Uniden BCT15 User Manual

Precautions

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

IMPORTANT!

This scanning radio has been manufactur ed 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 feder al crime to

int en t iona lly int e rce pt cellu la r or cordl ess te le ph on e tra nsm iss io ns or to ma rke t this

r ad io w h e n al te r e d t o r ec e iv e th em . Th e in st al l at i o n, po ss es s i on , or u se of t hi s

scanning radio in a motor vehicle may be prohibited, regulated, or requi re a permit

in certain states, cities, and/or local j urisdictions. Your local law enforcement

offic i als sh ou ld be a bl e to p ro v ide y ou wit h in f orm at io n r eg ar ding t h e la ws in yo ur

community.

Changes or modifications to this product not expressly approved by Uniden, or

op er ati o n of thi s pr oduct i n any way other tha n as de t ail ed by t hi s O per a ti ng Guid e,

could voi d your author ity to operate thi s product.

EARPHONE WARNING!

Be sure to use only a monaural earphone or 32 Ω stereo headset. Use of an

incorrect earphone or stereo headset might be potentially hazar dous to your

hea rin g . Th e o utp ut of t he ph one ja ck is mon a ura l, but yo u w ill h ea r it in b oth

headphones of a stereo headset.

S et t he vol u me to a co mf or ta bl e a ud io le ve l c omi ng fr om th e sp ea k er b ef o re

pluggi n g in t he monaur a l ear p hon e or a ster eo he ad s et of t he proper im pe dance

(32 Ω). Otherwise, you m ight experience some discomfort or possible hearing

da ma ge if the vol um e s u dde nl y be com es too loud b eca us e of t he vo lu m e c on tro l or

squelch control setting. This might be particularly true of the type of earphone that

is placed i n the ear canal.

k 31 10.0444 Tw[(E)-55.0 7 4J2Ag!( )]TJ/TT2 1 Tf.4 -9.2 TD-0.0222 TcU(Inw)66dInwn66.2( )]TJ/TT4 1 T3-2.0.2 TD-0.0108cTm-0.067 Tw[oe o

Astro®, DPL®, D ig it al P ri v at e L i n e®, Motorola®, PL®, PRIVACY PLUS®, Private

Line®, SM ART N ET®, and SMARTZONE® are registered trademarks of Motorola,

Inc.

2

LT R® i s a registered trademark of E.F. Johnson Co.

EDA CS® is a registered trademark of M/A-COM Private Radi o Systems Inc.

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

Trunk Tracker™, Trunk Tr acking™, and Close Call™ ar e proprietary trademarks of

Uniden America Corporati on.

Other trademarks used throughout this m anual are the proper ty of their respecti ve

ho l de rs .

Power R ela ted Iss ues

Important: To prevent memory from being corrupted, do not unplug the AC

adapter during the time the memory is accessed for programming or auto store.

Notes:

• If when you connect the AC adapter the [VOL] /Power Switch is ON, the
scanner may not pow er on. Sh ould this occur, simply turn the control OFF, then
ON again.

• If the scanner loses power (as when you turn off your car’s ignition with the

scanner’ s pow er switch on), it can lose some system settings such as displa y

color and backlig ht. To ensur e that such settings persist, either chang e the

set ti ng us i ng th e sc a nn er ’ s m e nu or p ow er th e s c a nn er off t he n b ac k o n u s ing

the power switch after making such set ting changes.

• W he n y ou tur n of f th e sc an ner us ing t he po w er sw i tc h, the s c an ne r re m em be rs

the last settings and mode. When you tu rn power back on , it resumes the

previous mode.

Prec auti ons

3

Table of Cont ents

Precautions .... ..... .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ....... ...... .... 2

Pow er Rel at ed Issue s... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .... 3

The FCC Wants You t o Kn ow .. ......... ......... ......... ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... .... 9

S can ning Le ga lly .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... . 9

Introduc ti on ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... .... ... .. .... .. 12

Fe atu r e Hi gh lig hts .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 13

Ge nera l ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 13

Tr un k Tra ck ing . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 15

Sear che s a nd Scan nin g......... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... .. 16

GP S ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ... . .... ..... .... .. 17

W eathe r .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... .. 17

Me mo ry Stora ge Limit s.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 18

S ea rch Lo c kou t L imi ts . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 18

A bout Thi s Manual.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 18

How t he Sc anne r’s Co ntr ols A re R ep res ented i n Thi s Ma nu a. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . l 18

A Short User’s Guide to Ass ist the First- Time Scanner E nt hu si ast ... ......... ......... ......... ......... ...... 20

Understanding S ca nni ng and the BCT15 . ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ...... 22

Un de rsta nd ing the Sca nn er ’s Mem ory ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 22

Un de rsta ndi ng Quick Keys... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 22

W hat i s S canni ng ?.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 23

W hat i s S earch ing? ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 23

W hat i s C TC SS/ DCS? . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 23

Co nve nti on al S c anni ng.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 24

S imp lex Op erat io n .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 24

Re pe ate r Ope rati on..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 25

W hat i s T r unk Tr acki ng ?.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 25

Tr un ked Sca nn ing .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 26

S tartu p C o nfig ur atio n....... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 26

Mu lt i-Si te Tr unkin g....... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 27

Typ es o f Tr unk ing Sys te ms .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 27

Moto r ola Tr un ki ng ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 27

EDA CS Tru nkin g....... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 28

L TR Tr unk ing ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ........ ..... .... .. 29

W her e To Get Mor e I nfo rmat ion.... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 30

In form atio n O n Th e Inte rnet... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 30

Incl uded Wi th Y o ur Scanner .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... .. 31

Setting Up Your S ca nner . ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... .. 32

B ase Sta ti on .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... .. 32

S ett ing Up an Au dio R ecord in g De vice o r Co mp ute r Recor din g.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 34

V eh icle In stal lati o n.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 34

Mou ntin g Usi ng th e Bra cket... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 34

Mou ntin g Usi ng th e Opti on al D IN- E S leeve .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 35

Rem ovin g t he Scan ne r fr om th e D IN- E S leeve ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 37

Mou ntin g Usi ng ISO Tech niqu e .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ...... 37

Rem ovin g t he Disp la y St icke r ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 38

Co nn ecti ng a n Op tion al A ntenn a... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .. 38

4

Controls, Keys, and Functions......... .... ......... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... ..... ......... .... ..... .... ......... .... ........ 40

A Look a t The LCD D is play ...... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ........ 47

Tones ......... ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... .. .. ......... ..... ... 49

Opera tion... ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 50

Tu rn ing On the Sca nn er an d Set ting the Sq ue lch........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 50

S ett ing the D isp lay B ackli gh t ........ ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... ..... ... 50

S ett ing Aler t M ut e... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 50

Tem p orar y Ale rt Mu te... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 50

Con ti nuou s Aler t Mu te.. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 50

E nte rin g Te xt W i thin A Men u O ptio n. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 51

S tartu p K ey O pera ti on......... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... ..... ... 51

Con ven ti on al ........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .... . ... 51

Tr un ked . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ......... ... 51

Ser v ice R an ge ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... .. . 51

Cust om Ran ge..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... .. . 52

Introduc ti on to BearTra cker Operation .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ........ 53

Us ing Be arT r acker S can ning ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 53

Th e B ea rTr acke r Scan nin g Ico ns. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 54

Us ing th e B ea rTr acke r Wa rning Syste m.... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 54

Using the Menu ....... .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... ..... ............ 55

G en eral Op erat io ns.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 55

Di spla y For mat .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ........ 56

E diti ng a Nam e.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ........ 56

E diti ng A Fre qu ency... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 57

Fi r st a nd Se cond Men u L eve ls. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 57

Programming Ge neral Setting s ... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ... 59

