Easier to Read BCD396T/UBCD396T Manual

Again, the manual is like trying to set a watch made in China. My biggest gripe is that it doesn't follow the menus of the radio. So, I have written this manual for myself so I can actually use the scanner and will share it with you.

I have tried to write my manual to follow the menu sequences as closely as possible so you can find things a little easier in the radio.

The scanner does have some cool new features: Scan and Search, Close Call with Close Call Do Not Disturb, Dynamic Memory, an adjustable 'Hold (scan) time' for each system and search band, Auto Store (actually an old feature brought back), signal strength bars, and a numeric battery meter. The (U)BCD396T can hold about 6000 tagged channels. You can store up to 400 different systems (if there is enough memory). The 'Automatic Channel Setup' allows you to enter a frequency without having to change a step size setting. The Fire Tone-out sounds like something to try out. The 'Custom Screen' for Close Call is a plus if you live in a busy area. With all of the alerts offered with the radios, the 'Custom Alert' feature is nice too. I have also been able to enter partial IDs for Motorola (type I,IIi) and LTR systems, not just in EDACS systems. And, of course, computer upload/download/clone and control.

The 'quick keys' allow you to scan any combination of systems. There doesn't seem to be a limit to how many priority channels you can program. The sound quality is great for a 'mini' scanner. When 'tone search' is enabled for searching or for a channel, it will search for CTCSS and DCS tones, not just one or the other. The Close Call and Weather Priority features will run in the background while scanning and/or searching. An AC adapter, computer cable, and batteries come with the scanners. The firmware is supposed to be upgradeable for re-banding. One thing to remember is that IDs go into channels also (no more scan lists). There is also the (optional; expensive) BC-RH96 remote head for those of you that wish to hide your scanner in the trunk.

Now the annoying stuff. Dynamic Memory has it's drawbacks because you have to build everything first then program it. Press and hold for 2 seconds to turn the scanner on?? Press and hold Func then tap the scroll control to adjust the squelch?? Why the SMA antenna all of a sudden? No belt clip; a knob screwed to the back of the scanner to slide a cumbersome rotating clip. Alpha tagging is best left to the software. Scans multiple trunking systems relatively slow even with the hold time set to 0 (especially if you have a lot of IDs programmed). The channels and IDs aren't numbered so they can be hard to find if you have a lot of them in a group. The squelch tail is long giving a distinct 'chop' at the end of transmissions; not the nice clean 'click' of my Pro-97. There is no 'per channel' delay; you must set the delay for the whole system (all groups, all channels). The bottom lit display isn't as bright as my BC246T or Pro 97. The keypad is probably brighter.

An overview of the features can also be view at my Digital Trunking Radio Comparison Chart page.

It is also recommended that you download and install the latest firmware upgrade for the scanners if you don't have it. See checking Firmware Version.

For those of you who are new to trunking, dynamic memory, or haven't had a scanner in the last 10 years it is a good idea to read the respective sections on those topics. You really have to know how trunking works in order to program a trunking system. It won't do you any good to try to program a trunking system unless you know what the radio needs and is going to do with the data (control channel, IDs, LCN order, etc).

I will assume you know how to obtain the basic information from the original manual such as following safety procedures, putting the batteries in, connecting the antenna, finding specs, etc. and concentrate on the main functions of the scanner.

I hereby absolve myself from anything that happens to anyone or the scanner as a result of the information you will be reading. You are welcome to copy and/or print these pages and use them in the scanning hobby as long as don't change them or charge anyone money for them.

Check back often as this document will be updated and revised from time to time.

Main Features

Contents

Multi-System Trunking - follows conversations on analog Motorola, Motorola Astro-APCO 25, W/N/SCAT EDACS, and LTR trunked radio systems in VHF/UHF, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands. The scanner can scan both conventional and trunked systems at the same time.

Scan with Search Operation - lets you include selected service searches and custom search ranges during normal scan operation.

Close Call RF Capture Technology - you can set the scanner so it detects and provides information about nearby radio transmissions.

Close Call Do Not Disturb - checks for Close Call activity in between channel reception so active channels are not interrupted. (Requires firmware version 3.00.00).

Dynamically Allocated Channel Memory - organized into 'Systems', 'Groups' (within systems), and channels (within groups). As many channels as memory allows. Typically about 6000 tagged channels.

Signal Strength Meter - shows the signal strength for the more powerful transmissions.

Battery Meter - shows the battery strength.

Preprogrammed Systems - your scanner is preprogrammed with systems with the 25 most populated counties in the US (and local systems for Australia and NZ for the UBCD396T).

100 Quick Keys - you can assign the number keys to a system or group (or systems or groups) to scan them. This makes it easy to listen to or quickly turn off those systems or groups you don't want to scan.

9-12 Service Searches (Both, BCD396T only, UBCD396T only) - frequencies are preset in separate marine, railroad, air, CB radio, UHF CB, racing, FM broadcast, TV broadcast, public safety, police, FRS/GMRS, news, amateur radio, and special (itinerant) searches to make it easy to find specific transmissions.

10 Custom Searches - lets you program up to 10 custom search ranges.

Quick Search - lets you search from the currently-tuned frequency if you are searching a conventional system.

Analog and Digital Audio AGC - helps automatically balance the volume level between different radio systems.

Fire Tone-Out Standby - lets you set the scanner to alert you if a two-tone sequential page is transmitted. You can set up to 10 settings (transmit frequency, tone frequencies) then select one for standby monitoring.

Custom Screen - lets you program up to 10 frequency ranges that the scanner will ignore during Close Call or search operation.

Automatic Channel Setup - allows you to program frequencies on any valid channel step without having to set a step setting.

Adjustable Channel/Frequency Step - allows you to set the step (5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5,15, 20, 25, 50 or 100 kHz) for Quick search or Custom search or select auto mode.

Frequency/ID Auto Search and Store - the scanner can be set to automatically store all active frequencies from a service or limit search in a conventional system you select or automatically store all new talk group IDs into a trunked system you select.

Priority/Priority Plus Scan - priority channels let you keep track of activity on your most important channel's while monitoring other channels for transmissions and you can scan just the priority channels.

CTCSS/DCS Search - lets you search for CTCSS and DCS tones when it finds an active frequency in search and close call modes.

Control Channel Only Scanning - if the scanner is set to scan Motorola trunking frequencies, you can set it so it scans using only control channel data. You do not have to program voice channel frequencies into memory in this mode.

Adjustable Hold (Scan) Time per System/Search - allows you to adjust the length of time spent scanning each system.

CTCSS and DCS Tone Decode - decodes and displays Continuous Tone Code Squelch System tones being transmitted and plays Digital Coded Squelch being received. Also, a tone code only receive option (per channel).

Text Tagging - you can name each system, group, channel, talk group ID, custom search range, and SAME group, using up to 16 characters per name.

Custom Alerts - for each alert in the scanner (such as channel alert, Close Call alert, emergency alert), you can select from 9 different tone patterns and also set the alert volume level independently from the main volume level.

Adjustable Scan/Search Delay - from 1 to 5 seconds or off (per system or search).

Attenuator - you can set the scanner's attenuator to reduce the input strength of strong signals by about 18 dB per channel, search band, close call band, or trunked system.

Repeater Reverse - tells the scanner to try to switch to the repeater if an input frequency is found.

Data Skip - allows your scanner to skip unwanted (conventional) data transmissions and reduces birdies.

Duplicate Frequency Alert - alerts you if you try to enter a duplicate name or frequency already stored in the scanner.

SAME Weather Alert (not w/ UBCD396T) - (with programmable FIP codes) lets your scanner alert you when a SAME weather alert is transmitted on a NOAA weather channel. The scanner also displays the alert type.

Search Lockouts - you can lock out up to 200 frequencies in search or close call search.

PC Control/Clone - you can transfer data to and from your scanner or another scanner and your personal computer, and control the scanner using a computer.

Low Battery Alert - the scanner alerts you if the batteries need to be recharged or replaced.

Battery Saver - you can set the scanner so it reduces the amount of power it needs if there are no transmissions.

Key Lock - you can deactivate the scanner's keys to help prevent accidentally changing the scanner's programming.

Understanding Dynamic Memory

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The scanner's memory is organized in an architecture called Dynamic Allocated Channel memory. This type of memory is organized differently and more efficiently than the bank/channel architecture used by traditional scanners. Dynamic Allocated Design matches how radio systems actually work much more closely and make it easier to determine how much memory you have used and how much you have left. No memory space is wasted.

Since you can only program one trunking system per bank in a traditional scanner, and lets say you only have 10 banks, you can only store 10 trunking systems. Also, since some trunked systems might have hundreds of talk groups you wish to monitor, you might have to enter those systems into multiple banks in order to monitor all the ID's.

Instead of being organized into separate banks and channels, the scanner's memory is contained in a pool. You build the systems and groups then use as much memory as you need in the pool to store frequencies, talk group ID's, and alpha tags. With all previous scanners, you selected banks to scan that had channels stored in them. With this scanner, you select 'Systems' to scan that have channel 'Groups' stored within the 'Systems'. Conventional systems have frequency groups and trunking systems have ID groups (no more scan lists). The trunking frequencies go into a 'system editor', not a system or a group.

You can store as many as 400 'Systems' and you can have as many as 20 groups per 'System' with up to 200 frequencies or IDs in each 'Group' (if you have enough memory). The (U)BCD396T will give you up to 6000 tagged channels.

Understanding Quick Keys
'Quick Keys' are used to turn systems and groups on and off (enable or disable for scanning). This is not the same as locking out or unlocking systems or groups (which you can also do). They are just the number keys on the scanner but once programmed to systems or groups they become the 'Quick Key' for the systems or groups.

There are 100 'System Quick Keys' (0-99) and 10 and 'Group Quick Keys' (0-9).

Single-digit system quick keys work like bank keys-press them to turn systems on or off. To turn double-digit system quick keys on or off you have to press .(no) first then the two digits. To turn groups on and off for each system you have to press and hold Func then the number key (when scanning each system). You can also have systems and groups that are not programmed to quick keys that will always be scanned (unless you lock them out).

You can program one or more 'Systems' to any system quick key or, program one or more systems with no quick key. You can also program one or more 'Groups' to any group quick key or, program one or more groups with no quick key. If you have a single system or group you want to turn on or off once and a while, program it to its own quick key.

My advice is to program everything to quick keys so you don't have to remember what to turn off/on or what to unlock/lockout. There are no indicators in the display showing systems/groups with no quick key so you won't know if they are being scanned unless you see (or don't see) them scroll by in the display.

Conventional Simplex and Repeater Systems

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Simplex systems use a single frequency for both transmit and receive. Most radios using this type of operation are limited to line-of-sight operation. This type of radio is frequently used at construction job sites, and with inexpensive consumer radios such as GMRS/FRS radios. The range is typically 1-8 miles, depending upon the terrain and many other factors.

Repeater systems use two frequencies: one transmits from the radio to a central repeater; the other transmits from the repeater to other radios in the system. With a repeater based system, the repeater is located on top of a tall building or on a radio tower that provides great visibility to the area of operation. When a user transmits (on an input frequency), the signal is picked up by the repeater and retransmitted (on an output frequency). The user's radios always listen for activity on the output frequency and transmit on the input frequency. Since the repeater is located very high, there is a very large line of sight. Typical repeater systems provide coverage out to about a 25-mile radius from the repeater location.

Understanding CTCSS/DCS

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Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (CTCSS) and Digital Coded Squelch (DCS) are two methods used to prevent interference by other radio communications. Your scanner can receive transmissions that use these codes (or more commonly referred to as tones).

CTCSS and DCS systems all use some form of coded squelch. Coded squelch techniques involve the transmission of a special 'code' signal along with the audio of a radio transmission. A receiver with coded squelch only activates when the received signal has the correct 'code'. This lets many users share a single frequency, and decreases interference caused by distant transmitters on the same channel. In all major metropolitan areas of the United States, every available radio channel is assigned to more than one user. Public safety radio systems on the same frequency are usually set up at a distance of 40 miles apart, or more. This means that you may hear transmissions from a distant system when your local system is not transmitting. By programming the CTCSS tone for a local channel the scanner will not stop on transmissions from the distant system. With few exceptions, such as the VHF Aircraft and Marine bands, almost every other VHF or UHF radio system uses some form of coded squelch. By far, CTCSS is the most popular mode among non-trunked systems.

For more information visit Radio Reference's respective pages on CTCSS and DCS.

Understanding Trunking

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Trunking systems let a large group of 2-way radio users (or even different groups of 2-way radio users) efficiently use a set of frequencies. Instead of selecting a specific frequency for a transmission, the user’s radio selects a programmed trunking bank in the system when that user presses their PTT (push to talk) button. The trunking system automatically transmits the call on the first available frequency, and also sends (on a different frequency called a Data or Control channel) a code that uniquely identifies that transmission as a talkgroup ID (or just ID.) So when you are trunktracking a system, you are listening to active IDs transmitting in the system (each using the first available frequency in the system.) Trunking systems in general allocate and use fewer frequencies among many different users.

