BC246T OWNER'S MANUAL OWNER'S MANUAL Precautions Before you use Precautionsthis scanner, please read and observe the following. IMPORTANT! This scanning radio has been manufactured so that it will not tune to the radio frequencies assigned by the FCC for cellular telephone usage. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, as amended, makes it a federal crime to intentionally intercept cellular or cordless telephone transmissions or to market this radio when altered to receive them. The installation, possession, or use of this scanning radio in a motor vehicle may be prohibited, regulated, or require a permit in certain states, cities, and/or local jurisdictions. Your local law enforcement officials should be able to provide you with information regarding the laws in your community. Changes or modifications to this product not expressly approved by Uniden, or operation of this product in any way other than as detailed by this Operating Guide, could void your authority to operate this product. EARPHONE WARNING! Be sure to use only a monaural earphone with this scanner. You can also use an optional 32 stereo headset. Use of an incorrect earphone or stereo headset might be potentially hazardous to your hearing. The output of the phone jack is monaural, but you will hear it in both headphones of a stereo headset. Set the volume to a comfortable audio level coming from the speaker before plugging in the monaural earphone or a stereo headset of the proper impedance (32 ). 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 might be particularly true of the type of earphone that is placed in the ear canal. Precautions 2 WARNING! Uniden does not represent this unit to be waterproof. To reduce the risk of fire or electrical shock, do not expose this unit to rain or moisture. Motorola®, SMARTNET®, PL®, Private Line®, DPL®, Digital Private Line®, and PRIVACY PLUS® are registered trademarks of Motorola, Inc. LTR® is a registered trademark of E.F. Johnson Co. EDACS® is a registered trademark of M/A-COM Private Radio Systems, Inc. Uniden® and Bearcat® are registered trademarks of Uniden America Corporation. TrunkTrackerTM, Trunk TrackingTM, and Close CallTM are proprietary trademarks of Uniden America Corporation. Other trademarks used throughout this manual are the property of their respective holders. Precautions 3 Contents Contents The FCC Wants You to Know ............................................................ 8 Scanning Legally .............................................................................. 8 Introduction ....................................................................................... 10 Feature Highlights ............................................................................ 12 About This Manual .......................................................................... 16 How the Scanner's Controls Are Represented in This Manual ... 16 Entering Text .............................................................................. 17 Understanding Scanning ................................................................. 18 Understanding the Scanner's Memory ........................................... 18 What is Scanning? .......................................................................... 18 What is Searching? ........................................................................ 19 What is CTCSS/DCS? .................................................................... 19 Conventional Scanning ................................................................... 21 Simplex Operation ...................................................................... 21 Repeater Operation .................................................................... 22 What is Trunk Tracking? ................................................................. 22 Trunked Scanning .......................................................................... 23 Types of Trunking Systems ............................................................ 24 Motorola Trunking ....................................................................... 24 EDACS Trunking ........................................................................ 25 LTR Trunking .............................................................................. 26 I-Call (Motorola/EDACS) ................................................................ 27 Where To Get More Information ..................................................... 27 Information On The Internet ........................................................ 27 Included With Your Scanner ............................................................ 29 Setting Up Your Scanner ................................................................. 30 Using Internal Batteries .................................................................. 30 Using Rechargeable Batteries ........................................................ 32 Removing the Display Sticker ......................................................... 33 Using AC Power ............................................................................. 33 Connecting the Antenna ................................................................. 33 Connecting an Optional Antenna ................................................ 33 Connecting an Earphone/Headphone ............................................. 34 Connecting an Extension Speaker ................................................. 34 Attaching the Belt Clip .................................................................... 34 Attaching the Wrist Strap ................................................................ 35 Installing the Demo Software .......................................................... 35 A Look At The Keypad .................................................................... 36 A Look At The Display ..................................................................... 39 Using Menu ..................................................................................... 40 Using Func ..................................................................................... 40 Using the Scroll Control .................................................................. 40 Basic Operation ................................................................................ 41 Turning On the Scanner and Setting the Squelch .......................... 