Uniden SC180B User Guide

SC180

100-Channel

Programmable

Twin Turbo

Hand-Held

Sports

Scanner

OPERATING GUIDE

Precautions

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

WARNING!

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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.

IMPORTANT!

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Be sure to use only the supplied earphone, or a stereo
headset of the proper impedance (32W ). Use of an
incorrect earphone or stereo headset may be potentially
hazardous to your hearing.

WARNING:

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Set the Volume to a comfortable audio level coming
from the speaker before plugging in the supplied
earphone or a stereo headset of the proper impedance
(32W ). 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 may be
particularly true of the type of earphone that is placed in
the ear canal.

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NICKEL-CADMIUM BATTERY WARNING

·

This equipment contains a Nickel-Cadmium Battery.

·

Cadmium is a chemical known to the State of
California to cause cancer.

·

The Nickel-Cadmium Battery contained in this
equipment may explode if disposed of in a fire.

·

Do not short circuit the battery.

·

Do not charge the Nickel-Cadmium Battery used in
this equipment with any other AC Adapter/Charger
other than the one designed to charge this battery
(AD-70U). Using another charger may damage the
battery, or cause the battery to explode.

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Nickel-Cadmium Battery Disposal

Nickel-Cadmium Batteries Must Be Disposed Of
Properly. Read the Nickel-Cadmium Battery Disposal
package insert for important information.

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

Sportcat™ is a trademark of Uniden America Corporation.

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Contents

About Your New SportCat

What is Scanning?
What is Searching?
Important Notice
Types of Communication
Where to Obtain More Information
Unpacking

Feature Highlights
Controls and Indicators

Top View
Front View

Setup

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Charging the Battery Pack
Mounting the Flexible Antenna
Installing the Belt Clip
Using the Earphone

Operation Overview............................12

Programming Channels ........................14

Programming By Manual Entry ..................14

Deleting a Stored Frequency....................15

Programming SEARCH .......................15

Programming Channels with Alpha Characters......16

Alert Beep Setting ............................17

Scanning ....................................18

Bank Scanning ..............................18

Priority Scan ................................19

Delay
Locking Out Channels
Looking for “Locked Out” Channels
Weather Channel Scanning

Searching

Band Search
Limit Search
Search Skip Frequency

Care and Maintenance

Replacing the Battery Pack
Location
Cleaning
Repairs
Birdies
Proper Care of Your Scanner

Optional Accessories and Replacement Parts
Troubleshooting
Technical Specifications

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About Your New SportCat

The SportCat™ is a brand new state-of-the-art information
radio with automatic scanning capabilities. It can store
frequencies such as sporting events, police,
fire/emergency, and other communications into 10 banks of
10 channels each. And you can scan all 100 channels at
super fast Turbo Scan speed.

With the SportCat, you can do a fast search for active
frequencies on all 12 preprogrammed bands. In the VHF
bands (29-54MHz and 137-174MHz) you can also use
super fast Turbo Search.

What is Scanning?

Unlike standard AM or FM radio stations, most two-way
communications (listed below) do not transmit
continuously. The SportCat scans programmed
at the rate of nearly 100 channels per second until it finds
an active frequency.

Scanning stops on an active frequency, and remains on
that channel as long as the transmission continues. When
the transmission ends, the scanning cycle resumes until
another transmission is received. Or, you can select an
optional Delay so the scanner stays on the channel for 2
more seconds after the transmission stops, waiting for
another transmission, before resuming scanning.

While the SportCat is scanning channels it is in “SCAN
Mode”. When you stop the scanning with , it is in
“MANUAL Mode”.

channels

What is Searching?

The SportCat can search each of 12 preprogrammed
bands to find active frequencies. This is different from
scanning, because you can search for frequencies that
have not been programmed into your SportCat. You can
also search within the range of frequencies you have
programmed before. You can set the direction of searching
as well as the speed. The Turbo Search feature, new for
Uniden scanners, can search VHF bands at up to 3 times
the normal speed.

When the SportCat is searching for active frequencies, it is
in “SEARCH Mode” or “TURBO SEARCH Mode”. When
you stop the search with , it is in “SEARCH HOLD
Mode”. With both Turbo Scan and Turbo Search, your
SportCat is truly a Twin Turbo Scanner.

