Hi,


Bought a bcd396t last weekend and was really excited about scanning.
Never owned one or new anything about it. I turned it on and cleared
all memory first, since my area didn't seem to be pre-programmed. I
live in Bay Point CA, 94565. Sat outside my house to see what was
going on on a Saturday night. I did an automatic search for police
activity and had one or two frequencies that gave me some messages
every once in a while. Was hard to understand too by the way

Is this all there is to it, or should it be more exciting? I expected
more action on a Saturday night, especially in my area, but all I got
was a message every once in a while. Or should I not use the automatic
search, because it doesn't work properly?

Is the automatic search able to find all different frequencies, like
trunking, conventional, etc...?

I guess I'm confused because it didn't give me the action I was hoping
for.

I returned the unit on sunday...very disappointed, but maybe someone
could tell me I'm wrong and I need to do certain things to get this
unit to work.

thanks

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,


Bought a bcd396t last weekend and was really excited about scanning.
Never owned one or new anything about it. I turned it on and cleared
all memory first, since my area didn't seem to be pre-programmed. I
live in Bay Point CA, 94565. Sat outside my house to see what was
going on on a Saturday night. I did an automatic search for police
activity and had one or two frequencies that gave me some messages
every once in a while. Was hard to understand too by the way

Is this all there is to it, or should it be more exciting? I expected
more action on a Saturday night, especially in my area, but all I got
was a message every once in a while. Or should I not use the automatic
search, because it doesn't work properly?

Is the automatic search able to find all different frequencies, like
trunking, conventional, etc...?

I guess I'm confused because it didn't give me the action I was hoping
for.

I returned the unit on sunday...very disappointed, but maybe someone
could tell me I'm wrong and I need to do certain things to get this
unit to work.

thanks


You had a very powerful scanner in your hands. I blame the person you
bought it from for not showing you how to use it or at least program local
agencies in it.

Scanning is a great hobby but it's not a turn it on and listen kind of
thing. You have to do some research of your area. A great place to start
is www.radioreference.com . They have the most extensive database for
police/fire/rescue . I looked up Bay Point, CA and see it's in Contra Costa
County. Here's a listing for that county:
http://www.radioreference.com/module...me=RR&ctid=189 .

As you were scanning you were probably picking up bits and pieces of a
"trunked" system. You can listen to it but it's hard to follow if you don't
have your scanner set properly to listen to a trunked system. Here are
the basics of a "trunked" system.
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking

Hope you reconsider.
Dave

On Jun 11, 3:55 pm, "Dave Ferguson" wrote:
wrote in message

oups.com...





Hi,

Bought a bcd396t last weekend and was really excited about scanning.
Never owned one or new anything about it. I turned it on and cleared
all memory first, since my area didn't seem to be pre-programmed. I
live in Bay Point CA, 94565. Sat outside my house to see what was
going on on a Saturday night. I did an automatic search for police
activity and had one or two frequencies that gave me some messages
every once in a while. Was hard to understand too by the way

Is this all there is to it, or should it be more exciting? I expected
more action on a Saturday night, especially in my area, but all I got
was a message every once in a while. Or should I not use the automatic
search, because it doesn't work properly?

Is the automatic search able to find all different frequencies, like
trunking, conventional, etc...?

I guess I'm confused because it didn't give me the action I was hoping
for.

I returned the unit on sunday...very disappointed, but maybe someone
could tell me I'm wrong and I need to do certain things to get this
unit to work.

thanks

You had a very powerful scanner in your hands. I blame the person you
bought it from for not showing you how to use it or at least program local
agencies in it.

Scanning is a great hobby but it's not a turn it on and listen kind of
thing. You have to do some research of your area. A great place to start
iswww.radioreference.com . They have the most extensive database for
police/fire/rescue . I looked up Bay Point, CA and see it's in Contra Costa
County. Here's a listing for that county:http://www.radioreference.com/module...me=RR&ctid=189.

