Scanning Legally

Your scanner covers frequencies used by many different groups, including police and fire departments, ambulance services, government agencies, private companies, amateur radio services, military operations, pager services, and wireline (telephone and telegraph) service providers. It is legal to listen to almost every transmission your scanner can receive. However, there are some transmissions that you should never intentionally listen to. These include: Telephone conversations (cellular, cordless, or other private means of telephone signal transmission) Pager transmissions Any scrambled or encrypted transmissions According to the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA), you are subject to fines and possible imprisonment for intentionally listening to, using, or divulging the contents of such a conversation unless you have the consent of a party to the conversation (unless such activity is otherwise illegal). This scanner has been designed to prevent the reception of cellular telephone transmissions and the decoding of scrambled transmissions. This is done to comply with the legal requirement that scanners be manufactured so they are not easy to modify to pick up these transmissions. Do not open your scanners case to make any modifications that could allow it to pick up transmissions that are illegal to monitor. Modifying or tampering with your scanners internal components or using it in a way other than as described in this manual could invalidate your warranty and void your FCC authorization to operate it. In some areas, mobile use of this scanner is unlawful or requires a permit. Check the laws in your area. It is also illegal in many areas (and a bad idea everywhere) to interfere with the duties of public safety officials by traveling to the scene of an incident without authorization.

Introduction

Your BC898T scanner is a state-of-the-art scanner radio with TrunkTracking and automatic scanning capabilities. You can store frequencies such as police, fire/emergency, marine, air, amateur, and other communications into 10 banks of 50 channels each. Use it at home as a base unit, or install it in your vehicle as a mobile unit. You can use the scanners rotary tuner to quickly select channels and frequencies, and you can automatically program channels in an available bank using the AutoStore feature. Use your scanner to monitor: 800 MHz trunked public safety systems Police and fire departments (including rescue and paramedics) NOAA weather transmissions Business/Industrial radio Utilities Marine and amateur (ham radio) bands Air band

Simplex Operation

Simplex systems use a single frequency for both transmit and receive. Most radios using this type of operation are limited to line-of-sight operation. This type of radio is frequently used at construction job sites, and with inexpensive consumer radios such as GMRS/FRS radios. The range is typically 1-8 miles, depending upon the terrain and many other factors.

Repeater Operation

Repeater systems use two frequencies: one transmits from the radio to a central repeater; the other transmits from the repeater to other radios in the system. With a repeater-based system, the repeater is located on top of a tall building or on a radio tower that provides great visibility to the area of operation. When a user transmits (on an input frequency), the signal is picked up by the repeater and retransmitted (on an output frequency). The users radios always listen for activity on the output frequency and transmit on the input frequency. Since the repeater is located very high, there is a very large line of sight. Typical repeater systems provide coverage out to about a 25-mile radius from the repeater location.

What is Trunk Tracking?

Your BC898T is designed to track the following types of trunking systems. Motorola Type I, Type II, Type IIi, hybrid, SMARTNET, and PRIVACYPLUS analog trunking systems, which are extensively used in 800 MHz communication systems. LTR trunking systems EDACS trunking systems When tracking these types of systems, you might want to remember these important points: Your scanner defaults to monitor Type II systems; however, you can change this if the system in your area is different. (The types of systems are discussed below.) Your scanner can track more than one trunking system at a time and scan conventional and trunked systems at the same time.
The frequencies for many of the 800 MHz public safety systems are listed in the National Public Safety Trunked System Frequency Guide included with your BC898T scanner. Conventional scanning is a simple concept. You enter a frequency used by someone you want to monitor into your scanners memory. For example, the police in your area might transmit on 460.500 MHz, the fire department on 154.445 MHz, the highway department on 37.900 MHz, etc. So when your scanner stops on a frequency, you usually know who it is, and more importantly, you can stop 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 increased, many public radio users do not have enough frequencies to meet their needs, creating a serious problem. Trunking radio systems help solve this problem.

