What's the Deal with my new 396?

[tallen74]

396 arrived by FedEx yesterday and I got it opened up and since I knew it was coming I had a fresh set of NiCad's already charged up. Downloaded most recent firmware and UASD. Didn't have a serial port on new computer so I ran to local Radio Shack and got a serial-USB adapter and got it installed. This is where my frustration begins.

I couldn't get scanner to talk to UASD on all ports and on all baud rates. Changed USB cable to all ports on computer and still couldn't get anything to happen. We'll this morning I called Uniden to see what they suggested and of course we went thru the whole setup again and still no luck. The tech at Uniden asked if I could get a computer with a serial port and I just happened to have my old eMachines tucked under 9 months worth of "Just throw in that closet" so I drag it out, download all necessary software again, connect to the serial port, confirm com1 good to go and still nothing, on all baud rates.

So I thought I would ask any of you Arkies if you had any thoughts before I ship this thing back to Uniden.

Thanks in advance!

 

[jrplmil]

Did you install the serial-usb software from the cd? It wont work off the windows driver. Hope this helps

 

[safetyobc]

I wouldn't think it was a faulty scanner.

Try the above postings. Load the necessary drivers/software that came with the adapter. If none came with the thing, try doing a google search for drivers for that brand/model cable you bought.

 

[tallen74]

If you are referring to the USB-serial software that is on the Uniden website Yes I did intall it, along with the drivers that came with my adapter.

I wouldn't think that the scanner is faulty either Matt, however I did order a new cable from Uniden. If that doesn't solve my problem then back it goes

 

[hiegtx]

Don't use two sets of USB cable drivers at the same tme. This has come up before. The Uniden drivers are specific for the Undien cable. If you are not using it (yet), uninstall them.

You might also do an uninstall/reisnstall of the latest drivers for the USB to Serial adapter cable you're using (to eliminate any conficts). Download the latest drivers and installation files, if possible, from the manufacturer's website, rather than using the ones on a cd-rom that could be a version or two (if not more) out of date.

You say you've ordered a new cable from Uniden. If that is the USB-1 cable, then reinstall the Uniden drivers once you get the cable. (I'd unistall the non-Uniden drivers first; eliminate any chance of software conflicts.)

 

[tallen74]

thanks for the info. I have eliminated the USB cable when I went direct to serial with my old computer with no luck.

I am keying some freq's from the AWIN and in my ignorance of these new scanners and systems would someone please tell me how to input a TGID with the info I get from radioreference.com. I see the info but i don't know what to key in. Can someone please talk me through keying in the ASP TGID for troops A?

Thanks

 

[hiegtx]

Are you keying it in on the scanner, or in UASD (the software)?

 

[hiegtx]

You might also want to take a peek at this easier to read manual, put togther by another member.

 

[tallen74]

Thanks for the link hiegtx I will give it a shot.

I am going to attempt to program by hand since I am unable to connect to my scanner

 

[hiegtx]

Try this, just to be sure something crazy is not going on:
Press the bottom of the left side function bar on the scanner. This will bring up the menu.
Scroll down the menu to "Settings"
Press the "E" (yes) key
Scroll down that menu to "PC Control"
Press "E" (yes) again.
You should see a baud setting for the connection. I use 115200. It should not be set to OFF. If it is, that may be your connection issue (I doubt this is the case, but won't take a minute to check, right?)

If your USB to Serial cable creates a COM1 (check the device manager), make sure that you set the BCD396T_UASD software to use COM1 as well (or COM3, or whatever port it creates. But looking at your comments, you may have tried that already.

Even though you may be going to program by hand, take a look at the files on Safetyobc's webpage. He has AWIN files for the various ASP troops there. You could download one of the Troop A files into UASD & take a look at how it's set up. Might answer some questions for you.