Since the trunking system might send a call and its response on different frequencies, it is difficult to listen to trunked communications using a conventional scanner. These scanners let you monitor the control channel frequency so you can hear calls and responses for users and more easily "follow" conversations than with a conventional scanner.

These trunking scanners trunktrack the following types of systems:

Motorola Type I
Motorola Type II
Motorola Type IIi Hybrid
Motorola Type II Smartnet
Motorola Type II Smartzone
Motorola Type II Smartzone Omnilink
EDACS Standard (Wide)
EDACS Standard Networked
EDACS Narrowband (Narrow)
EDACS Narrowband Networked
EDACS SCAT
EDACS ESK (version 3.0 firmware or later required-BCD396T only)
LTR Standard
Project 25 Standard

When you program Motorola frequencies into the scanner, one frequency is the control (or data) channel, and the rest are voice frequencies shared by all the users. There may be 3 or 4 frequencies assigned as (primary or alternate) control channels but only one control channel will be active at a time. These scanners will allow you to program just the Motorola control channels into the trunking system and the voice channels will automatically be found. EDACS systems need all the frequencies for the system programmed and in the correct LCN (Logical Channel Number) order.

The control channel is continually transmitted to the field units and has a sound similar to listening to a boat engine over the phone (in manual mode; you won't hear this when you are trunking the system.) This control channel is also a good check to see if you can trunktrack the system. If you can't hear a control channel when you step through the trunking frequencies (in manual mode), you either don't have all the frequencies or are too far away to receive the control channel and the system. Motorola systems are limited to a maximum of 28 frequencies per system, Ericsson EDACS systems are limited to 25 frequencies per system.

LTR systems work a little differently. This type of system encodes all trunking information as digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmission. LTR systems typically do not have a dedicated control channel. The frequencies also have to be in LCN (Logical Channel Number) order or the correct 'slot' for the system to trunktrack properly. Each repeater has its own controller, and all of these controllers are synchronized together. Even though each controller monitors it's own channel, one of the channel controllers is assigned to be a master that all controllers report to. Each of these controllers sends out a data burst approximately every 10 seconds so that the subscriber units know that the system is there. This data burst is not sent at the same time by all the channels, but happens randomly throughout all the system channels. If you listen to the frequencies of an LTR system in manual mode (not trunking), on every channel in the system you will hear this data burst that will sound like a short blip of static like someone keyed up and unkeyed a radio within about 500 msec. LTR systems are limited to 20 frequencies per system.

Trunkscanning is basically scanning IDs that are programmed into ID locations (same concept as frequencies into channels.) You can then trunkscan just the programmed IDs. Trunktracking is searching for all IDs in a system (same concept as searching for frequencies in a band.)

Radio Reference.com has an excellent page explaining the various types of trunking systems in more detail here.

Understanding IDs

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IDs are what you see instead of frequencies when you monitor a trunking system.

Motorola IDs come in two formats: Type I and Type II. Each format displays and uses talk group IDs in slightly different ways.

Type I IDs are in the format FFF-SS where FFF is the fleet and SS is the sub-fleet. Type I systems are usually organized with different IDs assigned to different fleets. For example, a valid fleet/subfleet ID identifying all detectives within a police department might be 000-12, where 000 identifies all police IDs and 12 identifies the Detective division. To properly trunk a Type I system, you have to program the fleet map for the system.

Type II IDs are identified by a 5-digit number.

Type I/II hybrid systems use both fleet-subfleet and 5-digit formats for talk group IDs.

EDACS IDs come in two formats: AFS and Decimal.

AFS IDs are in the form AA-FFS where AA is the agency, FF is the fleet, and S is the sub-fleet. EDACS systems are organized with different IDs assigned to different fleets and agencies. For example, a valid agency/fleet/subfleet ID identifying all detectives within a police department in an agency might be 06-101, where 06 identifies the agency (Police), 10 identifies the Police division (East side), and 1 identifies the Detective division.

Decimal IDs are shown as a decimal number from 0 to 2047.

You can find a chart showing Decimal and AFS IDs here: Conversion Chart.

I-Call IDS (Motorola/EDACS only) are direct unit-to-unit transmissions that are not heard by other system users. I-call IDs are usually 6-digit IDs (ex: 700152).

LTR IDS are in the format A-HH-UUU where A is the area code (0 or 1), HH is the home repeater (01-20), and UUU is the user ID (000-254).

Terms Used in this Document

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Channel- a frequency or talkgroup ID location.

Searching- the process of searching for frequencies in quick search, service search, close call autostore, or custom search.

Scanning- the process of stepping through conventional channels in groups, which are in programmed 'systems'.

Trunktracking (ID search mode)- the process of searching for talkgroup IDs in trunked systems, in programmed 'systems'.

Trunkscanning (ID scan mode)- the process of scanning talkgroup IDs in ID groups, in programmed 'systems'.

You search for frequencies in frequency bands.

You scan programmed channels in groups (in programmed 'systems').

You trunktrack for IDs in programmed trunking 'systems'.

You trunkscan programmed IDs in ID groups (in programmed trunking 'systems').

Hold Mode- the mode the radio is in when it’s just on, holding on a channel.

Menu Mode- used for programming frequencies, IDs, trunking frequencies/systems/fleet maps, and other 'system' settings.

Scan Mode- the mode the radio is in when scanning and/or trunking.

Search Mode- the mode the radio is in while doing a quick search, service search, search and store, close call autostore, close call search, or custom search.

Turning on the Scanner/Setting the Squelch/Volume

Contents

1. Press and hold

for about 2 seconds to turn on the scanner. The scanner should start scanning after the (#&$%) welcome screen disappears. If the screen is too dark, press

to turn on the backlight.

2. Press the scroll control to display the volume level. Turn the scroll control (within 10 seconds) to adjust the volume. Press the scroll control again to close the volume level (or let it disappear after 10 seconds).

3. Press and hold Func then press the scroll control to display the squelch level. Turn the scroll control (within 10 seconds) to adjust the squelch. Press the scroll control to close the squelch level (or let it disappear after 10 seconds).

Right away you may want to check these settings:

Set Backlight

Adjusting the Display Contrast

Adjust Key Beep

The only thing you will be able to scan right out of the box are the preprogrammed systems in the scanner. You will also be able to do a service search, custom search, weather search, search and store, close call search, or call auto store.

Keypad and Knob Controls

Contents

Key

Function(s)

Scroll Control,
Sql, Vol

Turn to select scan/search direction and to continue scan/search.
Turn to scroll to a menu item in menu mode.
Turn to select characters when editing text.
Press to select a menu item or save a name in menu mode.
Press then turn to adjust volume level.
Press Func + Vol then turn to adjust squelch.
Press to view trunking activity indicators (while scanning a trunked system).
Press to view battery level.

Menu

Enters the menu mode.
returns to previous menu.

Func

Press and hold to enter Function mode.

In Function mode:
Press 0-9 to turn groups on/off in scan mode.
Press Hold/

to toggle Close Call mode on/off in scan/search mode.
Press E/yes(att) to toggle the attenuator on/off for a channel in scan mode.
Press E/yes(att) to toggle the attenuator on/off for a search in search/Close Call mode.
Press Scan/Srch to start a 'quick search' at the current frequency in scan mode.
Press L/O to toggle the lockout status of a system or service/custom search in scan mode.
Press L/O to view locked out frequencies in search/Close Call modes.
Press and hold (.)no to view a repeater frequency in scan/search/Close Call modes.
Press

to toggle the keypad lock in any mode.
Press Menu to go to the 'Edit' menu for the current system in scan mode.
Press Menu to go to the 'Search for...' menu in search mode.

Hold/

Holds on a frequency or channel.

In Hold mode:
Scroll through the channels.
Press Scan/Srch or Hold to resume.
Enter a frequency/ID and press E/yes to go to the frequency/ID.
Press Func (each time) then 1(Pri) (each time) to toggle priority modes in scan or search modes.
Press Func then 2(Wx) enter the weather operation menu in scan/search/Close Call/Tone-Out mode.
Press Func then Hold (each time) to toggle Close Call modes in scan/search/Tone-Out modes.
Press Func then 5 (each time) to toggle from text to frequencies/IDs scan mode.
Press Func then 7 to quickly scroll to a system/group/channel in scan/search mode.
Press Scan/Srch to start a 'quick search' at the current frequency in scan mode.
Press Func then L/O to toggle the lockout status of a system or service/custom search in scan mode.
Press Func then

to toggle the keypad lock in any mode.
Press Func then E/yes(att) to toggle the attenuator on/off for a channel in scan mode.
Press Func then E/yes(att) to toggle the attenuator on/off in search/Close Call mode.
Press Func then press and hold (.)no to view a repeater frequency in scan/search/Close Call modes.
Press Func then Menu to go to the 'Edit' menu for the current system in scan mode.
Press Func then Menu to go to the 'Search for...' menu in search mode.

Scan/Srch

Scans the stored channels.
Toggles 'ID Search' or 'ID Scan' while scanning a trunked system.
Func+Scan/Srch starts quick search or quickly accesses the search menu.

L/O

Lets you lock out a selected channel or skip a specified frequency.
Func+L/O locks or unlocks a selected system in scan or scan hold mode.
Func+L/O review search lockout frequencies in search or search hold mode.
Press and hold for more than 2 seconds in scan hold mode to unlock all channels in a conventional system.

Press and hold for more than 2 seconds to turn the scanner on or off.
Turns the display backlight on or off.
Func+

locks and unlocks the keypad.

Number Keys

Press to toggle single-digit systems (assigned to quick keys) on or off in scan mode.
Press to toggle custom searches on or off in search mode.
Func+Number key selects group quick keys in scan mode.
<4 moves the cursor to the left when editing a name.
6> moves the cursor to the right when editing a name.

(.)no /rev

Press to cancel an error or warning message.
Press before entering a 2-digit quick key in scan mode.
Press to enter a decimal point for a frequency.
Press twice to delete current character when editing text.
Press 3 times to delete all characters when editing text.
Press to enter a hyphen when entering an ID while programming.
Press to enter an 'i' when entering an 'I-Call' ID while programming.
Func+(.)no/rev monitors the currently-tuned frequency's reverse frequency.

E/yes/(att)

Press to select input and menu items
Press to quickly edit a channel in scan hold mode
Press to store a frequency into memory in search hold mode or ID in ID search mode.
At a prompt, answers Yes.
Func+E/yes/Att turns the scanner's attenuator on or off for the current channel (for conventional systems) or system (for trunked systems).

Navigating the Menu

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The scanner's menu lets you select options that let you set up and use the scanner. To use the menu, press the Menu button on the left side of the scanner. To select a menu item, rotate the scroll control clockwise or counterclockwise. The currently-selected menu item is highlighted with a bar on the display. When the menu item you want to select is highlighted, press E/yes or the scroll control to select it. To back up a level, press Menu. To exit the menu press L/O or Scan. To see a complete outline of the menu go here.

A Look at the Display

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The (U)BCD396T display

The display has indicators that show the scanner's current operating status. The display information helps you understand how your scanner operates.

In Scan Mode:

Top Line:

appears In the top left when you hold down Func to select a function.

DSKP appears in the top left when data skip is on.

PRI appears in the top in priority mode and blinks in priority plus mode.

will appear in the top right if the keylock is on.

will appear in the top right and blink (with a tone) if the battery is low.
To view the battery level (in volts) press the scroll control and look at the small numbers in the upper right of the display.
Press the scroll control again to close the volume level (or let it disappear after 10 seconds).

2nd Line:

will show the currently scanned system name.

3rd Line:

will scroll "SCAN", "ID SCAN", or "ID SEARCH" and an up or down arrow to show the scan direction.

4th Line:

shows the control channel frequency of the trunking system.
shows the trunking activity indicators (when scanning a trunked system) for 10 seconds when VOL is pressed.

5th Line:

S0-9: shows the first digit of the currently scanned system quick key on the left followed by the blinking second digit (1-0) on the right.
a - means nothing is assign to the quick key.
an * means the quick key is turned off.
the volume level is ready to adjust if you press Vol.
the squelch is ready to adjust if you press Func then Vol.

will appear in the lower right if the Close Call Feature is on.

6th Line:

GRP shows the group quick keys (1-0) that are turned on for scanning for each system.
a - means nothing is assign to the quick key.
a * means the quick key is turned off.

WX will appear in the lower right if weather priority is on.

Receiving (or Hold) Mode:

Top Line:

appears In the top left when you hold down Func to select a function.

DSKP appears in the top left when data skip is on.

HOLD replaces DSKP in HOLD mode.

L/O appears in the top if the channel or system is locked out.

PRI appears in the top in priority mode and blinks in priority plus mode.

will appear in the top right to show the signal strength of the channel or frequency.

will appear in the top right if the keylock is on.

will appear in the top right and blink (with a tone) if the battery is low.
the battery level will appear if you press the scroll control.

2nd Line:

will alternate between the system name and the group name (if quick key is assigned a number) for a conventional or trunked system.

