New to Scanners and have BCD436HP

[TonyM_76]

Hello everyone,
I am new to scanners and just picked up the Uniden BCD436HP because of the reviews and ease of set up supposedly. Well I entered my zip code of 57030 and I don't feel I am getting everything I should for communication traffic. I have gone through the Sentinel software and set up my Service types and extended my range to 40 miles. I have never picked up any chatter from Brandon, minimum chatter from Sioux Falls and surrounding areas. I know there have been a couple of fire dispatches in Garretson while my scanner was on but never picked up any communication traffic.

The manual is not easy to understand for a new person, so any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

 

[aprswatcher]

I would suggest that you post this question in the "Uniden" forums section. More people will be able to help you "tweak" some of your settings and hopefully making your listening better.

Just a suggestion.
73, Rex

 

[lamarrsy]

Hello everyone,
I am new to scanners and just picked up the Uniden BCD436HP because of the reviews and ease of set up supposedly. Well I entered my zip code of 57030 and I don't feel I am getting everything I should for communication traffic. I have gone through the Sentinel software and set up my Service types and extended my range to 40 miles. I have never picked up any chatter from Brandon, minimum chatter from Sioux Falls and surrounding areas. I know there have been a couple of fire dispatches in Garretson while my scanner was on but never picked up any communication traffic.

The manual is not easy to understand for a new person, so any advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Hi,
That's where the "just enter your zip code and you're ready to go" can be misleading.

There's no guarantee that *everything* listenable is contained in Radioreference database; its a user-contributed database, on a volontary basis. So yes, you may have done everything right and still not getting all the services in your area simply because.... no one submitted their listening & searching results for your area, or... what has been submitted is partial.
I am in an area where if i punch my zip code, the 436 loads up with freqs & services which covers a very reduced list of freqs / services in reality. Only some government services gets listed, absolutely no *local* fire services appears in the scanner, because they probably have not been submitted and approved, for example.

So this may be an explanation of what you are experiencing.

-Sylvain.

 

[TonyM_76]

Thanks for your reply and that sounds like what is going on.

 

[mark432k]

Another consideration is perhaps a better antenna and or placement of your radio. I live in SW Sioux Falls and the only towers I can receive on stock antennas on the SD Digital system is the Sioux Falls simulcast (my better half has sent my radios in the basement with the dog). So I have some outdoor antennas and the world opens up for me. With you being in Garretson, you should be able to pick up the Baltic and Wall Lake towers pretty easily.

 

[TonyM_76]

Antenna Recommendations

Thank you Mark432k,
What would you recommend for an antenna? Right now if i just do a trunking scan through the software I can pick up a lot of the Sioux Falls, local HP and EMS from Sioux Falls broadcasts, but when i turn on the system and just let is scan through normal operation, I get squat.

 

[mark432k]

Anything outside will get better results. I'm not sure on your situation, but even a mobile antenna outside will help. You can get fancy, but if you are new to this I'd suggest taking baby steps with an outdoor antenna setup.

Snoop around some of the other threads and see what other have done, that's what I do. There are some awesome ideas out there, and many of them have done it on a budget. You just have to find something that is right for your situation and budget.

 

[NDRADIONUT]

Do you have all of the services turned on ??


Selecting Service Types
Contents


Make sure you enable the Service Type for the channels you want to listen to. Each channel can be tagged with a "Service Type" that allows you to hear specific services such as Fire, EMS, and Police when you are monitoring the Full Database and/or your Favorites Lists. The Appendix has a list of Service Types and their general descriptions.

Not all service types are enabled when you create a new profile or when you set your location in the scanner. By default only EMS Dispatch, Fire Dispatch, Law Dispatch, Custom 1, and Multi-Dispatch are enabled.

(BCD536HP) Press the Serv button.
(BCD436HP) Press Func then the Zip/Services button.
Scroll to each Service Type and press E/yes to enable or disable.
Press System or Avoid to exit.

When the scanner displays a Service Type that is not in the Favorite Lists, the scanner will display a "---" indication.