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Important Notice

This scanning radio has been manufactured so that it will

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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

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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

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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.

Types of Communication

You will be able to monitor communication such as:

Automobile, boat, and marathon races

»

Golf tournaments

»

Traffic information

»
» Police and fire department (including rescue and

paramedics)

»

NOAA and Canadianweather broadcasts (10
preprogrammed channels)

»

Land transportation, such as trucking firms, buses,
taxis, tow trucks, and railroads

»

Marine and amateur radio.

»

Aircraft

»

Public Service 800 MHz band

And many more in the following 12 Bands:

RANGE

(MHz)

29.0000-29.9950 5

30.0000-49.9950 5

50.0000-54.0000 5

108.0000-136.9875 12.5

137.0000-143.9950 5

144.0000-147.9950 5

148.0000-174.0000 5

406.0000-419.9875 12.5

420.0000-449.9875 12.5

450.0000-469.9875 12.5

STEP

(kHz)

BAND SUBJECT

NFM 10 Meter Amateur Band
NFM VHF Low Band
NFM 6 Meter Amateur Band

AM AM Aircraft
NFM Military Land Mobile
NFM 2 Meter Amateur Band
NFM VHF High Band
NFM Federal Govt. Land

NFM 70 cm Amateur Band
NFM UHF Standard Band

Mobile

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RANGE

(MHz)

470.0000-512.0000 12.5

806.0000-823.9875

849.0125-868.9875

894.0125-956.0000

Important!

Telephone Band.

The

STEP

(kHz)

12.5

12.5

12.5

SportCat

BAND SUBJECT

NFM UHF “T” Band
NFM

NFM
NFM

will not tune within the Cellular

Public Service “800"
Band

Where to Obtain More Information

The Bearcat Radio Club and other similar hobby clubs
have publications, information on computer bulletin boards,
and even contests for the radio enthusiasts. See the
enclosed pamphlets for more information. Additional
information is also available through your local library.

Unpacking

Carefully check the contents against this list:

SportCat Twin Turbo Sports Scanner

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Rubber Antenna

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AC Adapter/Charger (AD-70U)

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Earphone

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Belt Clip with 2 Screws

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Battery (BP-180)

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This Operating Guide

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Frequency Directories Order Form and Betty Bearcat
Club Information

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SportCat Frequency Guide

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Nickel-Cadmium Battery Disposal Notice

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Product Registration Form

If any items are missing or damaged, call the Uniden parts
department at the number below.

Please read this Operating Guide thoroughly before
operating the scanner.

Uniden Parts Department
[phone]
Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Central Time
Monday to Friday
We can also be reached on the web at
www.uniden.com

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Feature Highlights

Twin Turbo Scan & Search —This lightning-fast

◆

technology enables the SportCat to scan nearly 100
channels per second. Search speed is selectable
between 100 and 300 steps per second. (300 steps
per second only in bands with 5 kHz steps.) Because
the frequency coverage is so large (see previous
section for band listing), very fast scanning and
searching are essential. That is why we combined our
latest technology — Twin Turbo — into the SportCat.

100 Channels You can program each of these

◆

memory channels to store one frequency.
12 Bands, 10 Banks Includes 12 Bands, with

◆

Aircraft and 800 MHz. 10 Banks of 10 channels each
are useful for storing similar frequencies in order to
maintain faster scanning cycles.

29 MHz - 956 MHz Indicates the range of

◆

frequencies that can be searched within the bands of
your scanner.

Note: The frequency coverage is not totally

(

continuous from 29.0 MHz to 956 MHz.)

10 Priority Channels You can assign

◆

Channel in each Bank. Assigning priority channels
allows you to keep track of activity on your most
important channel(s) while monitoring other channels
for transmissions. (Priority Channels are initially set in
the first channel in each Bank.)

◆

Weather Channels Lets your scanner function as a
weather information radio.

◆

Memory Backup The stored channels are retained
in memory permanently.

◆

Programmable Alpha Characters You can program
up to 100 channels with alphabetical characters for
easy reference.