Press LOCK to enable or disable the rotary tuner. When the LOCK LED is on, the rotary tuner is locked. This prevents accidentally changing the displayed channel and frequency while monitoring a transmission.
Manually Selecting a Channel
To manually select a channel, press MANUAL, enter the channels number using the keypad, then press MANUAL again. The channels number and any frequency stored in the channel appears.
Scanning Programmed Channels
Before you start to scan, you must first program channels. See Programming on Page 35 and Programming Conventional Channels on Page 39 (for conventional channels) or Programming Trunked Systems on Page 41 (for trunking systems) for complete instructions. To begin scanning, simply turn on the scanner or, if the scanner is not currently scanning, press SCAN. The scanner checks each system you have programmed that is not locked out and stops if there is activity. SCAN scrolls across the display, right to left. When the scanner receives a signal on a programmed channel, it stops on that channel and displays the channel information. The bank indicators A J selected for scanning appear, and the bank you are currently monitoring flashes. You can deselect banks from active scanning by pressing that banks key (A-J). The indicator for each deselected bank turns off, and the scanner does not scan that banks channels. Note: One bank must always be active. You cannot deselect all ten banks at the same time. If you try to turn off all the banks, the scanner automatically selects the first bank. To restore a bank to active scanning, press the banks letter. The banks indicator appears.
Press MANUAL to stop on a channel while scanning. Press SCAN to resume scanning.

Locking/Unlocking Banks

When you are scanning conventional banks, the scanner displays the digit corresponding to all unlocked banks. To lock out a bank so that the scanner does not scan its channels, press the letter that corresponds to the bank. The banks letter disappears from the display. To unlock locked-out banks, simply press that banks letter again. The banks letter appears on the display and the scanner includes that bank when scanning. Note: You cannot lock out all banks. One bank must be unlocked at all times.

Restoring All Locked Out Talk Group IDs
To restore all locked out talk group IDs, hold down L/O for about 2 seconds.

EDACS Blockout

This is a powerful form of lockout that is only available for EDACS systems. EDACS Blockout lets you lock out entire agencies or fleets, not just individual talk groups. To use blockout, while scanning an EDACS system, press HOLD.

Setting the Attenuator

If you are near a very strong signal source, the signal can overload the scanners RF front end, causing poor audio quality or missed reception. Repeatedly press ATT until ATT appears (to turn the attenuator on) or until ATT disappears (to turn the attenuator off).

ID Lockout

Like conventional scanning, its possible to lock out unwanted traffic. This is particularly important in trunked systems because in many areas water meters, door alarms, traffic signals, and other mechanical devices are assigned IDs just like other users. Also some
departments scramble or encrypt their communications, and you might want to lock out these unintelligible transmissions. To lock out an ID, press L/O when the ID appears. The ID is locked out, and the next active ID appears. You can lock out up to 200 IDs. Note: If you lock out an ID in search mode, it is also locked out in scan list mode. Conversely, if you lock out an ID while in scan list mode, it is locked out in search mode.

Restoring a Single ID

Follow these steps to unlock a single ID. 1. Hold down L/O until you hear two short beeps. 2. Use either the rotary tuner or HOLD or LIMIT to select the ID you want to unlock. 3. Press L/O. The ID is unlocked and the next locked ID appears. 4. Press SRC to return to the search mode.

Restoring All IDs

Follow these steps to unlock all locked out IDs at once: 1. Hold down L/O until you hear two short beeps. 2. Hold down L/O for about 2 seconds to unlock all the IDs at once. Note: If you unlock all the IDs, Non appears. Press SCAN to scan the IDs stored in your scan lists or press SRC to return to the search mode. 3. Press SRC to return to the search mode.

Searching Tips

ID Delay Mode
Use the DELAY key to select the delay mode if its not active. This mode holds an ID for 2 seconds while you wait for a reply. In a trunked system, you can set a delay for each bank. Other groups might use the system, but your scanner will only look for the ID in the display. Note: If you consistently miss responses while in ID delay mode, you might need to change the default system type or change the fleet map you are using.

ID Hold Mode

Press HOLD to hold on a particular ID in the display. This is where the trunk tracking effect is really noticeable. You can hold a specific talk group, such as fire department onscene operations, no matter which frequency the group uses.

Using Chain Search

To use chain search, press SRC then press the bank keys (A-J) for the chain search range or ranges you want to search. To change the step increment during a chain search, repeatedly press STEP to select the increment you want. The step increment you selected flashes. If you select the default step increment for that frequency, its indicator stops flashing.
Holding On An Active Frequency
To hold on the current frequency, press HOLD
.To resume searching, press SRC.

