Uniden BC296D User Manual

Contents

The FCC Wants You To Know ............................................................1

Scanning Legally .................................................................................2

Introduction ..........................................................................................3

Using this Manual ............................................................................5

Understanding Scanning .....................................................................6

Conventional Scanning ....................................................................6

Simplex Operation .......................................................................6

Repeater Operation .....................................................................6

Trunked Scanning ............................................................................7

Motorola Trunking ........................................................................7

EDACS Trunking .........................................................................8

LTR Trunking .............................................................................10

Understanding Banks and Channels .............................................10

Getting More Information ...................................................................11

A Quick Look at Your Scanner ..........................................................12

Buttons and Controls ......................................................................12

Display Icons .................................................................................13

Included With Your Scanner ..............................................................14

Setting Up Your Scanner ...................................................................15

Installing the Battery Pack .............................................................15

Charging the Battery Pack .............................................................15

Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Disposal ..........................................16

Installing the Antenna ....................................................................16

Installing the Belt Clip ....................................................................16

Using Headphones or an External Speaker ..................................16

Listening Safely .............................................................................17

Basic Operation .................................................................................18

Turning On the Scanner ................................................................18

Setting the Squelch .......................................................................18

Using the Menu .............................................................................19

Manually Selecting a Channel .......................................................19

Scanning Programmed Channels ..................................................20

Locking/Unlocking Banks ...............................................................20

Locking/Unlocking Channels .........................................................20

Restoring All Locked Out Channels ..............................................20

Priority Scanning ............................................................................21

Priority Plus Scanning ...................................................................21

Listening to the Input Channel .......................................................21

Using the Backlight ........................................................................22

Dimmer Light Setting .................................................................22

Dimmer Time Setting .................................................................22

Controlling How Much Information Appears ..................................22

Turning the Key Beep On/Off ........................................................23

Locking the ENTER key ................................................................23

Locking the Keypad .......................................................................23

Disabling the APCO25 Card ..........................................................23

Turning Battery Save On/Off .........................................................24

Muting All Audio .............................................................................24

Setting Squelch Mode ...................................................................24

Trunk Scanning Options ................................................................25

Searching for Active Talkgroups (ID Search) ............................25

Scanning Only Stored Talkgroups (ID Scan) ............................25

Monitoring Talkgroup ID’s ..........................................................25

Selecting Talkgroup Lists to Scan .............................................25

Holding on a Single Talkgroup ..................................................26

Locking Out Talkgroups .............................................................26

EDACS Blockout ........................................................................26

Unlocking All Talkgroups ...........................................................27

EDACS Patch Tracking .............................................................27

Searching ..........................................................................................28

Holding on an Active Frequency ...................................................28

Setting Chain Search .....................................................................28

Setting Data Skip ...........................................................................28

Skipping Frequencies ....................................................................29

Storing Found Frequencies ...........................................................29

Automatically Storing Frequencies ................................................30

Setting Subaudible Tones for Searching .......................................30

Searching for Subaudible Tones ...................................................30

Attenuating All Search Ranges .....................................................31

Setting DELAY for All Search Ranges ..........................................31

Setting a Search Range ................................................................31

Searching for Trunk Systems ........................................................32

Service Search ..................................................................................33

Service Search Skip ......................................................................33

Using Weather Search and Weather Alert (SAME) ......................34

Searching for a Weather Broadcast ..........................................34

Using Weather Alert (SAME) .....................................................34

Testing the Weather Alert ..........................................................36

Programming Bank Information .........................................................37

Bank Configuration ........................................................................37

Assigning Bank Names .................................................................37

General Programming .......................................................................38

Deleting Frequencies from Channels ............................................38

Transferring Channel Information ..................................................38

Entering Alpha Information ............................................................38

General Programming Tips ...........................................................38

Programming Conventional Channels ...............................................40

1. Select a Channel to Program ....................................................40

2. Enter the Frequency ..................................................................40

3. Assigning a Text Tag .................................................................41

Setting the Delay ...........................................................................41

Setting the Subaudible Tone Option .............................................41

Setting Beep Alert ..........................................................................42

Setting the Attenuator ....................................................................42

Changing the Frequency Step .......................................................43

Setting the Modulation Mode .........................................................43

Setting Priority Channels ...............................................................44

