Uniden Bc246t Trunk Tracker Scanner Owners Manual

							61
Programming Radio Systems
When the scanner prompts Confirm?, press E to accept 
the settings. The scanner creates an empty LTR system, 
with a default name of System nnN        L. 
nNn increments as you add new systems. L indicates that 
this is an LTR system.
Next, refer to the appropriate section to set system-wide 
options. For most settings, you can accept the default. 
However, for the items in bold, you must enter informa-
tion in order for your scanner to scan the system.
• See “Editing the System Name” on Page 63
• See “Setting the System Hold Time” on Page 64
• See “Editing the System Quick Key” on Page 63
• See “Setting the Channel Delay Time” on Page 65
• See “Setting ID Scan/Search (Trunked Systems 
Only)” on Page 65
• See “Reviewing Locked Out Frequencies” on 
Page 89
• See “Setting Channel Attenuation (Conventional 
Channels Only)” on Page 77
• See “Deleting Systems” on Page 71
• See “Copying Systems” on Page 71
• See “Setting System Frequencies” on Page 61
• See “Entering/Editing LTR Channel Groups” on 
Page 61
Setting System Frequencies
SET FREQUENCIES J E
4 New FREQUENCY J E 
Input a system frequency, then press E. The scanner then 
prompts you to enter the LCN for the entered frequency. 
Enter the LCN, then press E.
To enter additional frequencies, press  , use the scroll 
control to select New Frequency, then repeat the above.
Entering/Editing LTR Channel Groups
To enter channels in a system, first set up a channel 
group (or groups) to hold the channels. Then, enter the 
channel and channel parameters in the group(s).
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 61  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							62
Programming Radio Systems Setting Up a Channel Group
4 J EDIT GROUPJ E J
4
 J NEW GROUPJ E
The scanner creates a group with a default name of 
GROUP nn. nn increments by one for each new group you 
create within a system.
Next, refer to the appropriate section to set group-wide 
options:
• See “Entering/Editing the Group Name” on Page 71
• See “Setting the Group Quick Key” on Page 72
• See “Setting Group Lockout” on Page 72
• See “Deleting Groups” on Page 73
• See “Entering/Editing LTR Channels/ Talkgroups” on 
Page 62
Entering/Editing LTR Channels/
Talkgroups
4
 J Edit Channel J E J 
4 J NEW ChannelJ E J Input TGID
Enter the talk group ID for the channel, then press E.
Note: Press   to enter a hyphen.
Then, refer to the appropriate section to change a 
channel setting:
• See “Editing the Channel Name” on Page 73
• See “Setting Channel Alert” on Page 75
• See “Setting Channel Lockout” on Page 78
• See “Deleting Channels” on Page 78
• See “Copying/Pasting Channels” on Page 79
To program another channel within the same group, press 
, then repeat the above.
To create another channel group and enter more 
channels, press   four times, then proceed from “Set-
ting Up a Channel Group” on Page 62.
To direct-enter LTR talkgroups, follow the steps under 
“Quick-Storing Channels or Talk Group ID’s” on Page 44.
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 62  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							63
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Programming/Editing Optional SettingsThis section details the instructions for each of the 
optional programming steps referred to in “Programming 
Radio Systems” on Page 52. Use the instructions in the 
appropriate section to enter or edit a setting.
System-Level Settings
These settings apply to the entire system.
Editing the System Name
 J Program SysteM J E 4 
Select the system J E 
Edit Name 
J E 
Follow these steps to enter/edit the system name.
1. Rotate the scroll control to select the first letter.
2. Press and hold down   then rotate the scroll 
control once to select the next letter.
3. Repeat Steps 1 and 2 until you have entered the
system name. Then press E or press down on the 
scroll control to accept the setting.
Hints:
• Each system name can be up to 16 characters. 
Abbreviate as necessary to fit.
• The default system names include the following letter 
in the 16th position to indicate the system type: 
M = Motorola
E = EDACS
L = LTR
C = Conventional
• Press   twice to delete the current character.
• Press   three times to clear the entire alpha tag.
Editing the System Quick Key
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Menu
Func
Menu
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 63  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							64
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set Quick KeyJ E 
After selecting this option, press 0-9 to assign the system 
to a quick key or press No to assign the system to no 
quick key, then press E.
Hints:
• You can assign as many systems to the same quick 
key as you want.
• Preprogrammed systems are set to quick key 9.
• To be scanned, a system’s quick key must be 
activated and the system must be unlocked.
Setting System Lockout
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set LockoutJ E
This setting controls whether the system is scanned when 
its quick key is enabled. Rotate the scroll control to select 
your setting, then press E.
Locked - the system is not scanned
Unlocked - the system is scanned
Note: You can also lock or unlock a system by pressing 
, selecting the system, then pressing   + L/O.
Setting the System Hold Time
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set Hold TimeJ E
This setting controls how many seconds the scanner 
scans a system before moving to the next unlocked 
system. Enter a value from 0-255, then press E to save 
the setting.
Menu
FuncFunc
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 64  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							65
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Notes: 
• If you select 0, the scanner stays on the system for a 
minimal time (only long enough to check current 
system activity).
• The default setting is 2 seconds for each system.
• For conventional systems, all unlocked channels will 
be scanned at least once regardless of this setting.
• The scanner moves to the next system after the hold 
time expires, any current transmission ends, and the 
channel delay time expires.
Setting the Channel Delay Time
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set DELAY TimeJ E
This setting controls how many seconds the scanner 
waits after a transmission ends before resuming 
scanning. Enter a value from 1-5 or Off, then press E.
Notes:
• The default setting is 2 seconds for each system.