3rd Line:

will show the ID number or frequency (or text tag if programmed) for a conventional or trunked system.

4th Line:

appears when receiving a priority channel.
will show the receive mode on the left.
ATT if the channel is attenuated for a conventional channel.
the tone code will appear if programmed and blink in tone search mode.
the channel frequency appears for a trunking system.

5th Line:

will appear in the lower right if the Close Call Feature is on.

6th Line:

GRP shows the group quick keys (1-0) that are turned on for scanning for each system and the active group will blink.
a - means nothing is assign to the quick key.
a * means the quick key is turned off.

WX will appear in the lower right if weather priority is on.

In Search Mode:

Top Line:

appears In the top left when you hold down Func to select a function.

PRI appears in the top in priority mode.

will appear in the top right if the keylock is on.

will appear in the top right and blink (with a tone) if the battery is low.
the battery level will appear if you press the scroll control.

2nd Line:

will show the currently searched band name.

3rd Line:

will scroll the frequency range and an up or down arrow to show the scan direction.
will scroll SEARCH in close call only mode.

4th Line:

appears when receiving a priority channel.
shows the receive mode of the search.
will show ATT if the search band is attenuated.
will show SCR if one or more broadcast screens are turned on in close call only mode.
will show REP if repeater reverse is turned on in close call only mode.

5th Line:

will appear in the lower right if the Close Call Feature is on.

6th Line:

WX will appear in the lower right if weather priority is on.

In Search Receiving (or Hold) Mode:

Top Line:

appears In the top left when you hold down Func to select a function.

HOLD appears in HOLD mode.

PRI appears in the top in priority mode.

will appear in the top right to show the signal strength of the channel or frequency.

will appear in the top right if the keylock is on.

will appear in the top right and blink (with a tone) if the battery is low.
the battery level will appear if you press the scroll control.

2nd Line:

will show the search band name.

3rd Line:

will show the ID number or frequency.

4th Line:

will show the receive mode on the left.
ATT if the search is attenuated.

5th Line:

will appear in the lower right if the Close Call Feature is on.

6th Line:

WX will appear in the lower right if weather priority is on.

Note: No Icon will appear in the display to tell you if the battery save feature is on or off.

BCD396T Auto Step Sizes/Auto Modulation

Contents

Frequency Range	Step (kHz)	Mode	Band	Frequency Range	Step (kHz)	Mode	Band
25-29	5	AM	CB/Business	174-216	50	WFM	VHF TV
28-29.680	20	NFM	10 Meter Ham	216-225	20	NFM	1.25 Meter Ham
29.7-50	10	NFM	VHF Low	225-400	25	AM	UHF Air
50-54	20	NFM	6 Meter Ham	380-400	12.5	NFM	Military Trunked
54-72	50	WFM	VHF TV	400-420	12.5	NFM	Federal Trunked
72-76	5	FM	Astronomy	420-450	12.5	NFM	70 cm Ham
76-88	50	WFM	VHF TV	450-470	12.5	NFM	UHF Standard
88-108	100	WFM	FM Broadcast	470-512	12.5	NFM	UHF TV
108-137	25	AM	Commercial Air	764-776	12.5	NFM	PS Trunked
137-144	12.5	NFM	Military Land Mobile	794-806	12.5	NFM	PS Trunked
144-148	5	NFM	2 Meter Ham	806-824	12.5	NFM	PS
148-150.7875	12.5	NFM	Military Land Mobile	849-869	12.5	NFM	PS Trunked
150.800-162	5	NFM	VHF High	894-956	12.5	NFM	UHF Hi, 33 cm Ham
162-174	12.5	NFM	Federal	1240-1300	25	NFM	UHF Hi, 25 cm Ham

UCBD396T Auto Step Sizes/Auto Modulation

Contents

Frequency Range	Step (kHz)	Mode	Frequency Range	Step (kHz)	Mode
25-28	5	AM	174-225	100	WFM
28-70	10	FM	225-400	50	AM
70-88	12.5	FM	400-512	6.25	NFM
88-108	100	WFM	764-776	12.5	NFM
108-137	12.5	AM	794-806	12.5	NFM
137-148	5	FM	806-956	12.5	NFM
148-174	12.5	FM	1240-1300	12.5	NFM

The modulation settings for the channels/frequencies in the above receive bands are default settings for search and quick search. The user can change the modulation from AM/FM/NFM/WFM or AUTO for each channel or custom (not service) search band.

There is no step selection for programmed channels because the scanners will automatically accept any step size.

Entering Text

Contents

To program text you must first program the system, group, channel, custom search, or SAME group. There are links to refer you back here when you have finished programming.

To enter a letter, turn the scroll control until the character you want appears.
(character order clock-wise is upper-case, lower-case, numbers, then special characters).
To enter a decimal point, press (.)no.
To move the cursor to the right, press 6>.
To move the cursor to the left, press <4.
To clear a character or enter a space, press (.)no twice.
To clear all characters, press (.)no 3 times.
Press E/yes when finished to exit.
Return to Programming Systems, Copying a System, Program New Channel, Creating a Group, Edit Driver, Edit a Custom Search, Setup Tone-Out, or Program A SAME Group.

Planning Conventional Systems and Groups

Contents

Planning your systems will be very important even if you do have the software. Organizing your quick keys will be the hardest part of the planning. You can assign quick keys and copy and paste most of the freqs, alpha tags, and IDs easily into the software.

Most people can get everything they scan into the scanner. I like to scan by general interest so I set my system quick keys accordingly; 1-Public Safety systems, 1-Trunked PS systems, 2-Air, 2-Air Trunked systems, 3-Military, 3 Military Trunked systems, 4-Federal, etc. Then I will nest my groups (ex: Fire, Police, EMS) within the conventional systems, (Fire IDs, Police IDs, EMS ID within trunked systems) and give them all group quick keys.

So, you have to figure out which systems and groups to assign to your quick keys so you can scan them without a table of contents and with some sort of logic you can remember. Use the worksheets below to help you plan your systems and groups.

Worksheets

I have put together complete worksheets ready to print to help you plan your systems, Close Call, and Fire Tone-Out, etc. settings. Even if you don't fill them out, they are a good check list for programming. If you don't have Excel you can download and install a viewer here.

BCD396T Excel worksheets

UBCD396T Excel worksheets

Programming Systems

Contents

You have to create systems first, create groups in the systems, create channels in the groups, then program your frequencies or IDs into the channels. Or, you can Quickstore freqs or Quickstore IDs (only after you program the trunking system). Trunking IDs go into trunking system groups and conventional frequencies go into conventional system groups. You can only store one trunking system per 'system'. You can store up to 400 systems, up to 20 groups per system, and up to 200 channels or IDs per group.

The (U)BCD396T will give you about 6000 tagged channels. Also, remember that conventional frequencies and IDs are considered as channels.

One suggestion; assign every group and every system to a quick key. You can assign as many systems you want to a system quick key and as many groups you want to a group quick key. That way you can just turn systems and groups on and off and not have to worry about locking them out. If you don't assign a system or group to a quick key, you have to lock it out if you don't want to scan it.

Use the worksheets to help you program your systems and groups.

To Create a new Conventional system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to 'New System' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Sys Type' scroll to 'Conventional' and press E/yes. At 'Confirm?' press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Then see Editing System Options to customize the system.
Then see Creating Groups.
Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs to program frequencies.

Contents

To Program a new Motorola system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to 'New System' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Sys Type' scroll to 'MOT' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the type of Motorola system you want to program and press E/yes.

Use '800MHz Standard' for 800 MHz systems that use the standard band plan.
Use '800MHz Custom' for rebanded 800 MHz systems that use a custom band plan.
Use '800MHz Splinter' for 800 MHz systems that use the splinter band plan (typically systems near the international borders).
Use 'p25' for a Motorola Astro APCO 25 system in any band.

At 'Confirm?' press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. To name the system, see Entering Text.
Scroll to 'Set Frequencies' and press E/yes.
At 'New Frequency' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Frequency' enter the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Edit Frequency' press Menu and scroll down to 'New Frequency', then press E/yes. Repeat to program the rest of the trunking frequencies. Press Scan to exit.
Then see Editing System Options to customize the system.
Then see Creating Groups.
Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs to program IDs.

To Program a new EDACS system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to 'New System' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Sys Type' scroll to 'EDCS' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'WIDE', NARROW', or 'SCAT' and press E/yes. At 'Confirm?' press E/yes.

Note: EDACS Wide is the same as EDACS Standard. EDACS Narrow is the same as EDACS Networked.

At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. To name the system, see Entering Text.
Scroll to 'Set Frequencies' and press E/yes.
At 'New Frequency' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Frequency' enter the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Input LCN' enter the LCN number and press E/yes. See Finding EDACS LCN Order.
At 'Edit Frequency' press Menu and scroll down to 'New Frequency', then press E/yes. Repeat to program the rest of the trunking frequencies. Press Scan to exit.
Then see Editing System Options to customize the system.
Then see Creating Groups.
Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs to program IDs.

Contents

To Program a new LTR system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to 'New System' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Sys Type' scroll to 'LT' and press E/yes. At 'Confirm?' press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. To name the system, see Entering Text.
Scroll to 'Set Frequencies' and press E/yes.
At 'New Frequency' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Frequency' enter the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Input LCN' enter the LCN number and press E/yes. See Finding LTR LCN Order.
At 'Edit Frequency' press Menu and scroll down to 'New Frequency', then press E/yes. Repeat to program the rest of the trunking frequencies. Press Scan to exit.
Then see Editing System Options to customize the system.
Then see Creating Groups.
Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs to program IDs.

To Edit the System Name, press the Menu button. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to the system that you want to assign a name to and press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Press Scan to exit.

Contents

To set the Modulation for a Motorola or LTR system, press the Menu button. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to the system you want to set the modulation in and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set Modulation' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of three settings and press E/yes.
Auto- the scanner uses the default modulation for the frequency band.
FM- the scanner uses FM for the frequency band.
NFM- the scanner uses NFM for the frequency band.
Press Scan to exit.

To set the Attenuator for a trunked system: This setting controls whether the attenuator will be on or off for the system. Turn on this setting if you are near strong signal sources. Attenuation can help reduce interference by about 18 dB. The default setting is off.

While scanning the system, press the Func then E/yes(att).
Or, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system you want to attenuate and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set Attenuator' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

To Delete a system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to the system you want to delete and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Delete System' and press E/yes.
At 'Confirm Delete?' press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

To Copy a system, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to the system you want to copy and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Copy System' and press E/yes.
At 'New Sys Name?' enter the name of the new copied system.
Press Scan to exit.
Copying a system will copy all settings for the system including quick key assignments.

Edit System Options Menu

Contents

Once you have your Systems built you can configured your System options.

To Edit Conventional System Options:
Press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes. At 'Select System' scroll to the system that you want to edit and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Sys Option' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Set Quick Key (conv/trunking only)	Edit Band Plan (P25 Motorola only)	Set I-Call (Motorola/EDACS only)
Set Lockout	Edit Band Plan (Custom 800 Motorola only)	Set Emergency Alert (Motorola/EDACS only)
Set Hold Time	Edit Band Plan (VHF/UHF Motorola only)	Set C-Ch Only (Motorola only)
Set Delay Time	Edit Fleetmap (Motorola 800MHz Type I only)	EDACS ID Format (EDACS only)
Set Data Skip (conv only)	Set Status Bit (Motorola only)	Rvw ID:Srch L/O
Set ID Scan/Search	Set End Code (Motorola only)	Clr All L/O IDs
	Digital End Code (P16 Motorola only)	Adjusting the P25 Level

Set Quick Key (Conventional or Trunking system only) assigns a system to a quick key and will be scanned when the key is turned on. The default setting is no quick key.

Scroll to 'Set Quick Key' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the quick key number (or . for no quick key) you want to assign to the system and press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: Pressing the first number of a 2-digit quick key will get you closer, 1 for 10, 2 for 20, etc.

Set Lockout determines whether a system will be scanned or not even if the quick key for the system is turned on. The default setting is unlocked.

Scroll to 'Set Lockout' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Locked' or 'Unlocked' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Contents

Set Hold Time sets (in seconds) the amount of time the scanner will scan the system before moving on to the next (unlocked) system. If you select 0 for trunking systems, the scanner stays on the system for at least 1 second. For conventional systems, all unlocked channels will be scanned at least once regardless of this setting. The scanner moves to the next system after the hold time expires, any current transmission ends, and the channel delay time expires. The default setting is 2 seconds for each system.
Tip: set your systems to 0.

Scroll to 'Set Hold Time' and press E/yes.
Enter the hold time (0-255 seconds) you desire and press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Delay Time for the system sets (in seconds) the amount of time the scanner stays on a channel after the transmission has ended before resuming scanning. This setting applies to all channels in the system. You cannot set the delay on a 'per channel' basis. The default setting is 2 seconds.

