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Special Report

The Uniden-Bearcat BC396XT Digital Scanner

Features, Operation and Competition

A Scanner Master Ultimate Review

Introduction

The Uniden Bearcat BCD396XT is the follow-up to Uniden’s premier handheld scanner, the BCD396T,

which has been discontinued. The ‘XT has more memories (up to 25,000 channels!) and many new

features while retaining the 396D’s small form factor and price. The BCD396XT directly competes with

the GRE PSR500 and Radio Shack Pro106

The BCD396XT adds such new features as allowing up to 500 talkgroups per trunked system (compared

to 200 for the 396D), NAC decoding, Fire Toneout Search and GPS Support. Some of these features

have never been available on any scanner before.

The BCD396XT uses Uniden’s Dynamic Memory Architecture (DMA) instead of fixed Banks and

Channels. This method of programming was introduced a few years back with the BC246T and is also

used on such scanners as the BCD396T and BCD996T. While it has a similar effect as the GRE

“Memory Object” system, the Uniden method is somewhat easier to fathom and program for many

people. DMA allows you to program as many Channels, Systems and Groups as you can until the

memory runs out instead of locking you into a fixed amount of banks and channels.

The radio resembles the BCD396T but has a silver faceplate. Otherwise the general layout is identical,

with a single multi-function control knob on the top, 16 button keypad on the front and 2 side buttons on

the left side. The right side has the same computer interface jack and power jack, the earphone jack is on

the top between the multi-function knob and the antenna.

Also in the box is the BNC-SMA adaptor that was introduced with the BC330 and 396 scanners, the

same belt holder, antenna, serial programming cable and wrist strap as the older radios. The owner’s

manual for the radio is contained on a CD-ROM, in PDF format. There is no printed manual.

Features & Functions

System, Group & Channel Memory Architecture

The BCD396XT allows you to program up to 25,000 channels. (Remember the days when 20 channels

were plenty?) While few would ever need this many available channels, it leaves a nice cushion to allow

you to program in all your local and travel scanner frequencies and still have plenty of room left over to

explore new channels. The actual total channel capacity is based on total memory usage, so the amount

of alpha tags and other items you have programmed will affect the total number of channels you have

available.

Average users will likely never fill up the radio but you can have many systems kept in the radio for

future use without worry that you will run out of memory space. You can see what percentage of

available memory you have by using the menu system. Go to the Settings menu and select “%Memory

Used” to see how much memory the radio has in a percentage basis. If you are running low you can

delete unused Systems.

With the DMA style programming you do not waste memory on unused channels since bank sizes are not

fixed. Instead, Systems only use the amount of memory needed, space is not wasted on unused channels.

On older scanners if you had a bank reserved for railroads in your area and they only used 10 channels

the rest of the 40 or 90 channels would have been unused and the memory space wasted.

The BCD396XT uses two side buttons, labeled as “Function” and “Menu”. The Menu button starts

various programming tasks, and will bring you to the various menus pretty much no matter what the

radio is doing. When in the Menus the Menu button acts as a Back button.

The Function button acts as a modifier, the Function icon appears for about 3 seconds after you press it

and during that time it allows you to perform various tasks, such as turn on and off options like CloseCall

or toggle between modes, such as Scan or Search.

Summary of content (19 pages)

