Official Uniden BC246T Scanner Thread

[JnglMassiv]

How do I know when I am running off of AC power on a wall socket off of the car charger. Is there a display to show me?

There's no general indication for this. You could determine the power source during a few, admittedly contrived circumstances and is probably not what your interested in.

The first is if the low battery display indicator is lit. If you plug in and this goes away, its a good indication that you're on external power.

The second, included for completeness, is if the batteries are out of the radio. If the batteries are not installed and the radio is on, it must be running off an external power supply.

Other methods of determining power source would require aftermarket accessories (ie monitoring current at the power connector or installing an LED in the charging circuit.

Lame, I know. The question got me thinking about it though.

 

[Grog]

Your radio didn't come with a cable? Thats a real bummer.

Did you get it used? The cable comes with the new package.

Joe M.

Company unit I was helping out with, just a quick & dirty programming job. When I get the cable from the guy I'll program the company's 900 system. Too much alpha to do by hand

 

[brianfoy]

Free Audio Recording Software Avilable for 246T

Please see this post:

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=23886

Brian Foy

 

[ILbandit]

getting spoiled

I upgraded from a BCT8 to my 246.
I love the 246, does more than I expected!!

I am getting spoiled with the alpha tags, and channel set up.
It drives me nuts to use the BCT8 now, not having alpha, and having to use banks. I take the 246 wherever I go.

I know when I get my next scanner, there is no way I'll go back to not having alpha tags.

 

[mmartinfan]

OK someone advise on what a good amplified speak to use with the 246T, the one I was hoping to use did not work with the 246T. I need something small and mountable in a car.

 

[k9swx]

246T vs 245XLT/BC8T

I currently have a BC245XLT and BC8T, but I was considering selling them both to purchase a 246T. Besides the obvious advantages of tons more memory channels, alpha tagging, and the RF CloseCall feature, what other advantages or disadvantages would there be of 'upgrading' to the 246T? Has anyone done any side-by-side comparisons of these radios? I'm mainly curious to see how sensitive the receiver is in the 246T. I'd be using it with a normal stubby antenna as well as an external mag mount in the car. Most of what I would be monitoring is the conventional freqs as we don't have too many trunked systems around here.

Thanks to all!

Stan, K9SWX

 

[CAT]

Re: 246T vs 245XLT/BC8T

My BC245XLT is more sensitive than my BC246T in the 155MHz and 850MHz ranges. I don't know about anywhere else.

 

[ILbandit]

I think my 246 does every bit as well as the BCT8 that I have.

 

[ILbandit]

I think my 246 does every bit as well as the BCT8 that I have.

I barely even use the BCT8 now, The 246 is awesome.

 

[k9swx]

Well after hearing the wonderful reviews of the BC246T, I decided to get one. I was going to order one online, but then I found out that a ham dealer would be at an area hamfest this past Sunday. I was so excited that I emailed the dealer to assure myself that they would be bringing some BC246T's with them. They informed me that they'd be packing 2 in the box headed for the hamfest, so I knew I had to get there early. I got there and saw one left on the table, WHEW! He quoted me a price of $219 + tax (normally $229), so I probably saved a few bucks on shipping. (and who wants to wait for shipping!)

So after freezing the rest of the morning outside trying to sell/giveaway my old junk at the hamfest, I headed home to tinker with the scanner. The first thing I did was to delete all the preprogrammed junk that Uniden put in there. I must give some big props/thanks to Paul (username of Br0adband) for helping me quickly figure out some things on the BC246T. Like many of the others here, it was a bit different to program frequencies. However, it makes alot more sense now and I can't wait to see how fast I can fill up the frequencies. I also purchased the ARC246T software and it has to be one of the easiest and best programs out there to program this scanner. (the virtual control thing is cool too!)

I guess the only thing I need to do now is find a buyer for my BC245XLT and BCT8 so I can pay off this BC246T!! (if anyone is interested, PM or email me) Thanks again to all for recommending this scanner, I'm going to have alot of enjoyment with it!

Stan, K9SWX

 

[JnglMassiv]

I'm glad you like the BC246T. Its nice to have another fan on the boards. It is a great device and a wonderfully refined progression from the 245.

Perhaps you could do some side by side sensitivity experiments. There seems to be some demand for relative sensitivity data and reviews.

 

[k9swx]

If I don't sell them by this weekend, I will experiment with them. I've got them up for sale on several sites (including this one), so we'll see what happens. Thanks!

Stan

 

[slicerwizard]

Perhaps you could do some side by side sensitivity experiments. There seems to be some demand for relative sensitivity data and reviews.