Setting Data Skip

The scanner normally stops on any frequency with activity, and remains there until either the activity stops or you press SRC to resume scanning. However, some signals are identifiable by the scanner as data signals, and you can set the scanner to automatically skip these channels. Note: Even with this option turned on, the scanner might pause for a couple of seconds on data transmissions before resuming. To turn on data skip, press DATA.

Skipping Frequencies

If a particular frequency continues to interrupt search scanning, you can set the scanner so it skips the frequency. To skip over a frequency, press L/O when the scanner is stopped on a frequency you want to skip. Notes: You can program up to 100 skip frequencies. The 101st skip frequency entered causes the first skipped frequency to unlock. If all frequencies in the search range are set to skip, a beep sounds and it moves to search hold mode. To resume searching: a. Unskip all skipped frequencies - OR b. Select a different search frequency range. To unskip all skipped frequencies, hold down L/O for about 2 seconds in search hold mode.
Storing Found Frequencies
If you find a frequency you want to save into a channel, follow these steps. 1. Press E or SEND when the scanner is stopped on that frequency. All the bank indicators flash. 2. Select the bank where you want to send the frequency. The display alternates between the frequency you are sending and the lowest available channel in the bank. If there is no free channel in the bank, the scanner automatically selects the first channel in the bank you selected. 3. Press E. Note: If you have already stored this frequency, the scanner displays a warning and the channel where the frequency is stored. To store the frequency anyway, press E again.
Automatically Storing Frequencies
During searching, you can have the scanner automatically store active frequencies into a bank you choose. Once the search begins, AutoStore will automatically program active frequencies into the available channels of the bank(s) you select. For more information about your scanners search feature, see Searching on Page 27. Note: You must program a chain search range for auto store to work. 1. Press MANUAL to stop scanning. 2. Press AUTO. All the bank letters flash and AUTO appears. 3. Press the bank keys (A-J) where you want to store the frequencies the scanner finds. The bank letter(s) you select stop flashing. If the bank you selected has no empty channels, FULL appears for about 3 seconds and the scanner sounds an error tone. You must either delete frequencies in the bank or select another bank. 4. Press SRC to start AutoStore. AutoStore stops automatically when all available channels in the selected bank(s) have been programmed. 5. Press MANUAL to exit AutoStore and return to the manual mode. Notes: To exit AutoStore before all the available channels in the selected bank(s) are programmed, press MANUAL twice. To ensure that you catch most active frequencies for the band, you should allow AutoStore to continue through at least a few complete sweeps of the band. Depending on the types of services, some occasionally active frequencies might not have activity for minutes or hours at a time.

Setting Subaudible Tones for Searching
You can set the scanner to only stop on transmissions that either have no subaudible tone or include a specified CTCSS or DCS tone during searches. This setting affects all search ranges. For this feature to work, you need to turn on the tone mode (see Setting the Squelch on Page 20). 1. Press PRI to turn off priority scan. 2. Hold down CTCSS/DCS for about 2 seconds. CTCSS and DCS blink and the scanner searches for CTCSS or DCS tones. When the scanner finds a CTCSS or DCS tone, the frequency blinks.
Attenuating All Search Ranges
If you are near a strong RF source, you might need to attenuate the input signal in order to search properly. Repeatedly press ATT until ATT appears (to turn on attenuation) or until ATT disappears (to turn off attenuation).
Setting Delay For All Search Ranges
You can set the scanner to have a 2-second delay after the end of a transmission before searching resumes. This slows searching, but helps you prevent missing replies on a frequency. To turn on this option for all search ranges, select the channel where you want to add a delay then press DELAY.

Searching a Trunked Bank

Before you search a trunked bank with your scanner, consider the following: You can only trunk track one bank at a time. Repeatedly press TRUNK to toggle between the conventional and the trunk tracking modes. Press DATA while in the trunk tracking mode to review which bank is currently in use. The appropriate bank icon flashes at the top of the display. Press DATA again to turn off review. If you have programmed frequencies for a trunked system in one or more of the 10 available banks and you are in conventional mode, follow these steps to begin trunk searching. 1. Press TRUNK then press SCAN. 2. Press a bank key (A-J) to select the trunked bank you want. For example, press B. Note: You will see the frequencies appear quickly as your scanner looks for the data channel, which controls the system. 3. Once the data channel is acquired, the scanner starts to trunk track. Talk group IDs, which represent different service groups, appear. 4. Press TRUNK again to return to conventional mode. While searching, you wont know exactly to whom the IDs are assigned until you listen awhile or until ID lists are available in frequency guides or on internet sites. However, it usually only takes a few minutes to figure out police, fire, and emergency medical personnel. Other IDs might take some time, but determining who each ID represents is half the fun of trunk scanning!

