Uniden BCD996XT: EDACS question

Status
Not open for further replies.

Darkstar350

Member
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
409
Location
Nassau County
I have a specific question regarding a EDACS trunked system on the uniden bcd996xt(this is the first digital trunking scanner I have owned so its probably a novice question)

The county I live in uses a countywide trunked 800mhz EDACS system for a variety of services - police departments, bus services, public works departments, etc.
I seem to have programmed the system correctly(I must not be to much of a spaz with this) and I did program some of the talkgroups that I am interested in however as I said the system is used for a wide variety of services within the county so it seems to receive not only the talkgroups that I programmed but apparently picks up all sorts of talkgroups that use the system

my question is
is it possible on this scanner to receive only the talkgroups that I program?
 

hiegtx

Mentor
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
11,171
Location
Dallas, TX
I have a specific question regarding a EDACS trunked system on the uniden bcd996xt(this is the first digital trunking scanner I have owned so its probably a novice question)

The county I live in uses a countywide trunked 800mhz EDACS system for a variety of services - police departments, bus services, public works departments, etc.
I seem to have programmed the system correctly(I must not be to much of a spaz with this) and I did program some of the talkgroups that I am interested in however as I said the system is used for a wide variety of services within the county so it seems to receive not only the talkgroups that I programmed but apparently picks up all sorts of talkgroups that use the system

my question is
is it possible on this scanner to receive only the talkgroups that I program?
Watch the scanner display when it is scanning through that system. You'll probably see "ID Search" scrolling across the screen. What you want to use is "ID Scan".

ID Scan will only monitor the talkgroups that you've entered, and where neither they, nor the groups they are programmed, are locked out.

ID Search, on the other hand, will stop on any active talkgroup, as long as it is not locked out. For those that you've entered, you'll see the text tag you programmed. For those that you did not enter, only the talkgroup ID will display.

If you're using software, such as FreeSCAN, that setting (ID Scan vs ID Search) is at the system level. On the scanner itself, it's under "Edit System Option", accessed through the program menu.

However, you can toggle the scanner between the two modes when scanning. See this thread from earlier today for a similar inquiry.
 

Darkstar350

Member
Joined
May 19, 2014
Messages
409
Location
Nassau County
Watch the scanner display when it is scanning through that system. You'll probably see "ID Search" scrolling across the screen. What you want to use is "ID Scan".

ID Scan will only monitor the talkgroups that you've entered, and where neither they, nor the groups they are programmed, are locked out.

ID Search, on the other hand, will stop on any active talkgroup, as long as it is not locked out. For those that you've entered, you'll see the text tag you programmed. For those that you did not enter, only the talkgroup ID will display.

If you're using software, such as FreeSCAN, that setting (ID Scan vs ID Search) is at the system level. On the scanner itself, it's under "Edit System Option", accessed through the program menu.

However, you can toggle the scanner between the two modes when scanning. See this thread from earlier today for a similar inquiry.

ahh ok will do
you know something upon mingeling with it yesterday i did notice that it says "ID search" and i did somehow put it to ID scan for a bit just to see if something was different however i wasn't sure if messing with that would not do what i wanted or anything at all

but yeah i will make sure its on ID scan thank you very much and if anyone has any info on the programming software that would be great
is it necessary or beneficial to use programming software? i know it came with some kind of cable i belive that is what its for

anyway thanks again folks for all the great advice

all have a happy + healthy memorial day
 

hiegtx

Mentor
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
11,171
Location
Dallas, TX
ahh ok will do
you know something upon mingeling with it yesterday i did notice that it says "ID search" and i did somehow put it to ID scan for a bit just to see if something was different however i wasn't sure if messing with that would not do what i wanted or anything at all

but yeah i will make sure its on ID scan thank you very much and if anyone has any info on the programming software that would be great
is it necessary or beneficial to use programming software? i know it came with some kind of cable i belive that is what its for

anyway thanks again folks for all the great advice

all have a happy + healthy memorial day
The scanner can certainly be programmed through the keyboard. It's to your advantage to be capable of this to make additions, edits, and other tweaks when you (and the scanner) are not near your PC.

That being said, programming by software has a number of advantages.

First, you can enter information much quicker via software, especially useful when entering the text tags. Second, on screen in the software, you're seeing most all of the relevant information for programming your system,in only one or two screens, instead of having to step through multiple menus while pressing keyboard keys. That makes it much easier to spot and correct simple errors and omissions. And, if you are still stumped by a problem, you have the option of posting your programming file to a thread here in the forums, where someone else might be able to spot what's happening and suggest a correction to you.

The cable that came with the scanner requires a serial port on your PC. If you have a newer PC, especially a laptop, you may not have that port. If that's the case, see this Wiki page: Connecting scanners via USB - The RadioReference Wiki

As for programming software for your 996XT, the three main packages are FreeSCAN, ProScan, and ARC-XT. More on those can be found here: Uniden DMA Software Support - The RadioReference Wiki

FreeSCAN, as the name implies, is free to use, though the author accepts donations (not required, but if you like the program, you might consider it). ProScan & ARC-XT are both paid software packages. They both have a free trial period, after which you will have to either purchase the program, or it will quit working. I use FreeSCAN, and find it does everything I need. Others prefer one of the other programs. Try one or more to see which you like better. I also have ProScan for the simple reason that it supports some of my older scanners that the other software programs don't.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top