Service monitor tests show:

245: 0.8 uV for full quieting @ 860 MHz

246: 3 uV for full quieting @ 860 MHz


Also, 246 overloads on 800 within a block of every cell site. Attenuator doesn't fix it.

 

[UPMan]

================= BC246T Firmware Updater Maintenance Release =============================

This maintenance release addresses some issues brought to our attention after we released the previous version. It does not include newer firmware, however if a customer has not been able to update the firmware due to problems using the previous installer, this release should take care of these issues. The updater can be downloaded from <http://www.uniden.com/rn_productsupport_downloads.cfm?product=BC246T>.

 

[pro92b]

20 dB Quieting Test, All Channels NFM Mode

Frequency BC246T BC796D BC780XLT
030.00000 0.28uV 0.34uV 0.44uV
040.00000 0.30uV 0.25uV 0.45uV
050.00000 0.29uV 0.25uV 0.43uV
125.00000 0.38uV 0.34uV 0.50uV
135.00000 0.36uV 0.31uV 0.43uV
144.00000 0.32uV 0.35uV 0.43uV
155.00000 0.33uV 0.29uV 0.42uV
170.00000 0.33uV 0.34uV 0.46uV
250.00000 ------ 0.27uV 0.40uV
300.00000 ------ 0.32uV 0.55uV
350.00000 ------ 0.34uV 0.24uV
410.00000 0.29uV 0.23uV 0.25uV
460.00000 0.32uV 0.23uV 0.26uV
500.00000 0.30uV 0.24uV 0.32uV
855.00000 0.38uV 0.41uV 1.20uV
935.00000 0.40uV 0.43uV 1.40uV

Note to Andy: Your results seem bad enough that I wonder if the attenuator is on. If not, your radio may be defective.

 

[multisync]

I have one VHF trunked system programmed and the tower site is about 30Klm (20 miles) from me and I find the receive sensitivity on this system poor with the rubber duck. With the ext. ant connected the reception improves a bit. Is it the site or is the 246T deaf on VHF?

 

[Dubbin]

Paul are you guys ever going to fix the link for the demo software for the 246 on Unidens site? Its the one listed under the PRODUCT FEATURE LIST on the 246 page. All it does now is take you back to the homepage.

 

[safetyobc]

The text on my keys is starting to rub off. I have only had this scanner for approx 3 months and I used ARC246 to totally program the scanner. I have added a few freqs and text by hand but not many. Mainly the keys showing the wear is the hold key, E key, and 3 key. I understand the hold and E keys becasue I push hold to hold on an active channel but the 3 key :? I had my 250D over a year and when I sold it the key pad looked like new. I am disappointed that the keys have shown wear so early. Is this under warranty? I surely hope that Uniden fixes this before the 396T comes out. I would be greatly disappointed if my $500 scanner's keypad is unreadable after 6 months. Another 3 months on the 246T and the "hold" won't even be legible.

 

[br0adband]

I would be greatly disappointed if my $500 scanner's keypad is unreadable after 6 months. Another 3 months on the 246T and the "hold" won't even be legible.

I don't mean to be facetious but after 6 months if you don't know that keypad backwards and forwards in your sleep or blindfolded, something is wrong.



I know it's a common complaint these days about the keypad wear and tear, but really, what can Uniden do about it? Any device using rubber keys with embedded or silkscreened characters on them is going to wear out and fade away after a non-specific amount of time.

I have an IBM ThinkPad laptop and the letters are just barely noticeable on the home keys, but that has no effect on my usage of the laptop. I know the keys on the laptop keyboard just as surely as I know the keypad on the 246T. Still to this day my only two "gripes" about the 246T are lack of the milair band and no backlit keypad - aside from that, it's the perfect non-digital scanner, in my opinion.

As for the 246T, it's not showing those signs of wear on the key labels just yet, but when it does, I don't expect to be able to send it back to Uniden for a replacement of the keypad.

That's just a bit much, right?

Paul

 

[safetyobc]

I don't mean to be facetious but after 6 months if you don't know that keypad backwards and forwards in your sleep or blindfolded, something is wrong.l

Not for me. Resale value will drop. I take care of my equipment but when there are a few keys missing the text, it drops the value of the radio or at least what people are willing to pay. I wouldn't buy a used radio missing numbers on the keypad.

Yes I do think Uniden should replace it (if I wanted to send it off), especially after only 3 months! Like I said I had my 250D for over a year and I hand programmed all 1000 channels not including talkgroups and never had any problem with keypad wear.