Very displeased with BCD396XT

[Tiggerpaws]

Only had it a few years and the digital audio
is totally UNINTELIGIBLE!

Choppy. cuts out and I dont underxstand
what is being said?

How can I get in and fix it?

 

[rdale]

Provide much more info first. What are you scanning! Where are you? What type of antenna...

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

Only had it a few years and the digital audio
is totally UNINTELIGIBLE!

Choppy. cuts out and I dont underxstand
what is being said?

How can I get in and fix it?

This is how you get it fixed, get rid of it. The digital processing has never been fixed with the units. There was also a firmware upgrade and it still did not fix it. I sold mine and dont get me worng it was a great scanner but GRE makes a way better product and they figured out on how to make the digital decoding work. Radio Shack GRE also make a great mobile version which is the PRO-106. Good Luck

 

[Tiggerpaws]

Thank you.
Using default duck antenna.
Scanning Idaho IMARS system in Idaho.
used latest frequencies.

May try firmware update, nothing to lose,
also tweaking the P25 "adjust mode" and
"adjust level" settings.

PS. I sure wish there was a Mac version of
the updater stuff. Maybe I can dig out an
old PC and dust off the old windows XP
disc.

Thanx for all the info.

I have thought about saving for an alternative
scanner for digital stuff, as the analogue
works PERFECT on this scanner, it has good sensitivity,
good for analogue and 800Mhz trunking.

Might have to take a year or 2 to save up
and try out the GRE.

Thanks again.

 

[Tiggerpaws]

Update:
Did the update and made the adjustments,
so far only an hour or 3 after doing, seemzs
to work a bit better than it was doing, at least
can understand speech on p25 again, even with
a couple dots on the SS meter.

Will take it out and test in field 2morro
and give it the real test.

 

[W9NES]

I have a Uniden 396XT and I always update all of my my scanners including the Uniden Home Patrol HP-1 and the Uniden 996T'S. I have (3) of them.I also own a Uniden 396T and (2) Uniden 796D"S. It is a vert great idea to UPDATE the firrmware ASAP when a new UPDATE is out.

 

[mflume1]

396XT Issues

Some of the issues that you seem to be experiencing makes me think you could have the Close Call Priority on as well. This will interrupt the broadcast every couple seconds, you can hear it on the radio if you listen close. Make sure this isn't on. If it is on there will be a C with a target around it in the middle as your scanning. If this isn't here then you have some programming issues to take care of. Hopefully this helps.

 

[SquierStrat]

you say you're using the stock antenna. Try using an antenna thats dedicated to the frequency range you're trying to hear. Antennas arent that expensive either..

 

[Tiggerpaws]

Hello and thank you all for your info.

Firmware was updated last night.
CloseCall "C: is not on.
And I am thinking about using an external
antenna for the car, but, it used to not NEED
that, Why would it suddenly get bad reception Now??

I Do Not Understand this, there isn't any
REason for this malfunction! I am frustrated
and uipset with the performance of this lump of blah
I threw it to the ground today and I dont know or
care if it works or not. I am sick of it I paid
500 dollars for this cursed lump of trash
and I will not be investing ONE Dang cent in
Uniden EVER AGAIN.

Uniden has LOST a customer

I have tried the p25 level 50, 100, and even 150
and the mode 8 and 11 in all combos and it still
ficks up and sounds like crap. just stuttering and
stupid noises. I have never been so disgusted
with a product in my life, I have seen better
things from CHINA![

I am giving up on uniden forever, they
cheated me out of my money that I
could have eaten for a couple of months on.

Signed,
Dissatisfied, Disgruntled Ex-Customer

 

[62Truck]

I have the RadioShack pro197 and the p25 audio on that radio is pretty impressive.

 

[PVPD730]

Hello and thank you all for your info.

Firmware was updated last night. CloseCall "C: is not on. And I am thinking about using an external
antenna for the car, but, it used to not NEED that, Why would it suddenly get bad reception Now??

I Do Not Understand this, there isn't any REason for this malfunction! I am frustrated
and uipset with the performance of this lump of blah I threw it to the ground today and I dont know or
care if it works or not. I am sick of it I paid 500 dollars for this cursed lump of trash
and I will not be investing ONE Dang cent in Uniden EVER AGAIN.

Uniden has LOST a customer. I have tried the p25 level 50, 100, and even 150
and the mode 8 and 11 in all combos and it still ficks up and sounds like crap. just stuttering and
stupid noises. I have never been so disgusted with a product in my life, I have seen better
things from CHINA!

I am giving up on uniden forever, they cheated me out of my money that I could have eaten for a couple of months on.

Not sure how the Idaho IMARS system is setup. If it's simulcast P25, you're pretty much screwed with any scanner. Scanners (Uniden or otherwise) do not handle the multipath stuff well at all on digital systems.

 

[JoeyC]

You could have sold the thing and gotten some of your 500 bills back to eat with, instead you threw it to the ground damaging it further?

 

[Tiggerpaws]

Well, damn it I was upset.

My brother saved it, and found it was not damaged
it went into a pile of leaves and was not broken plus
it was in a protective case, lucky me.

Might just sell it then, I don't know.

Why can't the programmers just make adjustments
for the multi path stuff and make it work???
Is it that hard? I mean is there more to it than I think?
I would like to know this kind of info.

Should I just save up for a "real" radio from
motorola and have it programmed for receive
only? I don't want to transmit thats forf dang sure
and I don't need the encrypted crap, car2car, etc I just want
to hear dispatch on fire and police, and ambulance, thats it,
I just want toknow that I am not in the path of
a high speed chase, or a shootout, and if an amublacne is
coming myway I don't want to be in its path.