As you were scanning you were probably picking up bits and pieces of a
"trunked" system. You can listen to it but it's hard to follow if you don't
have your scanner set properly to listen to a trunked system. Here are
the basics of a "trunked" system.http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking

Hope you reconsider.
Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I bought it at Fry's, but nobody there who knew anything about it.
When bought it, I had already looked at the website you mentioned,
and entered the frequencies for police for my city. Every once in a
while I could here someone talking for 1 or two seconds, but it seems
that I should have heard much more than just a dispatcher going back
and force only a few times an hour. Also, I found only 2 channels when
I did the automatic search . I would expect to find much more. This
was around 11 PM. I would still expect airplaines, Fire department,
etc...I'm in the middle between two cities here(less than 2 miles), so
there should be lots of stuff going on.

How would one be able to program a trunking system then if the search
is only for Convetional? also, I'm not sure if my PD uses digital or
not. Is the search able to auto-detect digital as well?

The user's manual that came with it is probably the worst manual I've
ever read. Only today I found out about squelch. The manual said to
set the squelch, but it didn't explain what squelch was and what to
set it to. So, I put it in the middle when I tried the scanner and
left it there.

I would love to give it another try, but I am very sceptical now
unless I can see somebody show it to me in my area...

On Jun 11, 4:00 pm, Evan Platt
wrote:
On Mon, 11 Jun 2007 09:19:05 -0700, wrote:
Bought a bcd396t last weekend and was really excited about scanning.
Never owned one or new anything about it. I turned it on and cleared
all memory first, since my area didn't seem to be pre-programmed. I
live in Bay Point CA, 94565. Sat outside my house to see what was
going on on a Saturday night. I did an automatic search for police
activity and had one or two frequencies that gave me some messages
every once in a while. Was hard to understand too by the way

Police use 10 codes, and penal and vehicle codes.

Is this all there is to it, or should it be more exciting? I expected
more action on a Saturday night, especially in my area, but all I got
was a message every once in a while. Or should I not use the automatic
search, because it doesn't work properly?

Is the automatic search able to find all different frequencies, like
trunking, conventional, etc...?

Only conventional.

I guess I'm confused because it didn't give me the action I was hoping
for.

I returned the unit on sunday...very disappointed, but maybe someone
could tell me I'm wrong and I need to do certain things to get this
unit to work.

You'll want to program the 396.

Take a look at RadioReference:http://www.radioreference.com/module...name=RR&stid=6

And select what county Bay Point is in, and enter those frequencies.
--
To reply via e-mail, remove The Obvious from my e-mail address.

I understand that the police uses codes. It's just weird I pick up
only one or two dispatcher calls with a single reply in about half an
hour or so.

Maybe I should ask someone to show me exactly how to program it. Does
the software that you can buy for it program it for you (i.e. arc396)?

The user's manual that came with it is probably the worst manual I've
ever read. Only today I found out about squelch. The manual said to
set the squelch, but it didn't explain what squelch was and what to
set it to. So, I put it in the middle when I tried the scanner and
left it there.

I would love to give it another try, but I am very sceptical now
unless I can see somebody show it to me in my area...


Best thing I can tell you is to check the forum for California
http://www.radioreference.com/forums...splay.php?f=37 and place a
request for help.
I'm positive you will find someone close to your area who would be willing
to give you a hand..

Dave

On Jun 11, 6:29 pm, "Dave Ferguson" wrote:
The user's manual that came with it is probably the worst manual I've
ever read. Only today I found out about squelch. The manual said to
set the squelch, but it didn't explain what squelch was and what to
set it to. So, I put it in the middle when I tried the scanner and
left it there.

I would love to give it another try, but I am very sceptical now
unless I can see somebody show it to me in my area...

Best thing I can tell you is to check the forum for Californiahttp://www.radioreference.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37and place a
request for help.
I'm positive you will find someone close to your area who would be willing
to give you a hand..

Dave

thank you guys for all the info.

