Official BCD396T Discussion Thread (Pre-release)

[whooey]

My "Hold" is almost completely gone. The "E" key is showing considerable wear as is the "1" "2" and "3" keys. It upset me at first when they started wearing off, especially since 99.9% of my programming was with the ARC software. Very little key usage, except for the hold key using it for the obvious. Anyway, yeah the 246's keypad definately isn't the best. I had a BC250D and hand programmed all 1000 channels and never showed signs of wear. I was hoping that the BCD396T's keys would hold up better but according to Monitoring Times review, they may not.

Its really not a factor in performance, after you use it for a couple weeks you wont even need to read the buttons. The beuaty of this scanner is the lack of so many buttons!!!

 

[John_M]

Like Monitoring Times said, only time will tell. From what I understand and have read some of those keys are going to be used repeatedly.

Are the keys on the BC246T rubber?

 

[John_M]

Dumb question, light doesn't shine through rubber. Hopefully Uniden has fixed this problem with the BCD396T.

 

[safetyobc]

Not dumb, the 246T's keys are rubber (or similar material), and the keys on the 246 aren't backlit.

 

[John_M]

The keys on the BCD396T must be plastic.

 

[Voyager]

The keys on the BCD396T must be plastic.

Or a clear (maybe opaque) rubber...

Joe M.

 

[John_M]

Voyager wrote:

Or a clear (maybe opaque) rubber...

That is what the pictures look like. A clear rubber.

 

[Admin0140434]

ive had my 246 for about 8 months... programed all systems and channels by hand, and they keys show no sign of wear and tear

 

[h8tdigitalradio]

Hello,

Air490, the 396 performs well on MilAir. It does a nice job. But where the 396 really shines is its' ability to Track 380 MHz P25 Military Systems. While I was testing the unit at DAFB, the base system was used more than the Tower and Approach comms. Fantastic Audio!

Safetyobc, if you were near my neck of the woods, I would show you the radio, and buy you a beer. Seriously, the 396 has more stuff than was posted in the manual. Sometimes you want to let other users discover what the radio can do instead of telling them. If I said anything, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it? :roll:

Do you have your Fire Tone Out Tones ready? You will need them when you receive your radio. The 396 is a fine Tone Out pager. Tone Out is like receiving a new toy, except you play with the box. More comments to follow.

73

Dave AKA The Tripzter :shock:

 

[Admin0140434]

396... ability to Track 380 MHz P25 Military Systems...

seriously? cause i have like 10 of them here...

 

[LEH]

Admin0140434,

I wish I could say the same for the keys on my 246. at least two are no longer legible and haven't been for a couple of months now. We'll see how the 396 holds up shortly. It will probably be my prime scanner with the recent shift to a P25 system by my local safetry folks.

 

[h8tdigitalradio]

seriously? cause i have like 10 of them here...

Hello,

Yes, seriously. As long as the systems are unencrypted, you should have no problems Tracking these type of systems. The 396 tracks 380 MHz P25 systems just like any other system. I wish I had 10 to monitor!

73

Dave AKA The Tripzter :shock:

 

[safetyobc]

Hello,

Safetyobc, if you were near my neck of the woods, I would show you the radio, and buy you a beer. Seriously, the 396 has more stuff than was posted in the manual. Sometimes you want to let other users discover what the radio can do instead of telling them. If I said anything, it wouldn't be a surprise now would it? :roll:

Do you have your Fire Tone Out Tones ready? You will need them when you receive your radio. The 396 is a fine Tone Out pager. Tone Out is like receiving a new toy, except you play with the box. More comments to follow.

Hey man, I appreciate that! Thanks for the info and the offer!

 

[blantonl]

Ok, folks, this radio is out, and as such I am renaming this thread to the "Pre-release Official BCD396T Discussion Thread" and closing, and then starting a "Post-release Official BCD396T Discussion Thread"

Thanks to all!

Lindsay