Need Help on a Bearcat BC895XLT

[barrall74]

Hello...
I just moved up to Baltimore Co Maryland and I have a uniden Bearcat BC895XLT scanner. Is there anyone on here that can give me any advise on how to program this thing for the "Trunk Tracker" or the 800 freq's? Is there a program I can buy? Or is there someone in Baltimore County I can take this to and pay them to do it for me?

Thanks
Wayne Barrall
Fire Photographer
"Fire in the Hole Photography"
www.pbase.com/barrall74

 

[loumaag]

Moved to the Uniden Forum.

 

[ka3jjz]

Hello...
I just moved up to Baltimore Co Maryland and I have a uniden Bearcat BC895XLT scanner. Is there anyone on here that can give me any advise on how to program this thing for the "Trunk Tracker" or the 800 freq's? Is there a program I can buy? Or is there someone in Baltimore County I can take this to and pay them to do it for me?

Nah, you can do this yourself. However, you are now living in an area that uses some form of trunking almost exclusively for PS work. You will need to understand what trunking is about to be able to navigate in this area. In fact, the 895 will only trunk the Baltimore and Anne Arundel county systems - everything else that surrounds you is now digital, which the 895 cannot handle.
To begin, start reading the Trunking wiki page. (Just click on the Trunking word in this sentence and you'll be taken to the page). Concentrate on the basics, and Motorola systems in particular, as they hold the lion's share of the PS systems in this area. You want to understand - even just a bit - about Type II systems. The others can be ignored for now.

We also have a 895 Wiki page that outlines all the packages that work with the 895, and a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document that should be very helpful to you. In particular, the FAQ tells you about the cable you will need to connect from your PC to the 895 - it uses a very odd connector, but the wiring is very simple. (Again, just click on the '895 Wiki' in the first sentence and you'll be taken there).

Also on that page is a list of software, plus reviews. I would suggest going to the Scan Control website, downloading the manual and reading the 2 reviews that are linked on the Wiki page. There are several other packages that are reviewed, and have links on that Wiki page.

Baltimore county's system is fully documented on this site, but has many more talkgroups than the 895 can handle. You will need to choose which ones you want to have. I can easily set up a file for you once you've downloaded Scan Control ; programming the 895 using the Lite version of the software is a piece of cake. You might also want to let me know what other freqs you might want to have.

Finally, jump on over to the Maryland forum - we've got an active cadre of folks who can easily help you over the rough spots, once you're ready.

73s Mike

 

[jastx]

I've had a BC895XLT for years. It's really not all that difficult to program. But I'm not sure what you are uncertain about.

The Trunked Radio Systems section of the Wiki on this site describes trunking.

If you need a copy of the BC895XLT Owner's Manual, it can be downloaded for free from Uniden support. The BC895XLT lets you have one trunked system per bank. Only one trunked system can be monitored at a time.

The RadioReference.com database for Baltimore County contains the information needed to program the radio systems in your area.

Hope this helps,

 

[ka3jjz]

You beat me to it, John. :.>> It sounds like Wayne doesn't understand Trunking, and to work in this area, you absolutely have to - no doubt about it. We'll get him straight, for sure 73s and HH Mike

 

[barrall74]

Thank you guys.. I will give this shot today... I tried about a year ago and got upset with it and left it alone.. Maybe i will have better luck this time!

Where can I find scann contorl lite at?

The freqs I want are:
Baltimore Co fire & ems
If you can do Wicomico Co maryland on the eastern shore would be great also. (fire & ems)
Any med channels for fly outs from mva's

It dosent sound like much to me but then again im not the best with these things....

My e-mail is barrall74@comcast.net and if helpful aol messenger screen name is barrall74

Wayne B.

 

[ka3jjz]

Where can I find scan control lite at?

The link for Scan Control can be found on the 895 wiki page as given in my original message.

The freqs I want are:
Baltimore Co fire & ems
If you can do Wicomico Co maryland on the eastern shore would be great also. (fire & ems)
Any med channels for fly outs from mva's

As mentioned before, there are too many talkgroups (think of users) for the 895 to handle. It can only handle 50 talkgroups (users) per scan bank. The Baltimore county system - which is documented on the link in the previous message- has over 100 talkgroups. The 895 cannot handle them all, so you need to let me know which ones you want.

The Wicomico system is easy to program, however, you can't hear it from here. I assume you use the 895 in another location?

The SYSCOM freqs handle the 'Troopers' (Md. State Police helos,who do the flyouts from big accidents). They also use the Potomac approach/departure freqs, as well as Martin State. All of that is no big deal.

