Uniden 296D Firmware upgrade help

[Alpha432]

I went to the Uniden website and downloaded the upgrade for the card and the software. I was using software 3.21 and the newest one is 3.25. I tried to put it onto my 296D and there was a communication problem between the scanner and the computer. What I found out the hard way is if you try and upgrade any software for it, follow all the onscreen prompts on how to turn on you scanner, and are unsuccessful, it wipes out your old version. I called the tech support and we tried everything to download the new firmware. My scanner just turn on now and is a blank screen. A $500 paperweight! NOW I have to send it to Uniden and have them put in the latest stuff. Has anyone had this problem? Is uniden pretty quick at getting your scanner back to you once you send it in? Has anyone sucessfully upgraded to the 3.25 software and if so what are the differences? Thank You.

 

[DaveIN]

You sould be able to do the update again without sending it back to Uniden.

What com port are you using? Is the com port used by anything else on you computer? Do you run any palm pilot software that may tie up the com port?

 

[Alpha432]

Software

I am not sure how to Unassign any of the com ports of something that was on it. I have 5 usb com ports on my computer. They are numbered 5,6,7,8,9. I saw an area that listed com -28 or something like that and several were in use. How do I make them unused? I have tried to put the cable into each of the ports and changed the settings on the download to the correct port and it still says communication error.

 

[oregontreehugger]

Right click on "My Computer" on your desktop. Click on "Properties". Now click the tab that says "Hardware", then click the "Device Manager" button.

This will take you into screen showing your computer's hardware. You're looking for the "Ports (COM & LPT)" listing. Click the little plus sign to the left. That should show what devices are tying up your COM ports.

You can now right click on each individual listing and disable stuff you don't want that might be using your COM ports.

One hint: on my computer I have 2 USB ports. I always leave the mouse plugged into the same USB port, and then plug in any USB accessories (serial adapter, etc.) into the 2nd port. For some reason when I mix and match USB ports, my computer tries to install new drivers and gobbledy-gook, thinking that I am connecting the device for the first time.

 

[Alpha432]

Software

Supposedly com 5 is not in use, but when I plug my cable into the usb port that is dubbed com 5 and try and do the software upload it says that it had a communication error.

 

[jdc50]

You have to set your scanner to be on com port 5 and the right speed which probably is 57600. Hope this helps.

 

[KD8CES]

Had a similar problem with my 796d, went to blank screen,could not get anything up. Found a missed step when downloading and opening program on my laptop, check to see if you installed the correct set up file for the update,also comports can cause alot of grief,try different com ports, after finding the mistake the program loaded flawlessly and didnot lose my stored freq's either. good luck,scannerdweeb.

 

[Alpha432]

Scanning again at last!

With the help of a dedicated uniden tech support guy I was able to reprogram my scanner with no problem at all! All that was wrong was that I had to have a .DAT file open while doing the upgrade. It works great now!

 

[Dank]

v 3.25 update

Would you please give me the name of the .DAT file which needed to be open during the update. Lastnight I tried many times to update my 296, however each time I got a communications error message. I know something is wrong, because I used the uniden software and ARC250 to test my com port. I programmed a bank using each with a baud rate of 57600. Reading the istructions from Uniden in appears to be an easy update, however I can't find an easy fix to my problem.
Thanks for your assistance.
Dan

 

[Alpha432]

296 upgrade

Would you please give me the name of the .DAT file which needed to be open during the update. Lastnight I tried many times to update my 296, however each time I got a communications error message. I know something is wrong, because I used the uniden software and ARC250 to test my com port. I programmed a bank using each with a baud rate of 57600. Reading the istructions from Uniden in appears to be an easy update, however I can't find an easy fix to my problem.
Thanks for your assistance.
Dan

The DAT files are as followed: 200505250103.dat for the BCi96DVUP file, and 42849901.dat for the BC296DVUP file.

It is just a bunch of numbers but just keep that screen open while you choose your comm port and hit start to do the upgrade. I don't know why having that screen open makes the difference but it does. Mine downloaded very nicely. Not sure if I notice any difference in how my scanner scans, but it saved me from having to send it to Uniden.

 

[Dank]

upgrade steps

Let me take a second to walk through my steps and tell me where I went wrong. I downloaded the BC296DVUP file from Uniden. I saved it to the desktop, unzipped it, and doubled clicked the setup exe file to install it. Once installed I connected my sanner to the pc cord connected to my com port and followed the instructions. I held down the L/O, scan, and 6 (3 keys total) while turning on my scanner. The display stayed blank. I went to start , programs, and started the BC296DVUP application. I got the small popup box and the progress box without a problem. A few seconds later, the the communications error box came up. I never got an option to select my com port. Does this sound like the procedure that you used? If not please advise or if so, please tell me if you received different responses from your pc?

Dan

 

[Alpha432]

Let me take a second to walk through my steps and tell me where I went wrong. I downloaded the BC296DVUP file from Uniden. I saved it to the desktop, unzipped it, and doubled clicked the setup exe file to install it. Once installed I connected my sanner to the pc cord connected to my com port and followed the instructions. I held down the L/O, scan, and 6 (3 keys total) while turning on my scanner. The display stayed blank. I went to start , programs, and started the BC296DVUP application. I got the small popup box and the progress box without a problem. A few seconds later, the the communications error box came up. I never got an option to select my com port. Does this sound like the procedure that you used? If not please advise or if so, please tell me if you received different responses from your pc?

Dan

Ok, the uniden tech told me get rid of the downloaded programs, download winzip from winzip.com. It is the evaluation version. Re-download the files open them with winzip. Once you open them, click on the setup.exe file. Once that is done then click on the BCi96DVUP file. Once there, open the 200505250103.DAT file and leave it open. Then click on the other BCi96DVUP_V1_03 file. Click yes when it says that it has a potencially unsafe file. You will see where it says COmport (P), click on that and it will allow you to choose your comport. Do the same for the BC296DVUP file. If you need further help, page me and I will call you back.(248)339-2045

 

[Dank]

thanks!

I got lucky last Friday. Just by chance I found the drop down menu to change my Comport. Once set on Com 2 everythng went great. Uniden should make this menu a little easier to find by including a description of it in the upgradeinstruction.