Duplicate Frequency Alert
If you enter a frequency already stored in another channel, the scanner beeps and the other channel appears. Press. on the keypad to start again or press E again to store the frequency in both channels.
Deleting a Stored Frequency
To delete a stored frequency, press 0 then press E. Channels with no frequencies are automatically locked out.
Programming a Channel With a CTCSS/DCS Tone
1. Press MANUAL. 2. Press CTCSS/DCS. 3. Select the channel you want to program then press E. If you have already programmed a CTCSS or DCS tone, the frequency for the tone blinks. Otherwise, 000.0 HZ blinks. 4. Enter a CTCSS tone. a. Use the keypad, rotary tuner, or HOLD b. Then press E. Notes: If you make a mistake while entering a tone with the keypad, press. on the keypad twice and enter the tone again. Make sure FREQ is lit before turning the rotary tuner to select a frequency. 5. To cancel CTCSS mode, press CTCSS/DCS or MANUAL. The CTCSS indicator and displayed tones are turned off but not deleted. or LIMIT to select the tone.

Programming Tips

Since weather transmissions are continuous, do not program a weather frequency into any of the scanners channels. To listen to a weather transmission, press WX to select the weather information band instead. Group similar frequencies into adjacent channels. For example, program police frequencies in channels 1 through 50 and fire/emergency into channels 51 through 100, and so on. Put the frequency you listen to the most or the most important frequency into a priority channel. To quickly program a series of channels, start with the lowest number channel. For example, when you are programming five new frequencies into Channels 4 through 8, start with Channel 4. After you finish programming a channel, press MANUAL or HOLD to go to the next higher channel. Record channels and frequencies in some convenient place in case the scanners memory is lost.

Setting the Delay Mode

A delay can be set for each programmed channel so that when scan or search stops on a channel there is a brief pause before the scanning cycle resumes. Delay must be set for each programmed channel, and it can be set when your scanner pauses during a scan or when manual mode is selected.
Setting Delay in Scan or Search Mode
1. Press SCAN or set a search range then press SRC. 2. When your scanner stops on a channel, press DELAY. DELAY appears. Scanning resumes two seconds after the transmission ends.

Programming Conventional Channels
Each of the scanners banks can hold a mix of conventional channels plus one trunked system. This section describes how to store known frequencies into conventional channels. You might want to gather all information about the systems you want to monitor before you start to program the scanner. The Conventional Scanning Worksheet included in the help file included in the demo software (download at http://www.uniden.com) makes this easy. The first few sections are intended to be performed in the order indicated if you are entering information the first time. If you are editing existing information, manually select the channel then follow the steps in the appropriate section to access the information you want to change. Programming conventional channels is easy - just select a channel to program, enter the frequency, then press E. Important: Do not use this method to program trunked systems. They require additional information to scan correctly. See Programming Trunked Systems on Page 41 for more information.
Changing the Frequency Step
The channel frequency step option controls the frequency step size used when you manually tune up or down from the frequency stored in the channel. Your BC898T is preprogrammed with the most common step sizes for each band, so you seldom need to change this setting. To change the frequency step, press MANUAL then repeatedly press STEP until the frequency step you want flashes. Note: If you select a 6.25 kHz step for the 150.0000 through 161.9999 MHz frequency range, the scanner will actually use a 7.5 kHz frequency step to match the FCC band plan for this range. However, the scanners display will show 6.25 kHz as the selected step.
Setting the Modulation Mode
Radio transmissions are modulated in several different ways. The BC898T is able to demodulate the most common transmission types. Your scanner has the most common modulation mode preset for each band, so you seldom have to change this option. However there are occasional services that use a modulation mode that is not standard for that band. To change the modulation mode, press MANUAL then repeatedly press MODE until the modulation mode you want flashes.
Setting Priority Channels
You can set one conventional channel in each bank as a priority channel. When you turn on the priority scan option (see Priority Scanning on Page 22), the scanner automatically checks these channels every 2 seconds to see if there is activity. If there is, the scanner immediately switches to the priority channel. Note: The scanner does not check trunked channels, priority channels if the channel is locked out, or in locked-out banks. By default, the first channel of each bank is set as priority. To change the priority channel, manually select the channel you want to set as the priority channel. Then hold down PRI for about 2 seconds. The scanner beeps twice and the new priority assignment is made.

