Official Uniden BC246T Scanner Thread

[hjvan]

Has anyone contacted Scanner Master to ask when they expect to receive / ship out their bc246ts? One thing to consider (which may or may not have a significant impact) is that Scanner Master is based out of Massachusetts, which is obviously quite a distance from Ft. Worth TX. So some of these other dealers in the mid west and along the west coast may be receiving their orders sooner. Just a thought. [/quote]

 

[rreed4]

Received my BC246 today from Hamstation. Able to program just one channel right now at work (I do have to work sometime). Audio quality is very good so far but don't know if good enough for mobile use. I did not plan on using it for vehicle use anyway.

Thanks to Jeff at Hamstation.

 

[MB]

Grove

Has anyone heard anything from Grove about when they will be shipping? I have one on order from them.

The last I heard (talked with Lucy on the phone last week) was that they would be receiving enough to fill all of their pre-orders by the end of this week! I am impatiently waiting for the shipping confirmation email..

 

[kingpin]

I talked to Grove yesterday and the lady said they won't be getting anymore in until next week early but those are already spoken for so they are trying to find another vendor to get them from.

 

[Admin0140434]

talked to scanner master 5 minutes ago. mine was shipped this AM. apparently they have a distributor in md, so i should get it tomorrow or monday. YAY.

 

[KC1UA]

I've been a long time Hamstation customer and received mine from them today. Reading through the available .pdf manual download prior to obtaining the radio was a significant plus. I had my local MA State Police zone programmed and running in ID Search mode in about 2 minutes, and a 900 MHz LTR system (also in ID search mode) in just about the same time. The menuing system is pretty easy to navigate through and the programming is simple after it's done once or twice. It will be a godsend to have some software though, as programming by hand could otherwise intensify my already well in progress Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Close Call is in a word: awesome! What a great feature. I'm not in a location conducive to good monitoring right now and have only received one CC hit (the transmitter for the PD I work at) with it activated while in scanning mode, but it appears to be fast and efficient. Having CC on during scanning reminds me of a scanner sampling a priority channel. There is a very quick drop of received audio, but it's unobtrusive to listening, IMHO.

This is going to be a fun one, to be certain! So far, and it's early yet, nothing but positives! Nice job, Uniden.

 

[cliffcor]

talked to scanner master 5 minutes ago. mine was shipped this AM. apparently they have a distributor in md, so i should get it tomorrow or monday. YAY.

They shipped mine too. I tried to get in and ask for one of the UPS air services, but I was too late. Based on where I'm at (Wa State), I won't see mine until after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Had they shipped it one day earlier (Yesterday), I'd have it next Wednesday with the long weekend to get to know it.
Darn.

 

[Admin0140434]

ok... i have the tracking number for my shipment... but everytime i go to the ups website... it tells me its an invalid tracking number. i checked the number, made sure it was right... and on "my accout" at scannermaster.com, it tells me it was shipped "PRIORITY MAIL/UPS". is there a different website i need to visit? trying to find out when it will be here, so i know what day to take off work.

 

[UPMan]

The tracking number is created when the retailer creates the bill of lading. However, the package is typically not trackable until the next day.

 

[bcradio]

It ususally takes a number of hours for it to show up in the system. Be patient, it's coming ;-)

 

[jmm346]

If its "Priority Mail" its from USPS (not UPS).

usps.com - US Postal Service
ups.com - United Parcel Service

USPS is updated nightly.
UPS is usually updated within minutes of each hand-off during transit.

John

 

[cliffcor]

The Scannermaster orders seem to be UPS. I really tanked on this pre-order deal. Mon after Thanksgiving is my delivery date. First pre-order of a new product, and this will teach me to wait, and get it quicker from stock.

 

[SCPD]

with ups, it depends when the packsges sre picked up. thats when the barcode reader confirms the pickup. when the ups software is closed for the day, its at least an hour or two before the tracking number(s) show up in the system.

bill simpson

 

[Landman]

Just a few questions to help me organize the systems I will be programming,

1- Does the priority feature work for trunked talkgroups like on previous Uniden models (meaning can you hold on one talkgroup and turn priority on to monitor just a few select trunked talkgroups) or does it just work for conventional channels?

2- If priority works with trunked talkgroups, can you designate more than one talkgroup within a group list as a priority channel?

3- Memory capacity notwithstanding, is there a limit to the number of systems that you can assign to one quick key?

4- Can you "skip" quick keys for channel groups within a system. For example can I assign certain groups to quick keys 1 and 2, skip 3 and assign another group to 4?

 

[UPMan]

1- Does the priority feature work for trunked talkgroups like on previous Uniden models or just for conventional channels?

You can assign conventional channels as priority channels.

2- If priority works with trunked talkgroups, can you designate more than one talkgroup within a group list as a priority channel?

There are no limits to the number of priority channels you assign. But, if you assign too many the scanning performance will degrade (as will the value of the term "priority").

3- Memory capacity notwithstanding, is there a limit to the number of systems that you can assign to one quick key?

200 (which is also the total limit on the number of systems you can store in the scanner).

4- Can you "skip" quick keys for channel groups within a system. For example can I assign certain groups to quick keys 1 and 2, skip 3 and assign another group to 4?

You can skip quick keys. You can leave channel groups without any quick key assignment. For example, on several systems I have the PD Emergency, SWAT, and similar channels in a channel group that is not assigned to a quick key. They are always scanned when I am scanning that system.

Similarly, you don't have to assign a quick key to a system. I have one system that always scans...has things like 121.5 (air emergency) and the like programmed in.

 

[rdale]

Hi.

 

[kxrider11]

ok... i have the tracking number for my shipment... but everytime i go to the ups website... it tells me its an invalid tracking number. i checked the number, made sure it was right... and on "my accout" at scannermaster.com, it tells me it was shipped "PRIORITY MAIL/UPS". is there a different website i need to visit? trying to find out when it will be here, so i know what day to take off work.

I just bought mine from scanners-r-us and it just shiped out like yours i tried to track it and i cannot track it either i am going to try again later. I cant wait to get it at my hands.

 

[Landman]

Thanks for the reply UPman. I think I am really going to enjoy the versatility of this scanner. It's a radical departure from the way memory was organized in the past. I have been organizing some data and it looks like it will have enough memory to program all the LE agencies, FD's and EMS agencies along all the highways that I regularly travel as I make my way around the state.

 

[KC1UA]

For what it's worth, I scratched together a quick out of the box report, with the thought that someone might perhaps find it of a little help and encouragement if they could read something from an already satisfied end-user of the product.

http://www.scanmassachusetts.net/misc/bc246t.htm

Please excuse the horrendously poor quality of the photos, my 1 mega pixel dinosaur of a camera is seemingly on its last legs. I'd buy a new camera...but the darndest thing is....I keep buying these new scanners instead...

 

[UPMan]

I was reading and typing priority and remembering channel alert. You are right, conventional only on priority (I've revised my original reply so as to limit confusion for those who read it later).

Paul