S ett ing and U si ng the D i splay Backli gh t .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 59

Setti n g th e Dim mer .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 59

A djust i ng the Ke y Be ep... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 60

S ett ing the Audio AGC.... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 60

S ett ing the D isp lay O rienta ti on. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 60

A djust i ng the D ispl ay C o ntrast . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 60

S ett ing the GPS F orm at .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 61

S ett ing the Be ar Tra cker Op ti on s.. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 61

Set H o ld Ti me. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 61

Set D e la y Ti me .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 62

Set A tte nuato r. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 62

Set A ler t Lev el ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... .. . 62

Set A ler t Ton e. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 62

Set R e c ord.. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... .... ..... ... 63

Max P riority Scan .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 63

Bear Tr ack er S ho rtcu t O ptions ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 63

S ett ing the Seria l Port S pe ed... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 64

Di spla y ing Scanne r Infor mati on ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 64

Vie win g M emo ry U se d.. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 64

Vie win g t he F irmwa r e V ersio n and El e ctro nic S eri al N umbe r ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 64

I niti ali zi ng the Sca nn er’ s M em ory ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 65

Co nn ecti ng Yo ur S c anner to a Pe rso na l Co mput er ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... ... 65

5

Volu me/Sq ue l ch wi th PC Con tr ol ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 6 5

W ire d Cl onin g..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .. .. ... 66

Programmi ng Your Scanne r .... ..... ......... .... ......... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... .... ... 68

Syste m Setti ng s... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 6 8

Syste m Optio ns ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 6 9

Site Op ti on Set ting s .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 0

Cha nnel Op ti on Set ting s .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 0

P rogr ammin g C o nven tion al S ys tems..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 1

P rogr ammin g T run k ed R ad io Sys t em s .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 71

P rogr ammin g S y stem S ettin gs. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... ... 7 2

Edit ing the Sy ste m Na me .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 2

Speci fyi ng th e Co rrect Syste m Typ e ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 2

Edit ing the Sy ste m Na me .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 3

Prog ramm ing Sys t em Op tions .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 7 3

Assi gni ng a Co nven ti on al S y stem to a Sta te .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 78

P rogr ammin g S it es. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 1

Assi gni ng a Tr un ked Syste m to A S tate .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 86

P rogr ammin g C h annel G ro up s ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ....... 8 7

Setti ng U p a C ha nn el Gr ou p . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 7

Edit ing a Chann el Grou p Na me .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 7

Edit ing Chan ne ls . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 8

Loc ki ng Out C han ne l Gr oup s ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 8

Delet i ng Ch ann el G roup s .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 8

P rogr ammin g C h annel s .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 9

Cre atin g a C hann el ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 8 9

Edit ing the C ha nnel Nam e (Al p ha Tag) ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 89

Edit ing Freq uenci es .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 0

Edit ing the T alk Gr ou p ID .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 0

Sele cti ng CT CSS/D CS T o ne s .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 1

Qu ick CT CSS /D CS Sa ve .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 91

Setti ng C hann el Mod ul atio n M et hod ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 91

Setti ng C hann el At ten ua tion .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 2

Setti ng C hann el Pri ori ty ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 2

Setti ng C hann el Ale rt .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 3

S et Re c ord .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... .... ... .. .... ... 9 3

Searchin g a nd Storing ......... .... ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ... 9 6

S erv ice Se ar ch... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 6

Qu ic k Se arc h. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ....... 97

Cust om Se arc h .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 97

E diti ng a Custom S earc h R ange... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 98

S earch With Sca n .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ... 9 9

S et De la y Ti me... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 10 0

S et A tte nu ato r.... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ... . . 1 01

S et Re c ord .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... .... ... .. .... . 1 01

A ssig ning a Se ar ch Ran ge to a Sea rch Ke y ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 101

S aving a Fo und C h an nel ( Qu ick Save ) .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 10 1

A uto Se arch a nd St or e.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 10 2

Sele cti ng a Syste m ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 10 2

Con vent iona l Se arc h a nd Sto r e .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 10 2

6

Tr un ked Sear c h and Sto re .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... 1 03

Using the Clo s e Ca ll Feature ....... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... ..... . 104

S ett ing Clo s e Call Op ti on s .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 104

Cl ose C all Hi ts........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .... . . 1 06

Cl ose C all Hi ts w i th Scan .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 07

Searc h and Close Cal l Op tions ........ .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... . 1 08

Man ag ing L ocke d-Ou t Fr equ en ci es ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 08

Unlo cking A l l Fre quenci e s..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 09

Revi e win g L ocke d Ou t F req ue nci es... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 109

Sear chi n g f or Su ba udib le Ton es .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... 109

Scr e enin g O ut B road c ast Sou r ces . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 110

Fi ndin g Re peate r Output Fre quen cie s .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 111

Setti n g th e Ma ximu m A uto St or e V alue ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 11

Setti n g th e Mo du lati on T ype .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... 1 11

Setti n g A tten ua ti on .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 112

Setti n g D at a S kip. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 112

Setti n g th e De lay T im e . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 13

Setti n g th e Sea rch Fr eq uenc y St ep.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 11 3

Setti n g R eco r d..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 13

P rio rity Scan .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... 114

Using Weather Aler t ( SAME) ... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ..... . 1 15

S earch i ng For a Weath er Broa dca st. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... 1 15

Tu rn ing We ath er S c an Aler t O n/Of f .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 115

P rogr amm i ng a S AME Gr o up .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 16

S ett ing WX Alert P rio rity.. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 17

Fire Tone-O ut I ntroduction ...... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ...... 1 18

S ett ing Tone -Out Sta ndby... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 18

S ett ing Up Ton e-Ou t .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 18

To ne -O ut Mu lt i-C ha nnel M onit or ing .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 20

S ett ing Tone -Out Rec ord .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 120

Using the BC T15 wit h a GPS ... .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... . 121

Device Compa tibility........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 21

Co nn ecti ng Yo ur S c anner to a GPS D evic e .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 21

I niti al S canner /G PS O pe ra tion . .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 21

L oca tion -B ase d ( GPS ) Scan nin g . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 122

A nothe r Examp le of Multipl e Site Cre ation .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 123

No n- Radio Locati o n B ase d GP S Fe atu re s .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 23

S ett ing the Opti ons. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 24

For P OI O nl y ........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... .... . . 1 25

Fo r Dang er ous Xin g, a nd D an gero us Ro ad Only ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 25

De le ting a Lo cati on .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 26

G PS Disp lay Mode. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ..... . 1 27

G PS Rev iew Lo cat ion M o de .... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... ...... 1 28

Care and Maintenance ........ ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... ..... . 1 29

G en eral Us e .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ......... .... ...... 129

L oca tion.... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ........ ... .. .... ..... . 1 29

Cl ea nin g... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ........ .... . .... ..... . 1 29

B ird ies .. .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ......... ..... . 129

7

Troubleshooting ..... ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ......... . 130

Speci fications ..... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... .... ......... .... . 133

Reference ... .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ..... 136

Prese t F lee t M ap s .. ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... ........ ..... .... . 136

Us er D efin ed Fle et Maps ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 138

Type I Pr og ram min g In fo rmat io n .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... ..... 138

Size C o de Restr i cti ons . ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 139

CT CSS Fr eq ue nci es ... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... ..... .... . 13 9

DCS Cod es ... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... .... .... .... . .... . 140

Index.. .... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ...... 141

One -Year Limit e d Warrant y . ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ......... ........ ..... .... . 14 5

8

The FCC Wants You to Know

Thi s scanner has been tested and found to compl y w ith the limi ts for a scanning

receiver, p ursuant to Part 1 5 of the FCC Rule s . These limits are designed to

pr ovide r easonable protection against harmful inter ference in a residenti al

ins tall at ion. T hi s s canner gener at es , us e s , a nd ca n ra di ate ra di o fr eq uen c y energ y

an d, i f no t i ns t al l ed an d u s ed in a c c or da nc e w it h th e in str uct i o ns, ma y c au se

harmful interference to radio communicati ons.