Programming Trunked Systems ........................................................45

Setting Trunking Delay ..................................................................46

Using I-Call (Motorola and EDACS only) ......................................46

Turning I-Call On and Off for ID Search ....................................46

Turning I-Call On for ID Scan ....................................................47

Setting Priority Talkgroups (Motorola and EDACS only) ...............47

Multi-Track .....................................................................................47

Multi-Track Operational Details .................................................48

Programming Motorola Systems .......................................................49

Using Control Channel Programming ............................................49

Programming Type 2/Digital 800 and 900 MHz Systems .............50

Programming Type2/Digital VHF and UHF Systems ....................50

Programming Type I and IIi Hybrid Systems .................................51

Toggling the Status Bit ..................................................................52

Toggling End Code Detect ............................................................53

Programming EDACS Systems .........................................................54

Programming EDACS Channels ...................................................54

Setting EDACS Emergency Alert ..................................................55

Setting EDACS Decimal Mode ......................................................55

Programming APCO 25 Systems ......................................................56

Setting APCO 25 Sound Quality ...................................................56

Programming LTR Systems ..............................................................58

Programming Talkgroups ..................................................................59

Storing Known Talkgroups ............................................................59

Storing Found Talkgroups .............................................................59

Deleting Stored Talkgroup ID’s ......................................................60

Adding a Text Tag to an ID List ....................................................60

Seeing Talkgroup Activity ..............................................................60

Using the Remote Interface ...............................................................61

PC Control Mode ...........................................................................61

Cloning Scanner Settings ..............................................................61

Care and Maintenance ......................................................................63

General Use ...................................................................................63

Location .........................................................................................63

Cleaning .........................................................................................63

Repairs ..........................................................................................63

Birdies ............................................................................................63

Troubleshooting..................................................................................64

Specifications......................................................................................66

Glossary of Terms .............................................................................67

Appendix ............................................................................................71

One Year Limited Warranty ...............................................................81

The FCC Wants You

To Know

This scanner has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a scanning receiver, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC
rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This scanner generates, uses, and can radiate
radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications.

However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur
in a particular installation. If this scanner does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the scanner on and off, you are
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more
of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna

• Increase the separation between the scanner and the
receiver

This device complies with Part 15 of FCC rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: 1) This device may not
cause harmful interference, and 2) this device must accept
any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.

1

Scanning Legally

Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different
groups, including police and fire departments, ambulance
services, government agencies, private companies, amateur
radio services, military operations, pager services, and wire
line (telephone and telegraph) service providers. It is legal to
listen to almost every transmission your scanner can receive.
However, there are some transmissions that you should never
intentionally listen to. These include:

• Telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other private
means of telephone signal transmission)

• Pager transmissions

• Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions

According to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act
(ECPA), you are subject to fines and possible imprisonment
for intentionally listening to, using, or divulging the contents of
such a conversation unless you have the consent of a party to
the conversation (unless such activity is otherwise illegal).

This scanner has been designed to prevent the reception of
cellular telephone transmissions and the decoding of
scrambled transmissions. This is done to comply with the
legal requirement that scanners be manufactured so they are
not easy to modify to pick up these transmissions. Do not
open your scanner’s case to make any modifications that
could allow it to pick up transmissions that are illegal to
monitor. Modifying or tampering with your scanner’s internal
components or using it in a way other than as described in
this manual could invalidate your warranty and void your FCC
authorization to operate it.

In some areas, mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or
requires a permit. Check the laws in your area. It is also illegal
in many areas (and a bad idea everywhere) to interfere with
the duties of public safety officials by traveling to the scene of
an incident without authorization.

Uniden®and Bearcat®are registered trademarks of Uniden
America Corporation.

TrunkTracker is a proprietary trademark of Uniden America
Corporation.

Other trademarks used throughout this manual are the
property of their respective holders.

2

Introduction

The BC296D APCO 25 Digital Trunking Scanner connects
you to the exciting world of scanning. Capable of scanning
conventional frequencies, analog trunking systems, and the
most popular digital trunking systems, it is a great all-in-one
solution to your scanning needs.