Scroll to 'Set Delay Time' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the desired delay time (1-5 seconds or Off) and press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Data Skip (conventional systems only) sets what the scanner does when it receives a data signal. With the setting set to on, the scanner stops briefly on the channel, but then immediately resumes scanning automatically. With the setting set to off, the scanner remains on the channel until the transmission stops. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Set Data Skip' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.

ID Scan/Search sets whether the scanner scans the programmed ID groups (ID Scan) or searches for all IDs (ID Search) in a trunking system. The default setting is ID search.

Scroll to 'ID Scan/Search' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'ID Scan' or 'ID Search' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: You can also do this while scanning the system by pressing SCAN.

Contents

Edit Band Plan (P25/Custom/VHF/UHF Motorola systems only)

For P25 Systems: The (U)BCD396T includes two operation modes for P25 systems: Explicit mode and Implicit mode channel assignment. Explicit mode systems include all information needed to determine voice frequencies on the control channel. For Explicit mode systems, leave all entries blank. You must supply the system's band plan for Implicit systems for the scanner to correctly determine voice frequencies.

Scroll to 'Edit Band Plan' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Plan' scroll to 'Band Plan 1-6' and press E/yes.
At 'Set Base Freq' press E/yes.
Enter base frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Set Spacing' enter the step size and press E/yes.
Repeat for each band plan as needed. Press 'Menu' to return.

For Custom (rebanded) Motorola Systems: This update adds the ability to create a Motorola 800 MHz system using a custom band plan. When you create a system that has been rebanded to use the frequencies newly added for use by the FCC, you have the option now of selecting 800MHz Custom as the Motorola system type.

Scroll to 'Edit Band Plan' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Plan' scroll to 'Band Plan 1-6' and press E/yes.
At 'Set Base Freq' press E/yes.
At 'Input Lower' enter the lower base frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Input Upper' enter the upper base frequency and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Offset' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Offset' enter the offset and press E/yes.
At 'Select Polarity' select + or - and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set Spacing' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Spacing' enter the step size and press E/yes.
Repeat for each band plan as needed. Press 'Menu' to return.

For standard rebanded systems, you need to set Band Plan 1 and Band Plan 2 as follows:

Band Plan	Lower Base Freq	Upper Base Freq	Offset	Polarity	Spacing
1	851.025	854.000	440	+	25 kHz
2	851.0125	868.9875	0	+	25 kHz

For VHF/UHF Motorola Systems: allows you to set the base frequency, step size, and offset for the system. A band plan is required so the scanner can correctly determine the voice channel frequency. You can set up to 3 different band plans. For info on obtaining these settings for a system if you don't have them visit Radio Reference.com and go to the RR Database. I have found an explanation for VHF/UHF systems at Radio Reference.com that describes how to find the base, offset, and step if you don't have the information. The Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page also has an explanation. Look for 'Determining Base and Offset Frequencies for the BC245xlt' by John C.

Scroll to 'Edit Band Plan' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Band Plan 1' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Base Freq' enter the base frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Select Step' scroll to the step size and press E/yes.
At 'Offset' enter the offset and press E/yes.
Repeat for each band plan. Press 'Menu' to return.

Contents

Edit Fleetmap (Motorola 800MHz Type I systems only) allows you to select a preprogrammed fleetmap or program a fleetmap for Motorola Type I systems. You must program a system fleet map in order for the scanner to properly track and display talk group ID's. If you don’t know which fleet map to use, you can try a method I found at Radio Reference.com. Since it is rather lengthy, I will just give you the link. Determining Type I Motorola Fleet Maps by Dave Goodson.

Scroll to 'Edit Fleetmap' and press E/yes.

To select a Preset Fleetmap, scroll to 'Preset' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the number of the preset fleetmap and press E/yes to save and exit. See Preset Fleetmaps.
To program a Custom Fleetmap, scroll to 'Custom' and press E/yes.
At 'Block 0' scroll to the size code (0-14) and press E/yes. See Size Codes.
The scanner will prompt you to the next block (1) to scroll to the size code (0-14) then press E/yes.
Repeat for each block (0-7) and you will return to the 'Edit Sys Option' menu.

Note: If you select size code 12, 13, or 14, these restrictions apply:

12 can only be assigned to Blocks 0, 2, 4 or 6.

13 can only be assigned to Blocks 0 and 4.

14 can only be assigned to Block 0.

Since these size codes require multiple blocks, you will be prompted for the next available block. For example, if you assign Block 0 as 12, the scanner prompts you for block 2, the next block available, instead of block 1. If you assign Block 0 as 14, you would not see another prompt because 14 uses all available blocks.

Set Status Bit (Motorola systems only) sets how your scanner works with status bits (also called S-bits), letting you control how the scanner interprets and displays Motorola talkgroup IDs. The default setting is ignore.

Scroll to 'Set Status Bit' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of two settings and press E/yes to save and exit.
Ignore- the scanner rounds all received ID's down to the next interval of 16.
Yes- the scanner treats all received ID's as unique ID's.

Contents

Set End Code (Motorola systems only) sets how the scanner handles the transmission end code sent by most Motorola systems. The default setting is Yes.

Scroll to 'Set End Code' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of two settings and press E/yes to save and exit.
Yes- the scanner immediately returns to the control channel when it detects the end code.
Ignore- the scanner does not return to the control channel until the carrier drops.

Digital End Code (P16 Motorola systems only) might be a solution to the issue that systems with stuck repeaters hang the scan cycle for P16 Systems Motorola 3600 bps digital systems.

Scroll to 'Digital End Code' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Yes' or 'Ignore' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Set I-Call (Motorola/EDACS systems only) sets whether the scanner will monitor I-call IDs. I-calls (or private calls) are transmissions made from one radio user to another radio user and not heard by everyone else in the trunking system. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Set I-Call' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of three settings and press E/yes to save and exit.
Off- the scanner ignores I-call IDs.
On- the scanner tracks I-call IDs.
Only- the scanner tracks only I-call IDs and ignores other radio traffic on the system.

Contents

Emergency Alert (Motorola/EDACS systems only) sets how your scanner handles IDs that have the emergency flag set. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Emergency Alert' and press E/yes.
Scroll to:
Off- the scanner will not alert.
Alert 1-9- to choose any of 9 different beep types and press E/yes.

At 'Set Level' scroll to:
Auto- the scanner automatically sets the emergency alert beep to the master volume level. Press E/yes to save and exit.
Level 1-15- scroll to the volume level preferred.
Press E/yes to save and exit.

Set C-Ch Only (Motorola systems only) allows you to enter just the control channels for a Motorola system. The scanner will then find (but will not program) any active voice channels and any new voice channels. Tip: Enter all of the frequencies and set the system for C-Ch Only in case the control channels change. The default setting is on.

Scroll to 'Set C-Ch Only' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of two settings and press E/yes to save and exit.
Off- you must enter all voice and control channel frequencies.
On- you only need to enter control channel frequencies.

Contents

EDACS ID Format sets how your scanner displays EDACS IDs. They can be displayed in two formats: AFS and Decimal. The default setting is AFS.

Scroll to 'EDCS ID Format' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'AFS Format' or 'Decimal Format' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Rvw ID:Srch L/O allows you to view the locked out IDs in a system.

Scroll to 'Rvw ID:Srch L/O' and press E/yes.
At 'Unlock?' press E/yes or (.)no to unlock each displayed ID or 'Nothing Locked' appears if nothing is locked out.
Press Scan/Srch twice to resume scanning or 'Menu' to return.

Clr All L/O IDs allows you to unlock all the locked IDs in a system.

Scroll to 'Clr All L/O IDs' and press E/yes.
At 'Confirm?' press E/yes to save and exit.
'Nothing Locked' appears if nothing is locked out.

Adjusting the P25 Level (Motorola and Conventional systems) This setting determines some system-specific parameters for digital channels. In most cases, setting this to Auto provides the best performance. However, you can also manually set the digital decode threshold. This setting affects all channels in the current system.

Scroll to 'Adjust p25 Level' and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of three settings and press E/yes to save and exit.
Auto- the scanner automatically adjusts the digital decode threshold to match the transmission you are hearing when it receives a strong signal and has a high decode rate.
Manual- lets you manually adjust the digital decode threshold.
Default- sets the digital decode threshold to the default value. This is handy if you have manually adjusted the value to a setting that prevents proper decoding.

Contents

Optimizing P25 Performance

These steps work only when you can clearly receive the system. If you are in a weak-signal area or receive interference, these steps will not work. These steps do not compensate for weak signals or signals subject to interference.
If you set an incorrect decode threshold level in Step 5, the scanner might stop decoding all digital signals in the system. If this happens, change the setting to a value between 8 and 12 then repeat these steps.
See also: P25 audio level decode adjustment at Radio Reference.com.

1. Make sure the system's P25 Level option is set to Auto.

2. Hold on an active digital channel on the system.

3. While holding down Func, briefly press the scroll control twice. The next to last line on the display now shows the digital error rate and the AUTO decode threshold start level (0-20). The last line on the display shows the decode threshold levels for the system.

4. Allow the scanner to monitor channel activity for several minutes. The error rate should drop for each transmission and the threshold levels should automatically adjust to a more optimal setting. Then, once the threshold level settles to a stable setting, make a note of the values. This is the system's optimum decode threshold.

5. While holding down Func, rotate the scroll control to set the AUTO decode threshold start level to a setting that most closely matches the system's optimum decode threshold. Now, when the scanner stops on a system, it will use this threshold as the starting point for automatic optimization.

6. While holding down Func, briefly press the scroll control to exit this mode.

Creating Groups

Contents

Once you have your Systems built and your systems options configured you can create your groups.

To Create a New Group (no EDACS SCAT), press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.

At 'Select System' scroll to system where you want to create a group and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to 'New Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Press Menu and scroll to 'New Group' to create more groups.
Continue at 'Edit Name' below.
Then see Programming Frequencies/IDs to program frequencies.

To Edit Group Options:
Press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system that has the group you want to edit and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group you want to edit and press E/yes.
Scroll to the options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Edit Name	Edit Channel	Set Lockout
Set Quick Key	Delete Group

Edit Name allows you to change the name of a group.

At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Press Scan to exit or Menu to return.

Set Quick Key sets the quick key for the group.

Scroll to 'Set Quick Key' and press E/yes.
Scroll to or enter the quick key number (0-9 or . for no quick key) you want to assign to the group and press E/yes to save and exit.

Contents

Edit Channel creates channels and edits channel options.
See Programming Frequencies/IDs.

Delete Group deletes a group.

Scroll to 'Delete Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Confirm Delete?' press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Lockout locks or unlocks a group (even with its quick key enabled).

Scroll to 'Set Lockout' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Unlocked' or 'Lockout' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Programming Channels into Groups

Contents

Once you have your Systems built, systems options configured, and groups built, you can (finally) program your channels. Channels are not numbered in the scanner.

Quickly Storing a Conventional Frequency

To program a frequency into a 'Quick Save Group' in a 'Quick Save System', in scan mode press Hold to hold on any channel.
Enter the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Quick Freq Save?' press E/yes.

Note: If the frequency is already stored in the group, 'Frequency Exists Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return.

The scanner will save the frequency in a (created) group called 'Qck Save Grp' in a (created) system called 'Qck Save Cnv Sys' (with no quick keys assigned) and you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel. If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to 'Hold' to enter another frequency or Scan to exit.
Then see Edit Channel Options, Edit Group Options, and Edit Systems Options to customize the channel(s), group, and system.

To program a frequency into an existing group, Hold on any channel.
Enter the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Quick Freq Save?' press (.)no.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system where you want to store the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group where you want to store the frequency and press E/yes.

Note: If the frequency is already stored in the group, 'Frequency Exists' Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return.

After storing the frequency, you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel. If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to 'Hold' to enter another frequency or Scan to exit.
Then see Edit Channel Options to customize the channel(s).

Contents

Quickly Storing an ID Note: You have to program the trunking system and site first. See Programming Trunking Systems.

To program a ID into a 'Quick Save Group', Hold on any channel in the system you want to store the ID in.

.	Enter the ID (see Entering IDs) and press E/yes.

At 'Quick TGID Save?' press E/yes.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system where you want to store the ID and press E/yes.

Note: If the ID is already stored in the group, 'TGID Exists Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return.

The scanner stores the ID into a (created) channel group called 'Qck Save Grp' (with no quick key assigned) and you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel. If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to 'Hold' to enter another frequency or Scan to exit.
Then see Edit Channel Options and Edit Group Options to customize the channel(s), and group.

To program a ID into an existing group, Hold on any channel.

.	Enter the ID (see Entering IDs) and press E/yes.

At 'Quick TGID Save?' press (.)no.
At the 'Select System' scroll to the system where you want to store the ID and press E/yes.
Scroll to the group where you want to store the ID and press E/yes.

Note: If the ID is already stored in the group, 'TGID Exists Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return.

After storing the ID, you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel. If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to 'Hold' to enter another frequency or Scan to exit.
Then see Edit Channel Options to customize the channel(s).