There is no gu ar an tee that in terf e renc e will n ot occ u r in a partic u lar inst al lat io n . If

this scanner does cause harmful interfer ence to radio or television reception,

whi c h ca n be d ete rm i ne d by tur n in g t he sc ann er on an d off, you are enc o ur aged to

try to cor rect the interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient o r relocate the receiving anten na

• Increase the separation between the scanner and the receiver

Thi s d e vice complies w ith Part 15 of the FCC Ru les . Operation is subject to the

fo l lo w in g tw o cond it io ns: 1 ) Thi s de v ice m a y not cause h ar mful in t er fe re nc e , and 2)

this device must accept any interference rece ived, including interference that may

cause undesired operation.

Scanning Legally

Your scanner covers frequencies used by m any different groups, including police

an d f i r e de pa rt me n ts , am bu l an c e s e rvi c e s, go v er nme n t a ge nc i es , pr i v at e

com pa ni e s , am a t eu r ra di o s er v i c e s, mi li t ar y op era t io ns , pa ge r s er vi c es , a nd

wireli ne (telephone and telegraph) service providers. It is legal to listen to almost

every transm ission your scanner can receive. However, th ere are some

transmi ssions tha t you should never intentionally listen to . These include:

• Tel ep ho ne con ver sat io ns (c e llu la r, co rd l es s , or ot he r p r i v a t e m e an s of

te l ep hone sig na l tr ans m i ss i on )

• Pager transmissions

• Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions

Acc o rd i n g t o t he El ec t r o ni c C om mun ic a t i on s Pr iv ac y A ct ( EC PA) , yo u a re s u bj ec t

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 par ty to the

conver sation (unless such acti vity is ot herwise illegal). This scanner has been

designed to prevent the reception of cellular telephone transm issions and the

decoding of scrambled transm issions. Thi s i s done to comply with the legal

requirement that scanners be ma n ufactured so they are not easy to mod ify to pick

The FCC Wants Y ou to Know

9

up these transmissions. Do not open you r scanner’s case to make any

m od if i c a ti on s th at c ou ld al lo w i t to p ic k up tr an sm i s s i on s th at ar e i l l e g al t o m o ni to r.

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

p e r m it . C he c k th e l aw s in y o u r a re a. It i s al s o i ll e ga l i n m a ny ar ea s (an d a ba d i d ea

everywher e) to interfere with the duties of public safety officials by traveling to the

scene of an incident without authorization.

A license is required to use this product in Canada.

10

BCT15 Quick Start Guide

To h el p yo u enjo y the fe at ur es an d perf or ma nce o f your BCT 15 as fas t a s p oss i bl e ,

follow the steps below. See the content of the manual if you need additional

info rm atio n.

1. Mo un t th e sc a nn er and con ne c t po w er.

2. Attach the antenna.

3. Rotate the [VOL] control clockwise past the click to a midpoint.

4. Ro tat e [SQ/STATE] t o it s mi n i mu m po s i t io n.

5. Pr es s t he [SQ/STATE] knob.

6. Rotate the Scroll Control knob until your state i s highl ighted.

7. Pr es s t he Scroll Control knob to set your selection.

You a re now set to re ceive transmissions from your state. Othe r states are locked

ou t .

Us in g t he cha rt be lo w, pr es s [POL/DOT], or [HP/B] to receive th e type of

ag en c i e s .

POL includes Police and Sheriff services.

DOT includes the states’ Department of Transportation ser vices.

HP includes the Highway Patrol, State Police, State Patrol, and State intercity.

B a cti vat e s th e B ea rTr a ck er W arn in g S y s t em a nd its a s s oc i at ed al ert f ea t ur e.

Bea rTr acker Syste m Key Options

Press X to enable [POL /DOT] [HP/B]

1X POL HP

2X DOT HP/B

3X P OL & DO T HP & B

4X NONE NONE

The BearTrac ke r Wa r ni ng Sy st em is a special part of the BearTracker System.

Thi s system alerts you to transmissions on frequencies used by ‘mobile extender ’

ra di o s as w e ll a s by c ar -t o- car , air craf t- to-car, and other special-purpose

frequencies. You receive an audible (beep tone) and visual (flashing Alert light)

al ert w h en eve r y o u a re w i th i n an a p pro xi m at e t h ree - m il e r ad iu s of H i gh w a y

Patrol/State Police units using a mobi le extender unit.

BCT15 Quick Start Guide

11

Introduction

Yo ur BCT15 scanner is a state-of-the- art scanner radio w ith Trunk Tra cker™ III

an d aut om atic s c a nn ing c ap ab ilit ie s . Yo u ca n stor e in the dyna mi c m em ory

conv e ntional fr eq ue nc i es s uch as p ol i ce, fir e/emer ge nc y, ma rine, ai r , ama t eu r , an d

other communi cations. You can store and scan services that use Trunked R adio

Systems and so much mor e. You can use the scanner’s Scroll C ontrol to quickly

sel ec t chann el s and fr eq uenci es , a nd y o u c an a uto ma t ic al l y pr og ra m c ha nn el s in a

system using the Auto Store feat ure. Use your scanner to monitor:

• An alog tru nked p ublic sa fety syst em s ( unencrypted o nly) *

• Police and fire departments (including rescue and par amedics)

• N OAA weather transmi ssion s

• Business/Industri al radio and utilities

• M ar ine an d A m a t eu r (h am r ad io ) ba nd s

•Railroad

• M ilit a ry an d Ci v ilia n A irc r aft

Your scanner can monitor the following bands

Frequency

(MHz)

Lo w er E d ge

2 5. 000 0 26 .9 600 AM 5.0 P et r ol e um Pr od uc ts & B ro ad c ast

2 6. 965 0 27 .4 050 AM 5.0 CB Class D Cha nnel

2 7. 410 0 27 .9 950 AM 5.0 Business & Forest Products

2 8. 000 0 29 .6 800 NFM 20 .0 10 Meter Amateur Band

2 9. 700 0 49 .9 900 NFM 10 .0 VHF Low Band

5 0. 000 0 53 .9 800 NFM 20 .0 6 Meter A mat eur Ban d

5 4. 000 0 71 .9 500 WFM 50 .0 V HF TV Br oa dca st 2 - 4

7 2. 000 0 75 .9 950 FM 5. 0 Intersystem & A stronomy

7 6. 000 0 87 .9 500 WFM 50 .0 V HF TV Br oa dca st 5 - 6

8 8. 000 0 10 7. 900 0 FMB 100. 0 FM B r o adc a s t

108.0000 13 6. 975 0 AM 25 . 0 Aircra ft Band

137.0000 14 3. 987 5 NFM 12. 5 Military L and Mobile

144.0000 14 7. 995 0 NFM 5.0 2 M et er A m at eur Band

148.0000 15 0. 787 5 NFM 12. 5 Military L and Mobile

150.8000 16 1. 995 0 NFM 5.0 VHF High Band

162.0000 17 3. 987 5 NFM 12. 5 Fe de ra l Gov e rn m ent

174.0000 21 5. 950 0 WFM 50 .0 TV Br oa dca s t 7 - 13

216.0000 22 4. 980 0 NFM 20. 0 1. 25 M et e r Am at e ur B and

225.0000 37 9. 975 0 AM 25 . 0 UHF Air cra ft B an d

380.0000 39 9. 987 5 NFM 12. 5 Military B an d

Frequency

(M Hz )

