Official BCD396T Discussion Thread (Post-release)

[PanJurekMrJerry]

It was recently discussed at a meeting that you can(?)put more then one M.A.R.C.S.
site into the BCD396T.

Okay, what I forgot to ask was this:

If I was to put in all the Cuyahoga County Sites.
Would I have to put the Talk Groups just once or for every site that I put in, do I have to duplicate the
Talk groups that many times?

I ask this because I think that with the Pro-96; you just program in the Control Frequencies into one bank and all the Talk groups go into that bank just once.

I hope that I am expressing this correctly and NOT confusing anybody.

M.A.R.C.S. = Multi-Agency Radio Communications System (Ohio's Statewide Radi oSystem)

 

[rdale]

You have to duplicate, as soon as it gets a CC in a system it does not search that system for addl CC's.

 

[wesct]

All scanners that came on the first shippment from Asia came with 1.06 firmware. All 1.07 came later unless the Scanner dealers upgraded the firmware for us, which is highly unlikely.

where i work, all of the radios that go through me for shipping, get the latest firmware update. yes, not all dealers do this, but i do.

wesct

 

[james_garner]

Newbie needs help.

Just received my 396 from Jeff at HRO. I can not pick anything up. The preloaded items for my area (Dallas) do not work. I keep getting a "finding ctrl chan" message. I updated the firmware.

I also do not see a signal strength meter.

I am afraid I am missing something basic here. Any help would be appreciated.

James
N5OOO

 

[hiegtx]

James,
Whereabouts in Dallas are you and what are you trying to listen to?
City of Dallas public safety is primarily on Uhf; very few active talk groups on the Motorola trunked system. Those are a few police groups, mostly deployment operations, not patrol districts.

Have you downloaded the programming software yet? Makes setup a lot easier.

Seve

 

[jsf]

BCD396T FAQ or Tutorial?

Just received my 396 from Glenn at Scanners Unlimited. Very good experience - Glenn is willing to answer questions and help.

This is my first Uniden scanner and I realize there will be a learning period required. I did a FAQ search for the scanner and searched for tutorial, but did not find anything - maybe I did something dumb in my search.

Is there a tutorial or FAQ, or even better, something like an operations guide? The owner's manual looks like a good reference manual, but to a newbie, does not really explain how to perform common operations. Not asking to repeat the owner's manual, but maybe for the operations to point to which feature or sequence of features in the owner's manual are applicable.

Thanks,

John

 

[walter900]

Join the yahoo group for the 396.

In the 396 file section, a member posted a 396 cheat list of keypad shortcuts/quick keys. It is set up so that after it is printed out,it can be folded for pocket use.

 

[jsf]

Join the yahoo group for the 396.

In the 396 file section, a member posted a 396 cheat list of keypad shortcuts/quick keys. It is set up so that after it is printed out,it can be folded for pocket use.

Thanks - I did not see that in the files section, but there was an FAQ in the Database section.

 

[walter900]

sorry...... yep...... the faq in database section.

I hope this helps some....

 

[lynnk]

Assistance in Programming Charles Co MD

I need some advice on programming the Charles Co MD trunking system (A42E) on my 396T. The system is a Motorola Type II Smartzone / Analog and APCO-25.

I connected directly to RadioReference with ARC396 and loaded the system into my database. The radio sees the system ... if you hold it on the control channel it shows the talkgroups that are being used but when scanning no audio comes thru ... occassionally you will hear a partial transmission that cuts in and out.

I am not close to the system, but my RS PRO-96 picks the system up well with just the rubber duckie. I have even tried with the outside antenna to be sure I had plenty of signal.

The 396 is still using the Ver 1.07.01 firmware. I've tried setting P-25 levels to various settings but nothing seems to improve it.

anybody got any suggestions to make it work better?????

 

[dwlind]

New Firmware

I have also posted this in the "396T P25 decoding delay" thread.

I just checked on Uniden's website and it looks llike new firmware has been posted.

BCD396T_V1_09_00.scn - Improves missed decoding of digital audio. Says the release date was 9/21.

http://www.uniden.com/rn_productsupport_downloads.cfm?product=BCD396T

Doug

 

[safetyobc]

??? Wonder why it wasn't announced?

Also, the firmware version shows 1.09.00 or whatever version you are running, what are the last two .00 stand for? Why put the last two on there if they weren't to be used? Just curious what they represent.

 

[robwilson]

??? Wonder why it wasn't announced?

It wasn't actually available until this morning. I don't know why 9/21 was used as the release date unless it was being tested.

Rob

 

[UPMan]

Sorry, I'm on vacation, so this was released by the engineers.


Yes, new version. Should dramatically improve digital signal unmuting over 1.08.

 

[Chicagostretch02]

Version 1.09 Does it include all fixes for 1.07 & 1.08?

I got my 396 last week from Glenn at Scanners Unlimited. Downloaded the UASD software. Very easy to use....Thanks UPMan! I went to upgrade for 1.07 to avaoid that 1.08 mess that was recently reported. Didn't see it on Uniden's site but now 1.09 is available.

Does the 1.09 cover all the upgrades of the 1.07 and 1.08 plus whatever is new?....

Thanks in advance.

Brian

 

[MarkEagleUSA]

Does the 1.09 cover all the upgrades of the 1.07 and 1.08 plus whatever is new?....

Yes, all updates include the changes made in previous versions.

 

[Chicagostretch02]

Thanks Mark!!!!.....and UPMan

Yes, all updates include the changes made in previous versions.

Thanks for the quick reply.

On a separate note: UPMan, I cannot see me ever buying another brand as long as you are around. The 246 is great. The 396 is, as well. And I played with the software last night and actually had fun!!!!!!! My hat goes off to you......and those on these groups that are patient, knowledgeable and share their insight.

THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!

Brian in Chicago

 

[troymail]

I've upgraded to 1.09.... listening to the new Fort Meade Maryland 380Mhz P-25 system. This update definately improve digital decoding but I'm noticing that if you're not holding on a specific talkgroup, you miss entire replies... in fact, even holding, there are parts of the conversation that is completely missed. It could be that the signal is weak but I'm not that far away and the analog system it recently replaced was also very strong...

So, at the moment, it appears that your need to sit on a TG or set delay or hold to a long duration and hope they key up in that period (although I haven't confirmed latter really helps)

 

[BadRambo]

Key Tricks - 396T - Looking for List

Hello All ----
Saw several folks commenting about the key tricks for the 396T. I too looked in the files section and found nothing. Does anyone have this "mystery" list available or can you provide a URL hyperlink to it somewhere??

Getting my new 396T tomorrow and would sure like to have the list handy.

Regards/Thanks --- BR

 

[suttles1972]

To all who downloaded the new firmware update, do you notice any significant improvement on the 396's performance?