BC100/BC200: Trying to bring a BC200XLT back to life

[es93546]

I had a BC200XLT for many years. I don't remember if I sent in the batteries to the NiCad Lady for repacking or not. It stopped working because the keys stopped accepting the push on them. I had to trash it. I carried a small notebook with it full of penciled programs for all the banks. I traveled all over Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho and Montana with those handwritten programs. I used Police Call to write my programs. When I traveled to a new area I had to pull off the side of the road to manually reprogram the radio. When I changed frequencies in a program I would just erase the appropriate lines in the program. Eventually I had to replace the whole sheet because holes in the paper would develop due to so many erasers. I dreamed about being able to use a computer to program a radio. My dreams did not include encryption!

 

[gearhead1961]

I had a BC200XLT for many years. I don't remember if I sent in the batteries to the NiCad Lady for repacking or not. It stopped working because the keys stopped accepting the push on them. I had to trash it. I carried a small notebook with it full of penciled programs for all the banks. I traveled all over Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho and Montana with those handwritten programs. I used Police Call to write my programs. When I traveled to a new area I had to pull off the side of the road to manually reprogram the radio. When I changed frequencies in a program I would just erase the appropriate lines in the program. Eventually I had to replace the whole sheet because holes in the paper would develop due to so many erasers. I dreamed about being able to use a computer to program a radio. My dreams did not include encryption!

I remember those days well. A much simpler time (although it sure didn't seem like it then). Between digital systems and encryption, the old BC200 isn't useful for much these days but it does have some sentimental value. I can use it to scan the VHF & UHF ham bands but I have several other more capable radios that can handle that task. Still, good to have the old girl back from the dead.