Upper Edge

Modulation Step ( k Hz) Comments

Pickup

12

Frequency

(M Hz )

Lower Edge

40 0.0 00 0 405.9875 NFM 12.5 Mis ce lla neo us

40 6.0 00 0 419.9875 NFM 12.5 Federal Governmen t Lan d Mobil e

42 0.0 00 0 449.9875 NFM 12.5 70 cm Am ate ur B a nd

45 0.0 00 0 469.9875 NFM 12.5 UHF St andard Band

47 0.0 00 0 512.0000 NFM 12.5 UHF TV

76 4.0 00 0 775.9875 NFM 12.5 Publ ic Ser vi ce Ban d

79 4.0 00 0 805.9875 NFM 12.5 Publ ic Ser vi ce Ban d

80 6.0 00 0 823.9875 NFM 12.5 Publ ic Ser vi ce Ban d

84 9.0 12 5 868.9875 NFM 12.5 Publ ic Ser vi ce Ban d

89 4.0 12 5 956.0000 NFM 12.5 Publ ic Ser vi ce Ban d

12 40 . 00 00 1300.0000 NFM 25.0 25 c m Am at e ur Ba nd

Frequency

(MHz)

Uppe r Edge

Modulation Step (kHz) Comments

The frequency r anges shown are based on factory-default step settings. Step

setting changes are user definable.

• The modulation setti ng are default settings. The user can sel ect fr om AM / F M

/ N FM / WFM / FMB/ AUTO.

• You can select AUTO for modu lation or step settings. If selected, the radio

use s ta bl e v a lue s .

• I f y o u s e t the st ep t o 15 k H z , p ro gr amm ab le f r eq ue nc i es ar e t he n se t to ste ps

of xxx.x000, xxx.x150, xxx.x300, xxx.x450, xxx.x600, xxx.x750, and xxx.x900.

For example, the next frequency of 400.0900 MHz is 400.1000 MHz.

• I f y o u s e t the st ep t o 8. 33 k H z , pr o g ram ma ble f req u en c i es a re th en set to

steps of xxx.x000, xxx. x083, xxx.x166, xxx.x250,xxx.x333, xxx.x41 6, xxx.x500,

xxx.x583, xxx.x666, xxx.x750, xxx.x833, and xxx.x916.For example, the next

fr e que nc y of 1 00 .0916 MHz is 10 0.100 0 MH z .

• If you set the step to 7.5 kHz, frequencies betw een 150.8150 and

15 4. 6 25 0 M Hz must be multiples of 7.5 kHz ba se d on 150.8150 MHz. For

example, the next frequency after 150.8100 MHz is 150.8150 MH z. The next

frequency after 154.6250 MHz is 154.6275 MHz.

Feature Highlights

General

2500 Dynamically Allocated Channels in Up To 500 Systems — pro vi d es y o u

with plenty of room for all your local action.

Be arTrac ker™ Wa rni ng Sy stem — al erts you when channels normally used by

publ ic safety systems are in use nearby.

Introduction

13

State-by-State Preprogrammed Channels — let yo u easily keep up with activity

on l ocal police, Department of Transportation, and Highway Patrol frequencies

when you travel, without having to program any channels.

Close Call™ RF Capture Technology — instantl y detects and tunes to nearby

t r an s m i s s i o n s w it h no ad di ti on al pro gr am m in g.

Close Call Do Not Disturb — checks f o r Close Call activity in between channel

reception so active channels are not interrupted

Close Call Temporary Store — temporarily stores and scans the last 10 Close

Call hits so that you can continue to monitor activity on these freq uencies, even

after you are out of Close Call detection range.

100 System Quick Keys with 10 Channel Group Quick Keys per system —

m akes it ea sy to listen to or quickly lock out those systems or groups you do not

want to s can.

Lockout Options — w ith several di fferent and easy lockout options, you can

qu ickly make your choi ces to lockout or unlock services.

Temporary Lockout — pro vi d es y o u wit h a f ast m e an s to au t oma t i c a lly un lo c k

temp orarily locked out ch annels/systems when you cycle power.

Receives 25-512, 764-805, 806-956, and 1240-1300 MHz — (excluding cellular

f r eq ue nci es ) t h e sc an n er r ec e iv es t h e mo s t pop u l ar a n d us e f ul r an ge s .

DIN-E and ISO Vehicle Mountable — using a opti onal DIN-E sleeve (Part

Number DIN-0001 not pr ovided) or a standard ISO technique, the scanner can be

easily mounted in most vehicles.

Broadcast Screen — u s ing this op ti on you can ign or e Clo s e Ca ll or S ea rc h hits in

Pager, FM, UHF TV, VHF TV, NOAA Weather, or custom set bands.

Data Skip — helps you to be more free from unwanted data transmissions and

r educes ‘birdies.’

Duplicate Input A lert — warns you if you attempt to inpu t dup licate d ata fo r a

name, frequency, or other item.

Fire Tone-Out — al ert s y ou i f a t w o- to n e se qu en t i al p ag e i s t r a nsm it ted .

Frequency Auto Store — lets you autom at ic a l ly st or e a n ewl y fo un d fre quency

during a sear ch.

3-Level Display and Keypad Backlight — makes it easy to use the scanner at

night.

14

Tone Volu me Adjust — lets you select and set va rious tones for different

pu rp ose s. Yo u c a n a dj u s t th e le v el o f th e f o ll o wi n g t on es: K ey B ee p, Be a rTr ac k e r

Al ert, Emer gency Alert, C hannel Alert, C lose Cal l Al ert, Tone- Out Detection Alert,

an d L oc a t i on Al er t.

PC C ontrol — lets you can connect the scanner to the serial port of your PC and

cont ro l th e sca nn er wit h sp ecia l s o ftwa re .

Wired Clone — make s it ea sy to t r ansfer data from one scan ner to the o t her such

as me mo ry in f orm at io n a nd me nu set t i ng s .

Memory Backup — fe el confident of secu re settings because the scanner’s

memory is backed up during operati on and retained when power is turned off.

Audio AGC — helps to balance the audio level from different sources.

Record Out — yo u can co nn ec t an out p ut j ac k t o a VO X co ntro lle d re c or de r or PC

sou nd i n pu t t o r ec o rd th e re c e i v ed au di o.

Orange Wire Vehicle Connection — a s p eci a l w i r e le ts y o u co nn ec t t o t he

dimmer circu it of your vehicl e so the vehicle’s dimmer also dims the scanner’s

light in g.

Startup Configuration — lets you easily change the scanner’s operation for

di ffer en t a re as .

Tr unk Track ing

Tr u nk Tr a ck er I I I — you can scan th e following trunked systems: Motorola Type I

800 MHz, M otorola Type II 800, 900 M Hz, UHF, VHF, EDACS WID E, NA RROW,

an d S C AT, an d LTR

Control Channel Only — eliminates the need to program voice channel

frequ encies for Moto rola systems.

Multi-Site Trunking Support — let s yo u pr og ra m the scan ner to sh ar e tr unk e d

system chan nels across m ultiple sites, and t urn on a nd of f each site in dep ende ntly

so that you can select the be st site to scan for your area without du plicating

channels.

ID Auto Store — you ca n s tor e a ne w TG ID fou nd dur in g a s ea rch into a sp ec if i ed

system.

Quick Search — le ts you con tin ue a search st art ing from a current freq uency in a

convent io nal system or from a current trunke d channel TGID in a trunked system.

Introduction

15

Name Editing — you can edit or change names, using up to 16 characters, for the
fo llo win g a ttr ibu t es:

System, Site, Group, Channel, TGID, GPS Location, Custom Search Range,

S A M E Gr ou p (w ea t he r), an d Tone -O u t.