 

[SquierStrat]

as i said before, try an antenna designed for the frequency range your trying to hear. Thats what i have to do to listen to my P25 statewide system, using my BCD396XT. If that still doesnt work, it may be worth selling and picking up a GRE digital scanner. Alot of people (myself included) say they decode the digital better then Unidens.. You can get a brand new GRE PSR 500 for $340 at universal-radio.com right now.. And you should be able to get pretty close to that, if not more, for your 396xt on ebay..

As for a "real" radio, its not quite that simple. with a real radio you need to connect to the system, and you need a radio ID to do that. If you use someones radio ID, your radio may cause issues with their radio when they're using it, which could possibly put their life in danger.

 

[wbowery]

This might seem like a dumb suggestion, but make sure the attenuator isn't turned on. That might make reception choppy if you aren't close to a tower.

 

[mbrooks85]

I've got the same issues. What is the attenuator (I'm new to this). Also, what would a good antenna for the Shelby County, TN area be? I'm looking at the main police, fire and ems.

 

[PVPD730]

(snip)
Why can't the programmers just make adjustments
for the multi path stuff and make it work???
Is it that hard? I mean is there more to it than I think?
I would like to know this kind of info.

Should I just save up for a "real" radio from
motorola and have it programmed for receive
only? I don't want to transmit thats forf dang sure
and I don't need the encrypted crap, car2car, etc I just want
to hear dispatch on fire and police, and ambulance, thats it,
I just want toknow that I am not in the path of
a high speed chase, or a shootout, and if an amublacne is
coming myway I don't want to be in its path.

Doubtful the engineers at Uniden or any other manufacturer will ever be able to "perfect" the multi-path issue.

As UPMan stated in this thread: http://forums.radioreference.com/ge...stems-were-previously-analog.html#post1798663

As a general rule, as agencies implement a digital system, you'll note a few things:

1) Range overall is "tightened up" to meet the FCC's guideline that the system only provide coverage to the perimeter of the agency's jurisdiction, and not much further.

2) Due to the nature of digital, the geographic line between receiving it well and not receiving it at all is very abrupt. Unlike analog, where you can use your ear to "pull" the signal from the background hiss, with digital, enough signal must reach the receiver to allow the receiver to decode the recovered audio.

3) Due to multipath factors, receivers (not just scanners) are much more likely to have reception issues in simulcast areas. Dedicated transceivers designed to operate on the system do a better job, because they are typically limited to a single band and have a much narrower range of frequencies to be received by design. Also, they are typically 5-10 times the cost of scanners.

There you have it. If you want to go out and buy yourself an actual subscriber radio that would cost several thousands of dollars...go for it. Just remember the radio would need to be affiliated with the system in order for it to work properly. Highly unlikely the IMARS system administrators will issue you a system key...

 

[kb8rvp]

Hello and thank you all for your info.

Firmware was updated last night.
CloseCall "C: is not on.
And I am thinking about using an external
antenna for the car, but, it used to not NEED
that, Why would it suddenly get bad reception Now??

I Do Not Understand this, there isn't any
REason for this malfunction! I am frustrated
and uipset with the performance of this lump of blah
I threw it to the ground today and I dont know or
care if it works or not. I am sick of it I paid
500 dollars for this cursed lump of trash
and I will not be investing ONE Dang cent in
Uniden EVER AGAIN.

Uniden has LOST a customer

I have tried the p25 level 50, 100, and even 150
and the mode 8 and 11 in all combos and it still
ficks up and sounds like crap. just stuttering and
stupid noises. I have never been so disgusted
with a product in my life, I have seen better
things from CHINA![

I am giving up on uniden forever, they
cheated me out of my money that I
could have eaten for a couple of months on.

Signed,
Dissatisfied, Disgruntled Ex-Customer

I would try a setting of 3 and 200 if it's an 800MHz simulcast system or 11 and 50. If you can't get it to work sell it on ebay and try another scanner. Also as others have mentioned try a different antenna. I never use the stock antennas from any scanner. It stays in the box and I but an upgrade like the Radio Shack 800MHz duck.


Good Luck.

Mike

 

[ilgrant]

Interestingly...on a simulcast system it may also make sense to use less antenna. Just have to try it out.

 

[Tiggerpaws]

Thanx for the info, if I find a antenna in the meanwhile,
I will give it a shot and report, otherwise, I could be
away for awhile saving up.

If a "real" radio needs a radio ID, why does the
scanner not need one? Could the scanner not
be designed to get better ound without the
radio ID?

I'd be willing to pay more if they could make it
work and not skroo up all the dang time, it take
me longer to save up but it wood be worth the
weight to have something that worked for once.

Thanx for all the info,
I am overloaded right now and I need to shut
down for awhile, and save up some dough.

I wish there were an easier way to do this.

Bye for now, sorry to waste your time.

Thanks for putting up with me and my
disabilities.

as i said before, try an antenna designed for the frequency range your trying to hear. Thats what i have to do to listen to my P25 statewide system, using my BCD396XT. If that still doesnt work, it may be worth selling and picking up a GRE digital scanner. Alot of people (myself included) say they decode the digital better then Unidens.. You can get a brand new GRE PSR 500 for $340 at universal-radio.com right now.. And you should be able to get pretty close to that, if not more, for your 396xt on ebay..

As for a "real" radio, its not quite that simple. with a real radio you need to connect to the system, and you need a radio ID to do that. If you use someones radio ID, your radio may cause issues with their radio when they're using it, which could possibly put their life in danger.