Then press E on the keypad.
4. If necessary, repeatedly press HOLD E on the keypad.

or LIMIT

until PRO9 F appears. Then press
5. To enter trunking frequencies, use the keypad to enter the first frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point). Note: To clear a mistake while entering a frequency, press. twice then enter the frequency again. 6. For each additional frequency, select the next channel by turning the rotary tuner or pressing HOLD. Then use the keypad to enter the next frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point). 7. If you selected E2-800, E2-900, or E1 in Step 3, stop here. Otherwise, if you selected E2-HI or E2-UHF in Step 3, follow these steps to enter the band plan (base frequency, spacing frequency, and offset channel) for the system you want to scan. a. Press DATA. b. Turn the rotary tuner or repeatedly press HOLD Then press E. c. Select the band plan by pressing A, B, or C. d. Use the keypad to enter the base frequency, then press E and press HOLD e. Use the keypad to enter the step frequency, then press E and press HOLD f. Use the keypad to enter the channel offset, then press E and press HOLD. or LIMIT until BASE appears.
g. If the system uses more than one band plan, press DATA then repeat Steps c-f.

Programming Fleet Maps

If you programmed a trunk tracking bank and press SRC, talk group IDs appear. Since your scanner defaults to monitor Type II systems, most if not all IDs appear as even numbers. However, if you notice an even mix of odd and even talk group IDs, for example 6477, 2560, 6481, 6144, 1167, etc., then you are probably monitoring either a Type I or Hybrid system. You might also notice that you are missing responses when you hold on an active ID. Unlike Type II systems, Type I/IIi systems require a fleet map that sets specific fleetsubfleet parameters. Its easy to select a fleet map for your scanner; what isnt always easy is selecting or programming a map that matches your particular area. There are 16 preset fleet maps listed in the appendix that you can choose, and these are usually a good place to start when setting up a Type I/IIi trunk tracking bank. If you choose a preset map and still have difficulty following complete conversations, then youll have to program your own fleet map.

Programming EDACS Systems
1. Hold down TRUNK for about 2 seconds. The scanner beeps and BANK, TRUNK, and the bank letters A-J blink. 2. Press a bank key to select the bank where you want to store the frequencies. 3. Select EDACS scanning by turning the rotary tuner or repeatedly pressing HOLD LIMIT to select one of the following EDACS scanning choices: ED-HI (Wideband, 9600 bps) ED-LO (Narrowband, 4800 bps) ED-SCT (SCAT) Then press E on the keypad. 4. If necessary, repeatedly press HOLD E on the keypad. or LIMIT until PRO9 F appears. Then press or
5. To enter the trunking frequencies for LCN1, use the keypad to enter the first frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point). Note: To clear a mistake while entering a frequency, press. twice then enter the frequency again. 6. For each additional frequency, select the next channel by turning the rotary tuner or pressing HOLD. Then use the keypad to enter the next frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point).
7. If you selected ED-SCT in Step 3, stop here. Otherwise, if you selected ED-HI or ED-LO in Step 3, follow these steps to enter the talk group ID (agency, fleet, and subfleet) for the system you want to scan. a. Press DATA. b. If necessary, turn the rotary tuner or repeatedly press HOLD PRO9 ID appears. Then press E on the keypad. c. Turn the rotary tuner or repeatedly press HOLD or LIMIT memory location where you want to store an ID appears. or LIMIT until

until the talk group ID

d. Use the keypad to enter the agency, fleet, and subfleet, then press E. (Press. to enter the hyphen). e. To enter additional IDs, repeat Steps c-d.

