Updating 796D

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donaldl43

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HI all. I've got a BC796D that I bought many years ago when it was the top of the line. I believe I updated the firmware once but it was quite a few years ago.

I've had it sitting on my headboard for quite a few years and recently started listening to it again. It seems to still pick up lots of Los Angeles Police and Fire but I suspect there are lots of other stations and I'm probably not set up like I should be anymore.

I bought a copy of ARC250 when I first bought it and I've now updated to the latest version off the Butel website. It still accepts my registration so it's fully functional.

So one question is what version of firmware should I be running? When I turn it on holding 2,4, and 9 it says V3.29. I also want to know if I need to do the rebanding update.

And finally what would be the best way to get the most recent frequencies for LA Police and Fire and maybe the SoCal CHP too. I went ahead and bought a Premium Subscription so I should be able to download what I need.

I searched the forums for all this info but there's just so much here I was hoping someone knowledgeable would be able to help me in one post.
 

ka3jjz

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The latest version of the 796 firmware can be had here;

http://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/UnidenMan4/BC796DFirmwareUpdate

Whether you actually need it depends on what you are listening to. If there are Motorola trunk systems in your area that have rebanded, and you want to hear them, I'd say go for it. Since I don't live in California, I'd go to that forum and start asking- or do research in our database. And yes, since you're a premium subscriber, downloading data would be the way to go, at least to get yourself started.

best regards..Mike
 

tekrsq

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I have the same problem..my area has rebanded, and I haven't used the scanner in years. I understand from the above post that I need to update the firmware. Any idea where I can get a cable to connect my scanner to my computer ? And also, any idea where I can find the new rebanded 800 frequencies for central Va. (Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover) ?
 

hiegtx

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I have the same problem..my area has rebanded, and I haven't used the scanner in years. I understand from the above post that I need to update the firmware. Any idea where I can get a cable to connect my scanner to my computer ? And also, any idea where I can find the new rebanded 800 frequencies for central Va. (Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Hanover) ?
Which scanner?
If it's the 796D, the cable is just a regular serial pc cable, like this.

For the trunked system, just go to the database link at the top of the page, then either click on Virginia in the map, or select it from the list of states. Then either select your county from the Virginia state database page, or select the "Trunked systems" tab & go directly to the system itself, if you can identify it there.

Note: If this is the system you are referring to, it does not show in the database as being rebanded as yet, and the FCC licenses for the three sites on that system also are not tagged for rebanding at this time. I'm not in Virginia, but what I'm seeing right now leads me to believe the process has not yet taken place. When it does, and it will based on the system frequencies, then you will need update the firmware on your scanner, enter the new frequencies, and load the rebanding custom band plan for that system in order to track it correctly on either the Richmond City or Henrico County sites. For the Chesterfield site (only), it's possible no band plan would be needed, since all the site frequencies have a number 5 in the fourth decimal position. The unknown factor is whether any extra frequencies, 'out of that pattern', might be added.
 

tekrsq

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Thanks for the quick reply and info !!!

Yes it is the 796D. I read somewhere it used a serial cable, I just didn't know it was a standard serial cable. I figured it something "special" that would only fit the scanner.

Those frequencies in that link are the original frequencies we (Richmond CIty) had when we first switched to 800 about 15 years ago. We were rebanded about about 4 yrs ago, and are due to be rebanded again in the next year or so. Chesterfield and Henrico were also rebanded about the same time, and are either in the process again of being rebanded, or getting ready to start the process.

As I look through the instruction manual, this might be a mute point anyway. For whatever reason, I don't remember it sounding so difficult when I originally programmed this thing. It feels like I'm trying to read Greek now. lol.
 

hiegtx

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Thanks for the quick reply and info !!!

Yes it is the 796D. I read somewhere it used a serial cable, I just didn't know it was a standard serial cable. I figured it something "special" that would only fit the scanner.

Those frequencies in that link are the original frequencies we (Richmond CIty) had when we first switched to 800 about 15 years ago. We were rebanded about about 4 yrs ago, and are due to be rebanded again in the next year or so. Chesterfield and Henrico were also rebanded about the same time, and are either in the process again of being rebanded, or getting ready to start the process.

As I look through the instruction manual, this might be a mute point anyway. For whatever reason, I don't remember it sounding so difficult when I originally programmed this thing. It feels like I'm trying to read Greek now. lol.
I suspect what you are calling "rebanding" from about 4 years ago is when the additional system frequencies (in the 866 to 868MHz range) were added.

The upcoming rebanding process, where those same frequencies will be dropped, & replaced (usually) by new ones 15MHz lower is more fully discussed here. For your Richmond City site, to take three frequencies as an example, 866.03750, 866.13750, and 866.23750 would be replaced by 851.03750, 851.13750, and 851.23750. That 15MHz lower pattern is normally followed on every frequency, unless for some reason the resulting new frequency assignment would conflict with another licensee. Rare, but possible, in which case an alternate frequency might be assigned. All three sites on that system have frequencies that will be affected by rebanding. We just finished the process in this area last fall.

The band plan that you'll need to enter can be found on the same page as the firmware update. It can also be found here, along with notes on how to enter it via software. ProScan or ARC250 both support your scanner.
 
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