Official BR330T Discussion Thread

[nbv4]

Hi, I'm new to scanners and I have a question about my BR330T scanner. First off, it's totally non-intuitive (to me) and it would be great if someone could point me into the direction of a nice guide to scanning for a total newb such as myself.

I don;t know what I'm doing wrong, but whenever I want to listen to a frequency, I get this weird "on and off" effect. For instance, I live about 3000 feet away from a ATC tower, but when I enter the tower frequency, I get about one second of audio, then one second of silence, then one second of audio, etc. It's not a problem with getting a weak signal, because the one second of audio is crystal clear. I tried adjusting the squelch, adjusting the different modulation modes, and some other things, but it still does it. Anyone know whats going on here? It does this with any frequency I try, even blank white noise frequencies.

 

[fuzzymoto]

Sounds like you have either Close Call, Priority or Weather Prioirty on. The gap is caused by the scanner pausing to check these features (i.e. looking for a close signal, looking for activity on your priority channels...). Turn them off and the gap in sound will go away.

 

[Stoat]

Is the 330T Still the one to get?

Hello all,

New RR member here, and I'm considering the 330T as my first scanner.

I want a handheld unit and (at this point) am interested in listening exclusively to Public Safety, which in my area (Seattle) I understand is analog and so I guess I don't need the BCD 396T quite yet.

I'm attracted to the 330T by it's continuous frequency coverage as compared with the current 246T as well as it's compatability with the BC-RH96 remote head unit, which seems like it would be a great automotive accessory. If Seattle changes to digital then the remote head would still be compatible with the BCD 396T.

I'm wondering if there is anything else on the market that I should consider, given my intended use?

Thanks very much for any advice

 

[n2mdk]

As long as you can get one at a decent price there is nothing else on the market that comes close to doing what the BR330T does. I love mine, it really is too bad that Uniden discontinued it. Scannerworld still has some in stock http://www.scannerworld.com/content/product/model/BR330T

 

[tbenedict]

I would also look at the Radio Shack PRO-97. I have both. The 330 has more features and feels more durable, but the PRO-97 seems more sensitive and runs much longer on the batteries. The 97 also has stronger audio and costs less when they are on sale for ~150.

Hello all,

New RR member here, and I'm considering the 330T as my first scanner.

I want a handheld unit and (at this point) am interested in listening exclusively to Public Safety, which in my area (Seattle) I understand is analog and so I guess I don't need the BCD 396T quite yet.

I'm attracted to the 330T by it's continuous frequency coverage as compared with the current 246T as well as it's compatability with the BC-RH96 remote head unit, which seems like it would be a great automotive accessory. If Seattle changes to digital then the remote head would still be compatible with the BCD 396T.

I'm wondering if there is anything else on the market that I should consider, given my intended use?

Thanks very much for any advice

 

[Stoat]

Thank you

Hello Jerri and tbenedict,

Thank you both so very much for your very helpful replies. I purchased a 330T and it should arrive sometime next week

tbenedict, regarding the Radio Shack PRO-97 I will probably end up getting one of those as well; thanks very much for the recommendation. I'm starting with the 330T because, as you say, it has a few more features and I want very much for my first scanner to be a 'learning platform' that will allow me pretty much full and unfettered access to most important scanner functions including the computer interface functions. I'll definitely keep an eye out for sales on the Pro-97, however, and I do appreciate your pointing me in the proper direction.

Best wishes to you both and thanks again

 

[maalox]

Hello Jerri and tbenedict,

Thank you both so very much for your very helpful replies. I purchased a 330T and it should arrive sometime next week

tbenedict, regarding the Radio Shack PRO-97 I will probably end up getting one of those as well; thanks very much for the recommendation. I'm starting with the 330T because, as you say, it has a few more features and I want very much for my first scanner to be a 'learning platform' that will allow me pretty much full and unfettered access to most important scanner functions including the computer interface functions. I'll definitely keep an eye out for sales on the Pro-97, however, and I do appreciate your pointing me in the proper direction.

Best wishes to you both and thanks again

hi i just bought another 330t from scannerworld for $234. i highly recommend them.

 

[dave3825]

TV search, Wow a feature my 330 will render useless when ever they make the switch. Will the TV service search be removed from the 330 in the firmware update???????

 

[oregontreehugger]

More like a feature made useless by bumbling politicians in Washington D.C., not Uniden.

