Thinking of going digital (newbie)

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justice76

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Mar 19, 2005
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Hello all I have got a little money on my hands and thinking of jumping into a new digital scanner.. I currently have the BC235 bearcat.. Here are the things I like to do with my scanner.

1. I enjoy listing to the local police around the dallas area, I am finding it hard to understand who I am listing too I think the digital will help.

2. I like to listen to the airtraffic in the area.

3. I also like to monitor the storm chasers when we have severe weather.

Will I be able to countinue to do all of these things with the digital scanner. I am thinking about the BC296D or the BC250D
THanks for your time in helping me
 

hiegtx

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justice76 said:
Hello all I have got a little money on my hands and thinking of jumping into a new digital scanner.. I currently have the BC235 bearcat.. Here are the things I like to do with my scanner.

1. I enjoy listing to the local police around the dallas area, I am finding it hard to understand who I am listing too I think the digital will help.

2. I like to listen to the airtraffic in the area.

3. I also like to monitor the storm chasers when we have severe weather.

Will I be able to countinue to do all of these things with the digital scanner. I am thinking about the BC296D or the BC250D
THanks for your time in helping me
justice,
I would not consider the BC250D for several reasons, even though I own one. First, it will not be supported in rebanding. Whether that's a year or more off for us in the Dallas area, I couldn't say with certainty, other than it will happen eventually. Secondly, even with a digital card installed, the 250D can't handle a full 9600 baud APCO-25 system. It would, until rebanding, handle the mixed mode 3600 baud digital/analog systems in Grand Prairie and Mansfield, but not a system such as this. There's none in our area yet, but give it time. Also, with the 250, you are limited to 10 banks. Even though the banks are 100 channels each, you can only have one trunked system per bank. So, that's only 10 TRS systems total. Depending on where you live, whether you carry your scanner with you to/from work, etc, and what else you may listen to, you may well cross signal coverage with a dozen or more systems every day. (You can program additional conventional frequencies in the the same bank with the trunked system.) This model was discontinued several years ago, although used ones are still available, and a few dealers claim to have leftover stock. The digital card is hard to find (and sold separately!).

The 296 will be supported for rebanding, but has the same issue as far as 10 banks. It's been replaced by the BCD396T, but is still available, new, from several dealers, including Grove, for just under $500. If the 10 system limit is not a factor, you might keep an eye out for a deal on a clean, used, 296.

For not much more than a new 296, consider the BCD396T. Besides having a channel capacity of up to 6000, it uses dynamic memory. This let's you set up multiple trunked systems, instead of a maximum of 10. I generally keep 30+ loaded in my 396. The 396 also has another advantage, in that it covers the new spectrum allocated in the 700Mhz band for public safety. Neither the 250 nor the 296 will do that. It's a matter of time before we start seeing some trunked systems in that band in our area. Louisiania's LATIE system, using those frequencies, is under construction now.

With either the 296 or 396, you can enter text tags for the channels, and trunked systems talk groups. So instead of trying to remember whether that frequency was Dallas Sheriff or Tx DPS, the text will tell you. Same thing on the trunked systems talkgroups.

On your 235. if I remember correctly, you can only listen to one trunked radio system at a time. With the 296, you could monitor up to 10 at one time. With the 396, it's not limited by number of banks.

Either scanner will let you listen to air traffic, both civilian & military.

And both are capable of monitoring the storm chasers. I have the skywarn frequencies & the S.A.M.E. codes programmed into my 396.

Both scanners can be programmed by hand, but it's much quicker & easier using the pc. From what I understand, the software that Uniden provides for the 296 is quirky. Seems most people prefer Butel's software for it. On the 396, I use Uniden's software, which is a free download (see the Wiki for more information on both scanners and software options).

Hope that helps.
 

justice76

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Mar 19, 2005
Messages
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Thank you so much for such an informative post it did help out alot.. I belive I will look more into the BCD396T it seems like the right way to go.. Thanks
 

yaesumofo

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Joined
Jan 4, 2003
Messages
314
Location
los Angeles
I only have one of the radios you mention.
The bottom line is the BC-250 has a better receiver than the BCD-396T.

If you were looking at the 250 vs the 396. I would still say the 250 has a better receiver.

Now you want to monitor the Dallas PD I assume they are digital.
The beauty and the functionality of all of these radios is totally tied into the quality of your programming information.

If you want to know who you are listening to then you will have to give all that information to the scanner.
The 250, 296, and 396 will all manage this information well. They also do a good job of displaying this info as well.
The 396 does this the best (at least it will manage the most information with 6000 memory slots. great for travel).
All of these radios do just fine with AIR reception with the BC-250 leading the way. Get a good rooftop antenna like a discone and you will be able to monitor the air stuff and the storm chasers.

I recommend saving your cash until you have enough for a 396. this is by far and in large the best radio for the money on the market. the most memory, the best search, decent receiver, the whole package make for a radio at the edge of bleeding. Good stuff.
My second choice is to buy a second hand 250. this is absolutely the best value. don't forget the digital card.

Yaesumofo

justice76 said:
Hello all I have got a little money on my hands and thinking of jumping into a new digital scanner.. I currently have the BC235 bearcat.. Here are the things I like to do with my scanner.

1. I enjoy listing to the local police around the Dallas area, I am finding it hard to understand who I am listing too I think the digital will help.

2. I like to listen to the air traffic in the area.

3. I also like to monitor the storm chasers when we have severe weather.

Will I be able to continue to do all of these things with the digital scanner. I am thinking about the BC296D or the BC250D
THanks for your time in helping me
 
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