I think the california forum will be usefull. I went back to Fry's
tonight, and I also went to RadioShack. Nobody there was of any help
and couldn't tell me anything I didn't know yet. What I would really
like to know is:
1) What can one expect to find when one does an automatic search (How
do I know the thing works)
2) How do you listen to a trunking channel (i.e., do you just program
1 frequency. I thought multiple sources share the same frequency)
3) How can you tell if a Police Department uses digital technology (is
this mentioned on the frequencies website on radioreference.com)
4) How do I know my antenna is good enough. Is the stock antenna for
the 396T good enough. I live in the hills, so I though I have best
reception. It seems there's a tower almost in my backyard).
5) I read somewhere that you need a special antenna (800 Mz). Not sure
what it is for. There's also 400Mhz antenna;s. Do they all fit?

As you can see. I'm really a novice. I think I expect too much to be
done for me. It's just I don't feel like spending the $600 for
something I might not be able to use.

Thanks,


Michel

In article .com,
says...
On Jun 11, 3:55 pm, "Dave Ferguson" wrote:
wrote in message

oups.com...





Hi,

Bought a bcd396t last weekend and was really excited about scanning.
Never owned one or new anything about it. I turned it on and cleared
all memory first, since my area didn't seem to be pre-programmed. I
live in Bay Point CA, 94565. Sat outside my house to see what was
going on on a Saturday night. I did an automatic search for police
activity and had one or two frequencies that gave me some messages
every once in a while. Was hard to understand too by the way

Is this all there is to it, or should it be more exciting? I expected
more action on a Saturday night, especially in my area, but all I got
was a message every once in a while. Or should I not use the automatic
search, because it doesn't work properly?

Is the automatic search able to find all different frequencies, like
trunking, conventional, etc...?

I guess I'm confused because it didn't give me the action I was hoping
for.

I returned the unit on sunday...very disappointed, but maybe someone
could tell me I'm wrong and I need to do certain things to get this
unit to work.

thanks

You had a very powerful scanner in your hands. I blame the person you
bought it from for not showing you how to use it or at least program local
agencies in it.

Scanning is a great hobby but it's not a turn it on and listen kind of
thing. You have to do some research of your area. A great place to start
iswww.radioreference.com . They have the most extensive database for
police/fire/rescue . I looked up Bay Point, CA and see it's in Contra Costa
County. Here's a listing for that county:http://www.radioreference.com/module...me=RR&ctid=189.

As you were scanning you were probably picking up bits and pieces of a
"trunked" system. You can listen to it but it's hard to follow if you don't
have your scanner set properly to listen to a trunked system. Here are
the basics of a "trunked" system.http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking

Hope you reconsider.
Dave- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I bought it at Fry's, but nobody there who knew anything about it.
When bought it, I had already looked at the website you mentioned,
and entered the frequencies for police for my city. Every once in a
while I could here someone talking for 1 or two seconds, but it seems
that I should have heard much more than just a dispatcher going back
and force only a few times an hour. Also, I found only 2 channels when
I did the automatic search . I would expect to find much more. This
was around 11 PM. I would still expect airplaines, Fire department,
etc...I'm in the middle between two cities here(less than 2 miles), so
there should be lots of stuff going on.


If you did a search and only picked up a few random transmissions, there
was something wrong with the radio, or, you had the squelch turned up
way too high. I wouldn't be surprised if you would have opened it up, to
see the antenna lead wasn't soldered, or some other problem. Uniden's QC
is not the greatest, but seems to have improved lately. The 396 is a
very complex radio, and I personally like the Radio Shack Pro-96 better,
for it's audio quality alone. It's also simpler to use, and cheaper too.
It's supposed to be on closeout soon, to be replaced by a new model,
with more features. When it does close out, it should be 399.95 or less.


How would one be able to program a trunking system then if the search
is only for Convetional? also, I'm not sure if my PD uses digital or
not. Is the search able to auto-detect digital as well?

www.radioreference.com tells you everything you need to know about that.

