Official BCD396T Discussion Thread (Pre-release)

[safetyobc]

Cool 8) Now to come up with $40 more. Hard enough to get the $525.00 plus shipping

The software will likely have to wait (I'll use the supplied USAD) because after I spend $525 on a scanner and my wife strokes out, I have to buy the $25 case to protect my investment.

I hope that Uniden steps up and sends enough on the first shipments that I don't have to get put on backorder for a month or more! I didn't have to wait for the 246T, but the only one I found on the entire world wide web, I had to pay $10 more than other dealers were selling them for. I already know the dealer I want to buy from, I just hope all the dealers get a good supply, at least enough to keep up with the first surge in demand! There were serious shortages of the 246 for several weeks.

Paul, do you have any idea if they will be shipping more of the 396 than they did on the 246?

 

[safetyobc]

Frequency coverage will match or better the coverage in the BC296D. Yes, Mil-Air is in the spec.

Doesn't the BC296D have the FM and TV Audio? Will the BCD396T have this too? When I had my 250D I liked to listen to FM audio sometimes if I were stuck where there was no radio, it is just a neat feature to have around. It was also fun just to tell people who asked what I had was just a FM radio, tune a station in and they give me a funny look! :lol: I hope the 396 at covers the FM audio freqs.

 

[Dubbin]

UASD demo is that it limits you to writing only 4 systems to the scanner. All other functions (reading from the scanner, editing all system types, scanner control, etc) work in the demo without restriction.

Scanner Control and ID logging does not work with the demo I have (V1.0). The little scanner pops up and shows everything working but nothing happens when I click on any of the buttons. The logging just sits there and does nothing.
BTW they link to the software on the BC246T page on Unidens website takes you back to Unidens homepage and not to the software demo.

 

[Steve2003]

Gommert,
It would be really cool if you could record to small divx files with low resolution or something of that nature. It would be neat to see what frequency/talkgroup the scanner is recording without having to cross reference log files.

 

[Butelsoftware]

I had some requests for mp3 so I'm looking into that, wav files with lower resolution are not that big and are easy to convert to mp3.
The file name will have freq/id/tag and time/date stamp.

Gommert

 

[Dubbin]

I had some requests for mp3 so I'm looking into that, wav files with lower resolution are not that big and are easy to convert to mp3.
The file name will have freq/id/tag and time/date stamp.

Gommert

Whoa you're not going to have it make a new file everytime someone keys up are you???

 

[scannerfreak]

Cool 8) Now to come up with $40 more. Hard enough to get the $525.00 plus shipping

The software will likely have to wait (I'll use the supplied USAD) because after I spend $525 on a scanner and my wife strokes out, I have to buy the $25 case to protect my investment.

:lol: Especially when you already own 2 $500 scanners...Try to convince her that you need a 3rd

 

[Dubbin]

:lol: Especially when you already own 2 $500 scanners...Try to convince her that you need a 3rd

Thats easy to do. Just tell her it's Radio Money My wife has never complained about the dozens of radios I have bought by using the radio money statment. I also save all my change everyday and that gets me on the average of 2-3 decent radios a year.

 

[kikito]

I also save all my change everyday and that gets me on the average of 2-3 decent radios a year.

Yep, if people were saving a $1.50 a day, in a year that's almost $550. So, the people that started saving the day the BCD396T was announced, by the time they release it, they'll have the money to get it! :wink:

 

[Dubbin]

I haven't cashed in since Dayton of last year so I am good to go. I average just over $2 a day in change

 

[Voyager]

Frequency coverage will match or better the coverage in the BC296D. Yes, Mil-Air is in the spec.

Doesn't the BC296D have the FM and TV Audio? Will the BCD396T have this too? When I had my 250D I liked to listen to FM audio sometimes if I were stuck where there was no radio, it is just a neat feature to have around. It was also fun just to tell people who asked what I had was just a FM radio, tune a station in and they give me a funny look! :lol: I hope the 396 at covers the FM audio freqs.

The 396 will cover all FM and TV CHs 2-21 (I think that's the upper limit). It won't cover all the UHF channels. This was sort of confirmed on the BR330 thread or the yahoo group. (posts were made about the gap on the 396)

I honestly don't know offhand what the 296 has coverage-wise.

Joe M.

 

[Butelsoftware]

Whoa you're not going to have it make a new file everytime someone keys up are you???

Yes it will create seperate files like ARC250PRO.

Gommert[/quote]

 

[Dubbin]

Yes it will create seperate files like ARC250PRO.

Gommert

Bummer!!! I'm not liking that at all. I don't like the idea of having thousands of audio files a day.

 

[cellblock776]

The 396 will cover all FM and TV CHs 2-21 (I think that's the upper limit). It won't cover all the UHF channels. This was sort of confirmed on the BR330 thread or the yahoo group. (posts were made about the gap on the 396)

Joe M.

Bummer. I for one enjoy tuning the TV audio to listen too on my commute to and from work. Yes I have a small portable TV I could use but when I'm driving I don't need to be looking at the screen and only need the audio. Having it come from my scanner is convinient in that if I pull up somewhere and get out, (gas station, fast food, etc) I can take the scanner with me and listen via a ear plug. There's plenty of reasons to include UHF TV audio and I'm dissapointed that this highend scanner omits those frequencies.

 

[John_M]

I ordered my BCD396T 5/21/05 from www.Hamstation.com

 

[karldotcom]

296D now or 396T in the fall?

Should I get a 296D or a 396D?

Already have the Butel250Pro software for my 796D, so I could use that with the 296D......and I have heard the sensitivity on the new scanner is worse.

Has anyone else made this decision?

 

[John_M]

I haven't made that particular decision but I would get the BCD396T. I ordered mine from www.Hamstation.com and I received an email and it told me that I am number 5 on the list and they are expecting it in late July. No charge on credit card until shipped.

 

[Dubbin]

Re: 296D now or 396T in the fall?

and I have heard the sensitivity on the new scanner is worse.

Has anyone else made this decision?

Its kind of hard to make that decision when the final product has not even been released yet.

 

[Voyager]

Re: 296D now or 396T in the fall?

Should I get a 296D or a 396D?

Already have the Butel250Pro software for my 796D, so I could use that with the 296D......and I have heard the sensitivity on the new scanner is worse.

If the specs are the same (they are in the manual, but I haven't checked), I would go with the 396 just based on the features. With the 396, you will get Close Call, Fire Tone Out, a much smaller unit, and 6000 dynamic channels! Seems to me to be a 'no brainer'.

Where (and more importantly WHEN) did you hear that the 396 was worse sensitivity-wise? I didn't know they had production going on them yet (which means the design is not final and sensitivity could be affected). If you heard this a month ago, I'm sure they weren't finished with them yet. After all, there are still 2 months or more left until they are going to be available. Maybe the test was done with a prototype which surely will not be the same quality build as a final unit.

Joe M.

 

[safetyobc]

This has most likely been posted here before but I didn't see it. These are some of the best pics of the 396 I have found on the WWW. http://www.wayneclemons.com/scanner.html