Here is a brief list of some of the systems you can monitor
with your BC296D:

• Motorola Type I, II, IIi Hybrid, and APCO 25 Phase 1 Digital
Systems (including 3600 bps and 9600 bps control channel
systems) EDACS and EDACS SCAT trunking systems used
by police, fire, ambulance, and other local and state public
safety agencies as well as utilities and other businesses.

• LTR trunking systems used by local businesses and a few
public safety agencies.

• Conventional Digital APCO 25 frequencies

• CB, GMRS, FRS, Marine, and other 2-way radios used by
families, truckers, and community groups

• Business Band frequencies used nationwide

• Amateur Radio frequencies used by licensed radio opera­tors to report emergency weather conditions, experiment
with new communications methods, or just to chat.

• Local and national government agencies

• Civil and military aircraft

• FM and TV Broadcast channels

• NOAA Weather Radio

• And much, much more!

The table below lists the frequency ranges, the default mode
(AM, FM, or Wideband FM), and the default frequency step
for each range.

Frequency Range

25.0000 - 27.9950 AM 5

28.0000 - 53.9900 FM 10

54.0000 - 71.9500 WFM 50

72.0000 - 75.9950 FM 5

76.0000 - 87.9500 WFM 50

88.0000 - 107.9000 WFM 100

108.0000 - 136.9750 AM 25

137.0000 - 161.9950 FM 5

162.0000 - 173.9875 FM 12.5

Mode Step

(MHz)

(kHz)

Frequency Range

174.0000 - 215.9500 WFM 50

216.0000 - 224.9950 FM 5

225.0000 - 399.9500 AM 50

400.0000 - 512.0000 NFM 12.5

806.0000 - 823.9875 NFM 12.5

849.0125 - 868.9875 NFM 12.5

894.0125 - 956.0000 NFM 12.5

1240.0000 - 1300.0000 NFM 12.5

Mode Step
(MHz)

(kHz)

3

In addition, here are a few more of the many features your
scanner has. To get the most from your scanner, be sure to
review this entire manual.

• APCO Project 25 Phase 1 Compatible – works on the

latest 9600 bps systems, including systems that use C4FM
and CQPSK modulation.*

• Four-line, 16-character, Alpha Display – makes it easy for
you to see who is talking by displaying the assigned text tag
instead of just a frequency or talkgroup ID number.

• Automatic Digital Detect – allows the scanner to switch to
digital voice decoding when it detects valid APCO 25 data
without any special programming.

• 1000 Channels – lets you store frequencies in 10 banks of
100 channels each.

• 1000 Talkgroup ID’s – lets you store 10 groups of 10 ID’s
each per bank.

• Multi-System Tracking – scans conventional and trunking
systems at the same time.

• Included PC Programming Software and Cable – makes
programming your scanner much easier. Full-featured
software included (no registration needed).

• 10 Priority Channels – switches to the channel you assign
as priority if there is activity, so you won’t miss a thing.

• Priority Talkgroups – increases the priority of selected
talkgroups so the scanner is more likely to switch to them if
there is activity.

• Priority Plus Scanning – lets you scan only those
channels you have selected as priority channels.

• CTCSS and DCS Squelch Modes – prevents interference
from stations not using the mode you select; search mode
displays the CTCSS or DCS tone being used by the
received station.

• Preprogrammed Service Search – makes it easy to find
interesting frequencies used by public safety, news media,
TV broadcast, weather, amateur radio, FRS, GMRS, special
low power, railroad, aircraft, marine, and racing services.

• Data Skip – automatically skips frequencies that have a
constant-level transmission such as used on data channels
for some systems, paging systems, and internally generated
birdies.

*Note: Performance on digital systems can vary due to signal quality,

multipath interference, and cellular interference. Unlike analog

trunking, where you can hear the audio with some interference mixed

in, interference in a digital system completely blocks the signal. If you

do not get good digital reception, try adjusting your location or your

antenna until reception improves.

4

• SAME Weather Alert with FIPS – lets you set your
scanner to listen for a SAME event code from the local
weather service; sounds an alert and displays the text
description for any alert received. FIPS programming lets
you restrict the alerts to one county.

• Turbo Search – searches for activity on frequencies at up
to 300 steps per second (in the 5 kHz step ranges).

• Backlit Holographic Display – provides for great visibility
at any angle, day or night.

• Battery Save – automatically reduces power requirements
when you are holding on a single channel or frequency and
there is no activity.