Trunking A ctivity Indicators — show you trunking activity when you hold on a

co n tr ol c h an ne l .

Sea rches and Scanning

Atte nuator — lets you reduce by 20 dB the strength of a strong signal to help

elim inat e we a k rece ptio n o r in terf e rin g tra nsm is s io n.

Alert Mute — you can disable alerts based on a BearTracker pr ior ity channel,

Emergency Al ert, Clo se Call, Tone-Out, and GPS.

Alert Plus Scan — lets yo u listen t o only alerts from BearTracker systems or

groups, C lose Call, Weather (WX), and GPS.

C hann el Alert — lets you assign a tone to a channel so that when the channel

becomes active, the tone sounds.

C han n el Me mo ry Sc a n — you can scan conve ntional and trunked system

channels at the same time with progr amming.

CTCSS/DC S Search — quickly determines the CTCSS/DCS sub-audibl e tones

used by an agency.

Convenien t Lockout — lets you lockout any system, site, gr oup, or channel so

that item is skipped during scanning. If a system, site, or group is locked, the

ch a nn els o f that en t it y will b e skip pe d.

C ustom Se arch — lets you progr am up to 10 search ranges and scan each in

order.

Dropout Delay — lets you set a time va lue so that you don’t miss a repl y at t h e

en d of a tran smission. The value can be set for systems ( al l cha nnels shar e the

same value), as well as Search, C lose Call, and Tone-Out settings.

Priority Plus — this option lets you scan and hear only priority channels.

Priority Scan — lets you designate conventional channels as priority so during

scan ning, they are che cke d every 2 se co nds.

R epe at er Re verse — using one key, you can choose to listen to the input

fr equency of a conventional or trunked system.

16

Search With Scan — let s you monitor a se rvice sea rch and a cu stom search sca n

sequentially.

Servic e S earch — lets you select from a list of the most popular services (Public

Sa fety, News, H AM R adio, Marine , Railroad, Air, Citizen s Band Radio,

FRS/GMRS, Racing, TV Broadcast, FM Broadcast, Military Air, and Special,) and

set up your search within that range.

Scan Speed — you can scan at a maximum speed of 100 channels per second in

S c an Mo de .

Turbo Search — in r egular Search Mod e t he sca nne r checks at a m aximum va lue

of 10 0 steps per second while in Tur bo Mode, the rate rises to 300 steps per

sec o nd an d s e ts t h e s t ep to 5 kHz autom atically which provides you with greater

ability to hear more.

Search Key — you can assign three keys to initiate a search range.

GPS

Location Bas ed Scanning — using a connected, optional GPS, you can easily

listen to systems as you travel.

GPS (Location Based) Alerts — notify you when you near an area you have

pr ogrammed as a dangerous road, dangerous i ntersection, or a general point of

interest.

Weather

Weath er and SAM E/FIPS Al ert — t h e s c a nn er r ece iv e s y o ur are a N OA A

br oa dca st a n d can be pr og ra mme d t o r ec e iv e S A ME E v e nt C od e s and FI PS

cod es f o r ar ea sp e ci f ic da ta .

WX Priority — y ou wi ll know imm ed i ate l y when a weather al er t is tr ansmi tted on a

NO AA w e at h er c h an ne l .

WX Scan — le ts t o q u i c k l y fi nd th e b est w e at h er c h an ne l f or y o u r ge og ra ph ic

location.

Introduction

17

Memory Storage Limits

S yste ms Site s S ites in A Sy st em

500 10 00 25 6 20 25 00

Channels in a Conventional

System

1000 250 750-1000

* depending on t he number of TGID in the system.

Channels i n a Trunked

System

Cha nnel Groups

in a System

Trunked Frequencies

Channels —
All Systems

Per Site*

Search Lockout Limits

Fr equencies

500 25 0 250 S earch Mode

Te mporary L/O

Fr equencies

Permanent L/O

Frequenci es

Skipped Review

Me n u Mo de

Close Call M ode

About This Manual

The screen displays used in this m anual are representations of what might appear

when you use your scanner. Si nce what you see depends on the frequencies and

use r IDs fo r your area and the settings you select, you might notice some

differences between w hat is in this manual and what appears on your scanner.

To ge t the mo s t fr om this ma nu al, re vie w th e conte nts to be c om e fam ilia r wi th the

basic functions avai lable. If you are new to scanning or trunk tracking, start with

the fol lowing short introduction to scanning and follow-up with the enclosed

r ep rin t ed ar ti c l e o n P ro gra m m ing pr ov i d ed wi t h t h e co urt e s y of Pop u l a r

C om munica t ion s ma ga zi ne .

How the Scanner’s Controls Are Represented in This Manual

To help navigate the scanner’s menus, the steps shown in this manual show the

displa ys you see and the keys you p re ss or control you operate to get a desired

r esult. We use a fo rm of shor thand symbols to save space.

The following example shows you how to use the scanner’s menu to edit an

existing system name. It sh o ws you th e key to pre ss in bold and i n brackets

[MENU] to se l ect a m en u op t ion and th e opti on yo u s ee on t h e LC D in b ol d C ou ri er

18

typ e (Program System ) when yo u pr es s [MENU]. It also instr ucts you to turn the

Scroll Control (sh own as ) to view a series of choices then press or tap the
Scroll Control (t he act i o n s h own as F to enter a cho ice (Edit Name).

[MENU ]  Program System  F

 S el ect the syste m  F

Edit Name  F The n , edit the syste m name.

Introduction

19

A Short User’s Guide to Assist the First-Time

Scanner Enthusiast

Welcome to the family of Uniden scanner users. You have j ust unpacked your

Uniden BCT15 scanner. You are anxious to scan and hear something so you

rotat e the [VOL/POWER] control and wai t a moment as the opening Message and

C opy rig ht s c re en s c on f irm th e mo de l in f orm atio n. Th en , if yo u live in a resi de ntia l

area, you probably hear nothing or very little. Why? The reason is simple. The

progr ammable BCT15 does not instinctively know where you are and what you

wish to l iste n to.

Ta ke a fe w minutes to assi st in the ‘ educating your scanner’ process so you can

enjoy li stening for the fi rst time and feel good about your purchase.

Before proceeding, fi rst set the volum e and the squelch level s. Once set cor rectl y,

these settings let you listen at a comfortable level and let the scanner provide a

signal whose strength is sufficie nt to b e he a rd clearly. Alwa ys be sure to conne ct

the provided antenna or an external (optional) antenna.

T here are several options that quickly assure you tha t your scanner works.

The easiest is to activate the scanner’s Weather System (following) or

Be arTracker Syst e m on Pa ge 52 . Follow these steps to tun e to t he nearest N OAA

(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrati on) broadcast.

[MENU]  WX Operation F

The scanner changes to the local NOAA weather channel for your area. Although

there are ten channels, one wil l be received best for any given location.

Press [SCAN/SEARCH] to exit WX mode .

O n ce y o u e s ta bl i s h t ha t th e sc a nn er op er at es u si n g t he NO AA i nf o r m a t i on , you

can next begin monitoring one of the ser vices within the BearTracker System.

T he U nide n BearTracker System makes it e asy fo r you to start scanning other

se rv i c es , esp eci all y fo r t he t r av e l er. W e h ave pr ep ro gr amm ed th e B CT1 5 wi th t he

system data on a state-by-state Unite d Stat e s m ainland basis.

Refer to the enclosed r eprint of the article from P o pu lar Com munic a t ion s de al ing

w it h s c a nn er p ro gr am min g.