Manually Programming Channel Frequencies/TGIDs

Contents

To program a new channel, press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.
At 'Select System' scroll to system where you want to program a channel and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group that you want to program the channel in and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Channel' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Channel' scroll to 'New Channel' and press E/yes.
At 'Input Frequency (or TGID)' enter the frequency or ID and press E/yes.

To enter a Conventional Frequency enter the Frequency and press E/yes.

To enter a Motorola Type II ID enter the ID and press E/yes.

To enter a Motorola Type I ID enter the fleet number, press (.)no once for a hyphen, then enter the subfleet and press E/yes.

Note: If you omit the subfleet (still need the hyphen), the scanner treats this field as a wildcard (will treat the subfleet as 1 ID).

To enter a Motorola I-Call ID, press (.)no once then enter the ID and press E/yes.

To enter a Motorola Wildcard (receive any) I-Call ID, press (.)no once then enter 0 and press E/yes.

To enter a EDACS ID in AFS (default) format, enter the agency number, press (.)no once for a hyphen, then the fleet and subfleet and press E/yes. See also EDACS ID Format.

Note: If you omit the fleet and/or subfleet (still need the hyphen), the scanner treats these fields as wildcards (will treat the fleet and/or subfleet as 1 ID).

To enter a EDACS ID in Decimal format, enter the ID and press E/yes.

To enter a EDACS I-Call ID, press (.)no once then enter the ID and press E/yes.

To enter a EDACS Wildcard (receive any) I-Call ID, press (.)no once then enter 0 and press E/yes.

To enter a LTR ID, enter the area code (0 or 1) and press (.)no once, then enter the home repeater number (01-20) and press (.)no once, then the user ID (1-254) and press E/yes.

Note: If you omit the user ID (still need the hyphen), the scanner treats this field as a wildcard (will treat the home repeater as 1 ID).

Note: If the channel is already stored in the group, 'TGID or Frequency Exists Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return.

At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Press Menu to return to 'Select Channel'. Scroll to 'New Channel' and press E/yes.
Program the rest of the channels the same way.
Then see Edit Channel Options to customize the channel.

Edit Channel Options Menu

Contents

Once you have your Systems built , systems options configured, groups built, and your channels programmed, you can set your channel options.

To Edit Channel Options:
Press Menu. At 'Program System' press E/yes.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system that contains the channel and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group that has the channel you want to edit and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Channel' press E/yes.
At 'Select Channel' scroll to the channel you want to edit and press E/yes.
Or, while scanning, Press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then press 7/Rcl.
At 'Select System' scroll to system that contains the channel and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group that contains the channel and press E/yes.
At 'Select Channel' scroll to the channel and press E/yes twice.
You can also edit any displayed channel in scan mode by pressing E/yes.

Scroll to the options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Edit Name (conv/trunking only)	Copy/Paste Channel	Set Modulation (conv only)
Set Priority (conv only)	Edit Frequency or TGID	Set Attenuator (conv only)
Set Alert	Set CTCSS/DCS (conv only)	Set Lockout
Delete Channel

Edit Name (Conventional or trunking only)

The channel name appears on the second line of the display when the scanner stops on a channel. If you do not enter a channel name, the scanner displays the frequency for conventional systems or the talk group ID for trunked systems.

Scroll to 'Edit Name' and press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Press Scan to exit or Menu to return.

Channel Priority (conventional channel only)

Contents

This setting controls whether the scanner treats the channel as a priority channel while scanning. There doesn't seem to be a limit to how many channels you can set. When you turn on the Priority feature, the channel(s) will be scanned every 2 seconds. P appears at the end of the default (not the tagged) name in the display to denote the channel is a priority channel. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Set Priority' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.

Channel Alert

This setting controls whether the scanner will alert you when the channel becomes active. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Set Alert' and press E/yes.
Scroll to:
Off- the scanner will not alert. Press E/

to save and exit.
Alert 1-9- to choose any of 9 different beep types and press E/yes.

At 'Set Level' scroll to:
Auto- the scanner automatically sets the emergency alert beep to the master volume level. Press E/

to save and exit.
Level 1-15- scroll to the volume level preferred. Press E/

to save and exit.

Deleting Channels

Contents

Scroll to 'Delete Channel' and press E/yes.
At 'Confirm Delete?' press E/yes to save and exit.

Copying/Pasting Channels

The scanner can copy a channel (and all its settings) into a copy buffer to paste into the same system (in a different group) or a group in another system.

Scroll to 'Copy Channel' press E/yes to save to the channel buffer.

To Paste the Channel, press Menu until 'Select System' appears.
At 'Select System' scroll to system where you want to paste the channel and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Group' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group that you want to paste the channel in and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Channel' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Channel' scroll to 'Paste Channel' and press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: You can only copy and paste from like systems -conventional to conventional, trunking to trunking, or racing to racing.

Edit Frequency or TGID

Contents

Scroll to 'Edit Frequency' or 'Edit TGID' and press E/yes. Enter the frequency or ID and press E/yes to save and exit.

Set CTCSS/DCS (conventional channel only)

This setting controls how a subaudible CTCSS or DCS is used for the channel. The default setting is off. See Understanding CTCSS/DCS.

Scroll to 'Set CTCSS/DCS' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of 5 options and press E/yes to save and exit:
Off - any signal opens squelch.
Search - the scanner searches for and displays any CTCSS or DCS tone that accompanies the transmission.
CTCSS - the scanner only opens squelch if the CTCSS tone you select is also present with the signal. The scanner then prompts you to enter or scroll to the desired tone.
DCS- the scanner only opens squelch if the DCS tone you select is also present with the signal. The scanner then prompts you to enter or scroll to the desired tone.
Set Lockout - the scanner does not stop on the channel if the tone you select is present. The scanner prompts you to select a CTCSS or DCS tone.

Set Modulation (conventional channel only)

Contents

This setting selects the modulation used for the channel. The default setting is auto (NFM for FM channels).

Scroll to 'Set Modulation' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Auto, AM, FM, NFM, or WFM and press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Attenuation (conventional channel only)

This setting controls whether the scanner attenuates signals on this channel by about 18 dB. The default setting is off.

Scroll to 'Set Attenuator' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: You can also do this by quickly pressing Func then E/yes(att) while receiving the channel in scan mode.

Set Lockout

Scroll to 'Set Lockout' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.

Scanning 'Systems'

Contents

With all previous scanners, you selected banks to scan that had channels stored in them. With this scanner, you select 'System Quick Keys' to scan that have 'Systems' assigned to them. See also Set System Quick key.

You can also unlock any service or custom search to include it while scanning. Service search bands and custom searches don't have quick keys (while scanning) and can only be locked or unlocked.

So, now you turn 'System Quick keys' on and off and 'Group Quick Keys' on and off (within each 'System'). The scanner scans all (unlocked) systems assigned to system quick keys that are turned on (in order) and then all (unlocked) systems not assigned to system quick keys. The scanner scans the group quick keys the same way within a system quick key. Then the scanner will search any unlocked custom/service searches.

Turning quick keys on and off for systems is not the same as locking and unlocking systems. You can still do that separately (if you really want to confuse yourself).

For example (and cars are scanned the same way groups are):

System Quick Key 1

System #1

Group quick key 1,2,3,etc. in system #1.

Then groups not assigned a group quick key in system #1.

System #2

Group quick key 1,2,3,etc. in system #2.

Then groups not assigned a group quick key in system #2 and so on.

System Quick Key 2

System #3

Group quick key 1,2,3,etc. in system #3.

Then groups not assigned a group quick key in system #3.

System #4

Group quick key 1,2,3,etc. in system #4.

Then groups not assigned a group quick key in system #4 and so on.

Then Systems not assigned a system quick key.

Then Service Searches not assigned a system quick key.

Then Custom Searches not assigned a system quick key.

Then Service Searches (in order; PS, News, Ham, etc., regardless of quick key).

Then Custom Searches (in order; 1,2,3, etc., regardless of quick key).

Contents

Press Scan. The scanner scans a system for the duration you set using the 'system hold time' option. For trunked systems, the scanner moves to the next system after the hold time expires, the current transmission ends, and the channel delay expires. Conventional systems operate similarly, but all (unlocked) channels are scanned at least one time regardless of the hold time setting. Then all unlocked searches are run for the duration you set using the 'set hold time' option.

Note: If no systems are programmed, or all systems (or group in a system) are locked out or turned off, 'Nothing to Scan' appears. Program, unlock, or turn on a system (or group in a system) to scan.

To continue scanning (move on to the next channel), press Scan or turn the scroll control.

To change the scan or search direction, turn the scroll control back or forward.

To turn System quick keys on or off, for single digit keys, press the corresponding number on the keypad that is assigned to the system you want to listen to. To turn a double-digit key on or off, Press (.)no first then enter the 2 digits.

Note: Any system not assigned to a quick key (and not locked out) will still be scanned.

To turn Group quick keys on or off, while scanning press and hold the Func button-don't let go. Scroll to the system that contains the group you want to turn on/off then press the corresponding number key(s) on the keypad.
Or, if you are quick enough, press and hold Func then the corresponding number key(s) on the keypad while the system is being scanned. Releasing the Func button will return to scanning (and searching).

Note: Any group not assigned to a quick key (and not locked out) will still be scanned.

To hold on the current system, press and hold Func-don't let go. (You won't see IDs or tags). Scanning resumes 2 seconds after you release the Func button.

To hold on the current ID or frequency, press Hold. To step through IDs/frequencies, turn the scroll control back or forward. Press Hold again to resume scanning (and searching).

To hold on a specific frequency, press Hold to hold on any channel. Enter the new frequency and press Hold to set the new frequency.

To hold on a specific ID in the current system, press Hold to hold on the system. Enter the new ID and press Hold to set the new ID.

To hold on a ID/frequency in a different system (or service search), press Hold to hold on any channel or frequency. Press and hold Func-don't let go, scroll to the system containing the ID/frequency. Release Func and scroll to the ID/frequency. Press Scan to resume scanning (and searching).

To lock out a channel or frequency, press L/O while the channel or frequency is in the display.

To lock or unlock Search Bands, press and hold Func-don't let go then scroll to the service or custom search and press L/O.

To lock or unlock a single system (not a system key), or a system not assigned to a quick key press and hold Func-don't let go then scroll to the system and press L/O. Releasing the Func button will return to scanning (and searching).

To lock or unlock a single group (not a group key) or a group not assigned to a quick key, press Hold to hold on any channel or frequency.

Press and hold Func then press 7/Rcl.
At 'Select System' scroll to system that contains the group and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group you want to unlock then press and hold Func and L/O.
Press Scan to resume scanning (and searching).

To change between ID Scan or ID Search mode for each trunked system, press Func then Scan while scanning the trunked system.
Or, press and hold Func and scroll to the system, release Func and press Scan.

To view the trunking activity indicators for a trunked system, press Vol while scanning a trunked system. You will be able to see the indicators for 10 seconds.

To view active IDs in a trunked system, press Hold while scanning the system you want to monitor. Scroll to the (noisy) control channel. Active IDs will scroll in the display. Press Scan to resume scanning (and searching).

To store a displayed ID into a group during ID search, press E/yes. Then see Programming a Displayed ID.

To store a search frequency, press E/yes. Then see Programming Displayed Frequency.

To toggle between frequency or ID and text display, Hold on any channel and press Func then 5. Press Hold to resume.

Note: You can't view the frequency in 'control channel only' mode (with just the control channel programmed) scanning a Motorola system.

To check for a repeater frequency, press and hold Func then press and hold (.)no/(rev).

To turn the attenuation on or off for a (conventional) channel, quickly press and hold Func then press E/yes(att) while the channel is in the display.

To turn the attenuation on or off for a trunking system, press and hold Func then press E/yes(att) while scanning the system.

To attenuate a search, press and hold Func then press E/yes(att).

To turn the priority feature on, press Hold to hold on any conventional channel then press and hold Func and press 1/Pri (each time) to select one of two priority modes or off. Press Scan to resume scanning (and searching). See Priority/Priority Plus Scan.

To set the Weather Priority feature, See Weather Alert Priority.

To turn Close Call on or off, press and hold Func then press Hold. See also Close Call Hits.

To unlock a conventional channel, see Locking/Unlocking Channels.

To unlock search frequencies see Reviewing Locked Out Frequencies.

To review and/or unlock locked out IDs, see Reviewing Locked out IDs.

To unlock all IDs, see Clear All IDs.

Programming a Displayed ID (in ID Search Mode)

Contents

To program a displayed ID into an existing group during ID Search, press E/yes.
You will see 'Quick TGID Save?' in the display then press (.)no.
At the 'Select Group' prompt, scroll to the group where you want to store the ID and press E/yes.
After storing the ID, you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel.
If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press Scan to return to scanning.

Note: If the ID is already stored in the group, 'TGID Exists' Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return to searching (or search hold) or E/yes to go to the 'Edit Channel' menu.

Priority/Priority Plus Scan

Contents

To use the priority feature, you must first set your priority channels.

To turn the priority feature on, press Hold to hold on any channel then press and hold Func then press 1/Pri (each time) to select one of two priority modes or off.