◆

Band Search You can search within the
preprogrammed bands.

◆

Limit Search You can search within a specific range
of frequencies.

◆

VFO Search You can search by using the VFO
control.

◆

Alert Beep If the SportCat finds a transmission on a
channel you have preset, it beeps twice.

◆

Auto Light The SportCat can turn on its backlight
automatically when it finds a transmission if this
function is activated.

one

Priority

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Controls and Indicators

Top View

Antenna
Connector

Earphone
Jack

SQUELCH
Control

ON-OFF/
VOLUME
Control

VFO Control Use this control to select channels in

Connect the rubber antenna to the BNC
connector and turn clockwise until it locks.

Plug the supplied
for private listening. When the earphone is
connected, the internal speaker is
disconnected.

Note the warning on the Inside Front Cover
and on page 11.

Adjust this control to set the scan threshold
and to eliminate the background rushing
noise heard in the absence of an incoming
signal. See the Operation Overview
Section for adjustment procedures.

Use this control to turn the scanner on or
off, and to adjust the volume.

Manual mode, select the band for Band
Search, and select frequencies in
Band/Limit Search mode. You can also
use this to program Alpha Name
characters.

earphone into this jack

Front View

(Refer to the illustration on page iii)

1. LCD DISPLAY — The liquid crystal display (LCD)
shows the current channel and frequency. It also
displays the mode, status, and bank indicators.

P

A. Priority Channel Indicator —

the scanner stopson a Priority Channel.

appears when

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B. Channel Number — Indicates the current

channel that the scanner is on.

C. Memory Bank Numbers — Each Memory Bank

consists of 10 channels that you can select or
deselect during scanning operation, using the
numeric keypad. When you select a Bank, its
number appears on the display. When you
deselect a Bank, its number disappears from the
display. When you press to stop
scanning, only the Bank of the current channel
appears.

D. Bank Indicator — Appears with the Bank

Numbers (1~10).

E. Frequency Indicator — Indicates the frequency

being received by the scanner, or Alpha Name,
etc.

F. Low Battery Indicator — Appears on the

display when the Battery Pack is low and needs
recharging.

G. Mode/Function Indicators —

(Only the active
mode(s)/function(s) are displayed during
operation.)

SCAN Indicates SCAN Mode.
SEARCH Indicates SEARCH Mode. Flashes

when in TURBO SEARCH Mode.

PRIORITYIndicates PRIORITY SCAN is

activated.

HOLD Indicates SCAN HOLD or SEARCH

HOLD Mode.

DELAY Indicates DELAY is activated.
L/O In SCAN Mode, indicates the

channel shown is “Locked Out”.
In SEARCH Mode, indicates the
frequency shown is “Locked Out”.

WX Indicates WEATHER SCAN Mode.
ATT Appears when the Attenuator

function is set.
Indicates the keypad is locked.
Appears when the display mode is

Alpha Name mode.

2. Press to start scanning all programmed

SCAN

channels that are not locked out. (
across the display during scanning.)

moves

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In SCAN or SEARCH Mode, press to stop

3.
HOLD

scanning. (
In Manual mode, press to step up the
channel.

4. NUMERIC KEYPAD — Use these keys to program a

channel for scanning. Also use to access a channel
directly with . During SCAN Mode, use these
keys to select or deselect any of the 10 memory
banks. (Only the selected bank indicator(s) appear
on the display.)

You cannot deactivate all 10 banks at the

Note:

appears on the display.)

same time.

Key Bank Channel

1 1-10
2 11-20
3 21-30
4 31-40
5 41-50
6 51-60
7 61-70
8 71-80
9 81-90
10 91 - 100

5. Press /

Press and hold /
band search. Then press /
band search.

6. Press to stop Band serch, Limit search and WX

scan. Also, press it to move to next higher channel or
frequency. Press and hold to change the
search direction to upper side.

7. In Limit search, input the frequency and press

to program the lower/higher frequency. Press
to stop Band search, Limit search, and WX scan.
Also, press it to move to next lower channel or
frequency. Press and hold to change the
search direction to lower side.

BAND

to start Limit search.

BAND

to select the band for

BAND

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again to start