• Rechargeable NiMH Battery Pack and Charger –
provides you with the most economical power options
available.

• Scanner Clone Mode – lets you connect your scanner
directly to another scanner to clone all channels and
settings.

Using this Manual

To get the most from this manual, review the contents to
become familiar with the basic functions available. If you are
new to scanning or trunktracking, be sure to read the
“Understanding Scanning” section for a quick background on
the technology behind the hobby.

The first thing you’ll need to do is plug the AC charger into the
scanner. See “Setting Up Your Scanner” if you need any help
doing this.

Next, you’ll want to listen to see what you can hear with your
scanner. Install the antenna, then press SERVICE and use
the scroll bar to select TV Broadcast. Assuming you are in an
area with a strong enough TV broadcast, your scanner should
soon stop on a station’s audio program. Listen to this, or try
searching another service for something more interesting,
while you review the rest of the manual.

5

Understanding Scanning

This section provides you with the background on how
scanning works. You don’t really need to know all of this to
use your scanner, but some background knowledge will help
you to get the most from your BC296D.

Conventional Scanning

Conventional scanning is a relatively simple concept. Each
group of users in a conventional system is assigned a single
frequency (for simplex systems) or two frequencies (for
repeater systems) to use. Any time one of them transmits,
their transmission always goes out on the same frequency.
Up until the late 1980’s this was the primary way that radio
systems operated. Even today, there are a lot of 2-way radio
users who operate using a conventional system:

• Aircraft

• Amateur Radio

• FRS/GMRS Users

• Broadcast AM/FM/TV Stations

• Many Business Radio users

When you want to store a conventional system, all you need
to know is the frequency they operate on.

When you are scanning a conventional system, the scanner
stops very briefly on each channel to see if there is activity. If
there isn’t, the scanner quickly moves to the next channel. If
there is, then the scanner pauses on the transmission until it
is over.

Simplex Operation

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 1-5 miles,
depending upon the terrain and many other factors.

Repeater Operation

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

6

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.

Trunked Scanning

While conventional scanning worked great while there were
only a few groups wanting to use the frequencies, with the
advent of smaller, lower-cost radios more and more agencies
and businesses wanted to take advantage of the utility of 2­way radio. As a result, the bands that were used most
became full, so new users were not able to take advantage of
the technology as quickly as they wanted.

Trunking solved this frequency shortage by allowing multiple
groups to use the same set of frequencies in a very efficient
way. While each type of trunking system operates a little
differently (see the next few sections), they all work on the
same basic premise: even in a system with a lot of users, only
a few users are ever transmitting at any one time.

Instead of being assigned a frequency, as with conventional
systems, each group is assigned a Talkgroup ID. A central
computer controls the frequency each group operates
on...and this frequency selection is made each time a user
transmits. So, while on a conventional system queries, replies,
and follow-ups are all on a single frequency, they could each
be on completely different frequencies on a trunked system.
This semi-random frequency assignment made monitoring
such a system impossible prior to Uniden’s invention of the
Trunktracking scanner.

Motorola Trunking

While there are 4 different types of Motorola trunking systems,
they all use the same basic trunking method. The system
consists of one control channel plus one or more voice
channels (typically 10, 20, or 30 total channels). When a user
presses Push To Talk (PTT) to transmit, their radio first sends
their talkgroup information to the control channel. The
computer then assigns that talkgroup to a specific voice
channel and transmits that data over the control channel. All
radios in that talkgroup switch over to the assigned voice
channel and the user can begin speaking. This all typically
takes place in about a second...the person transmitting hears
a beep from their radio when the channel is assigned and it is
OK to start talking.

7

The four systems in use are:

• Motorola Type I – the radios send the radio ID, the fleet
and subfleet talkgroup ID to the control channel each time
they transmit. To program a Type I system, you need to
know the system’s fleet map. The most common fleet maps
are included at the back of this manual. You can also find
fleet map resources on the web.

• Motorola Type II – the radios only send the radio ID and
radio channel code to the control channel. The central com­puter keeps a database of radio ID’s and which talkgroup is
assigned to which channel code for each radio, so with this
system the user’s radio sends only about 1/3 the data as a
Type I system with each transmission. Type II systems do
not use Fleet-subfleet talkgroups; instead they use a 5-digit
ID for each talkgroup.

