio but the audio is a hell of alot better than firmware version 1.10.XX when you ID the correct values to those setting for your area. I also ask that if you do find a pair of values out of the norm like I did that work best for your area to please post them and save some of the less advanced scanner users some head aches trying to figure them out.

I hope this helps,
Bob
P.S UPMan when are you gonna fix my 996XT like you did my 396XT?

 

[Chris-KH2PM]

Have any of you who are having problems and reverting back to other firmware tried to get better reception by using the two hidden menu items that you can find by pressing hold while powering the unit on?

I sure did. For two days I tested P25 Adjust Levels and Mode ranges. At first it seemed that low numbers like you quoted did the trick, yet I still had 1-2 seconds of 'motorboating' quite frequently. Tried different P25 Waiting Times to no avail. After seeing other users in this thread having issues as well, I reverted back to 1.10. Problem solved.

The system I monitor is SmartZone Type II 3600 baud. I think I recall reading somewhere that 1.11.xx is for issues with Project 25 9600 baud issues. The VIPER system I monitor will be upgraded to that in the near future, so I'll just put off 1.11.xx until then.

 

[kirk23]

I have no idea what I am doing wrong, but I cannot get this update to download.
I clicked on the update link.. and saved the ZIP to my desktop..extracted the files, I get 2 files ,
a set up file APPLICATION 485kb..... and a Setup_BC_VUP Windows Installer 649kb

i get the BC VUP V3 installer uploaded

but i don't get anything for the actual update 1.11.01

obviously i am missing something..

i was able to update my 396XT 2x before for the 1.08 & 1.10 as well as my 996xt but i am lost on this one..

 

[UPMan]

After you install BC_VUP3, run it and follow the prompts.

 

[kirk23]

After you install BC_VUP3, run it and follow the prompts.

Thank you Paul... much appreciated..it worked so easily..
i knew i was missing something simple..

i guess the -20F temperatures up here froze my brain for a bit..LOL

 

[04Z1V6]

Have any of you who are having problems and reverting back to other firmware tried to get better reception by using the two hidden menu items that you can find by pressing hold while powering the unit on? I don't get where all the problems are from I live in a area with a notoriously bad LSM multi site system. For those who don't know me I am referring to site 1-01 on the Starcom21 system in Illinois. At first I had the same issues all of you are complaining about until I started playing around with the P25 Adjust mode and P25 Adjust level. I lowered my values drastically and now get crystal clear audio when at home and little distortion (compared to what it was) when mobile in my truck. My levels ended up being 7 for P25 Adjust mode and 15 for the P25 Adjust level. Different systems will have different ranges and settings but I found what works best for my system and you can too if you just do some testing with different values for these settings. I'm not saying its going to sound as good as your APX or XTS radio but the audio is a hell of alot better than firmware version 1.10.XX when you ID the correct values to those setting for your area. I also ask that if you do find a pair of values out of the norm like I did that work best for your area to please post them and save some of the less advanced scanner users some head aches trying to figure them out.

I hope this helps,
Bob
P.S UPMan when are you gonna fix my 996XT like you did my 396XT?

I am unable to get to any adjustment using this method. All I get is flashing color screen and it then goes into hold mode, I must be doing something wrong.