New Radios, Old Problem, No Solution

[number6]

I just rcvd my 996D today--lovely piece o' kit--and with it, that incredibly sinking feeling I get every time I take a look at a new radio. I use the word "look" metaphorically, being totally blind. The scanner control software that's out there just doesn't make it for blind users, good otherwise as it probably is. I'm looking for some enterprising programmer-types who might be interested in helping re-open a slowly closing hobby to blind people by helping to write a scanner control program that a blind person can effectively make use of. The problem with the ScanStars and Butels and WinScans of the world is their Windows interface. They don't use standard Windows screen controls, therefore standard cursor movement with arrows and tabs does not produce predictable results for folks (like me) using screenreading software. Sometimes pressing TAB does nothing. Sometimes, instead of moving from column to column, it skps data entirely. Sometimes all it does is to move a widget, not the cursor itself, to indicate where data is being entered. All no good. If you're interested in assisting, or can direct me to somewhere I can find the information that the ScanStars and WinScans and Butels of the world use to learn how to control these radios, I'll work on doing the programming myself if I have to, although that'll certainly take longer if there are already folks who are savvy about these things, which I've got to believe there are. Thanks in advance.

 

[JHaislet]

I'm currious if there is some way to control/program the 396/996 via a command prompt or telnet interface?

What about editing the .usd files directly, using a screenreading friendly text editor? This probably would be fairly simple once the formatting style was learned.

Have you looked in the BCD396T Protocol pdf? (there is also one for the 996D, but I couldn't find a direct link to it)
You can get the BCD996D Protocol pdf directly from Uniden under downloads for the 996D.
It lists all the commands needed to control the radio through the serial port.
If someone could simply figure out how to open a command prompt via Hyperterminal, you might be able to use that to upload/download .usd files.

http://mndigital.faricy.net/files/list/BCD396T_Protocol.pdf

JH

 

[Al42]

You can talk to the scanner directly using Hyperterminal. Just say "STS<CR><LF>" (without the quotation marks) to it and watch the screen. (<CR> and <LF> are the Return and LF characters, respectively.)

 

[slicerwizard]

The LF is not required. It is not part of the command protocol spec.

 

[Al42]

Of course you're correct - this is RR, not VB Forums, where I had just gotten through helping someone with a serial I/O problem that required that both characters be sent.

 

[number6]

The .USD file? This is news to me but possibly a solution. I can open a serial port and do I/O through it either with Kermit or via program control that I may write. Now, as to what goes into the .USD file, I haven't found that info yet. I did, however, download the control codes, so I know a little bit about what to expect when I read the .USD file. Off to find that now.

I'm currious if there is some way to control/program the 396/996 via a command prompt or telnet interface?

What about editing the .usd files directly, using a screenreading friendly text editor? This probably would be fairly simple once the formatting style was learned.

Have you looked in the BCD396T Protocol pdf? (there is also one for the 996D, but I couldn't find a direct link to it)
You can get the BCD996D Protocol pdf directly from Uniden under downloads for the 996D.
It lists all the commands needed to control the radio through the serial port.
If someone could simply figure out how to open a command prompt via Hyperterminal, you might be able to use that to upload/download .usd files.

http://mndigital.faricy.net/files/list/BCD396T_Protocol.pdf

JH

 

[number6]

When you say "watch the screen," do you mean the one on the scanner or the one on the PC? Watching the PC screen is doable; watching the scanner screen is not an option. By the way, to JH, I opened two .USD files I found, and they are nothing at all like what I was expecting--all data, no commands. Onward and upward I guess.

You can talk to the scanner directly using Hyperterminal. Just say "STS<CR><LF>" (without the quotation marks) to it and watch the screen. (<CR> and <LF> are the Return and LF characters, respectively.)

 

[Al42]

When you say "watch the screen," do you mean the one on the scanner or the one on the PC?

The one in Kermit, or whatever communications software you're using. It's kind of a string representation of the current state of the scanner's screen.

I opened two .USD files I found, and they are nothing at all like what I was expecting--all data, no commands.

But quite human readable once you get it figured out. (Some of the numeric strings are a mystery, but I find that I can make changes, or even make almost an entire file, pretty easily by hand.)

Somewhere, I may have a file in which someone else actually defined the entire .usd file. If I find it I'll post a link to it.