PAGE 1
Special Report The Uniden-Bearcat BC396XT Digital Scanner Features, Operation and Competition A Scanner Master Ultimate Review Copyright 2009, Richard Carlson/Scanner Master Corporation Introduction The Uniden Bearcat BCD396XT is the follow-up to Uniden’s premier handheld scanner, the BCD396T, which has been discontinued. The ‘XT has more memories (up to 25,000 channels!) and many new features while retaining the 396D’s small form factor and price.
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The BCD396XT uses two side buttons, labeled as “Function” and “Menu”. The Menu button starts various programming tasks, and will bring you to the various menus pretty much no matter what the radio is doing. When in the Menus the Menu button acts as a Back button.
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NFM is used for many Public Safety channels and will be the standard for almost all Public Safety and Business operations by the start of 2014. FM is the standard 2-way communications mode for most older Public Safety and business systems as well as ham radio operations. WFM is used on low band (30 thru 50 MHz.) and some specialized operations. FMB is used on FM Broadcast and TV audio channels.
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set any Channel or Talkgroup as a Priority Channel and as many as you need. The more Priority Channels you set the less chance that you will catch important traffic however, so be careful not to set too many channels as Priority. In regular Priority mode the radio checks the Priority Channels at the intervals you specify, say every 5 seconds. The radio then reverts back to whatever it was doing before if there is no traffic on the Priority Channels, or after traffic has completed if there was traffic.
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The ESK feature allows managers of trunking systems to control what radios operate on the system and changed the data format that scanners use to track the system. Older EDACS scanners would not track ESK systems, the BCD396XT is the first Uniden to do so. LTR Logic Trunked Radio is used mostly by businesses, often on UHF. It is different from Motorola, APCO25 and EDACS in that it does not used dedicated control channels, but sends system information on the voice channels.
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Simulcast Trunking Sites Motorola, EDACS and APCO25 trunking systems can have Simulcast Sites, set up either as a Single Site Simulcast or as a Networked system with simulcast sites. Some networked systems use a combination of simulcast and single sites. For example, the Illinois StarCom21 system has simulcast sites in the larger metro areas and in more rural areas are mostly single sites.
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Frequencies and other parameters as shown below: Band Base Freq Plan Lower 1 851.0250 2 851.0125 Base Freq Upper 854.0000 868.9875 Offset Polarity Spacing 440 0 + + 25 kHz 25 kHz Then go back and enter the frequencies used on the system. Search & Scan Trunking Systems When monitoring Trunked systems you can Scan them or Search them. SEARCHing a Trunked system allows you to hear all talkgroups used on the system, regardless of whether you have them programmed in Scan Groups.
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conventional channels for Priority. Preemptive Priority on Motorola analog systems When scanning Motorola trunked systems you can set a channel (talkgroup) to Priority to force the scanner to go immediately to that channel even when the radio is already engaged on another voice channel. Control Channel Data Output The BCD396XT now supports software packages that decode trunked radio system control data directly, no more modifications are needed to the radio.
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When you set the radio to “Close Call Only” mode the display shows the numbers 1 thru 7, and relative signal strength bars. When a signal is found the number that corresponds with the number flashes, so you can tell what band the hit was from. When you press a key the frequency is displayed, along with the CTCSS, DCS or NAC code if that mode is on. The bands are numbered: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 VHF Low 25 to 54 MHz. VHF Low 54 to 108 MHz. Aircraft 108 to 137 MHz. VHF High 137 to 225 MHz. VHF High 225 to 320 MHz.
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News Media (broadcast channels including IFB audio feeds) Ham Radio (10-meter, 6-meter, 2-meter-, 220, 440, etc.) Marine Railroad Air CB Radio FRS/GMRS Racing FM Broadcast Military Air Special (all low-power walkie-talkie frequencies) * This is a general search through the popular public safety bands which does include what is now UHF TV in some areas and public safety in others between 470-512 MHz, this can cause the search to lock up in areas where TV signals are used in this band.
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educated guess that the traffic might be Mayberry. Other Parameters When setting up Search or CloseCall you can turn on other options, including delay times, P25 thresholds, auto-store limits and whether the attenuator is on. These are set thru the Menu system. Band Scope The BCD396XT also has a bandscope that allows you to view active band segments during searches. Bars on the screen display the active frequencies relative to the current channel.
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While the information can be viewed for free, in order to program directly to your radio you need to be a paid Premium Subscriber. For $30 a year you can use your software to query the extensive RadioRefrence.com database and program various Systems directly into your radio, complete with System types and text tags. Going on vacation soon? Download the systems used in Grandma’s town before you leave and save hours of tedious programming. In order to use the RadioReference.
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Startup Configurations/Startup Quick Keys Startup configurations allow you to set up the scanner in several ways and choose the one you want when you turn on the radio. Select which groups or systems you want to set in a startup configuration and set a Startup Quick Key. Then when you turn on the radio select the Quick Key and those groups and systems will be scanning and searching. Set one for work, one for play and another for travel.
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with few problems. While there are some new features and menu items the basics of the scanner are the same as the older version. If you have used a BCD996T or BC15 you can probably figure out the BCD396XT as well. If you have never used any of these before you will have to learn a new programming language. While this sounds daunting, it really isn’t that difficult. Just forget the old “Banks & Channels” method of programming and start thinking Systems, Sites and Groups.
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The BCD396XT, like it’s predecessors, does not come with an Auto adaptor. These can be purchased separately. Also available at ScannerMaster are cases and other accessories. Serial Cable The BCD396XT comes with the same RS232 serial cable as other Uniden scanners. Since most computers these days do not have the venerable Serial Port anymore you must use a USB solution. You have 2 main alternatives. One is the USB-1 cable made by Uniden (SMLink).
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Pressing Needs (Buttons and Knobs) The BCD396XT has a 16 key keypad vs. 34 buttons on the GRE. The BCD396XT uses the side panel’s Function and Menu buttons to modify key presses, as well as the multi-function knob (MFK) on the top of the radio. I find that it is easy to get lost in the maze of buttons on the GRE but many people find that it’s preferable to have more buttons and functions available right on the keypad as opposed to Uniden’s method of burying functions within a menu.
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The BCD396XT has shown so far to be less bothered by strong signals than my PRO106. A recent excursion to an area full of pagers and taxi data towers made the PRO106 go crazy while the BCD396XT had no real issues. While I locked out a bunch of CloseCall hits from these with both radios, the PRO106 received hits on several images of real strong signals that the BCD396XT only received on the actual frequency.
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time. Another feature that sets the Uniden radios apart from the GRE is the GPS connection. The ability to turn on and off systems automatically just by traveling in an area is superb. When I first got a BCD996T I was wary about this, but after spending a little time putting together a file with GPS coordinates for our statewide trunking system I was hooked. I can’t imagine not having this now, and am thrilled about having this on a handheld.
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Recommended Accessories Recommended Accessories When people invest $500 for a scanner, they probably want to protect it, get some accessories to go with it or otherwise add to the experience. Scanner Master (http://www.scannermaster.com) has a full line of scanner accessories such as cases, antennas, cables, power adaptors and references to make your scanner more enjoyable.