41 Scanning Systems .......................................................................... 41 Preprogrammed System Tips ..................................................... 42 Selecting Systems to Scan ............................................................. 42 Selecting System Channel Groups ................................................. 43 Locking/Unlocking Systems ............................................................ 43 Contents 4 Locking/Unlocking Channels .......................................................... ID Scan/ID Search Mode ................................................................ Temporarily Holding On a System .................................................. Holding On a Channel ................................................................... Quickly Storing an ID During ID Search ........................................ Quick-Storing Channels or Talk Group ID's ................................... Quickly Recalling Channels ........................................................... Monitoring Trunking Activity ........................................................... Other Settings .................................................................................. Displaying System Information ...................................................... Viewing Memory Used ............................................................... Viewing the Firmware Version ................................................... Adjusting the Key Beep ................................................................. Locking/Unlocking the Keypad ...................................................... Turning Power Save On or Off ...................................................... Priority Scan .................................................................................. Using the Backlight ........................................................................ Initializing the Scanner's Memory .................................................. Using the PC Control and Cloning Options ................................... Connecting Your Scanner to a Personal Computer ................... Cloning the Scanner .................................................................. Programming Radio Systems ........................................................ Programming Conventional Systems ........................................... Entering/Editing Conventional Channel Groups ........................ Entering/Editing Conventional Channels ................................... Programming Motorola Systems .................................................. Setting System Frequencies ...................................................... Entering/Editing Motorola Channel Groups ............................... Entering/Editing Motorola Channels ........................................... Programming EDACS Systems .................................................... Setting System Frequencies ...................................................... Entering/Editing EDACS Channel Groups ................................. Entering/Editing EDACS Channels ............................................ Programming LTR Systems ........................................................... Setting System Frequencies ...................................................... Entering/Editing LTR Channel Groups ....................................... Entering/Editing LTR Channels/Talkgroups ............................... Programming/Editing Optional Settings ........................................ System-Level Settings .................................................................. Editing the System Name .......................................................... Editing the System Quick Key .................................................... Setting System Lockout ............................................................ Setting the System Hold Time ................................................... Setting the Channel Delay Time ................................................ Setting ID Scan/Search (Trunked Systems Only) ...................... Setting the Base Frequency/Step/Offset (Motorola UHF/VHF Systems Only) ........................................... Setting Data Skip (Conventional Systems Only) ........................ 43 44 44 44 44 44 45 45 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 48 49 49 50 50 51 52 53 53 54 54 56 56 57 58 59 59 60 60 61 61 62 63 63 63 63 64 64 65 65 66 66 Using the Menu ............................................................................... 46 Contents 5 Editing the Fleet Map (Motorola Systems Only) ........................ 67 Setting the Motorola Status Bit (Motorola Systems Only) ........... 67 Setting the End Code Operation (Motorola Systems Only) ......... 68 Setting I-Call (Motorola and EDACS Systems Only) ................. 68 Setting Emergency Alert (Motorola & EDACS Systems Only) ....69 Setting the EDACS ID Format (EDACS Systems Only) ............. 69 Setting Control-Channel Only (Motorola Systems Only) ............ 70 Setting System Attenuation (Trunked Systems Only) ................. 70 Deleting Systems ........................................................................ 71 Copying Systems ........................................................................ 71 Group-Level Settings ...................................................................... 71 Entering/Editing the Group Name ............................................... 71 Setting the Group Quick Key ...................................................... 72 Setting Group Lockout ................................................................ 72 Deleting Groups .......................................................................... 73 Channel-Level Settings .................................................................. 73 Editing the Channel Name .......................................................... 73 Setting Channel Priority (Conventional Channels Only) ............. 74 Setting Channel Alert .................................................................. 75 Setting CTCSS/DCS (Conventional Channels Only) .................. 75 Setting Channel Modulation (Conventional Channels Only) ....... 76 Setting Channel Attenuation (Conventional Channels Only) ...... 77 Setting the Frequency Step (Conventional Channels Only) ....... 77 Setting Channel Lockout ............................................ ...