Priority on, While scanning a system, the scanner interrupts every 2 seconds and checks the priority channels in each system. Priority channels in systems with lower 'system quick keys' (starting with 1) have highest priority. Pri appears in the display when you select this mode.

Priority Plus, The scanner only scans the priority channels. Pri flashes in the display when you select this mode.

Priority off, scans normally with no priority.

Press Scan to resume scanning.

Or, in scan mode press Menu, scroll to 'Set Priority' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the mode you want to use and press E/yes.

Press Scan to resume scanning.

Note: The quick keys for the system(s) and group(s) containing the priority channel(s) have to be turned on (and groups and systems have to be unlocked) or the scanner will display Priority Scan No Channel.

Locking/Unlocking 'Systems' and Searches

Contents

To lock out or unlock a system, (even with its quick key enabled) or custom/service search:
In scan mode press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then press 7/Rcl.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system/search you want to lock or unlock.
Press and hold Func then L/O to lock or unlock the system/search.
Press Scan to exit.

Locking/Unlocking Groups

To lock out or unlock a group, (even with its quick key enabled):
In scan mode press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then press 7/Rcl.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system that contains the group and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group you want to lock or unlock.
Press and hold Func then L/O to lock or unlock the group.
Press Scan to exit.

Locking/Unlocking Channels

Contents

To lock out a channel while scanning simply press L/O when the channel appears in the display.

To lock or unlock a channel, press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then press 7/Rcl.
At 'Select System' scroll to system that contains the channel and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group that contains the channel and press E/yes.
At 'Select Channel' scroll to the channel and press and hold Func then L/O to lock or unlock the channel.
Press Scan to exit.

To unlock all channels in a conventional system, Press Hold to hold on any channel in the system.
Press and hold L/O until 'All Unlocked' appears.
Press Scan to resume scanning. This may also turn all your groups back on.

To review and/or unlock locked out IDs, see Reviewing Locked out IDs.

To unlock all IDs, see Clear All IDs.

Search/Close Call Options Menu

Contents

These are the settings you should look at before you perform a quick search, close call search, search and store, or close call autostore.

To Edit Search and Close Options:
Press Menu. Scroll to 'Srch/CloCall Opt' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Freq Lockouts	CTCSS/DCS Search	Max Auto Store	Set Modulation	Set Data Skip
Broadcast Screen	Repeater Find	Set Delay Time	Set Attenuator	Set Step

Freq Lockouts: allows you to review locked out frequencies or unlock all frequencies for Searching and Close Call search.

Reviewing Locked Out Frequencies:
Scroll to 'Freq Lockouts' press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Rvw Search L/O' and press E/yes. If no frequencies are locked out, you will see 'Nothing Locked'. If there are locked out frequencies, you will see the first locked out frequency and 'Unlock? (Y/N)'.
Press E/yes to unlock the frequency. Pressing (.)no will bring you to the next locked out frequency.
Press L/O to return or Scan to exit.

Unlocking All Frequencies:
Scroll to 'Freq Lockouts' press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Unlock All' press E/yes.
At 'Confirm?' press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Contents

Broadcast Screen: This setting determines whether the scanner automatically ignores transmissions that are on common broadcasts, paging systems, and other annoyance radio sources during Custom Search, Service Search, or Close Call Search.

Scroll to 'Broadcast Screen' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of 4 options and press E/yes.
1. Set All Bands On - turns on broadcast screen on for all bands and custom bands. Press Menu to return.
2. Set All Bands Off - turns off broadcast screen off for all bands and custom bands. Press Menu to return.
3. Program Band - then scroll to the custom band (1-10) and press E/yes.

At 'Set Lower Limit' enter the lower limit of the frequency range and press E/yes.
At 'Set Upper Limit' enter the upper limit of the frequency range and press E/yes. Scroll to the next band and repeat.
Press Menu to return.

4. Set Each Band - then scroll to each band and press E/yes to turn off or on.

Pager - the scanner skips known paging system frequencies.
FM - the scanner skips known FM frequencies.
UHF TV - the scanner skips known UHF TV frequencies.
VHF TV - the scanner skips known VHF TV frequencies.
NOAA WX - the scanner skips known NOAA weather frequencies (not w/UBC396).
Band 1-10 - the scanner skips known frequencies for custom broadcast ranges.
Press Menu twice to return.

Note: Broadcast screen is not effective during some service searches.

CTCSS/DCS Search: This setting controls whether the scanner will search for a subaudible tone when it stops on a transmission during Searching and Close Call search. The default setting is Off.

Scroll to 'CTCSS/DCS Search' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: The scanner will not detect or decode P25 signals if you turn on CTCSS/DCS search only).

Repeater Find: This feature sets whether the scanner tries to tune to a repeater output frequency when it detects a transmission on a repeater input frequency in Search and Close Call modes. Since you can normally only hear one side of a conversation when you listen to an input frequency transmission, turning this feature on can let you hear both sides of the conversation on the output frequency. The default setting is Off.

Scroll to 'Repeater Find' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On and press E/yes to set the scanner to automatically apply repeater reverse to detected transmissions. If the scanner detects the transmission on the output frequency, it beeps and 'Repeater Found' appears, and it remains on the output frequency until transmissions end. If it does not detect a transmission on the output frequency, it remains on the original frequency.
If you scroll to Off, the scanner doesn't try to find the repeater frequency.
Press Scan to exit.

Contents

Max Auto Store: This value sets how many hits the scanner will automatically store when it is in either Search and Store or Close Call Auto Store mode. When the scanner reaches the maximum number of hits you set, it stops the auto-store operation.

Scroll to 'Max Auto Store' and press E/yes.
Use the number keys to enter a value from 1-255 then press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Delay Time: This setting determines how long the scanner waits after a transmission ends before resuming Quick Search and Close Call Search operations. The default setting is 2 seconds.

Scroll to 'Set Delay Time' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (seconds) or Off to set the delay then press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Modulation: This setting controls the modulation type used for Quick Search and Close Call Search operations.

Scroll to 'Set Modulation' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Auto, AM, FM, NFM, or WFM to choose the modulation then press E/yes to save and exit.

Contents

Set Attenuator: This setting controls the attenuator for Quick Search and Close Call Search operations. Turn on this setting if you are near other strong signal sources to attenuate about 18dB. Attenuation sometimes helps to reduce interference and desensitization that strong signals create. The default setting is Off.

Scroll to 'Set Attenuator' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off then press E/yes to save and exit.

Set Data Skip: This setting controls how the scanner behaves when it detects a data transmission during Quick Search and Close Call Search operations. The default setting is Off.

Scroll to 'Set Data Skip' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off then press E/yes to save and exit.

Note: If you are trying to test the Close Call feature with a nearby transmitter and you do not talk into the transmitter, the scanner will detect this as data and will skip the frequency when Data Skip is on.

Set Step: This setting selects the frequency step used for Quick Search. The default setting is Auto. See also Auto Step Sizes.

Scroll to 'Set Step' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Auto, 5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 50, or 100 to set the step then press E/yes to save and exit.

Search For... Menu

Contents

Quick Search	Edit Custom Search	Storing a Displayed Frequency
Edit Service Search	Custom Search	Search and Store
Service Search	Searching	Auto Step Size Chart

Reviewing Locked out Frequencies

Quick Search

Quick Search lets you search from the currently-tuned frequency if you are scanning a conventional system or enter a frequency to start searching from.
See Search/Close Call Options first.

To start searching at the currently displayed frequency:
Press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch.
At 'Quick Search?' press E/yes to start searching. Then see Searching.

To start searching at a specific frequency while scanning or searching, press Hold to hold on any channel or frequency.
Enter the new frequency you wish to start at then press Hold to set the new starting frequency.
Press Hold again to release hold mode and start searching. Then see Searching.

Editing a Service Search

Contents

You can change the way service search works for each service.

To Edit a Service Search, press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch. At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
Or, Press Menu. Scroll to 'Search For...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Edit Service' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the service search you want to edit and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Delay Time and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, seconds or Off to set delay and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Attenuator and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.

Scroll to Search with Scan and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set lockout' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Unlocked if you want the search included while scanning and press E/yes. Press Menu to return.
Scroll to 'Set Hold Time' and press E/yes. Enter the Hold time in seconds and press E/yes. Press Menu to return.
Press Scan to exit.

Service Search

The Service Search lets you quickly select and search the scanner's preprogrammed frequencies.
See Search/Close Call Options and Edit Service Search first.

To start a Service Search, press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch. At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
Or, Press Menu. Scroll to 'Search For...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Service Search' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the service search and press E/yes to start searching. Then see Searching.

To search more than one Service Search, press Scan/Srch.
Press and hold Func-Don't let go. Scroll to each service search you want to include and press L/O to unlock the service search.
Turn off any systems you don't want scanned using the quick keys and/or lock out any systems without quick keys assigned to them. Then see Searching.

Editing a Custom Search

Contents

You can edit the 10 custom search ranges. The default custom search range names appear as Custom 1, Custom 2, and so on.

To Edit a Custom Search, in scan mode Press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch.
At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
At 'Search for...' scroll to 'Edit Custom' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the custom search you want to edit (1-10) and press E/yes.

Scroll to Edit Name and press E/yes. See Entering Text.

Scroll to Edit Srch Limit and press E/yes.
At 'Set Lower Limit', enter the lower limit of the search range and press E/yes.
At 'Set Upper Limit', enter the upper limit of the search range and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Delay Time and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, seconds or Off to set delay and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Modulation and press E/yes.
Scroll to Auto, AM, FM, NFM, or WFM the set the modulation and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Attenuator and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off to set the attenuation and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Data Skip and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off to turn Data Skip on or off and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set Step and press E/yes. See also Auto Step Sizes.
Scroll to Auto, 5, 6.25, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20, 25, 50, or 100 to set the step size and press E/yes.

Scroll to Set C-Ch only and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.

Scroll to Adjust p25 Level and press E/yes.
Scroll to one of three settings and press E/yes.
Auto- the scanner automatically adjusts the digital decode threshold to match the transmission you are hearing when it receives a strong signal and has a high decode rate.
Manual- lets you manually adjust the digital decode threshold.
Default- sets the digital decode threshold to the default value. This is handy if you have manually adjusted the value to a setting that prevents proper decoding.

Press Menu and scroll to another custom search and repeat the previous steps or press Scan to exit.

Custom Search

Contents

The Custom Search lets you search the scanner's 10 programmed frequency ranges. To re-program the ranges see Editing a Custom Search.
See also Search/Close Call Options first.

To start a Custom Search, in scan mode Press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch.
At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
At 'Search for...' scroll to 'Custom Search' and press E/yes to start searching. Then see Searching.

Searching

To hold on a frequency, press Hold. Press Hold again to resume searching.

To step through the frequencies, turn the scroll control back or forward while in hold mode. Press Hold to return.

To toggle search bands on or off (custom search), press the number key of the search band.

To toggle service searches on or off, press and hold Func-don't let go. Scroll to the service search and press L\O to unlock.

To change search direction or continue searching, turn the scroll control back or forward.

To hold on a frequency, press Hold. Press Hold again to resume searching.

To step through the frequencies, press Hold. Turn the scroll control back or forward while in hold mode. Press Hold to return.

To lock out a frequency, press L/O then E/yes to confirm.

To unlock frequencies see Reviewing Locked Out Frequencies.

To check for a repeater frequency, press and hold Func then press and hold (.)no/(rev) while viewing a frequency.

To attenuate a search, press and hold Func then press E/yes(att).

To save a frequency, press Hold to hold on the frequency then see Programming Displayed Frequency.

To set the Weather Priority feature (in addition to searching), See Weather Alert Priority.

To turn Close Call on or off (in addition to searching), press and hold Func then press Hold. See also Close Call Hits.

Programming a Displayed Frequency (while searching)

Contents

To program a displayed frequency into an existing group, press E/yes.
At 'Quick Freq Save?' press (.)no.
At 'Select System' scroll to the system where you want to store the frequency and press E/yes.
At 'Select Group' scroll to the group where you want to store the frequency and press E/yes.
After storing the frequency, you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel.
If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to searching.

Note: If the frequency is already stored in the group, 'Frequency Exists' Accept? (Y/N)' appears. Press (.)no to return to searching (or search hold) or E/yes to go to the 'Edit Channel' menu.

To program a displayed frequency into a 'Quick Save Group' in a 'Quick Save System', press E/yes.
At 'Quick Freq Save?' press E/yes.
The scanner will save the frequency in a (created) group called 'Qck Save Grp' in a (created) system called 'Qck Save Cnv Sys' (with no quick key assigned) and you will be at the 'Edit Channel' menu to complete the settings for the new channel. Then see Creating Groups and Edit Systems Options to customize the group and system.
If you don't want to edit the channel settings or are done editing the channel, press L/O to return to searching.

