The BCD996XT is garbage compared to the BC780XLT

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qbertopp

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The online POS manual sucks and does not provide enough detail.

I have already programmed my scanner and it is trunking fine. The problem is that my 780XLT was great and allowed me to use the VFO to move through-out all my TG's. This new 996XT is useless compared to the ease of the 780. Can you please explain how I can manually scroll through my talkgroups. The only way I know is to hit the "hold" button but that just throws me into the control channel in I am in the ID SCAN mode. I want to be able to hit "hold" and move up and down my TG's without hearing or seeing the control channel or any other EDACS freqs that are programmed within the system that I am monitoring.

A few more questions below.....
1. Is there a way to display the TG's HEX or AFS numbers on the display while scanning even if you have given them a name like in the 780. **
2. When I turn the nob to the right I see the arrow going up, when I turn the nob to the left is shows pointing down. Is that the direction of the scan or something else.
3. What does the "SO" stand for and how is it used.


Thanks :(
 
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garys

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Press hold, then scroll the big silver knob righ and you will move through the talk groups. Or you could assign number tags to the talk groups and directly enter them.

The 996XT is a far, far, better scanner than the 780xlt was. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you figure it out you'll see that it has great features, better sensitivity, and does a ton of stuff that the 780xlt can't.
 

qbertopp

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Press hold, then scroll the big silver knob righ and you will move through the talk groups. Or you could assign number tags to the talk groups and directly enter them.

The 996XT is a far, far, better scanner than the 780xlt was. It takes a bit of getting used to, but once you figure it out you'll see that it has great features, better sensitivity, and does a ton of stuff that the 780xlt can't.

Do I have to hit the button to go into Function mode first or just press and hold.
 

kb8rvp

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Yes while you are receiving a transmission from the system you want to look at the talk groups for, just press hold and then turn the dial and you will see them.

It's a great scanner as you will soon find out.

Mike
 

qbertopp

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Yes while you are receiving a transmission from the system you want to look at the talk groups for, just press hold and then turn the dial and you will see them.

It's a great scanner as you will soon find out.

Mike

And if the scanner is on "ID SCAN" mode what will happen if I press and hold the silver knob. Will it do the same thing or does the system need to have voice activity for this feature to work.
 

RickLeb

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2. When I turn the nob to the right I see the arrow going up, when I turn the nob to the left is shows pointing down. Is that the direction of the scan or something else.
3. What does the "SO" stand for and how is it used.(

The up and down arrows do indicate the direction of the scan. Sometimes when I hear something I am interested in, and the scanner starts to scan again before I can hit hold, I reverse the scan direction to get back to the conversation quickly without waiting for it to go all the way around again.

The SO indicates that you are currently scanning systems between numbers 0-9. The flashing number to the right of the S0 will tell you the exact system you are scanning. If you were scanning system 57 you would see S5 (rather than S0) and the number 7 on the right would be blinking as well.

Rick
 

qbertopp

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Thanks guys, you have no idea how many hair follicles I have lost/pulled out since getting this scanner.
 

qbertopp

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Yes while you are receiving a transmission from the system you want to look at the talk groups for, just press hold and then turn the dial and you will see them.

It's a great scanner as you will soon find out.

Mike

Can the same thing be done if the scanner is on the "ID SCAN" mode. Or can it only be done when the scanner is on an active TG.
 

garys

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Can the same thing be done if the scanner is on the "ID SCAN" mode. Or can it only be done when the scanner is on an active TG.

Yes. Press the Hold/Resume button. That stops the scanner. Roll the scroll knob. Pressing the scroll knob activates "function". That does other things but has nothing to do with selecting talk groups or conventional frequencies. Pressing and holding the HOLD/Resume key will cause the scanner to say in scan mode, but only scan the particular system you are in. Which is handy but if you do that and don't know you've done it, will make you think the scanner isn't working correctly.
 

SuperTex

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Can the same thing be done if the scanner is on the "ID SCAN" mode. Or can it only be done when the scanner is on an active TG.

No you can access the TG the same way from ID Scan / Search.

If you want I've got some 780xlt's I'll deal you straight across for the 996xt :) Bear with it there is a learning curve compared to the 780. When the 780 came out it was the same if you remember. I lost a lot of hair with that unit back in the day :)
 

qbertopp

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What you guys suggested does not work. When I press and hold + turn the knob all I get is a bunch of custom scans and CB,HAM, mil stuff.
 

SuperTex

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What you guys suggested does not work. When I press and hold + turn the knob all I get is a bunch of custom scans and CB,HAM, mil stuff.

I have mine on "ID Search" but I pressed hold and turned the VFO knob and got my talkgroups. Don't push the VFO knob in. It's not like the 780 in that regard. Don't press and hold "hold"... just press it once.

I also removed all the preprogrammed stuff that came with the unit, as I'll never use any of it.
 

qbertopp

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I have mine on "ID Search" but I pressed hold and turned the VFO knob and got my talkgroups. Don't push the VFO knob in. It's not like the 780 in that regard. Don't press and hold "hold"... just press it once.

I also removed all the preprogrammed stuff that came with the unit, as I'll never use any of it.

Yes, that is what I am doing and I can get all my talkgroups, but if I turn the knob the other way I get the control channels and the other 800mhz freqs that are programmed into the site.

Also if I hit the "HOLD" when there is no activity it goes directly to the Control Channel. What am I doing wrong???
 

SuperTex

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I'm not sure what you want to do. We got you to the talkgroups...

There is a "easier to read user manual" in the Wiki section... That may help you.
 

garys

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What you guys suggested does not work. When I press and hold + turn the knob all I get is a bunch of custom scans and CB,HAM, mil stuff.

Somehow you've managed to get into the service search banks. I never use them, so I don't know how to get into or out of them. What we suggested works fine.
 

UPMan

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You do have to first program in the talk groups (I might have missed seeing you mention you had done that). Otherwise, it sounds like you are F+Scrolling instead of simply scrolling.
 

DJ88

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What you guys suggested does not work. When I press and hold + turn the knob all I get is a bunch of custom scans and CB,HAM, mil stuff.

In ID Scan or Search mode, you need to wait until a talk group becomes active. DON"T press hold and turn the VFO knob at the same time. Press hold and that holds the scanner on the active talk group. Remove your finger from the hold button. Then turn the VFO knob and it should scroll through the talk groups you have programmed. It will only scroll through talk groups you have programmed.
 

UPMan

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What you guys suggested does not work. When I press and hold + turn the knob all I get is a bunch of custom scans and CB,HAM, mil stuff.

I just caught what you said, here. Don't press and hold + turn the knob. Press HOLD while the scanner is on that system. Then turn the knob (pressing the knob activates "FUNC" which results in scrolling sites/systems/searches).
 

qbertopp

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BINGO !!!!!!!

That was what I was doing wrong. I misunderstood you guys. Sorry for all of the confusion. I appreciate all of your help.
 
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