 

[scanman78]

Need some Help

Hi everyone,

I am new to the site and new to trunking scanners. I have owned scanners for many years and I am a retired volunteer firefighter. You never lose that need to listen to what is going on around you. I recently purchased a BR330T. Most of our county dispatches for Fire, Police and Ems are still on analog type systems. However I do have some small towns around me that use trunking systems. The one that I am most interested in supposedly uses the Motorola Type II Smartzone system. I have programmed the scanner using the uniden directions for the Motorola systems but I am not getting any hits. I have all of the frequencies and talkgroup IDs and installed them but still nothing. Does anyone have any idea what may be happening with these frequencies or any ideas of what else I can try? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bill

 

[UPMan]

Bill, tell us which specific system so we can be more specific in our reply.

Also, how far away from the Motorola system are you? (Typical solid receive range without some kind of outside or otherwise enhanced antenna is 15-25 miles from the antenna site, but YYMV.)

 

[2ManyToys]

Hi everyone,

I am new to the site and new to trunking scanners. I have owned scanners for many years and I am a retired volunteer firefighter. You never lose that need to listen to what is going on around you. I recently purchased a BR330T. Most of our county dispatches for Fire, Police and Ems are still on analog type systems. However I do have some small towns around me that use trunking systems. The one that I am most interested in supposedly uses the Motorola Type II Smartzone system. I have programmed the scanner using the uniden directions for the Motorola systems but I am not getting any hits. I have all of the frequencies and talkgroup IDs and installed them but still nothing. Does anyone have any idea what may be happening with these frequencies or any ideas of what else I can try? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Bill

Bill, does that site use P25 or some other digital voice? if so the BR330T won't do it, as I understand it. You'd need a digital scanner like the BCD396T for that type of system.

If you can post or PM me the State/County/system your working with I could check the RR database to see if its digital or analog.

 

[scanman78]

The system is posted as Motorola Type II Smartzone. The location is the city of Reading PA. The PD, FD and EMS all run on the same system and its my understanding that the EMS and PD run on APCO-25 Digital but the FD runs on analog . The FD is what I am really trying to pick up. I am no more than about 5 or 6 miles away however I was speaking to someone yesterday that said the way the city has the transmitters set up there is a possibility I will not pick it up unless I would be closer to the city limits. The city sits in some what of a valley and the transmitters are set to serve just the city area. It may be that I am just not in a good geographical location to pick it up, especially with only a handheld unit. I have the opportunity to work in the city from time to time and plan on taking it with me when I do. I may have to wait until then to see if it working properly. Do you feel location with this type of system may be the reason I am not picking them up??

Thanks for responding to my questions,

Bill

 

[scanman78]

The location again is PA, county of Berks and the City of Reading.

Thanks, Bill

 

[scanman78]

Trunking

Ok it does seem to be working on the city frequencies to the East of me. I think the city to the west is blocked by some hills and the direction of the transmitter placement may be an issue as well. I may try to purchase a different antenna for it and see if that helps as well.
Thanks for the responses, Bill

 

[skrypka]

Programing br330t with computer

Hi there everyone, I just got my br330t and am very excited to get right into it. My previous scanner was a Pro-90.

I'm just wondering if there is a USB cable for this scanner or do I have to find the serial cable and use that? The software that I have downloaded all looks like they use serial only.

Also, does anyone have the pin-outs for that cable? I'm having a hard time finding the serial cable.

Thanks!

 

[N9JIG]

Youcan get the USB-1 cable from ScannerMaster at Uniden USB Cable, cost is $29.95

It also works for the other current Uniden scanners, like the BC15, BCD996T, BCD396T, BCD396XT, etc.

It works with all software packages, like FreeScan, ARC330, UASD etc.

Hi there everyone, I just got my br330t and am very excited to get right into it. My previous scanner was a Pro-90.

I'm just wondering if there is a USB cable for this scanner or do I have to find the serial cable and use that? The software that I have downloaded all looks like they use serial only.

Also, does anyone have the pin-outs for that cable? I'm having a hard time finding the serial cable.

Thanks!

 

[tbenedict]

Hi there everyone, I just got my br330t and am very excited to get right into it. My previous scanner was a Pro-90.

I'm just wondering if there is a USB cable for this scanner or do I have to find the serial cable and use that? The software that I have downloaded all looks like they use serial only.

Also, does anyone have the pin-outs for that cable? I'm having a hard time finding the serial cable.

Thanks!

I bought this adaptor for my laptop and it has worked fine so far.

DealExtreme: $4.39 USB to RS232 Dongle with Extension Cable

 

[tbenedict]

I bought this adaptor for my laptop and it has worked fine so far.

DealExtreme: $4.39 USB to RS232 Dongle with Extension Cable

After playing some more, it seems to work fine with BcTool, but I have not been able to update the firmware with it.

 

[klsand]

Paul I have to ask what the deal is the the NASCAR logo? Personally I feel that it gives what seems to be a very nice radio a cheap toy look to it. Other then that all of the features look great.

A small piece of black electrical tape covers mine