Programming LTR Systems

1. Hold down TRUNK for about 2 seconds. The scanner beeps and BANK, TRUNK, and the bank letters A-J blink. 2. Press a bank key to select the bank where you want to store the frequencies. 3. Select LTR scanning by turning the rotary tuner or repeatedly pressing HOLD LIMIT to select LT. Then press E on the keypad. 4. If necessary, repeatedly press HOLD E on the keypad. or LIMIT or
5. To enter trunking frequencies, use the keypad to enter the first frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point). Note: To clear a mistake while entering a frequency, press. twice then enter the frequency again. 6. For each additional frequency, select the next channel by turning the rotary tuner or pressing HOLD. Then use the keypad to enter the next frequency, then press E on the keypad. (Press. to enter the decimal point). 7. Follow these steps to enter the talk group ID (agency, fleet, and subfleet) for the system you want to scan. a. Press DATA. b. If necessary, turn the rotary tuner or repeatedly press HOLD PRO9 ID appears. Then press E on the keypad. c. Turn the rotary tuner or repeatedly press HOLD or LIMIT memory location where you want to store an ID appears. or LIMIT until

Care and Maintenance

General Use
Turn the scanner off before disconnecting the power. Always write down the programmed frequencies in the event of memory loss. If memory is lost, simply reprogram each channel. The display shows 000.0000 in all channels when there has been a memory loss. Always press each button firmly until you hear the entry tone for that key entry.

Location

Do not use the scanner in high-moisture environments such as the kitchen or bathroom. Avoid placing the unit in direct sunlight or near heating elements or vents. If the scanner receives strong interference or electrical noise, move it or its antenna away from the source of the noise. If possible, a higher elevation might provide better reception. Also try changing the height or angle of the antenna.

Cleaning

Disconnect the power to the unit before cleaning. Clean the outside of the scanner with a mild detergent. To prevent scratches, do not use abrasive cleaners or solvents. Be careful not to rub the LCD window. Do not use excessive amounts of water.

Repairs

Do not attempt any repair. The scanner contains no user serviceable parts. Contact the Uniden Customer Service Center or take it to a qualified repair technician.

Birdies

All radios can receive birdies (undesired signals). If your scanner stops during Scan mode and no sound is heard, it might be receiving a birdie. Birdies are internally generated signals inherent in the electronics of the receiver. Press L/O to lock out the channel, then press SCAN to resume scanning.

Troubleshooting

Problem
If your BC898T is not performing properly, try the following steps.
Possible Cause Suggestion
The scanner doesnt work. The scanner might not be receiving any power.

Improper reception.

Scan wont stop.

Scan wont start.

Make sure the AC adapter is connected to an AC outlet and the scanner. If there is a wall switch that controls power to the AC outlet where you connected the AC adapter, make sure it is on. The scanners antenna Check the antenna might need to be adjusted. connection or move or reposition the antenna. Move the scanner. You might be in a remote area that could require an optional multi-band antenna. Check with your dealer or local electronics store. The squelch might need to Adjust the squelch be adjusted. threshold. See Setting the Squelch on Page 20. The antenna might need Check the antenna to be adjusted. connection. Make sure the channels One or more channels might be locked out. you want to scan are not locked out. The channels frequency Make sure the channels might not be stored in frequency is stored in the memory. scanners memory. The channel might not be Wait for a transmission on active. the channel. You must press SCAN to Press SCAN. scan. The squelch might need to Adjust the squelch be adjusted. threshold. See Setting the Squelch on Page 20. One or more channels Make sure the channels might be locked out. you want to scan are not locked out.

Scan wont start. (continued) Weather scan doesnt work.
The antenna might need to be adjusted. The squelch might need to be adjusted. The antenna might need to be adjusted.
Check the antenna connection. Adjust the squelch threshold. See Setting the Squelch on Page 20. Check the antenna connection.

Suggestion

If you experience difficulty while in TrunkTracker mode, try the following steps.

