Question about UNIDEN BC296D

[ianfleming]

HI: Just purchased new UNIDEN BC296D scanner for my dispatcher daughter.....however did not realize the scanner required an APCO 25 upgrade.
Is this a chip, or something that will plug into the radio and enable it to receive digital transmissions?
Her Department uses digital radios only.
Will gladly purchase the APCO 25 device....not even sure what it is...but I need it to work!! lol
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
My other email address is lef07k28@juno.com

 

[ve1sef]

I belive the 296 should already have the digital card in it.

 

[torontokris]

look under the battery pack if there is a green card there (with a black pull out strap on it ) thats the digital card.
also when u turn on the unit it should say APCO card installed, or not installed

 

[sacscan]

I bought a used BC296D from Craigslist that didn't come with the digital card. When I powered it up the display said "APCO 25 CARD NOT INSTALLED". When I pointed that out to the seller he let me have the radio for half price ($100).

The card that is supposed to come with the BC296D is the BCi96D. I emailed Uniden to see if I could purchase one and was told it was no longer sold. After doing a search here on RR I saw a post by UPMan saying that you can use the BCi25D card (made for the BC250D and BC785D scanners) in the BC296D or BC796D.

Uniden no longer sells the BCi25D, but you may be able to find one on ebay.

 

[ke4ksm]

Still looking for an answer

Just trying to understand if the APCO-25 is a plug in chip or card in the radio?
Can it be removed & inserted into another BC296D if I wanted to??

 

[minasha]

apco-P25

Hi,
It is not a chip it is a small printed circuit card that plugs into the unit.

 

[Dewey]

As mentioned in posts #2 & #3, the digital card comes with the 296 (it was an extra purchase for the older 250), and slide upwards into a slot in the battery bay. If you find that you do have the card installed, before you give up, check your options and make sure that the card is enabled.

Just an opinion here, and only if you we're not already aware... I don't think I'd pay more than $150.00 these days to be able to monitor and trunk track digital. With the size that digital systems are growing to (talkgroups), I would say dynamic memory is the only way to go. Since this is the Uniden forum, I would say that the "compitition" GRE's sometimes have great sales (I still prefer Uniden tho).

Dewey

 

[martyjess]

i sent you a picture of the digital card