The conventional trunked freqs can be listened to, but it's very
annoying to do so when there is heavy traffic. On digital stuff, all
you'll hear is a grinding noise, but you should hear something.


The user's manual that came with it is probably the worst manual I've
ever read. Only today I found out about squelch. The manual said to
set the squelch, but it didn't explain what squelch was and what to
set it to. So, I put it in the middle when I tried the scanner and
left it there.

You want it as low as possible, just so it doesn't open (You hear
something) when it's not supposed to. If you had it set way too high, it
would explain almost all your problems. I've never seen the 396 manual,
but I've never seen ANY scanner manual that doesn't explain how the
squelch works. On some radios, if the squelch is set "halfway" you won't
hear much, if anything. I've been using scanners for almost 40 years,
and still occasionally accidentally set the squelch up really high. I
still hear a lot, since I am right across the river from a local Police
transmitter, and it will make it through about any squelch setting.


I would love to give it another try, but I am very sceptical now
unless I can see somebody show it to me in my area...



From your location, you should be able to hear Martinez, Concord,
Antioch, Oakley, and more, without any problem. Since it's not all that
far away for you, go here, they can explain anything you need to know,
and sell you a radio too.

http://www.scannersunlimited.com/

And I would bet they either know about, or are members of a scanner
group for your area.


BDK

In article .com,
says...
On Jun 11, 6:29 pm, "Dave Ferguson" wrote:
The user's manual that came with it is probably the worst manual I've
ever read. Only today I found out about squelch. The manual said to
set the squelch, but it didn't explain what squelch was and what to
set it to. So, I put it in the middle when I tried the scanner and
left it there.

I would love to give it another try, but I am very sceptical now
unless I can see somebody show it to me in my area...

Best thing I can tell you is to check the forum for Californiahttp://www.radioreference.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=37and place a
request for help.
I'm positive you will find someone close to your area who would be willing
to give you a hand..

Dave

thank you guys for all the info.

I think the california forum will be usefull. I went back to Fry's
tonight, and I also went to RadioShack. Nobody there was of any help
and couldn't tell me anything I didn't know yet. What I would really
like to know is:
1) What can one expect to find when one does an automatic search (How
do I know the thing works)

You should hear a lot of traffic. Some freqs should be very busy, like
local police, and the airband 118-138mhz AM mode should have a lot of
San Francisco traffic on it. You won't, or probably won't hear the
towers very well, if at all, but the planes can be heard from a long
ways away, because of the height they are at.

2) How do you listen to a trunking channel (i.e., do you just program
1 frequency. I thought multiple sources share the same frequency)

You have to put the radio into trunking mode to do it right, but you can
listen to a NON digital one just by putting the freqs in and scanning
them. When it gets busy, it's annoying to listen to that way, and
following a conversation, or chase (like I did last night) is nearly
impossible.

3) How can you tell if a Police Department uses digital technology (is
this mentioned on the frequencies website on radioreference.com)

Yes, it is on radioreference.

4) How do I know my antenna is good enough. Is the stock antenna for
the 396T good enough. I live in the hills, so I though I have best
reception. It seems there's a tower almost in my backyard).

You should be ok with the stock one. Too much antenna on a handheld is
sometimes a problem (It overloads the radio). You can always get one
later on.

5) I read somewhere that you need a special antenna (800 Mz). Not sure
what it is for. There's also 400Mhz antenna;s. Do they all fit?

You probably don't need it, and don't worry about it for now.


As you can see. I'm really a novice. I think I expect too much to be
done for me. It's just I don't feel like spending the $600 for
something I might not be able to use.

$600 is too much. About $520 is the going price:

http://www.scannerworld.com/

http://www.usascan.com/files/bcd396T.cfm

I would make the drive to scanners unlimited, in San Carlos, and get
info and a radio from them. They can probably program it for you, or
tell you who to talk to in your area to get the right freqs. The local
scanner group (There has to be one) members will know about everything
there is to know about your local area.