Problem Possible Cause

Scanner wont track a trunked system.
The system might not be one your scanner can scan. The data frequency might be missing. The scanner might need to be changed to a Type 1 scanner setup. The system you are trying to scan might be LTR or EDACS.
Scan another system. Enter the data frequency. Change to a Type 1 scanner setup. Review Programming Motorola Systems on Page 41. Set the scanner to scan LTR or EDACS systems. Review Programming EDACS Systems on Page 44 and Programming LTR Systems on Page 45. Program one or more IDs. Wait for the IDs to become active or scan another system. Adjust the squelch threshold. See Setting the Squelch on Page 20. Check your frequency list for the data channel. Change to a Type 1 scanner setup. Review Programming Motorola Systems on Page 41. Try another preset fleet map or program your own fleet map.
Scanner wont stop scanning during Scan List mode.
No IDs have been programmed. The IDs you have stored are not active.
Scanner wont acquire the data channel.
The squelch might need to be adjusted. The frequency used for the data channel might be missing. The scanner might need to be changed to a Type 1 scanner setup. The fleet map might be incorrect.
Missing replies to conversations.
Missing replies to conversations. (continued)
One or more of the systems frequencies might not be entered. If the scanner is set to scan an EDACS system, the EDACS channels might not be in LCN (logical channel number) order. The system you are trying to scan might be LTR or EDACS.
Make sure all the systems frequencies have been entered. Make sure the EDACS channels are programmed in LCN order. Review Programming EDACS Systems on Page 44. Set the scanner to scan LTR or EDACS systems. Review Programming EDACS Systems on Page 44 and Programming LTR Systems on Page 45.

CANNER EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR MONITORING POST Bob Parnass, AJ9S bobparnass@monitoringtimes.com http://www.parnass.org

Uniden BC898T Scanner

he Uniden BC898T is a 500 channel, tabletop scanner which follows conversations in conventional and several different types of analog trunked systems. It is convenient to view the new BC898T as a significantly modernized version of the older BC895XLT (Dec. 1997 MT). Neither model supports a text label feature. The BC898T is powered by 12 VDC and an AC operated wall wart power supply is included.
are divided into 10 banks of 50 channels each. This is an increase from the BC895XLTs 300 channels. Each channel may be marked for selectable rescan delay, attenuation, and recorder activation.

Trunking Capabilities

The older BC895XLT supports only Motorola trunking and doesnt permit scanning a mixture of conventional systems and multiple trunked system banks. The BC898T supports more types of trunked systems and lets you scan a mixture of several trunked and conventional systems one after another. Like other Uniden models, you can mix conventional and trunked frequencies within the same bank, although no two trunked systems can occupy the same bank. The BC898T tracks signals in these analog trunked systems: LTR; Motorola Type 2 VHF, UHF, 800, and 900 MHz band; Motorola Type 1; EDACS wideband (9600 bps), narrowband (4800 bps), and SCAT. Due to the way Uniden implements trunk tracking, you must know the appropriate channel numbering for each EDACS and LTR system before programming its frequencies into the BC898T. Each trunked bank supports 100 talk group IDs divided in 10 lists of 10 IDs.
to the Line jack on the BC898Ts front panel for memory channels marked with the Record flag. This differs from the older BC9000XLT which provides low level audio at its Line jack whenever the squelch is open. The BC9000XLT had an additional jack on the rear panel used to remotely control non-VOX recorders in conjunction with a Record flag.

Computer Control

The BC898T uses an industry standard DB9 9-pin connector for computer interfacing. Optional software will be available for purchase from the Uniden web site. You can download a description of the BC898Ts computer interface commands from the Uniden web site only after pledging to abide by Unidens licensing agreement.

Frequency Coverage

The BC898T tunes all the traditional scanner frequencies with the addition of 216 - 400 MHz. Top end frequency coverage ends at 956 MHz and it doesnt tune the 75 MHz and commercial FM broadcast bands like the older, nontrunking BC9000XLT. The discontinued BC9000XLT tunes to 1300 MHz, but is too susceptible to reception of cellular telephone signals to meet todays more rigid FCC standards. The manual specifies coverage of 50 - 54 MHz, but our BC898T cannot detect the 54.000 MHz signal from either of our signal generators when the radio is tuned to 54.000 MHz. Reception at 53.995 MHz and below is fine. As in other reviews, we recommend that you download an electronic copy of the owners manual from the Support section at http://uniden.com because there are many features we dont have space to discuss.