• Type IIi Hybrid — these systems support a mix of both
Type I and Type II users. Like Type I systems, you must
know the system’s fleetmap to ensure proper tracking.

• Motorola Astro Digital — for channel control purposes,
this type of system operates just like a Type II system —
although the control channel can be a 3600 bps data rate
(for mixed analog/digital systems) or a 9600 bps (for digital­only systems). Pure digital systems can be implemented
under APCO 25 Phase 1 or Phase 2 standards. Your
BC296D is able to decode all unencrypted digitized voice
traffic on either mixed mode or digital-only APCO 25 Phase
1 systems.

One big difference you will notice with digital versus analog
transmissions, is that with analog systems, you might be able
to hear weak signals interspersed with hissing. As you move
further away from the system, the interference gradually
increases until you are unable to make out the transmission.
With digital systems, the cutoff point is much more abrupt.
You might have a small area where partial decoding
occurs...in which case you will hear partial and garbled audio.
However, once the scanner is unable to receive the data well
enough to decode it, the audio stops entirely. For the best
range, antenna selection and placement is critical. See
“Installing the Antenna” for more information.

EDACS Trunking

EDACS trunking works in much the same way as Motorola
trunking with a couple of major differences. In an EDACS
system, each frequency used by the system is assigned a
Logical Channel Number (LCN) so that less data needs to be
transmitted by the control channel. Also, talkgroups are
assigned in an Agency-Fleet-Subfleet (AFS) hierarchy. Also,
there is one variation of EDACS called SCAT that your
BC296D can monitor.

8

• Logical Channel Numbers – each frequency used by the
system is assigned an LCN. This information is
programmed into each user radio. When a user presses
PTT, their radio sends their AFS information to the control
channel. The computer then assigns that talkgroup to a
channel and sends the LCN so that all other radios in that
talkgroup will switch to the correct channel. To program a
EDACS system in your scanner, you will need to know both
the frequencies used by the system and the LCN for each
frequency so that you can program the frequencies in LCN
order.

• Agency-Fleet-Subfleet – talkgroup ID’s for EDACS
systems are assigned in a way that makes it easy to see at
a glance the affiliation of the user. Each radio is assigned a
2-digit agency identifier from 00 – 15. For example, 01
might be used by the police, 02 by ambulance service, 03
by the fire department, and so on. Each agency is then
subdivided up to 16 times to provide fleet identification, and
then 8 more times to identify subfleets.

For example, the complete AFS for the Police Department
West District’s dispatch channel might be 01-062. 01
identifies the agency as the police department, 06 identifies
the fleet as the West district, and 02 identifies the subfleet
as the dispatch channel. While these assignments are
somewhat arbitrary and vary from system to system, there
are many resources on the web for finding the assignments
for most systems.

Because of the logical hierarchy of the AFS system, your
BC296D lets you assign wildcard ID’s that let you, for
example, use only one ID memory to identify all units in
either an agency or a fleet.

• EDACS SCAT – EDACS SCAT (Single Channel
Autonomous Trunking) systems operate on a single channel
and alternate control data with analog voice traffic. While
your BC296D cannot track ID’s in this system, it can
eliminate the control data so that all you hear is the voice
transmissions when you monitor this type of system.

9

LTR Trunking

LTR®(Logic Trunked Radio) systems are trunking systems
used primarily by business or private communications service
providers, such as taxicabs, delivery trucks, and repair
services. These systems encode all control information as
digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmission,
so there is no separate control channel. Users on an LTR
system are assigned to specific talkgroups, which are
identified by the radio as six digit numbers. These numbers
are in the form AHHUUU, where:

A= Area code (0 or 1)

H= Home repeater (01 through 20)

U= User ID (000 through 254)

When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel set
to the LTR mode, it first decodes the LTR data included with
the transmission. In the ID Search mode, the scanner stops
on the transmission and displays the talkgroup ID on the
display. In the ID Scan mode, the scanner only stops on the
transmission if the LTR data matches a talkgroup ID that you
have stored in the bank’s talkgroup ID list and have not
locked out.

LTR systems are frequently programmed so that each radio
has a unique User ID.

LTR systems also need to be programmed into your scanner
in channel-order.

