Owner`s manual

July 2006 MONITORING TIMES 71
model scanner. This lets you follow unencrypted
conversations on analog Motorola, Motorola
mixed mode (analog and digital/3600 baud) sys-
tems, Motorola Astro 25 (APCO 25 9600 baud)
digital systems, EDACS (wide and narrow),
EDACS SCAT, and LTR trunked radio systems.
Trunk systems in VHF, UHF, the new 700
MHz public safety band, 800 and 900 MHz bands
can be tracked. This includes some of the trunk
systems now being installed by the Department
of Defense in the new 380-399.9 MHz LMR
subband. This makes the 996 only the second
scanner capable of following trunk systems in
all the bands where trunk systems are currently
operational. The scanner can also scan both con-
ventional and trunked systems at the same time.
The BCD996T also follows Motorola con-
trol channel trunking. If the scanner is set in this
mode, the user can set it up so that it tracks a
Motorola trunk system using only control chan-
nel data. You do not have to program all of the
system's voice channel frequencies into memory
in this mode, as long as all possible control chan-
nels have been programmed.
❖ What's New
There are several new features and innova-
tions in the 996 that are unique to this radio. They
include:
• The new multi-site trunking feature lets you
share system channels across multiple trunk
system sites to more efficiently use the
scanner’s memory. This upgrade alone,
in the author’s opinion, elevates this
scanner above any other trunk scanner
in the marketplace. If you have a state-
wide system, and you want to program in
multiple sites/frequencies for that system,
you only have to program in one set of
talkgroups using the multi-site feature.
Another example of how you could use multi-
site trunking is in conjunction with a GPS
unit in an urban public safety environment.
You could program one transmit site (say,
the west side of the city) with talkgroups
associated only with that portion of the city.
As you travel around the city, the GPS would
hand your BCD996T off to the appropriate
programmed site and talkgroups as you
travel. This would let you monitor only those
talkgroups that are pertinent to the area
you are transiting and cut out talkgroups
for other areas of the city.
• Close Call do-not-disturb is a new feature
that, when set, lets the unit make periodic
Close Call checks whenever the scanner is
not receiving audio in another mode. This
eliminates annoying breaks in conversation
while still allowing for Close Call function-
ality. Another new innovation is Close Call
temporary store that temporarily saves the
last 10 Close Call hits and includes them
when scanning.
• “Soft” search keys let you quickly search
specified ranges and quick search lets you
search from the currently-tuned frequency if
you are searching a conventional system.
• A new frequency lockout function lets you lock
out up to 500 frequencies (250 permanently
locked out and/or 250 temporarily). The
scanner skips locked out frequencies while
using Close Call, scanning memories or
while searching a frequency range. Tempo-
rary lockout is cleared when you turn power
off, then back on, so you don’t have to
remember to unlock those channels later.
• Another new feature is startup configura-
systems here in the southern United States. This
included single/multi-site Motorola Analog/Digi-
tal P16/P25, EDACS Analog/Digital, and LTR
trunk systems in the VHF/VHF Gov/UHF/UHF
Gov/700/800 MHz bands, as well as a variety
of conventional analog and P25 frequencies,
including civilian and mil-air band frequencies.
The radio handled all the monitoring chores well
and was a pleasure to use in the mobile environ-
ment.
I was particularly impressed with the
BCD996T performance when I conducted a side
by side test with my Uniden BC796D. In most
cases the BCD996T was the better performer in
sensitivity, and especially so in selectivity.
Those of you who have read this column
in the past know that I maintain no scanner is
perfect. Almost my only complaint with the 996
is the steep learning curve. Honestly, given this
feature-rich scanner and the systems it can moni-
tor, I do not know how Uniden could simplify this
learning curve or the overall complexity of the
scanner’s operation. So let me offer three pieces
of advice to those who purchase this radio: read
the manual several times, use the free UASD soft-
ware to program the radio, and read the manual
again.
A strange quirk I noted is the radio default
to 5 kHz spacing in the 150.8-162.0 MHz public
safety band. The majority of this band now uses
7.5 kHz spacing. Other than that, Uniden has
come a long way in getting their search steps in
line with current spectrum practices.