To correctly progr am the BCT15 scanner begin on Page 68. Th e tw o es s e nti a l

p ro gr am mi n g st ep s ar e

1. Plan the system

20

2. Pr ogram the system based on the plan.

The repr inted article from Po pul a r Comm u ni c at io ns, describes, in clear,

easy-to-understand language, how to start the programming session. The article

also includes a glossary of term s and other valuable data. Be sure to take ti me out

to look it over befor e proceeding.

To pr ovi d e y o u wi th us e fu l s iz ed w or kshe et s an d ins tr uctio ns t o com p l ete t he m, we

have est ablis he d lin ks at ou r c omp any w e bs i t e. Vis i t , h ttp://www.u niden.com/scanners

t o se e a li st of hel p f ul fo r m s. Bu t fir st, v is it h ttp://www.radioreference.co m a nd loc at e

th e sy s te m near es t y our l oc at ion that yo u wa nt to sca n. If yo u regi s t er and pa y a smal l

fe e, y ou c a n d ow nl o ad a r e ady -t o-u se fo r mat t ed P DF c om p l et e wi t h t he data f rom y our

sel ec t ed sy stem . Other wi se , y ou c an pr int the bla nk wo rk s hee t on our w eb pag e as

you w ou l d any ot her web b ased pa ge.

The pr og ra m m i ng da ta of a la r g e me t r op o l i t an ar e a may c o nsi s t of m a ny p ag es

de pe n din g o n h ow e xt en si v e t h e ar ea ’ s Pu bl i c Se rv i c e Sys t e m Tal k gr ou ps ar e.

Do n’t be ov e rwh e lm e d. Be g in b y ch o osi n g t h e Tal k gr ou ps of i n te r e st t o you .

Transfer the data from the Radio Reference sheets to the appropriate work sheet,

fi n al l y prog r am mi n g the data i n to the scanne r .

You ca n vi s i t o ne o f th e R a di o R e fe r e nce fo r u ms an d p ot e nti a l ly l e ar n of som eo ne

in y ou r im m edi ate ar ea who ha s prog ra m me d t he sam e mo de l s cann er in y ou r

ar ea . Th e n, by u si ng th e C l on e f e at ur e o r by e xc ha ng in g fi le s th at y o u ea c h h ave

t r an sf er re d t o a c o mp ut e r us i ng t h e Un i d en Ad v an ced Sca n ne r D ir ec t or (U A SD )

software you can install the programmed data into your sca n ner. Once you have

ei ther program med or selected the option that lets you start experiencing

scanning, spend the next few mi nutes learning the basics of trunk tracking for an

eve n m or e com ple t e l i ste ni ng ap pr eci a t i on .

A Sho rt Us er’s G uide to Assis t the Firs t-Time Sc anner Enthusi as t

21

Understanding Scanning and the BCT15

T his s e cti on pro vi d es y o u wit h ad di t i o n al b ack g r o un d o n h ow s c a nn in g wo rks an d

how your scanner provides that feature. You don’t real ly need to know all of thi s to

use your scanner, but some further background knowledge will help you get the

most from your BCT15.

Understanding the Scanner’s Memory

Your scanner’s memory is organized in an architecture called Dyn am ic Al loca t ed

Channel me mo ry . T hi s t y p e of m em or y is or ga ni z ed d if fe r e nt l y an d mo re e ffi c i en t ly

than the bank/channel architecture used by traditional scanners. Dynamic

All ocated design match es how radio systems act u ally work much more closely,

making it easier to progr am and use your scanner and determine how much

m emory you have used and how much you have left.

Instead of being organized into separ ate banks and channels, your scanner’s

m em or y i s c o nt a ine d in a pool. You s im pl y us e a s m uc h me mo ry as y o u ne e d in

the pool to store as many frequencies, and talk group ID’s as desired. No m emory

space is wasted, and you can tell at a glance how much memory you have used

a n d ho w mu c h r emain s .

With a traditional scanner, when you program it to track a trunked system, you

must first program the frequencies. Si nce you can only progr am one tr unking

system per bank in a tr aditional scanner, if t here were (for example) 30

f r eq ue nci es , th e r em ain i n g ch an ne ls i n t h e b an k a re no t us ed an d t h ere f or e

w asted. Also, since some trunked systems might ha ve hundreds of ta lk groups,

you woul d have had to enter those types of systems into multiple ba nks in o rd er to

monitor and track a ll the ID’s.

Understanding Quick Keys

Traditional “Banked” scanners let you select and deselect banks by pressing a

single digit on the keypad. The BC T15 uses a similar method to turn on and off

scan ning sites and systems. When you program a system or site, you assign a

qu ick key (System/Site Quick Key, or SQK) from 0 to 99. Yo u can use the same

qu ick key fo r multiple system s, so t h at the syst e ms are turned on and off to g ether.

To t urn a system / site on or off, just p ress the digi t corresponding to t h e assigned

SQK. For two-digit SQK’s, first press [.No] , then enter the two-digit S QK.

The BCT15 lets you assign another quick key to a group of channels within a

system. This group quick key (GQK) can be fr om [0]-[9] . To turn on and off
channel groups, you press F wh ile the scanner is scanning the system containing

22

the channels, then press the GQK within 2 seconds. Systems can have up to 20

cha nn e l gro u ps , an d mu lt i p le c h an ne l g r ou ps c a n b e as s i gn ed to t he s a me GQ K .

Wh at is Scan nin g?

Unlike standard AM or FM radio stati ons, most two-way communications do not

tr a ns m it con t inuou s ly . You r BC T15 s cans prog ra m me d ch an ne ls unt i l it finds an

act iv e fr eq ue n c y, th en s to ps o n t ha t fr eq ue nc y a nd r em ai ns on t ha t ch an ne l a s

long as the transmission continues. When the transmission ends, the scanning

cycle resumes until the scanner receives another transmission.

What is Searching?

The BC T15 can search each of its 13 service search ranges and up to 10 custom

sea rch ranges to find active frequ encies. This is differ ent from scanning because

you ar e searching for frequencies that have not been progr ammed into the

scanner’s channels. You set the upper and the lower values of the range and then

the scanner searches for any active frequency within the limits you specify. W hen

the scanner finds an active freque ncy, it stops o n that frequency as long as the

tra nsmi ssion l asts. If yo u t hink the freq uency is in teresting, you can pro gram i t in t o

the scanner’s memory. If not, you can continue to sear ch.

What is C TCSS/DCS?

Your scan ner can monitor systems using a C ont inuous Tone Coded Squelch

Syste m (CTCSS) and Digita l Coded Squelch (D CS) syste m, wh ich allow squel ch

to open only when the tone you have programmed with a specific frequency is

received along with a transmission.

CTCSS a n d DCS are sub-a u dible tone signa ling systems someti mes referred to

as P L o r D P L (M oto rol a’s t ra de ma rk e d t er ms fo r P riv a te L ine an d D i git al P ri v at e

Li ne r es p ect i v e ly ) . CTC SS an d DC S a r e u sed on l y f or F M s i gn al s and ar e u sua ll y

associated with both amateur and commercial two- way frequencies. T hese

systems m ake use of a special sub-audib le tone th at accompanies a transmitted

signal.

CTCSS and DCS ar e used for many pur poses. In many cases, CTCSS and DCS

ar e us e d t o r es t r i c t ac c e ss to a co m m e rc i a l re pe at e r, s o th at on ly th os e uni ts w hi ch

transmit the correct tone along with their signal can “talk” to the repeater.

