Uniden BC370CRS User Manual

BC370CRS

OWNER’S

MANUAL

OWNER'S MANUAL

Precautions

Before you use this scanner, please read and observe the following.

IMPORTANT!

This scanning radio has been manufactured so that it will not tune to the
radio frequencies assigned by the FCC for cellular telephone usage.
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, makes
it a federal crime to intentionally intercept cellular or cordless telephone
transmissions or to market this radio when altered to receive them.
The installation, possession, or use of this scanning radio in a motor
vehicle may be prohibited, regulated, or require a permit in certain states,
cities, and/or local jurisdictions. Your local law enforcement officials
should be able to provide you with information regarding the laws in your
community.

Changes or modifications to this product not expressly approved by
Uniden, or operation of this product in any way other than as detailed by
this Operating Guide, could void your authority to operate this product.

EARPHONE WARNING!

You can use an optional 32 Ω stereo headset or earphone with this
scanner. Use of an incorrect earphone or stereo headset might be
potentially hazardous to your hearing. The output of the phone jack is
monaural, but you will hear it in both headphones of a stereo headset.

Set the speaker volume to a comfortable level before plugging in either a
monaural earphone or a stereo headset of the proper impedance (32 Ω).
Otherwise, you might experience some discomfort or possible hearing
damage if the volume suddenly becomes too loud because of the volume
control or squelch control setting. This is particularly true for the type of
earphone that is placed in the ear canal.

Precautions

2

WARNING!

Uniden does not represent this unit to be waterproof. To reduce the risk
of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture.

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

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

Important: If you use the supplied AC adapter to power the scanner but
have not installed batteries in the scanner, never turn the scanner off by
disconnecting the AC adapter or unplugging it from the AC outlet.
This might corrupt the scanner’s memory. Always use POWER to turn the
scanner off before disconnecting AC power.

Precautions

3

Contents

The FCC Wants You to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Scanning Legally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Unpacking Your Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Setting Up The Scanner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Connecting Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Connecting an Antenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Using the Backlight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Adjusting the Contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Using the Radio Controlled Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Setting the Current Time and Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Setting the Radio Controlled Clock Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Setting Your Time Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Setting the Daylight Savings Time Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Turning On/Off Radio Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Forcing a Reception Attempt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Setting the Alarm Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Using Snooze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Listening to AM/FM/TV Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Directly Selecting a Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Using AM/FM/TV Channel Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Using All-Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Limiting Alerts to Your County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Programming County Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Selecting Areas for Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Receiving Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Using the Scanner Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Programming Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Selecting a Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Scanning Memory Banks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Locking/Unlocking Memories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Using Priority Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Setting Channel Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Contents

4

Searching for Active Frequencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Using Limit Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Programming an Upper/Lower Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Searching the Selected Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

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

Selecting a Service to Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Saving a Found Frequency into a Scan Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Search Lockouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Listening to Weather Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Care and Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

General Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Repairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Birdies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Resetting the Scanner (Clearing all Memories) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Technical Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

One-Year Limited Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Contents

5

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 the 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.

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 the 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.

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 wireline (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.

The FCC Wants You to Know

6

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 and/or portable 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.

The FCC Wants You to Know

7

Unpacking Your Scanner

Please unpack this box carefully and make sure you have:

Telescopic Antenna

BC370CRS Scanner

This Owner’s Manual Other Printed Material

AM Loop Antenna AC Adapter

If any item is missing or obviously damaged, call the Uniden Parts Dept
at [phone] Monday through Friday, from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM or
online at www.uniden.com to remedy the situation.

Unpacking Your Scanner

8

Introduction

Your BC370CRS scanner is a multi-featured conventional channel
scanner with All Hazards alert. You can easily enter and store frequencies
for police, fire/emergency, marine, air, amateur, and other radio services
into 300 channels distributed over ten banks.

The scanner also alerts you when NOAA (National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration) or any broadcast station the scanner is tuned
to issues an EAS (Emergency Alert System) signal. These alerts are
issued for severe weather, homeland security, and law enforcement
events (such as Amber alerts).

Your BC370CRS also has a built-in RCC (Radio Controlled Clock) that
automatically sets to the precise current time based on the NIST (National
Institution of Standards and Time) nationwide broadcast*. For more
information about the standard time signal, visit the National Institute of
Standards and Time at http://tf.nist.gov.

Use your scanner to monitor:

• Analog public safety channels

• Police and fire departments (including rescue and paramedics)

• NOAA weather transmissions (including 3 Canadian Coast Guard
channels)

• Business/Industrial radio and utilities

• Marine and amateur (ham radio) bands

• Aircraft (commercial and private) band

• Railroad

• AM/FM Broadcast Stations

• TV Channels 2-13

*Not available in all areas.