Since many LTR systems use only odd-numbered channel
slots, you would program these systems using only the
corresponding odd-numbered channels in a bank (for
example, you would program a system with channels at 1, 3,
5, and 9 into Trunk 2 channels 101, 103, 105, and 109).

Understanding Banks and Channels

The memory in your scanner is organized into 10 banks of
100 channels each. Each bank can contain conventional
channels as well as 1 trunking system. For each trunking
system, each bank can also store 10 groups of 10 talkgroup
ID’s (100 per bank).

10

Getting More Information

By itself, this manual really only provides part of what you
need to know to have fun scanning – how to program and use
the scanner. The two supplied Conventional and Trunking
frequency guides will give you a good head start on the other
part of what you need to know – what frequencies have
interesting content. You can also find a wealth of information
on the Internet...check out scanners.uniden.com for the latest
frequency information in your area.

In addition, you can contact the following source of frequency
information:

• Scanner Master
[phone] (Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time Monday through Friday.)

To purchase another copy of the conventional or trunking
frequency guide, contact one of the following:

• Uniden Parts Department
[phone] (Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Central Time Monday through Friday.)

• Your Local Dealer

11

A Quick Look at Your

RSM

.

2

1

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

22
23

21

20

19

18

17

16

15

14

13

12

11

SEARCH

SCAN

BC296D

SERVICE

CH/
FRQ

MENU/BACK

L/O

.

SELECT

REVERSE

TRUNK

RSM

E

HOLD/
MAN

Scanner

Buttons and Controls

1. Antenna Connector

2. Speaker

3. Display

4. DC Power Jack

5. Hold/Manual/Channel/Frequency Key (HOLD/MAN)

6. Scan Key (SCAN)

7. Menu/Back Key (MENU/BACK)

8. Lockout Key (L/O)

9. Light/Keypad Lock Key (/ )

10. Decimal/Reverse Key ( )

11. Earphone Jack

12. Volume/ON/OFF Control

13. Squelch Control

14. Remote Jack

15. Scroll Control

16. Resume Key ( )

17. Service Key (SERVICE)

18. Search Key (SEARCH)

19. Numeric Keypad

20. Trunk Key (TRUNK)

21. Priority Key (PRI)

22. Transfer/Mute Key (TRNSFR/MUTE)

23. Enter/Select Key (E)

12

Display Icons

DESCRIPTION

Priority Channel Indicator

Lock Out Mode Indicator

Scan/Search Direction Indicator

Chain Search Mode Indicator

Service Search Mode Indicator

Scan Mode Indicator

ID Scan Mode Indicator

ID Search Mode Indicator

Channel Type

Conventional Type

Tr unk Type

Motorola Tracking Type
LTR Tracking Type
EDACS Tracking Type

Control Channel Data

Voice Channel Data

Digital Communications

P25: APCO Project 25

Receiving Mode Indicators

Signal Meter

Battery Indicator appears when the battery needs
to be charged. The scanner also beeps every
15 seconds to let you know the battery is low.

ICON

P

L

/

O

SRCH

SRVC

SCAN

ID SCAN

ID SEARCH

C

M
L
E

DAT

LNK

P25

AM,FM

WFM,NFM

13

Included With Your

Scanner

If any of these items are missing or damaged, immediately
contact your place of purchase or call Uniden Parts
Department at: 800-554-3988, 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30
to 5:00 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Friday.

• BC296D Scanner

• AC Adapter/Charger (AD-600U)

• Ni-MH Battery (BP-250)

• Rubber Antenna

• PC Cable

• Belt clip

• Operating Guide

• BC296D SS CD-ROM

• TrunkTracker Frequency Guide

• Conventional Frequency Guide

•Other Printed Material

14

Setting Up Your Scanner

HOLD/
MAN

CH/
FRQ

RSM

S

C

A

N

S

E

R

V

IC

E

S

E

A

R

C

H

M

E

N

U

/B

A

C

K

L

/O

S

E

L

E

C

T

M

U

T

E

R

E

V

E

R

S

E

T

R

U

N

K

Installing the Battery Pack

1. Open the cover.

2. Connect the battery pack connector
observing the correct polarity.

3. Replace the cover and press down
until it clicks into place.

Charging the Battery Pack

Use the AC Adapter/Charger
to power the BC296D from an
AC outlet and charge its
battery pack. You can use
your scanner while the battery
charges.