I'll get started on this tonite. I will build a Scan Control file and a csv file, so if you decide to go to another application (or radio), you can use the csv file via an import. Can you handle .zip files?

Be sure to read the Trunking wiki; you must understand that concept before you can do anything else. Also you should know that the 895 cannot trunk track, then go into conventional scanning - you will be stuck with one or the other. The newer Uniden models can do this.

73s Mike

 

[barrall74]

The link for Scan Control can be found on the 895 wiki page as given in my original message.

As mentioned before, there are too many talkgroups (think of users) for the 895 to handle. It can only handle 50 talkgroups (users) per scan bank. The Baltimore county system - which is documented on the link in the previous message- has over 100 talkgroups. The 895 cannot handle them all, so you need to let me know which ones you want.

I'll get started on this tonite. I will build a Scan Control file and a csv file, so if you decide to go to another application (or radio), you can use the csv file via an import. Can you handle .zip files?

73s Mike

Zip files are ok...

As far as the talk groups all I really want is to hear dispatch and fire ground here in the owings mills area.. the west side of the county.

Thanks again
My e-mail is barrall74@comcast.net

 

[barrall74]

also what kind of cable to i need to buy? does it stay hooked up for good or just while im programing?

 

[ka3jjz]

Please go to the 895 wiki page I gave in a previous message; there you'll find a link to the 895 FAQ I wrote for the popular Strong Signals website. It has a hyperlink that will tell you about the cable. It's not one you can go to the local RS or Best Buy to get, unforunately. The 895 uses the same 5 pin connector as the audio portion of a CD Rom drive cable. Scanner Master recently redid their site, so the link for the cable from them no longer works - but all of the others are fine. You can pretty easily solder a cable together if you can find that connector.
You can find the connection on the 895 by looking at the back, and finding a piece of plastic black tape. Pull it off, and the connectors are exposed.
If you're just using the cable for programming, once it's done, you can disconnect it. Of course, if you're going to use it for logging, control, ect. you need to leave it connected.
Your file is almost ready - I need to find something before I can complete it. I think I'll also include some instructions to make things simpler....
Now for a question for you - does the PC that you will use have a free serial port? USB connections never existed in the time of the 895, and would present something of a hassle trying to find a driver for your PC that would work - basically with most any software, even Scan Control. If we need to go the USB route, a quick question to the Scan Control Yahoo group should bring some answers.

73s Mike

 

[barrall74]

Free serial port????
I do have extra USB ports.

thanks for the instructions and help! Would radio shack have the cable in question?

 

[ka3jjz]

Oh brother, here we go again...OK, time to jump on the Scan Control Yahoo group and see what USB drivers work.
I sincerely doubt whether RS would have a DB-9 to CD Drive audio cable - but you can purchase that, again, via the links on the FAQ. However, the lack of a serial port presents a problem. Let's see what Ken and the others say.
73s Mike

 

[barrall74]

I see you live in Glan Burnie Md. I live in Owings Mills Md. If it s ok with you I could just bring my scanner to you with some lunch....lol.... and let you do what needs to be done. If you dont want lunch I will pay you!

Wayne Barrall
443-783-7753

 

[ka3jjz]

Sorry, but I work all day - it would be at night or on a weekend. Fortunately my laptop has a serial port, and I think I can get the cable out of my wiring nightmare called my shack. Installing Scan Control is a snap - all I'd need to do is to confirm the connection and we would be in business.
My email is ka3jjz@netscape.com Let's talk offline and set something up 73s Mike

 

[bwhite]

As mentioned, Balto Co has zillions of TGs.
Found a way to get what I want, program Balto Co in 3 banks, e.g. 1, 2 & 3.
Put Main Fire stuff you'll go for in 1, put Fire stuff you rarely will listen to in 2,
Put the PD in 3.

barrall74 -- I know where you're coming from, but, you'll wanna get an overall understanding
of this. The links they're giving you are worthwhile. Yeah, someone will get it
programmed for you, but, if you don't know the layout of what they put in you'll be
frustrated too.

 

[ka3jjz]

It's the time called 'wipe egg off of face' ...grrr...Anyway, Al Henney wrote an article for MT called 'Maryland State Police Medevac Helicopters' back in 2004. While it is over a year ago, most of the freq information in that article is still valid, and would be a good reference source. I know I cut the article out, but I'll be dxxxxed if I can find it.
A reprint is cheap - USD3 - and you can get the link in the MT Reference Library at:

MT Reference Library

73s Mike