poltergeisty said:
Ok Uniden has me confused with this new scanner. I do own the bc296d and I liked being able to select each bank for the towers I want to listen to, then press the decimal to change what talk group lists I want to listen to. I organize mine with PD in one list 1-10, fire 2-10 , mutual aids 3-10 and so fourth. So it seems that there is just a quick key to scan the whole damn thing you program for that key. I hope you can enable or disable talk groups on the fly while scanning like the 296 can do.
There has to be banks for conventional with the 396 right? I will try and read the manual again but it's not really in order. You have to go from one section to another. Pita. :x :?
If you like the bank/key concept, just program your systems on the Quick Keys the same way your current banks work. Just think of it as being able to program any number of systems (3 Motorola trunks, 2 EDACS, 4 LTR, and some Conventional) on the same 'bank key'.
You can program your police in one group, fire in another, Etc.
In fact, if you want to get really retro about it, you can assign each channel a bank and channel name, have each group have XX channels, and set it up like your BC296D. You can even program only one system on a System Quick Key and use only the first 10 System Quick Keys to emulate your BC296D's bank keys.
The only thing you would really lose is the direct channel entry. Instead, you would use the RECALL to select the system, group, and channel or hit the HOLD button and scroll to the one you want.
No, there are no 'banks' for ANYTHING.
Sorry if this isn't your cup of tea, but it works out much better for 99.5% of the users. Maybe you're in the other 0.5%. On the other hand, give it a try. You may find you like it much better.
I know many services in my area don't use even numbers of TGs for their operations. Some have 2 TGs and others have 15. Some use a few channels while others use dozens. The dynamic memory really cuts down on the memory waste of using up 20 channels for 2 frequencies, or needing 51 when you only have 50 available.
Yes, it is confusing. So was trunktracking when it came out. Today, some users still have trouble understanding how to program a trunked system, but a lot more know now than knew when they came out.
As someone else said... 'This ain't your father's scanner'
While some people like the cars of the 50s, some want the benefits the more modern cars offer such as XM radio, automatic headlights, airbags, and compact size.
Uniden is certainly on the move in scanner design again. You either learn to keep up or you will get left behind - the same as just about anything else you do in life.
I guess that's enough to the analogies. 8)
I think dynamic memory is here to stay from the reaction (and volume) of the BC246T buyers and the street talk about the BCD396T. When is the last time a scanner was out of stock so frequently in recent history? They can't make the BC246T fast enough!
Joe M.
the scanner doesnt have banks. and to clarify about the 20 groups, it 20 sets of frequencies/TG for each system. also... its a 200 TG limit... a 400 system limit.