Auto Search and Store

Contents

Lets you search and store frequencies in a custom search range or in a service search range into a conventional system, or new talk group IDs into a trunked system. To store frequencies or talk group IDs you find during Auto Store, you must first select a system where the frequencies or talk group IDs will be stored. You will not hear any audio in this mode.
See Max Auto Store first to set the maximum number of hits the scanner will store.

To Auto Store Conventional frequencies, press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch. At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
Or, Press Menu. Scroll to 'Search For...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Search and Store' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Store Sys' scroll to the conventional system you want to store the frequencies in and press E/yes.
At 'Select Range' scroll to the 'service search' or to 'custom search' to select where to search from and press E/yes.
If you select custom search, all enabled custom search ranges will be searched for frequencies. Start a custom search and disable search ranges you don't want searched first. See Custom Search.
Press Scan to exit.

Notes: The quick key for the system must be turned on (if one is assigned to the system) and not locked out to select the system to store frequencies in otherwise you will see 'System Locked'. If no systems are programmed 'No System Stored' appears.

When you select a service search or custom search range(s), the scanner looks for active frequencies within the range(s) and 'Search and Store' appears on the display's lower line and the system name and search range name(s) appear on the display's upper line. When the scanner finds an active transmission, it checks to see if the frequency has already been stored in the system ('Memory Check' in the display). If the frequency has already been stored, the scanner continues to search. If the frequency has not been stored, it stores the frequency into a (created) group named 'Found Channels', then resumes searching. 'Limit Reached' will appear in the display when the Max Auto Store value is reached.

Tip: Before you start an auto search and store, run the custom search or service search first to lock out the birdies, data, noise, etc. channels. This will prevent the scanner from stopping on them and doing a memory check each time it passes.

To Auto Store IDs, press and hold Func then press Scan/Srch. At 'Quick Search?' press (.)no.
Or, Press Menu. Scroll to 'Search For...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Search and Store' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Store Sys' scroll to the trunked system you want to store the IDs in and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Notes: The quick key for the system must be turned on (if one is assigned to the system) and not locked out to select the system to store IDs in otherwise you will see 'System Locked'. If no systems are programmed, 'No System Stored' appears. Search and store does not work if an EDACS SCAT system is selected.

'ID Search and Store' appears on the display's lower line and the system name appears on the display's upper line. When the scanner finds an active transmission, it checks to see if the ID has already been stored in the system ('Memory Check' in the display). If the ID has already been stored, the scanner continues to search. If the ID has not been stored, it stores the ID into a (created) group named 'Found Channels', then resumes searching. 'Limit Reached' will appear in the display when the Max Auto Store value is reached.

Close Call Menu

Contents

Your scanner's Close Call feature lets you set the scanner so it detects, alerts you to, and displays the frequency of a nearby strong radio transmission. You can set the scanner so the Close Call feature works in the background while you are scanning, searching, listening to the weather frequency, etc. or use Close Call only mode. You can also set the frequency band(s) where you want the scanner to look for transmissions. When the scanner detects a Close Call hit, it alerts you according to the Override and Alert settings. You can also set the scanner to Auto Store Close Call hits. See Search/Close Call Options for more options with Close Call Search. The Close Call feature does not work for frequencies greater than 956 MHz.

The Close Call feature works well for locating the source of strong local transmissions such as mobile and handheld two-way radios in areas with no other strong transmission sources. Several factors affect Close Call performance. Performance is increased with higher transmit power, receive antenna tuned to the target band, and a low background RF level. Other than the antenna, you have no control over these factors, but they explain why performance might vary by both location and time.

The Close Call feature works better with some types of transmissions than others. It might not correctly display frequency information for transmitters using a highly directional antenna (such as an amateur radio beam antenna) or if there are many transmitters operating at the same time in the same area.

To Edit Close Call Options:
Press Menu. Scroll to 'Close Call' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Set CC Bands

Set Close Call Mode

Set CC Override

Close Call Only

CC DND (do not disturb)

Set CC Alert/Beep/Pause

CC Auto Store

CC Priority

Close Call Hits

Set CC Bands: Lets you select the Close Call bands to be searched or auto stored.

Scroll to 'Set CC Bands' press E/yes.
Scroll to each band you want searched (or not searched) and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

	VHF Low 1- 25-54MHz
	VHF Low 2- 54-108 MHz
	Air Band- 108-137 MHz
	VHF High 1- 137-225 MHz
	VHF High 2- 225-320 MHz
	UHF- 320-512 MHz

800MHz+- 764-956 MHz

Contents

Close Call Only: This setting puts the scanner in Close Call Only mode. The scanner will not scan or search programmed frequencies.

At 'Close Call Only' press E/yes. Then see Close Call Hits.

CC Auto Store: Lets you select whether the scanner automatically stores Close Call hits into channels. If you turn this option on the scanner starts Close Call Only mode and stores any Close Call hits in the selected bands up to the maximum you specified in the Max Auto Store setting.

Scroll to 'CC Auto Store' press E/yes.
'Limit Reached' will appear in the display when the Max Auto Store value is reached.
Press Scan to exit.

The scanner looks for active frequencies within the range(s) and 'Search and Store' appears on the display's lower line and the system name and search range name(s) appear on the display's upper line. When the scanner finds an active transmission, it checks to see if the frequency has already been stored in the system. If the frequency has already been stored, the scanner continues to search. If the frequency has not been stored, it stores the frequency into a (created) group named 'Found Channels' in a (created) system called 'Close Call' then resumes searching.

Set Close Call Mode: This turns Close Call on when scanning or searching (or doing anything else). You can also do this by pressing and holding Func then pressing Hold while scanning or searching. See also Close Call Hits.

Scroll to 'Set CC Mode' press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of 3 modes and press E/yes to save and exit.
Off- Close Call is turned off.
CC DND- Close Call checks for frequencies every two seconds between transmissions.
Pri- Close Call checks for frequencies every two seconds.

Contents

Set CC Override: Lets you select how the Close Call feature works while scanning or searching (or doing anything else).
See also Close Call Hits.

Scroll to 'Set CC Override' press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

With this feature on, when the scanner detects a Close Call signal while scanning, the scanner overrides the current channel and goes to the Close Call hit. 'CC Found!' and 'Press Any Key' appear for the length of time set in Close Call Pause.

With this feature off, when the scanner detects a Close Call signal while scanning, 'CC Found!' and 'Press Func Key' appear for the length of time set in Close Call Pause.

Set CC Alert/Beep/Pause: Lets you select how the scanner alerts you when it receives a Close Call signal. Pause lets you select how long the scanner waits after a hit before it returns to the previous operation.
See also Close Call Hits.

Scroll to 'Set CC Alert' press E/yes.
At 'Set CC Alert' scroll to 'Select Mode' press E/yes.
At 'Select Mode' scroll the mode you prefer and press E/yes.

Beep, the scanner beeps when it receives a Close Call signal.

Light, the backlight turns on when it receives a Close Call signal.

Beep+Light, the scanner beeps and the backlight turns on when it receives a Close Call signal.

None, the scanner does not alert.

To select alert type, at 'Set CC Alert' scroll to 'Select Beep' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Alert 1-9 or Off' press E/yes.
At 'Set Level' scroll to Level 1-15 or Auto and press E/yes.

To set the Close Call pause, at 'Set CC Alert' scroll to 'Set CC Pause' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 3-60 seconds or Infinite press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Close Call Hits

Contents

Lets you select how the Close Call feature works when you are currently receiving a transmission.
See also Set CC Override.

While scanning with Close Call Override set to on, when the scanner detects a Close Call signal, the scanner overrides the current channel and goes to the Close Call hit.
'CC Found!' and 'Press Any Key' appear for the length of time set in Close Call Pause.
Press any key to listen to and display the frequency.

While scanning with Close Call Override set to off, when the scanner detects a Close Call signal, 'CC Found!' and 'E to Listen' appear for the length of time set in Close Call Pause.
Press E/yes to listen to and display the frequency.

The scanner will display the frequency and resume scanning 2 seconds after the transmission ends.
Quickly press Hold to stay on the frequency. Press Hold again to resume.

In Close Call Only mode:

To hold and listen to a hit, quickly press Hold. Press Hold to resume.

To save the frequency, quickly press Func then see Programming a Displayed Frequency.

To lock out the frequency, quickly press L/O.

To turn the attenuation on or off, press E/yes(att) to toggle on or off.

To check for a repeater frequency, quickly press Hold to hold on the frequency. Press and hold Func then press and hold (.)no/(rev). Press Hold to resume.

Weather Operation Menu (not w/UBCD396T)

Contents

Your scanner allows you to search for a local NOAA weather broadcast and set it to alert when a SAME weather alert is broadcast on a NOAA channel. You can also program FIPS codes into the scanner and set a weather channel as a priority channel.

Weather Scan	Program SAME	Set Attenuator
Weather Alert	Set Delay Time	Weather Alert Priority

Listening to the Weather Band

The scanner starts scanning the preprogrammed weather frequencies, and stops on the first signal. If this station is weak, rotate the scroll control to check for other weather broadcasts in your area.

To listen to the weather channel, press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then 2/(WX).
At 'WX Operation' scroll to 'Weather Scan' and press E/yes.
Scroll to select a different weather channel.
Press Scan to exit.

Receiving SAME Weather Alerts

Contents

This setting determines which types of signals will trigger an alert. In weather alert mode, your scanner functions as a severe weather warning radio.

To set weather alert mode, press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then 2/(WX).
At 'WX Operation' scroll to 'Weather Alert' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of 3 options and press E/yes.

'Alert Only':
The scanner alerts when it detects the 1050Hz tone that accompanies all weather alerts.

'SAME 1-5':
The scanner alerts and displays information about the weather alert when it receives a weather alert signal that includes any FIPS code you have programmed into the specified SAME group.

'All FIPS':
The scanner alerts and displays information about the weather alert when it receives any FIPS code.

The scanner will mute and scan the weather channels. When it detects a 1050 Hz tone that accompanies all weather alerts it sounds a tone, displays information about the weather alert, and turns on the audio so you can hear the weather broadcast. This is especially useful when your area is expecting severe weather conditions late at night.

Programming SAME Groups

Contents

SAME (Specific Area Messaging System) is a system developed by the National Weather Service to reduce the number of alerts received by consumers by allowing them to hear alerts only for the county(ies) they are interested in. Each alert contains information about the type and severity of the alert, as well as the specific geographic locations affected by the alert. In addition, certain special regions and wildcard settings can be assigned. Your scanner can receive all SAME alert signals broadcast within about a 50-mile radius of where you installed it.

To receive SAME alerts and broadcasts about weather occurring only in particular counties within that area, you can program up to 5 (tagable) groups of 8 FIPS codes (40 codes) into the scanners memory. This lets you avoid hearing an alert that applies to an area within a 50-mile radius but not necessarily to your county or parish.

For the purpose of broadcasting weather information, the NWS has divided the United States into regions by state and county (or parish, where applicable) then assigned a 6-digit FIPS code to identify each county or parish. For example, the code for Tarrant County, Texas, is 048439. The first digit in a FIPS code identifies the county subdivision, the next two digits identify the state, and the last three digits identify the county or parish. Most FIPS codes begin with 0, which means the code represents an entire county. The NWS, however, plans to eventually subdivide some large counties. When that happens, each subdivision will be assigned a digit from 1-9, resulting in codes such as 148439, 248439, and so on.

To obtain the FIPS code for the location where you installed your scanner call the NWS toll free at 1-888-697-7263 (follow the instructions you hear) or see FIP codes for the United States and its Possessions.

FIPS codes are in the format nSSCCC:

n: A special subcounty designator. For an entire county, use 0.
SS: The state code.
CCC: The county code.

To program SAME groups, press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then 2/(WX).
At 'WX Operation' scroll to 'Program SAME' and press E/yes.
At 'Select SAME' scroll to the SAME group (1-5) and press E/yes.
At 'SAME-#-Edit Name' see Entering Text to edit the name otherwise scroll to 'Edit County' and press E/yes.
At 'Select Code No' scroll to the spot for the code# (1-8) and press E/yes.
At 'Edit FIPS Code' enter the FIPS code and press E/yes.
The scanner will then prompt you to program the next spot for the next code in the group.
Press Menu twice to return and select a different group.
Press Scan to exit.

Set Delay Time

Contents

Sets the delay for??

To set the Delay Time, press the Menu button.
At 'Program System' scroll to 'WX Operation' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set Delay Time' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, (seconds) or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Set Attenuator

Sets the attenuator for weather operation.

To set the Attenuator, press the Menu button.
At 'Program System' scroll to 'WX Operation' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Set Attenuator' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Weather Alert Priority

Turning the Weather Alert Priority feature on allows the scanner to check the weather channels every 5 seconds for a 1050 Hz weather alert signal and still scan or search. If you should receive an alert, you will hear a loud warbling then the weather channel audio. Press Scan to exit.

To turn on Weather Alert Priority, press Hold to hold on any channel.
Press and hold Func then 2/(WX).
At 'WX Operation' scroll to 'WX Alt Priority' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Note: You will see WX in the display when Weather Alert Priority is on.