Introduction

9

Your scanner can monitor the following bands.

Band Lower Limit Upper Limit Step

No. (MHz) (MHz)

1 0.5300 1.7000 AM 10 AM Broadcast
2 25.0000 27.9950 AM 5 AM Band
3 28.0000 29.9950 FM 5 10 Meter Amateur Band
4 30.0000 49.9950 FM 5 VHF Low Band
5 50.0000 54.0000 FM 5 6 Meter Amateur Band

59.7500

65.7500

6 71.7500 WFM 6000 TV Broadcast Ch. 2 - 6

81.7500

87.7500
7 88.0000 107.9000 WFM 100 FM Broadcast
8 108.0000 136.9875 AM 12.5 Aircraft
9 137.0000 143.9950 FM 5 Military Land Mobile

10 144.0000 147.9950 FM 5 2 Meter Amateur Band
11 148.0000 174.0000 FM 5 VHF High Band

179.7500

185.7500

191.7500

12 197.7500 WFM 6000 TV Broadcast Ch. 7 - 13

203.7500

209.7500

215.7500
13 225.0000 380.0000 AM 25 Military Air
14 406.0000 419.99375 FM 6.25 Fed. Gov. Land Mobile
15 420.0000 449.99375 FM 6.25 70cm Amateur Band
16 450.0000 469.99375 FM 6.25 UHF Standard Band
17 470.0000 512.0000 FM 6.25 UHF Television
18 806.0000 956.0000 FM 12.5 Public Safety/Business*

Modulation

(kHz)

Service

*Excluding the 824-849 and 869-894 MHz Cellular Telephone ranges.

10

Introduction

Features

Channel Memory Scanning — Scans frequencies you have stored in

any of the channels or banks at a rate of up to 70 channels per second.

Memory Availability — Store and then scan any of up to 300 channels
distributed over 10 banks.

SAME All-Hazards Operation — In standby mode, constantly monitors
the last-tuned station and alerts you if it detects an alert transmission for
your area (NOAA and broadcast channels only).

Direct Channel Access — Press 0 - 9 and HOLD to directly access any
stored frequency.

Channel Lockout/Frequency Lockout — Skip over stored frequencies
(channels) using the Lockout feature to enable faster scanning. Lets you
designate up to fifty frequencies to skip during a search (limit or service)
to increase the scanning speed.

Radio Controlled Clock — Automatically sets to the precise time using
NIST broadcasts.

AM/FM and TV 2-13 Broadcast — Lets you store up to 30 preset
broadcast channels (10 AM and 20 FM/TV) for quick access.

Priority Channel — Designate a specific frequency as a Priority
Channel. The radio scans and checks that channel every 2 seconds.
Select and designate up to 10 frequencies as Priority Channels (one per
bank).

Duplicate Channel Alert — Lets you know that a selected frequency has
already been programmed into memory if you attempt to store it again.

Limit Frequency Searching — Lets you designate lower and upper
frequency range and search within that range for active frequencies.
You can then store frequencies in memory as channels for later recall.

Service Search — Lets you designate one of the five preprogrammed
service channels (Police, Fire/EMS, Air, Ham, Marine) to search.

Scan and Search Speed

• Scan Speed 70 channels per second maximum in SCAN MODE

• Search Speed 75 steps per second maximum in SEARCH MODE

• TURBO MODE For frequency steps 5kHz apart, searching occurs in
Turbo Mode which is 225 steps per second.

Introduction

11

Clock Display — The scanner always displays the current time.
The clock also features an alarm that lets you wake to the selected radio
source or an alert tone up to 20 minutes or be shut off manually.
A convenient snooze button lets you silence the alarm for an extra
5-minutes.

Delay — You can enable or disable the 2-second delay to resume
scanning when a transmission ends. Enabling this feature helps prevent
missing a response from one of the parties in the transmission.

LCD Backlight — You can enable or disable the LCD back lighted
display.

Contrast Adjust — Lets you adjust the LCD contrast for best viewing.

Key Touch Tone — A tone sounds to confirm you have made a valid key

input while a different tone sounds to alert you to an invalid entry.

EEPROM Memory Backup — The scanner uses a non-volatile EEPROM
for memory backup.

Battery Alert — A battery icon ( ) alerts you if no battery is installed
or the battery power is low. An alert tone sounds when the battery needs
to be replaced. The backup provides backup for the clock when external
power is off or not connected and will power scanning for a short time.

Auto Power Off — Turns the scanner off when the battery power gets
too low.

12

Introduction