I'm a customer, not connected in any way:

http://www.scannersunlimited.com/


BDK


Thanks,


Michel

The radio I bought had been used. It was $580. I looked up the prices
on the links mentioned, what a difference. I thought it was nice to
buy it in the store so I could get some help, but that was a mistake.
It could be the radio wasn't working correctly, or my squelch was too
high. I had to look up this term, since it wasn't explained in the
manual. You can look i nthe online manual and see it wasn't explained.
Only mentioned to set the squelch, but nowhere it explains what it
was. I know now... thanks.

You're right, I should be able to hear Martinez, Concord, Antioch,
Oakley.... I'm wondering. Should I be able to hear a lot of
frequencies on the conventional system? And if squelch was too high, I
would have heard nothing?

Also, maybe the frequency I was listening to was trunked. How would I
know. I entered the following frequencies in my scanner but heard
nothing:
Frequency Input License Type Tone CH Description Mode
460.15000 465.15000 KLP745 BMRF 127.3 PL 1 Dispatch FM
460.25000 465.25000 KLP745 BMRF 127.3 PL 2 Secondary FM
460.55000 465.55000 WPKV955 BMRF 127.3 PL 3 Tactical FM
154.71000 155.67000 KMC308 F 123.0 PL CLERS Diablo FM

How can I tell from this data if it is digital, trunked, or
conventional? I couldn't find a chart on radioreference that explains
these codes.

Last night I was listening to a live scanner feed on the web from
Sacramento, CA and I heard non-stop conversations going on. I know I
was doing something wrong, just don't know what.

I will keep reading guides until I understand and then probably buy
another scanner again and give it another try.

Thanks so much for the advice and guidance. You've all been a really
great help and encouraged me to go on solving this.


Michel

On Jun 12, 8:51 am, wrote:
The radio I bought had been used. It was $580. I looked up the prices
on the links mentioned, what a difference. I thought it was nice to
buy it in the store so I could get some help, but that was a mistake.
It could be the radio wasn't working correctly, or my squelch was too
high. I had to look up this term, since it wasn't explained in the
manual. You can look i nthe online manual and see it wasn't explained.
Only mentioned to set the squelch, but nowhere it explains what it
was. I know now... thanks.

You're right, I should be able to hear Martinez, Concord, Antioch,
Oakley.... I'm wondering. Should I be able to hear a lot of
frequencies on the conventional system? And if squelch was too high, I
would have heard nothing?

Also, maybe the frequency I was listening to was trunked. How would I
know. I entered the following frequencies in my scanner but heard
nothing:
Frequency Input License Type Tone CH Description Mode
460.15000 465.15000 KLP745 BMRF 127.3 PL 1 Dispatch FM
460.25000 465.25000 KLP745 BMRF 127.3 PL 2 Secondary FM
460.55000 465.55000 WPKV955 BMRF 127.3 PL 3 Tactical FM
154.71000 155.67000 KMC308 F 123.0 PL CLERS Diablo FM

How can I tell from this data if it is digital, trunked, or
conventional? I couldn't find a chart on radioreference that explains
these codes.

Last night I was listening to a live scanner feed on the web from
Sacramento,CAand I heard non-stop conversations going on. I know I
was doing something wrong, just don't know what.

I will keep reading guides until I understand and then probably buy
another scanner again and give it another try.

Thanks so much for the advice and guidance. You've all been a really
great help and encouraged me to go on solving this.

Michel

I just was able to find out if my PD or FD uses conventional or not.
It seems they use conventional. When I clicked on the license link
that is shown in the frequency table it tells me what kind of system
it is I believe. So, going back to the original question, why I
couldn't hear anything still makes me wonder. I thought I had set the
squelch somewhere in the middle, maybe around 4 or 6 or so. probably
more on the lower end. I did an automatic search and throughout the
whole scanning range it only stopped once or twice. Maybe the scanner
was bad.