Performance

Our BC898T is sensitive below 512 MHz and fairly sensitive above 806 MHz. Like the other Uniden models weve connected to a rooftop antenna, our BC898T receives intermod in the VHFhigh band when paging signals mix with 162 MHz range NWR broadcasts. There is a pronounced chuffing noise when using the VFO tuning knob with the squelch open. The chuffing is much louder on our BC898T than on the BC9000XLT. The squelch has a reasonable degree of hysteresis, but more than the GRE/Radio Shack models we tested. The squelch threshold varies by a small amount depending on the band. The audio level and fidelity produced by the top mounted speaker are adequate. The audio circuitry produced less than 3% distortion into a resistive load at maximum volume. As with most tabletop scanners, an external speaker pointed directly at the listener sounds better. Our BC898T scans a mixture of conventional memory channels at a rate of about 25 channels/ second. The older BC895XLT we tested scans at 85 channels/second because it scans them in order of frequency. The BC898T performs limit searches at a rate of about 240 steps/second when using 5 kHz steps. Searches with larger steps are slower. Our BC898T is programmed with two banks of conventional frequencies, two other banks with Motorola Type II systems, and a bank with an EDACS system. The radio scans each bank smoothly, without significant hesitation when switching banks. The tone display feature shows the subaudible code transmitted by a station

Scanning and Searching

You can designate one conventional channel in each bank as a priority channel. When the priority feature is active, the BC898T checks the priority channel in each unlocked bank for activity. Ten pairs of frequencies may be programmed for limit searching and limit search banks may be chained or linked together to search multiple ranges in succession. Up to 100 frequencies may be skipped during a limit search half as many as the BC796D (May 2004 MT). Auto Store permits unique, active frequencies found during a limit search to be stored automatically in selected banks.

Steps, Modes

The BC898T supports more emission modes and types of trunking than the earlier BC895XLT. The new model lets you choose among AM, FM, and NFM (Narrow FM) modes for conventional systems. The Narrow FM mode is useful in light of the new FCC band plan regulations which allocate frequencies closer together and mandate that stations transmit with lower deviation and require less bandwidth. One of the restrictions we noted with the earlier BC895XLT was that a user could not choose AM or FM mode, a flexibility which is valuable for monitoring in the military aircraft bands. The BC895XLT mode is set internally according to frequency and you have no say in the matter. The new BC898T is more flexible. There is a default mode for each frequency, but the new model lets you override the default and choose AM, FM, or NFM. Tuning step sizes are 5, 6.26, 12.5, and 25 kHz. The BC898Ts 500 memory channels 78
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Other Features

A small, 5 bar S-meter displays relative signal strength. The recorder feature routes low level audio

Measurements

Uniden BC898T Scanner S/N 322Z44000006 Uniden America Corp. 4700 Amon Carter Blvd. Fort Worth, TX 76155 tel. (800) 554-3988 http://www.uniden.com Frequency coverage (MHz): 25 - 53.- - - 823.9875 849.0125 - 868.9875 894.0125 - 956 Step sizes (kHz): 5, 6.25, 12.5, and 25, user selectable Modes: AM, FM, NFM, user selectable NFM modulation acceptance: 11 kHz Audio output power at external speaker jack (see text): 0.72 watts @ 2.6% distortion Attenuator:
22 dB @ 40 MHz, 20 dB @ 155 MHz, 17 dB @ 460 MHz, 16 dB @ 860 MHz

IFs (approx., in MHz): 380, 45, 0.450 Squelch tail near threshhold (1 uV @ 155 MHz): 30 ms. Practical memory scan speed (approx.): 25 channels/sec Search speed: 240 steps/sec (5 kHz step size)
within about one second or less and identifies it as either CTCSS or DCS. Thats much faster than older Uniden models and more flexible than the Radio Shack PRO-2067 and PRO-92. The Radio Shack models are quick, too, but those models force you choose either CTCSS or DCS before displaying the transmitted code. The variety of widely spaced keys make the BC898T easier to operate and program than the smaller BC796D mobile and BC296D handheld (April 2004 MT). The last two models have fewer keys and employ a complicated system of nested menus requiring multiple keypresses. The Uniden BC898T is in stock at Grove Enterprises for $202.95 plus shipping. Call 1-800438-8155 or email order@grove-ent.com for ordering information.

Bottom Line

The BC898T works well and is a significant step up from the BC895XLT. If you dont require APCO 25 digital capability or text labels, the BC898T is a considerably better value than the BC796D for desktop use.
CSI Flex Series Multiprotocol Decoder
We reviewed the Connect Systems Inc. Flex Series Multiprotocol Decoder in July 2004. A photograph of the front panel was omitted from the column inadvertently and is reproduced here.

October 2004

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