Finally, while the GPS capability is a neat
feature, it is very labor and research intensive to
get it up and operating. I am sure that with time,
like other aspects of the scanner hobby, informa-
tion will be shared through the internet to aid
hobbyists in programming location information
for a variety of radio systems nationwide. But that
will be at some point down the road and probably
only a few will fully utilize the GPS features in
tion, which lets you easily manage multiple
configurations you program into your scan-
ner.
• The single-handed function control opera-
tion lets you tap the function/scroll control
to enable the function mode. It reverts to
normal mode in about three seconds from
your last press if no other action occurs. This
is a neat feature when you are mobile.
• A record out jack, when used with the ap-
propriate user supplied cable and audio
recording device with signal control, lets you
record live audio of designated channels.
• A new vehicle power connector (orange
wire) lets you connect the BCD996T to your
vehicle’s dimmer circuit to also dim the
scanner’s display with the vehicle’s dimmer
control.
• Another innovative feature in the 996 is the
upside down display. You can flip the display
upside down if you need to mount the unit
upside down in your mobile for better audio
quality.
• Dual display mode: Mode 1 (default) dis-
plays extended channel information under
the channel name. Mode 2 (selectable by
front panel control) indicates frequencies
under the channel name or the talkgroup
ID number for trunk systems.
• Finally, there are the new GPS functions.
This is location based scanning that can
automatically enable and disable systems
based on the location information (longi-
tude, latitude, and range) that you provide
if you connect a GPS unit to the scanner.
Some non-radio GPS-based features let the
scanner alert you to dangerous intersec-
tions, speed alerts, and points of interest
(POI) that you program into the scanner. The
GPS display mode lets you display extended
GPS information such as distance to a POI,
direction to a POI, time to a POI, speed,
position, and more.
❖ What’s in the box?
In addition to the BCD996T scanner, acces-
sories in the box include an AC adapter, cigarette
lighter adapter power cord, three wire DC power
cord, ISO mounting bracket and hardware, and
a DIN-E sleeve and removal keys for vehicle
installation, a push-on type (BNC) telescopic
antenna, remote PC or scanner cable (scanner
plug to front of PC connector), owners manual,
and other printed material.
The manual is well written and should be
studied to get the most out of the BCD996T and
understand all of its operations.
❖ Overall Rating
This is the first base/mobile of its kind from
Uniden. The author worked with this radio for
over five months and tested it on over 115 radio
MT RATING (0-10 SCALE)
Audio Quality ........................ 9
Audio Levels ..........................10
Backlight/Display ..................10
Ease of Use ........................... 7
Feature Set ...........................10
Keyboard/Control Layout ...... 9
Overall Construction .............10
Overall Reception ..................10
Owners Manual .................... 9
Sensitivity .............................. 9
Selectivity .............................. 9
Spectrum Usability ................ 9
continued on page 73
Table One: BCD996T Frequency Coverage
Frequency Default Default
Range (MHz) Modulation Step (kHz)
25.0000-27.9950 AM 5.0
28.0000-29.6800 NFM 20.0
29.7000-49.9900 NFM 10.0
50.0000-53.9800 NFM 20.0
54.0000-71.9500 WFM 50.0
72.0000-75.9950 FM 5.0
76.0000-87.9500 WFM 50.0
88.0000-107.9000 FMB 100.0
108.0000-136.9750 AM 25.0
137.0000-143.9875 NFM 12.5
144.0000-147.9950 NFM 5.0
148.0000-150.7875 NFM 12.5
150.8000-161.9950 NFM 5.0
162.0000-173.9875 NFM 12.5
174.0000-215.9500 WFM 50.0
216.0000-224.9800 NFM 20.0
225.0000-379.9750 AM 25.0
380.0000-399.9875 NFM 12.5
400.0000-512.0000 NFM 12.5
764.0000-775.9875 NFM 12.5
794.0000-805.9875 NFM 12.5
806.0000-823.9875 NFM 12.5
849.0125-868.9875 NFM 12.5
894.0125-956.0000 NFM 12.5
1240.000-1300.000 NFM 25.0
Note: The scanner’s frequency coverage is not continu-
ous and does not include the cellular telephone,
most of the UHF TV bands, or the 956-1240 MHz
frequency range.