Using Fire Tone-Out

Contents

The scanner can be set to respond to fire tone-outs, a system comprised of standardized two-tone sequential paging, short one-tone paging, and long group tone paging. You can save up to 10 settings. When you select a setting in standby mode, the scanner also monitors for any other setting that uses the same transmit frequency, modulation, and attenuation settings.

Setting up Tone-Out

Press Menu. Scroll to 'Tone-Out for...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Tone-Out Setup' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Tone-Out 1' and press E/yes.
At 'Edit Name' press E/yes. See Entering Text.
Scroll to 'Set Frequency' press E/yes.

At 'Edit Frequency' press E/yes. Enter the frequency to monitor for tone-out and press E/yes to save and exit.
Scroll to 'Set Modulation' and press E/yes. Scroll to Auto, FM, or NFM and press E/yes to save and exit.
Scroll to 'Set Attenuator' and press E/yes. Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes to save and exit.
Press Menu to return.

Scroll to 'Set Tone' and press E/yes.

Notes: For two-tone pages, enter the values for tone A and tone B.
For one-tone pages using short tones of less than 3.75 seconds, enter value for tone A, and 0 for B.
For long-tone pages, such as group pages of more than 3.75 seconds, enter 0 for A and the value for B.

Scroll to 'Edit Tone A' and press E/yes. Enter the tone and press E/yes to save and exit.
(BC396 only) Scroll to 'Edit Duration A' and press E/yes. Enter the duration (in ms) for Duration A. 500 ms is the default.
Scroll to 'Edit Tone B' and press E/yes. Enter the tone and press E/yes to save and exit.
(BC396 only) Scroll to 'Edit Duration B' and press E/yes. Enter the duration (in ms) for Duration B. 300 ms is the default.
(BC396 only) Scroll to 'Tone Gap' and press E/yes. Enter the tone gap (in ms). 100 ms is the default.
Press Menu to return.

Scroll to 'Set Delay Time' and press E/yes.

Scroll to one of 3 settings and press E/yes to save and exit:
Off: the scanner resumes standby as soon as the carrier drops after a page.
1-30: (seconds): the scanner resumes standby mode after the carrier drops and the selected time expires.
Infinite: you must press Hold after a page to resume standby mode.

Scroll to 'Set Alert' and press E/yes.

Off- the scanner will not alert. Press E/yes to save and exit.
Alert 1-9- to choose any of 9 different beep types and press E/yes.

Press Menu to return then scroll to 'Tone-Out 2' and repeat to program more tones.
Press Scan to exit.

Contents

Setting Tone-Out Standby See Setting up Tone-out first.

Press Menu. Scroll to 'Tone-Out for...' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Tone-Out Standby' and press E/yes.
Scroll to monitor a Tone-Out channel (1-10).
Press Scan to exit.

The display will show the tone-out name, channel number (1-10), and tone settings. Any transmission received on the frequency will not be heard but you will still see the signal strength bars.

All tone-outs (channels) that have the same frequency (and modulation and attenuation) as the one you select will also (and only) be monitored so you can monitor up to 10 tone-out channels for one frequency. In this case, the scanner displays each tone-out channel for two seconds. It does not scan them; tone-out monitors the frequency for all tone-out channels with the same frequency. Regardless of the current display, the scanner will alert on any received toneout that matches a stored setting (channel) for the frequency.

To monitor a different frequency, scroll to a tone-out (channel) with a different frequency.

If you press HOLD while in standby mode, the scanner temporarily exits standby and you will be able to hear any transmissions on that frequency. No alerts sound, even if a tone-out matches one you have stored in hold mode. Press HOLD again to return to standby mode.

Settings Menu

Contents

To Edit Settings:
Press Menu. Scroll to 'Settings' and press E/yes.
Scroll to the setting and options below and press E/yes. Press Scan/Srch to return to scanning when done with editing.

Set Backlight	Adjusting the Display Contrast	Cloning
Adjust Key Beep	PC Control	Locking/Unlocking the Keypad and Scroll
Set Battery Save	See Scanner Info	Viewing Battery Level

Setting Analog/Digital AGC

% Memory Used

Scanner Reset

P25 Wait Time

Firmware Version

Set Backlight: To use the backlight press

. There are 5 different ways to use the backlight:

Scroll to 'Set Backlight' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of the 5 settings and press E/yes.
'10 sec' - The backlight stays on for 10 seconds after you press

.
'30 sec' - The backlight stays on for 30 seconds after you press

.
'Squelch' - The backlight turns on when the squelch opens then stays on for 5 seconds.
'Keypress' - The backlight turns on when any key is pressed then stays on for 10 seconds.
'Infinite' - The backlight turns on when you press

then stays on until you press

again.
Press Scan to exit.

Adjust Key Beep: This setting turns the key beep on or off and adjusts the volume level.

Scroll to 'Adjust Key Beep' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 1 of 3 settings and press E/yes:
Auto - the scanner automatically sets the key beep to match the master volume setting level you select.
Level 1-15 - the scanner lets you select a key beep level. You can choose any of 15 different key beep levels.
Off - the scanner turns the key beep off.
Press Scan to exit.

Contents

Set Battery Save: This setting turns the battery saver on or off. The scanner goes into low-power mode when you monitor a conventional channel that has no activity.

Scroll to 'Set Battery Save' and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Setting Analog/Digital AGC: This setting helps balance the audio level you hear as you listen to different radio sources so you can hear them at a similar volume.

Scroll to 'Set Audio AGC' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Analog or Digital and press E/yes.
Scroll to On or Off and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Adjusting the Analog AGC settings:
Turn off the Digital AGC option and turn on the Analog AGC option.
Start scanning.
Press and hold Func then tap the scroll knob (3 times) until AUDIO AGC settings are displayed.
Rotate the scroll control to change the setting.
Press and hold Func then rotate the scroll to select another setting.
Press the scroll knob to exit.

ANALOG AGC RESPONSE TIME:
Range: -4 to +6 (0 is default)
This parameter determines how frequently the AGC factor updates. Decreasing this value makes AGC respond faster, but could result in "pumping." A higher value decreases the response time.
ANALOG AGC REFER GAIN:
Range: -5 to +5 (0 is default)
This parameter determines the reference level that AGC attempts to adjust the volume to. If digital/analog volume is not matched, adjust this parameter.
ANALOG AGC GAIN RANGE:
Range: 0 to 15 (6 is default)
This parameter controls the total dynamic range of the AGC adjustments. A larger value allows a wider variation in volume.

Adjusting the Digital AGC settings:
Turn on the Digital AGC option and turn off the Analog AGC option.
Start scanning.
Press and hold Func then tap the scroll knob (3 times) until AUDIO AGC settings are displayed.
Rotate the scroll control to change the setting.
Press and hold Func then rotate the scroll to select another setting.
Press the scroll knob to exit.

DIGITAL AGC RESPONSE TIME;
Range: -8 to +8 (0 is default)
This parameter determines how frequently the AGC factor updates. Decreasing this value makes AGC respond faster, but could result in "pumping." A higher value decreases the response time.
DIGITAL AGC REFER GAIN;
Range: -5 to +5 (0 is default)
This parameter determines the reference level that AGC attempts to adjust the volume to. If digital/analog volume is not matched, adjust this parameter.

Contents

P25 Wait Time: In order to prevent "false decode" problems (digital noise at the beginning of transmissions) for channels on conventional and Motorola analog or mixed (not P25) systems, a 400 mS delay has been added to such channels. During this time, the scanner will evaluate the received signal and, if it detects P25 data, will open squelch immediately. If P25 is not detected before the delay expires, the scanner will open squelch at the end of this delay. This setting only affects conventional channels that do not have CTCSS or DCS set and channels on Motorola (non P25) systems.

Scroll to 'P25 Wait Time' and press E/yes.
Set the Wait Time from 0 to 1000 mS and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Adjusting the Display Contrast: This setting controls the display's contrast (how light or dark it appears).

Scroll to 'Adjust Contrast' and press E/yes.
At 'Contrast 1-15' scroll to the preferred contrast level and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

PC Control: To connect your scanner to a personal computer, you must first set the scanner's baud rate (the rate at which data is transferred between the scanner and the computer, in bits per second [bps]). Try the fastest settings first. If you have trouble transferring data between your scanner and your computer, try setting the baud rate to a slower setting.

Scroll to 'PC Control' and press E/yes.
Scroll to Off, 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, or 115200 and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Cloning: To clone (copy) data from one (same) scanner to another, you must first connect the scanners to each other using the included connection cables and a DB9 null modem adapter and DB9 gender changer (neither included), available at most computer stores. Then you must set one scanner as the master (source) and the other as the slave (destination). Plug the smaller end of each of the included connection cables into the Remote jack on the right side of each scanner. Then connect the other end of the cables together using the null modem connector and gender changer.
Then set up both scanners:

For each scanner, press Menu. Scroll to 'Xfer Information' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Wired Clone' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Master' and press E/yes for the source scanner.
Scroll to 'Slave' and press E/yes for the destination scanner.
When you are ready to clone the scanner, press Scan on the slave scanner first, then Scan on the master scanner. The master scanner checks the connection between the two scanners, then transfers its data to the slave scanner. When the transfer is complete, 'Complete' appears on both scanners. If the transfer did not work, 'Error' appears on the master scanner.
Press Scan to exit.

% Memory Used: This setting lets you view the amount of memory left in the scanner.

Contents

Scroll to 'See Scanner Info' and press E/yes.
Scroll to '% Memory Used' and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Firmware Version: Allows you to view the firmware version. It is recommended that you download and install the latest firmware upgrade for the scanner if you don't already have it. Uniden has a new Wiki where you will find all the information necessary to upgrade your firmware.

Scroll to 'See Scanner Info' and press E/yes.
Scroll to 'Firmware Version' and press E/yes.
Press Scan to exit.

Locking/Unlocking the Keypad:

Hold on any channel. Press Func then

to lock or unlock the keypad. This does not affect the volume setting. The scroll control still controls the volume when you lock the controls.

Viewing the Battery Level: To view the battery level (in volts) press the scroll control and look at the small numbers in the upper right of the display. Press the scroll control again to close the volume level (or let it disappear after 10 seconds).

Scanner Reset: To initialize the scanner's memory, turn off the scanner. Then press 2, 9, and Hold while turning it on.

Important! This deletes all preprogrammed data. You cannot restore preprogrammed data that has been deleted.

Related Links/Info

Contents

How to view these pages in your browsers

I have formatted these pages so that you can view them with any monitor, in any browser (Opera, I.E., Foxfire, or Netscape), at any zoom level, and in any screen area size (ex: 600x800)-small or large fonts. So if the print is too small, go to the 'view' menu in your browser and adjust it to a bigger level (or smaller if you want to see more on the screen).

Determining Type I Motorola Fleetmaps

You can try a method I found at Radio Reference.com. Determining Type I Motorola Fleet Maps. By Dave Goodson.

Determining Motorola VHF/UHF Base and Offset Frequencies

I have found an explanation at Radio Reference.com that describes how to do this if you don't have the information. The Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page also has an explanation. Look for 'Determining Base and Offset Frequencies for the BC245xlt' by John C.

Finding EDACS LCN order

EDACS frequencies have to be programmed in a certain order for the system to trunktrack properly. I have found a procedure at the Trunked Radio Systems User’s Page which explains how to find the LCN order for frequencies in EDACS systems. Look for 'Finding EDACS Logical Channel Numbers' by Todd Hartzel near the bottom of the page.

Finding LTR LCN order

LTR frequencies have to be programmed into certain channel slots for the system to trunktrack properly. I have found a web page that explains how to program LTR LCN order for the BC780XLT (trunks LTR systems the same way) here: Tracking LTR Systems.

Decimal/AFS Conversion Chart

Here is a Conversion Chart to help convert your IDs.

Newsgroups and Forums

You will have to register for the groups.

Yahoo Groups-BCD396T

Yahoo Groups-BC-RH96-Remote control head

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Preprogrammed Systems

Contents

BCD396T USA

Preset Fleetmaps

Contents

There are 16 preset fleet maps programmed into your scanner to choose from. In Motorola II systems, all the blocks have size code 0. In Type I systems, size codes are used in different blocks to denote the maximum number of users in that block. Notice that size code 12 uses 2 blocks. A Motorola Hybrid system (Type IIi) has 'blocks' of the system that are Type I Fleets/Subfleets and Type II talkgroups.
The maps that are Hybrid systems are in bold.

Preset Map 1

Preset Map 2

Preset Map 3

Preset Map 4

Preset Map 5

Preset Map 6

Preset Map 7

Preset Map 8

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

(12)

Preset Map 9

Preset Map 10

Preset Map 11

Preset Map 12

Preset Map 13

Preset Map 14

Preset Map 15

Preset Map 16

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

Block

Size Code

(12)

(12)

Size Code

Fleets

Sub
Fleets

Number of Blocks

Number of Talkgroups per Block

Max Radios per Talkgroup

Max Radios per Block

N/A

512?

128

512

128

512

256

128

256