• This setting applies to all channels within the system.
Setting ID Scan/Search 
(Trunked Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
ID SCAN/SEARCHJ E
This setting controls how the system will be scanned. 
Select your setting, then press E.
ID Scan - the scanner only stops on channels you have 
programmed into the system.
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 65  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							66
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
ID Search - the scanner stops on any transmission for 
unlocked talk group IDs.
Note: You can also change this setting by pressing Scan 
while scanning the system.
Setting the Base Frequency/Step/Offset 
(Motorola UHF/VHF Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E  4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Edit Band Plan J E 4
Select Plan J Select a band plan (1, 2, or 3) J E  4
Input Base Freq J Input the base frequency J E 4
Select Step (5 kHz, 12.5 kHz, 25.0 kHz, 37.5 kHz, 50.0 
kHz, 62,5 kHz, 75.0 kHz, 87.5 Khz, or 100.0 kHz) 
J E 4
Offset (380-759) J Input the offset J E
This setting lets you enter the base frequency, step, and 
offset for the band plan you select. This information lets 
you set the scanner so it will scan a Motorola UHF/VHF system.
Setting Data Skip 
(Conventional Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set DATA SKIPJ E
This setting controls how the scanner behaves when it 
stops on a channel that has a data signal.
On - the scanner stops briefly on the channel, but then 
immediately resumes scanning automatically. Press E to 
select.
Off - the scanner remains on the channel until the 
transmission stops. Press E to select.
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 66  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							67
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Notes:
• This setting is ignored for AM channels.
• The default setting for this feature is On.
Editing the Fleet Map 
(Motorola Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Edit Fleet MapJ E
For Motorola Type I systems, you must enter a system 
fleet map in order for the scanner to properly track and 
display talk group IDs. The fleet map is usually included 
in the same resource that provided system frequencies 
and talk group ID lists.
Rotate the scroll control to select the fleet map:
Preset - select from the 16 most common fleet maps (see 
“Preset Fleet Maps” on Page 105). Press E to select.
Custom - allows you to enter a custom fleet map. Enter the 
size code for each block. Press E to select.
Notes: 
• If you dont know the fleet map for your Motorola Type 
I system, check the Internet. This information is 
commonly posted on sites such as those we 
reference in “Where To Get More Information” on 
Page 27.
• The default setting of no fleet map is the correct 
setting for Motorola Type II systems.
Setting the Motorola Status Bit
(Motorola Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set Status BitJ E
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 67  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							68
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Motorola systems use talk group IDs in multiples of 16. 
ID numbers that fall between these IDs indicate special 
status flags for the system. This setting determines how 
the scanner will handle IDs that are not multiples of 16. 
Select your setting then press E.
Ignore - the scanner rounds all received IDs down to the 
next interval of 16.
Yes - the scanner treats all received IDs as unique IDs.
Note: The default setting is Ignore.
Setting the End Code Operation
(Motorola Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set End CodeJ E
This setting determines how the scanner handles the 
transmission end code sent by most Motorola systems. 
Select your setting then press E.
Yes - the scanner immediately returns to the control 
channel when it detects the end code.
Ignore - the scanner does not return to the control channel 
until the carrier drops.
Note: The default setting is Yes.
Setting I-Call 
(Motorola and EDACS Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set I CALLJ E
This setting determines how your scanner treats I-calls 
while ID Searching.
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 68  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							69
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
On - the scanner tracks I-calls. Press E to select.
Off - the scanner ignores I-calls. Press E to select.
Only - the scanner only tracks I-calls and ignores other 
radio traffic on the system. Press E to select.
Note: The default setting is Off.
Setting Emergency Alert 
(Motorola and EDACS Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set EMERGENCY ALERT J E
This setting determines how your scanner handles radio 
traffic that has the emergency flag set. Select your setting 
then press E.
Alert - the scanner sounds an alert beep to notify you of 
the emergency transmission.
Ignore - the scanner does not alert you to emergency 
transmissions.
Note: The scanner defaults to Ignore.
Setting the EDACS ID Format 
(EDACS Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
EDCS ID Format J E
EDACS talk group IDs are commonly provided in one of two 
formats: AFS and Decimal. This setting determines how 
you enter EDACS IDs and how the scanner displays them.
AFS Format - the scanner uses AFS format for talk group IDs
Decimal Format - the scanner uses decimal format for 
talkgroup IDs
Menu
Menu
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 69  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM 
						

							70
Programming/Editing Optional Settings
Notes:
• The scanner defaults to AFS (agency, fleet, subfleet) 
format - the format used in most EDACS systems.
• See “EDACS Trunking” on Page 25 for more 
information about the AFS format.
Setting Control-Channel Only 
(Motorola Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Edit Sys Option J E 4
Set C-CH OnlyJ E
This setting determines the frequencies you need to enter 
for Motorola systems. Select your setting, then press E.
Off - you must enter all voice and control channel 
frequencies.
On - you only need to enter control channel frequencies.
Note: The scanner defaults to Off.
Setting System Attenuation 
(Trunked Systems Only)
 J program system J E 4 
Select the system J E 4
Set ATTENUATIONJ E
This setting controls whether the attenuator will be on or 
off for the current system. Select your setting then press E.
Off - the attenuator is off.
On - system frequencies are attenuated by about 18 dB.
Notes:
• Turn on this setting if you are near strong signal 
sources. Attenuation can help reduce interference 
and desensitization that strong signals create.
• You can also turn this setting on or off by holding on a 
trunked system, then pressing    +  E.
Menu
Menu
Func
BC246T Paper OM 062405.fm  Page 70  Tuesday, June 28, 2005  10:12 AM