CTCSS and DCS are also used in areas that receive interfer ence where there are

se v er al st at io ns w it h ou tput fr equ enci es clo s e to eac h o the r . Wh en thi s o cc ur s, you

might hear multiple communications on the same frequency. T he stati ons might

Understanding Scanning and the BCT15

23

even interfere with each other to the point where it is impossible to clear ly receive

any of the stations. A scanner, such as your BCT15, equipped with CTCSS and

D CS , c a n co de e a c h r e cei v ed fr eq ue ncy wi th a s p eci f i c s u b- au dib l e C T C S S o r

DCS frequency or code. Then, when you receive multipl e signals, you only hear

the transmission with the CTCSS or DCS tone you programmed. If you do not

r eceive the correct t o ne with a signal, the scann er’s squelch rema ins closed and

you he ar not hi n g.

The tables showing the available CTCSS frequencies and DCS codes are found in

t h e Re fer en c e S ect i o n o n Page 134 of th is manual.

Conventional Scanning

Conventional scanning is a relatively simple concept. Each group of user s in a

con ventional system is assi gned a single frequency (for sim plex systems) or two

fr equencies (fo r repeater systems) . Any time one of th em transmits, th eir

transmission always goes out on the same frequency. Up until the late 1980s, thi s

w as the primary way t h at radio syst ems operated .

Even today, there are many 2-way radio users who operate using a conventional

system:

• Air craft

• A ma t eu r ra di o

• F RS/GMRS users

• Broadcast AM/FM/TV stations

• M an y bu si n es s ra di o use rs

When you wan t to store a conventional system, all you need to know is the

fr equencies they operate on. When you are scann ing a conventional system, the

scanner stops very briefly on each channel to see i f there is activity. If there isn’t,

the sca nner qui c kl y mo ves to t h e ne x t c han ne l . If the re is, th en t he sc a nne r pauses

on the transmission until it is over.

Simplex Operation

Sim pl ex syst ems use a single frequency f or both t ransmit and receive. M ost ra dios

using thi s type of operati on are limited to line-of-sight oper ation. This type of radio

is frequently used at constr uction job sites, and with inexpensive consumer radios

suc h as G M RS /F RS rad i os . T he r ang e is ty p ical ly 1- 15 m ile s , dep endi ng u pon th e

t e rra in an d ma ny o t he r f ac t or s .

24

Repeater Operation

Repeater syste ms use two freq uencies: one transmits from the radio to a central

repeater; the other transmits from th e r epeater to other radios in the syste m. With

a re p eater-based system, the rep e ater is locat ed on to p of a tall building or on a

radio t owe r t ha t pro v id es g reat vis ib ilit y t o the are a of op erat io n. Wh en a use r

transmits (on an input fr equency), the signal is pi cked up by the repeater and

re tr an s mi t te d (o n a n o ut pu t fr eq ue nc y ) . Th e u ser ’s ra di os al way s l i s te n fo r act iv i ty

on the output frequency and transmit on the i nput frequency. Since the repeater is

loc a t e d ve ry high, th er e is a ve ry la rg e line o f si gh t.

Typ ica l repeater systems provide coverage out to a bou t a 25 -mile radius from th e

re pe at e r lo cat io n.

What is Trunk Tracking?

Your BC T15 is designe d to track the follow ing types of trunking systems.

• Motorola Type I, Type II, Type IIi hybrid, SM ARTNET, and P RIVAC YPLUS

anal og trunking systems, which are extensively use d in 800 MHz

communication syst ems.

• LTR tr unking systems

• EDACS SCAT tr unkin g systems

• EDACS trunking syste ms

When tr acki ng these type s of systems, you might want to reme mber that yo u r

scanner can tr ack more than one trunking system at a t im e and scan con ve ntional

and trunked systems at the same time.

Conventional scanning is a simple concept. You enter a frequency used by

so me one you wa nt to m on it or in to y ou r sca nner’s m em or y. Fo r ex a m pl e, the po l ice

in your area might transmit on 460.500 MHz, the fire departm ent on 154.445 MHz,

the highway department on 37.900 M Hz, etc. So w hen your scanner stops on a

fr e que nc y, you usuall y kno w wh o it is , an d mo re imp or t a ntl y, yo u can s top on a

channel and listen to an entire conversation. This type of scanning is easy and fun.

However, as the demand for public communications has i ncreased, many public

radio users do not have enough frequencies to meet their needs, creating a

serious proble m. Trunking radio systems help solve this problem.

Understanding Scanning and the BCT15

25

Trunked Scanning

W hi le c o nve nt i o n al s c a nn in g wo r k e d gr ea t w hil e t he re w er e on l y a f e w gr ou ps

wanting to use the frequencies, with the advent of sm all er, lower-cost radios more

and more agencies and businesses wanted to take advantage of the utility of

2- way r a di o. As a re sul t, th e ba nds th at w er e used mo st bec a m e f ull , so n ew users

w er e no t ab le t o t a ke ad va nt ag e o f t h e t ec h no lo gy a s qu ic k ly as t he y w an t ed .

Trunking solved this fr equency shortage by allowing multiple groups to use the

same se t o f f requencies in a very e ffici ent way. While each t ype of t runking system

opera tes a l ittl e diffe rently (see the next fe w sections), they all wo rk on the same

ba sic premise: even in a system w ith a lot of users, only a f e w use rs are ever

transmitting at any one tim e.

Inst ead of being assig ned a fr equency, a s with conventional systems, each grou p

is assigned a talk group ID. A central computer control s the frequency each group

o p er a t es on . . .and th i s fr eq ue ncy s e lec t i o n is m a de eac h ti me a u ser t ra ns m its . So ,

w hile on a convention al system queries, replies, and fo llow-ups ar e all on a single

frequency, they could each be on completely different frequencies on a trunked

system. This semi-random frequency assignm ent mad e monitoring such a syst em

impossible prior to U niden’s inventi on of the TrunkTr acker scanner.

Startup Configuration

T he S ta rt up C o nf ig ur at io n o pt i o n le ts y o u q uic k l y an d au t om at i c a ll y l o ck an d

un lock systems based on yo u r desired configuration. Simply hold d o wn a nu mber

button while powering on the scanner. Systems assigned to that number are

au tomatically unlocked and syst ems assigned to other numbers are automatically

locked. Systems that are not assigned to any startup configuration are left

u n c ha ng ed .

You could use this feature to give you quick, single-pre ss Quick Key access to

you r favorite systems even when yo u travel to o ther locations. For example, if yo u

progr am your scanner as follows:

Sy st em/S ite Q uick Key Configuration 1 Configuration 2

1 Fort Wo rth Ph oe nix

2 Tarr ant C ou nt y Mesa

3 Ar lin gto n Ma ripo s a Count y

When you are i n the For t Worth area, press [1] while turning on the scanner.
System Quick Keys [1 ] , [2 ], and [3] then allow you to select betw een the local
systems. When you tr avel to the Phoenix area, hold [2] while turning on the

26

scanner. Now, the For t Worth systems ar e locked out a nd System Quick Keys [1],

[2], an d [3] a llow select ion between the Phoenix-area systems.

Multi-Site Trunking

Some systems covering a very lar ge geographic ar ea use multiple ant enna sites

that each operate on different frequencies, but that use the sam e Talk Gr oup ID’s

for traffic. W hen pr ogrammi ng such a system, you pr ogram e a ch site’s fr equencies

and other se ttings in to the system, then p rogram the channels into channel groups

within tha t system. Each site can have its own quick key, so you can tu rn each

individual site on or off while you scan. Since all sites share all the channels within

the syst e m, multi-site tr unking is much more efficient than programming e a ch site

as a se parat e system.

Not only does your BCT15 scan channels like a conventional scanner, it actually

follows the users of a t r unked radio system. Once you know and program a talk

gr ou p’s I D ( T G I D ) , yo u wo n’ t mi ss a ny o f t h e a c ti on .