To fully charge the battery,
leave the AC Adapter/Charger
connected for 14 – 16 hours.

Note: Disconnect the AC Adapter/Charger from the unit when

charging is complete.

15

Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery Disposal

When the battery supplied with your scanner no longer holds
a charge, you need to replace it. Contact Uniden Parts
department for a replacement battery pack.

Nickel-hydride batteries must be disposed of properly.
Minnesota requires you to recycle nickel-metal hydride
batteries.
Association at 1-800-225-PRBA for information concerning
reclamation and disposal of nickel-metal hydride batteries.

Contact the Portable Rechargeable Battery

Installing the Antenna

Twist the antenna’s BNC connector
onto the BNC jack on the scanner, as
shown.

If you are frequently traveling in a
system’s fringe area, you might want
to connect an external antenna for
better reception and range. While the
supplied antenna works well for
general use, an external antenna will
enhance performance on weak
systems.

An antenna properly selected for the band you are monitoring
can greatly extend the range, especially when you are
monitoring digital trunking systems.

Installing the Belt Clip

The belt clip is designed to fit snugly on
the back of the scanner.

Line up the four snap-in arms with the
grooves on the scanner and snap the belt
clip into place, as shown.

Using Headphones or an
External Speaker

For private listening, or for listening in a noisy area, you can
plug a 1/8-inch (3.5mm) mini-plug earphone’s or headphone’s
or monitor speaker’s (not supplied) cable into the headphone
jack on top of the scanner. This automatically disconnects the
scanner’s internal speaker.

16

Listening Safely

To protect your hearing, follow these guidelines when you use
an earphone or headphones.

• Do not use an earphone to listen to the WX alert siren

test or when in SAME Alert mode. The alert tone’s vol­ume is not adjustable and damage to your hearing
could occur.

• Do not listen at extremely high volume levels. Extended
high-volume listening can lead to permanent hearing loss.

• Set the VOL (VOLUME) to the lowest setting before you
begin listening. After you begin listening, adjust the VOL
(VOLUME) to a comfortable level.

• Once you set the VOL (VOLUME), do not increase it. Over
time, your ears adapt to the volume level, so a volume level
that does not cause discomfort might still damage your
hearing.

17

Basic Operation

STRONG SIGNALS

MEDIUM SIGNALS

WEAK SIGNALS

NOISE

STRONG SIGNALS

MEDIUM SIGNALS

WEAK SIGNALS

NOISE

STRONG SIGNALS

MEDIUM SIGNALS

WEAK SIGNALS

NOISE

This section is your main reference for using the scanner
once you have programmed conventional and trunked
systems. Note that there are some slight differences to some
functions depending on whether you are trying to affect
conventional operation or trunked operation. Be sure to refer
to the appropriate section depending on the mode you are
using.

Turning On the Scanner

Turn the VOL (VOLUME) control clockwise out of the detent
position. The scanner automatically starts scanning. Since
there are no frequencies programmed in your scanner initially,
you may not receive any signals. Once you set the squelch
and program some frequencies, you will begin hearing
conversations regularly.

Setting the Squelch

To set the squelch, you must be in the hold mode, and you
should not be receiving a
signal on your scanner.

1. Press HOLD/MAN until
you do not hear a signal.

2. Make sure that the VOL
(VOLUME) is set to a
comfortable listening level.

3. Think of the Squelch
Control as a gate. Turn
the SQUELCH control fully
counterclockwise. This
raises the “Squelch Gate”
so high that only very
strong signals can get
through.

4. Turn SQUELCH clockwise
until you hear a hiss. This
lowers the “Squelch Gate”
so that everything gets
through – noise, weak
signals, medium signals
and strong signals.

18

5. Turn SQUELCH back counter-clockwise just until the hiss

stops. Now the “Squelch Gate” allows only clear signals
through.

Note: For Trunk Scanning, a good squelch setting is critical.

The recommended setting is midpoint. If you set the
squelch too high, the scanner might not reliably stop
on the control channel.

