Official BCD396T Discussion Thread (Post-release)

[wesct]

i guess i have to ask the question-

who has bcd396t scanners in stock?

wesct

 

[Dubbin]

We have applied remedies to the replacement cases that address the cause of the case print wear.

So you are saying that Uniden has fixed the problem and the new replacement cases will not have the problems as before? Please answer just Yes or No to that question. The reason I am asking you to clarify this is because you never said what the "remedies" are or if they even work. Please don't think I am trying to be a PIA but I just want a strait yes or no answer.

 

[KW4EZR]

i guess i have to ask the question-

who has bcd396t scanners in stock?

wesct

I ordered one from www.scannerwold.com this morning.

Darren
KG4OMX

 

[wesct]

I ordered one from www.scannerwold.com this morning.

Darren
KG4OMX

do they have them in stock?- or are they on backorder?

wesct

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

do they have them in stock?- or are they on backorder?

For what it's worth, they're showing the 396 in stock.

 

[KW4EZR]

do they have them in stock?- or are they on backorder?

wesct

They were in stock and shipped to me testerday at 3PM. I paid for Overnight so I am expecting it anytime.

Darren
KG4OMX

 

[John_M]

Dubbin Wrote:

So you are saying that Uniden has fixed the problem and the new replacement cases will not have the problems as before? Please answer just Yes or No to that question. The reason I am asking you to clarify this is because you never said what the "remedies" are or if they even work. Please don't think I am trying to be a PIA but I just want a strait yes or no answer

.

Why would they put the same faceplates from the same batch on as before? Uniden is already paying for the shipping costs for those affected. If they didn't resolve the issue they would have to keep paying shipping costs back and forth to Texas. Uniden is also paying the technicians labor costs to replace the faceplates. They don't want to keep doing this. As for UPman knowing the exact remedy, he would have to go to Asia and stand over the process in which the silkscreen is put on in order for him to know the answer to your question.

 

[scanlists]

Why would they put the same faceplates from the same batch on as before?

that isn't what he asked.

As for UPman knowing the exact remedy, he would have to go to Asia and stand over the process in which the silkscreen is put on in order for him to know the answer to your question.

uh, he's the project manager. its his job to know.

 

[Voyager]

that isn't what he asked.
uh, he's the project manager. its his job to know.

True, but he may not be able to reveal that to the public. Uniden policy may prohibit it.

Joe M.

(Looks like there is a bug in the quoting format of the new board)

 

[scanlists]

joe, which thing do you think that paul may not be able to reveal? You quoted two things.

the latter is somewhat understandable. though i don't believe that what they are doing is a real trade secret. so what possible harm could come from revealing it. if this is what can't be revealed, there must be some other reason. probably a reason we won't like. (just hypothesizing! i can feel some of you getting upset.)

or are you referring to the first part? that i do not see why uniden would have a policy against revealing that this new replacment would actually fix this problem (though they have never actually said that it will.). such a policy would likely scare away many future buyers. not good business sense.

 

[petrol88]

We have applied remedies to the replacement cases that address the cause of the case print wear.

Upman's note seems pretty clear to me. They fixed the problem that caused the case wear. If they hadn't, do you really think they'd spend $50-60 in FedEx, plus repair time and parts cost, to replace the cases? This has to be a major chunk out of the profit in this thing. Why in the world would you possibly think that they would want to do this more than once?

As to what specifically was the original problem, I'm sure that Uniden considers that a Nunya. I sure would.

 

[scanlists]

careful with what you read between the lines.

applying remedies does not necessarily equal fixing. here's why: Let me apply my safety pin to your case. careful. my hand is a little shakey. are you happy with my fix?

i am not saying that this is what uniden is doing. so, please dont accuse me of it.

 

[swest90]

Why cant you nay sayers just want and see what happens! All these posts about 'what may happen with the new cases' or 'who said what and what did they really mean' are ridiculous and I hope one of the mods deletes them (Including this one). Relax and see what happens. If you get a replacement and it starts showing the same problems then go for it!

Thanks
Shawn

 

[Voyager]

joe, which thing do you think that paul may not be able to reveal? You quoted two things.

the latter is somewhat understandable. though i don't believe that what they are doing is a real trade secret. so what possible harm could come from revealing it. if this is what can't be revealed, there must be some other reason. probably a reason we won't like. (just hypothesizing! i can feel some of you getting upset.)

or are you referring to the first part? that i do not see why uniden would have a policy against revealing that this new replacment would actually fix this problem (though they have never actually said that it will.). such a policy would likely scare away many future buyers. not good business sense.

First, as I mentioned in edit, it looks like there is a bug in the quoting of the messages on the board. I quoted the entire post and did not editing on the quoted text at all - that's the way it came out.

All I'm saying is that it might be Uniden corporate policy to NOT reveal what the issue actually was - likely to keep the info from the competition (maybe even in some small way hoping they may make the same mistake in the future). It's really not a bad policy if you think about it from a business side of things. Why give your competition info that may help them.

If they say they found and corrected it, just take it at face value. You don't have to believe them if you don't want to. But, they owe us no explaination if they are fixing it (which they are).

Hey - maybe it was something so silly they don't want to tell for that reason. But even if that is the case, the above policy (if it exists) would apply and be a good idea.

I will mention something that Paul said in an open forum before. He said the beta units showed none of the issues, so it's obviously not something that was an error in design. They had the process down and something went wrong. What's that saying? Something happens?

Joe M.

 

[dgoodson]

Can someone point me to ez instructions for how to update the firmware inot the radio from my pc. I don't want to screw this up!

thanks

 

[loumaag]

Can someone point me to ez instructions for how to update the firmware inot the radio from my pc. I don't want to screw this up!

thanks

After downloading the updater program (it ends in ".EXE") and the firmware update (it ends in ".SCN") and making sure your browser has not changed the names of either, just run the updater program in "Guided" mode. It will walk you through the steps.

 

[wesct]

They were in stock and shipped to me testerday at 3PM. I paid for Overnight so I am expecting it anytime.

Darren
KG4OMX

thats great. i was told everyone was sold out.

wesct

 

[Schnoor1648]

I have searched this thread, but I can't seem to find the definitive answer to this question. Can this be configured to that I can scan a number of frequencies with PL or DPL enabled, but scan still others and have it search for the tones? I read about this in the thread for the 246 and it appears if the 246 can do this. I suspect that the 396 can, also, but I am looking for confirmation. I have a a BC796D now and it, of course, is global meaning that if I turn on the tone search it is on for all and the channels. I also seem to recall that it displays either PL or DPL almost instantly without having to select one or the other first.

 

[Schnoor1648]

Just to give a follow-up on this, what I sometimes like to do is load up a number of frequencies sequentially and search for activity. For example, before the 7.5 kHz channels on VHF high band, I would program up say 150.80 to 154.445 and then 154.650 to 156.24o etc. When I found the correct PL or DPL I would enter it and then lock it out if I was just looking for activity. With the 246, and hopefully the 396, it sounds like I could enter the correct tone when found and keep scanning frequencies looking for the correct PL or DPL. On channels with multiple tones it is a little for cumbersone, but that is part of the challenge.

 

[John_M]

Yes the BCD396T can do this. To store a tone for a specific frequency you have to first select the frequency to search for tones. When the tone is captured it flashes the specific tone during the transmisssion. To store the tone for the frequency you have to go through the menu and it will show you a list of all possible tones, you pick the one that was displayed during the transmission and store it for that frequency. As far as global search the only way you can do this is to use software and set each frequency to search for tones.

For multiple tones used on the same frequency just put the frequncy in more than once.