If you are a new scanner enthusiast, you might want to read the fi rst part of this

manual and use your scanner in conventional mode before you begin trunk

tracking. Under standing scanning fundamental s and terminology will make trunk

tr a c kin g mu c h ea s ier . If y ou are a l re ad y an ex pe ri e nc e d s cann er oper ato r , you c an

review the programm ing worksheets and their associated pages in the Reference

Se c t io n of t hi s man ua l .

Types of Trunking Systems

Trun king systems divide a few frequencies among many different users, but the

way that each system does this is slightly different. This se ction de scribes some of

the t e chnical data behi nd Motorola, EDACS, and LTR trunked radio systems.

Motorola Trunking

Al l Motorola trunking systems use the same ba sic trunking method . The system

consists o f one control channel (or as ma n y as 4 per system but only one is act ive

at an y on e t i m e), p l us o ne or m ore voi c e c ha n ne l s ( t ypi c al l y 1 0, 2 0, or 2 8 t o tal

cha nnels). When a user presses Push To Talk (PTT) to transmit, their radio first

sends the person’s talk group information to the control channel. The computer

then assigns that tal k group to a specific voice channel and tr ansmits that data

over the control channel. All radios in that talk group switch over to the assigned

voi c e c ha n ne l an d t he use r c a n be g in s p ea k i n g. Thi s al l t ypi c al l y t a kes pl ac e in

ab ou t a sec o n d. . .th e p er son t r an s m i t ti n g he a rs a b ee p f ro m t he ir ra di o wh en th e

channel is assigned and then it is OK to star t tal king.

Understanding Scanning and the BCT15

27

T he syste ms in u se a re:

Motorola Type I — the radio s send the radio ID, the fle et an d subfleet talk group

ID to th e control channel each time t h ey transmi t. To program a Type I system, you

ne ed to know the system’ s fl ee t m a p . T he m o st c o m m o n f l ee t ma ps ar e inc l ud ed i n

the Reference section in this manual. You can also find fleet map resources on the

web at http:/ / www.rad io refe rence . com for example.

Motorola Type II — t he rad i o s on ly s en d t he ra di o I D an d r a di o c h an ne l c od e t o

the control channel. T he central computer keeps a database of radio ID’s and

which talk group is assigned to which channel code for each radio, so with this

system the user ’s radio se nds only about 1/3 the data as a Type I syste m with each

tr ansmission . Type II systems do not use Fleet-subflee t talk groups; instead they

use a 5-d i gi t ID for eac h tal k gr ou p.

Type IIi Hybrid — these systems support a mix of both Typ e I and Type I I users.

Like Type I syste ms, you must know the system’s fleet map to ensure pr oper

tr acking.

Motorola ASTRO 25 (APCO 25) — these radios are si milar to Type II systems,

but send only the radio ID and radio channel code to the contr ol channel,

transmitting voi ce in digital form. The BCT15 is not designed to process APCO 25

si gn al s .

EDACS Trunking

EDACS trunking works in m uch the same w ay as Motorol a trunking with a co uple

of major differences. In an EDACS system, each fr equency used by the system is

assigned a Logical Channel Number (LCN) so that less data needs to be

transmitted by the control channel. Talk groups are assigned in an

Agency-Fleet-Subfleet (AFS) hierarchy. There is one variation of EDAC S called

S CAT (S in gl e Ch an ne l A ut o no mo us T ru nki n g) th at y o ur B C T 1 5 c a n mo ni to r.

Logical Channel Numbers — ea ch fr equen cy used b y 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

t h en as s i g n s th at ta lk g rou p t o a cha nn e l an d s e nd s th e L C N s o t h at al l o t he r

radios in that talk group will switch to the correct channel. To program an EDACS

system in your scanner, yo u will need to kno w b oth the frequencies used by the

system and the LCN for e ach frequency.

Agency-Fleet-Subfleet — ta lk group ID’s for EDACS systems are assigned in a

w ay t hat m ake s it e a sy t o se e a t a gl an ce t he affilia t ion of t he u s e r . E ach r ad io i s

assigned a 2-digit agency identifier from 00 - 15. For exampl e, 01 might be used

28

by the police, 02 by the 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 m ore times to ide n tify subfleets.

For e x am pl e, th e co mpl ete A FS fo r th e P oli ce D e pa rt me nt W es t D i s t ri c t ’s di s pa tch

channel might be 01-062. 01 identifies the agency as the poli ce department, 06

identifies the fleet as the West district, and 2 identifies the subfl eet as the dispatch

channe l. Whi le these assignments are somewhat arbitrary and vary from system

to system , there are many resources on th e web for finding the assignments fo r

most syste ms. Because of the logical hierarchy of t he AFS system, yo ur BCT15

lets yo u assi gn wild car d ID’s t hat let you , fo r exa mp le, u se only o ne ID m emory t o

identify all units in either an agency or a fleet.

EDACS SCAT — (Single Channel Au ton omous Tru nking) systems operat e on a

single channel and alternate control data w ith analog voice traffic. While your

BC T15 cannot track I D’s in this system, i t ca n eliminate t he control data so that all

you hear is the voice transmissions when you monitor this type of system.

LTR Trunki ng

LTR (Logic Tr unked Radio) systems are trunking systems used primarily by

business or pr ivate communications service providers, such as taxicabs, delivery

tru cks, and repair services. The se systems encode all co ntrol i nformation as d igit al

sub audible data that accompanies each transmission, so there is no separate

control channel . Users on an LTR system are assigned to specific talk grou ps,

which are identified by the radio as six digit numbers.

These num bers are in the form AHHUUU, where:

A = Ar ea c od e (0 or 1 )
H = H om e re pe at e r (0 1 thr ou gh 20 )

U = User ID (000 through 254)

Wh en th e s c a nn e r r e cei v e s a t ra ns m is s i o n on a c h an ne l s et t o t he LT R m o de , it

first decodes the LTR data included with the tra nsmission. In the ID search mode,

the scanner stops on the transmission and displays the talk gr oup ID on the

display . In t he ID scan m ode, t he scanner only stops on the transmission if the LTR

d ata ma t ches a tal k g r oup I D th at you hav e sto r ed i n th e t al k gr ou p I D li st and hav e

not l ocked out. LTR syste ms are frequent ly programmed so that each radio ha s a

un i q ue us e r I D .

Understanding Scanning and the BCT15

29

Where To Get More Information

By itself, this manual only pr ovides part of what you need to know to have fun

scanning — how to program and use the scanner. Other sources provide

ad dit io na l in f orm at io n.

Information On The Internet

T he Internet is the be st source for cur ren t frequenci es and information about

scanning. Many web si tes are dedicated to providing lists of frequencies for your

area. Many have built-in database search engines to assist you.

Make a list of the agencies you w ant to l isten to, then look up the frequencies and

systems used by tho se age ncies. Here are a few useful sites:

• http://w ww.scannermaster.com * — frequency resources and home of Police

Call.

Yo u c a n al so c al l th em a t 1 80 0 S C A NNE R (ho u rs are fr om 1 0: 0 0 a .m . to 5 :00

p.m. Eastern Time Monday through Friday).

• http://www.radioreference.com * — the Internet’s premier source for

use r-suppo r ted r adio syste m information.

• http://w ww.bearcat1.com — fr equency information from National

C om munica t ion s.

• ht tp://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/reports/index. cfm * — conventional frequency

information on file with the US Governme nt

• http://groups.yah oo.com /gro up/BC T15 * — a group for people interested in

discussing the BCT15.

* - T he s e we b sit e s are no t aff ilia t ed wit h Unid en C or pora ti on.

F or m ore i n fo r m at io n a bo ut U n i de n a nd ou r pr od uct s, v i s i t h ttp:/ / www.un iden.c o m .

30