Using the Menu

Many of your scanner’s functions are accessed through its
menu system. For complete information about a menu option,
see the section referencing its use. A complete list of the
menu structure is included in the back of this manual. To
select a menu item, first press MENU/BACK to go to the first­level menu. Then, either press the number key corresponding
to the option you want to select, or use the scroll bar to
highlight the option then press E.

To back up a menu level, press MENU/BACK.

Notes: • To change a setting that affects either a specific

bank or channel, first select a channel within the
bank or the channel that you want to modify.

• To check the settings for a channel, press and hold
MENU/BACK for 2 seconds.
In this manual, we represent navigation through the
menu with the following notation:

MAIN MENU → SUB MENU 1 → SUB MENU
2

For example to access the DIMMER LIGHT option,
the notation is:

3:SYSTEM OPTION → 1:DIMMER →
1:DIMMER LIGHT

To access this option, press MENU/BACK, then
scroll to each menu option and press E. Or, press
MENU/BACK, 3, 1, 1.

• Some menu items are not numbered. To access
these options, you must manually navigate to the
selection using the scroll bar.

Manually Selecting a Channel

To manually select a channel, press HOLD/MAN, the channel
number, then HOLD/MAN again. The scanner displays the
information stored in that channel.

Notes: • If the channel contains trunked system information,

frequency data is not displayed.

19

• If you are trunk scanning, you need to first press
TRUNK to exit the trunking mode.

Scanning Programmed Channels

Before you can scan, you must first program channels. See
the appropriate programming section for complete
instructions.

To begin scanning, simply turn on your scanner or, if the
scanner is not currently scanning, press SCAN. The scanner
checks each system you have programmed that is not locked
out and stops if there is activity. SCAN scrolls across the
display, right to left.

When the scanner receives a signal on a programmed
channel, it stops on that channel and displays the channel
information (text tag, channel number, trunk mode).

Locking/Unlocking Banks

When you are scanning conventional banks, the scanner
displays the digit corresponding to all unlocked banks. To lock
out a bank so that the scanner does not scan its channels,
press the number that corresponds to the bank. The scanner
replaces that bank’s number with a dash.

To unlock locked-out banks, simply press that bank’s number
again. The scanner displays that bank’s number and includes
it when scanning.

Note: You cannot lockout all banks. One bank must be

unlocked at all times.

Locking/Unlocking Channels

To lock out a channel so that the scanner does not stop on it
while scanning, press L/O when the scanner is stopped on
that channel or manually select the channel and press L/O.
To unlock the channel, manually select it and press L/O
again.

Note: You cannot lockout all channels in a bank. One

channel must remain unlocked. If you want to lock out
an entire bank, see the previous section.

Restoring All Locked Out Channels

To simultaneously unlock all channels, press HOLD/MAN,
then press and hold L/O for 2 seconds. The scanner beeps
twice and unlocks all channels.

20

Priority Scanning

When Priority Scan is turned on, the scanner checks the
conventional priority channels in the unlocked banks every 2
seconds or the priority ID’s in trunked systems every 4
seconds between transmissions. If a signal is present on a
priority channel, the scanner switches to monitor that
transmission, even if it had been stopped on another channel.
One channel or talkgroup ID in each bank is designated as
the priority.

To turn on Priority Scan, repeatedly press PRI until the
scanner displays PRIORITY ON. To turn Priority Scan off,
repeatedly press PRI until the scanner displays PRIORITY
OFF.

Note: If all priority channels in unlocked banks are locked

out, the scanner displays ERROR when you try to turn
on the priority scan mode.

Priority Plus Scanning

To scan only the priority channels in the unlocked banks,
while scanning repeatedly press PRI until the scanner
displays PRIORITY PLUS. To turn off Priority Plus, repeatedly
press PRI to select PRIORITY ON or PRIORITY OFF.

Note: Priority Plus only operates in the scan mode; not in the

hold or search mode.

Listening to the Input Channel

Repeater-based systems, such as public safety conventional,
trunked systems, and some other business and amateur radio
systems, use two sets of frequencies – input frequencies and
output frequencies (see “Understanding Scanning”). You
normally listen to the output frequency, as it can generally be
received from a much farther range. Sometimes, though, you
might want to know if the mobile unit is nearby. To do this,
check the input frequency by pressing REVERSE. If you hear
the transmission, then the mobile unit is probably within 2 or 3
miles of your location.

21