Uniden Bc250d Widenband Scanner Owners Manual

							selected for a trunked system, press HOLD/MAN, and the
radio will seek and acquire the trunked system control
channel.
ID Search Hold and Direct Entry ID Hold Mode
Just like in Conventional Search, Hold lets you pause ID
Search on an interesting transmission without storing the
talkgroup into memory.
If you hear an interesting ID during Search mode, and want to
continue listening to it --
•Press HOLD/MANto stop the search.
If you want to listen to a specific ID, while in Hold mode --
•Use the keypad to enter the ID you want and press 
SCAN, RSMor SEARCH
(SEARCHkey can not be
used for EDACS).
If you want to resume searching --
•Press RSMto return to Search 
mode.
Note: ID Hold feature is also applied to ID Scan mode.
ID Lockout
Like conventional scanning, it’s possible to lockout 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
encumber their communications, and you
may want to lock out these unintelligible
broadcasts.
To Lockout an ID, press L/Owhen the
ID you want to lockout displays.
The ID is locked out. You can 
Lockout up to 200 IDs.
Note: If you Lockout an ID in Search mode, it is also locked
out in Scan List mode.
Conversely, if you Lockout an ID while in Scan List
mode, it is locked out in Search mode. For information
about Scan Lists see page 51.
EDACS BLOCKOUTis a powerful form of ID  LOCKOUT
that can be used only with AFS and EDACS systems. This
feature lets you lockout entire Agencies or Fleets, not just
individual talkgroups. Using ID  BLOCKOUTyou can, for
example, prevent Search from stopping on any of hundreds of
57
  M1-1:4128
 867.8375 NFM
MOT ID:8192
LIST Tag 
M ID:4128
 867.8375 NFM
MOT ID:8192
Bank:04 MOT TYP2
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							talkgroups in the Utilities agency. You can do this with just a
few key presses. To use ID  BLOCKOUTjust enter the
Agency- part, or the Agency-Fleet part, of the talkgroup code
and press L/O. For example, to Blockout Agency 4 in Trunk
Search, press HOLD/MAN, 0, 4,  (decimal key), and then
L/O. For other ways to use partial AFS entry, be sure to read
the section EDACS Reception.
Review ID Lockout
You can check all IDs already locked out.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
––– OR –––
1. When you press and hold L/Ofor 2 seconds in trunking,
you can also check all IDs locked out.
2. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION/
2:TRUNKby rotating the VFOand
pressing E.
3. Enter the bank number using the
keypad and pressing E.
4. Select 6:L/O  ID  REVIEW.
Restoring Locked-out IDs
To unlock a single ID, follow these steps:
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION/ 2:TRUNKby rotating the
VFOand pressing E.
3. Select the bank number by rotating the VFOand pressing
E.
4. Select 6:L/O  ID  REVIEWand the locked out ID you
want to unlock by rotating the VFO.
5. Press L/O. The ID is unlocked and the next locked ID
displays.
To unlock all locked out IDs in a bank once:
1. Press L/Ofor 2 seconds after selecting 6:L/O  ID
REVIEWin step 4.
.
58
          L
LT ID:0-02-042
L/O ID REVIEW
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							Reverse Key
For Motorola and EDACS system; to change your display
between the Scan List indicators and trunk bank display,
press REVERSE.
For LTR systems only, the talkgroup must be active in order
to change the Scan List and bank indicators. If the talkgroup
is not active, change the Scan List by using the Menu screen.
Setting the Delay Mode for Trunking Mode
The delay of 2 seconds is automatically set for each talkgroup
for ID Scan mode and ID Search mode. To set the delay
feature, enter into the Menu mode.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION/ 2:TRUNKby rotating the
VFOand pressing E.
3. Select the bank number by rotating the VFOand pressing
E.
4. Select 4:DELAYand pressing E.
5. Select 1:ONor 2:OFFby rotating the VFOand pressing
E.
Note: If you want to verify the Delay mode setting, press and
hold MENU/BACKfor 2 seconds in Trunking mode.
59
ID SCAN
 867.9875 NFM
Bank  1234567890 
BANK:10 MOTTYP2ID SCAN
 867.9875 NFM
List  1234567890 
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							Setting Priority in Trunking Mode
You can set priority in your trunking lists, just as you do in
your conventional ones. You can set the priority by pressing
and holding PRIfor 2 seconds in ID Scan Hold mode. 
After you’ve set up your Scan List, press PRIto activate it.
It’s very similar to conventional priority although there is no
interrupt during the transmissions. Priorities are checked in
between transmissions.
With Priority ON, you can hold on an ID in your Scan List,
such as Scan List 6, memory position 7, and the scanner will
check all the priorities in all the active Scan Lists in between
any transmissions on the ID on which you’re holding. The
lowest numbered priority will be checked first. For example,
the Priority ID in List 1 will be checked before the Priority in
List 2, etc.
Note: This function does not work in LTR tracking.
Programming Scan Lists During Search
To select a Scan List location and store an ID during Search
mode, follow these steps:
1. When your scanner stops on an ID
you want to store, press HOLD/MAN.
2. Press TRNSFRand the smallest
empty Scan List appears on the
display, then press E. In case you
want to change the memory location,
you can change it by rotating the
VFO.
3. Press RSMto return to Trunk Tracking Search mode.
Deleting a Stored ID
To delete a stored ID:
a. Press HOLD/MAN in the ID
Scan mode.
b. Rotate the VFOto select the
Scan List location you want to
delete.
c. Press 0.
d. Then press E.
60
 M1-1
 851.0375 NFM
LIST:01 No.01 
M ID:4128
 867.8375 NFM
ID tag
Bank:04 MOT TYP2 
M ID:4128
 867.8375 NFM
MOT ID------
LIST:01 No.01 
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							61
Moving between Scan List Memories
There are a number of ways to step and move through your
Scan List memories:
1. Press HOLD/MAN in the ID Scan mode and rotate the
VFOto move to up or down.
2. Or, press HOLD/MAN in the ID Scan mode, next press 
0-9(scan list number), then press 0-9(memory position).
For example to move to Scan List 4, memory position 10,
press: HOLD/MAN, 4, 0, HOLD/MAN
Set Activity ID to ON, when your scanner finds an active ID
during a transmission the active ID appears every 0.5
seconds.
I-Call (Motorola/EDACS)
I-Calls are direct unit-to-unit transmissions that are not heard
by other system users. Your BC250D can receive these
transmissions. How you receive I-Calls depends on whether
you are in Search or Scan mode.
During I-Call reception the display will show the Unit ID
number of either the transmitting or receiving mobile unit, not
a talkgroup. Unit IDs will display differently according to the
type of trunked system, and will replace the ns shown here.
EDACS and MOTOROLA TYPE 1innnnn
MOTOROLA TYPE 27nnnnn
Hint-- There are thousands of Unit IDs in typical systems,
but relatively few I-Calls at a given moment, so it is
normally best to let the scanner receive any I-Calls
without trying to specify particular units.
I-CALLS IN SEARCH MODE
In Search mode, the scanner default is that I-Call reception is
OFF. This means that I-Calls will not be received until you
program them to be ON. You have three choices for
controlling I-Call reception. Through the Menu system, go to
2:SCAN  OPTION / 2:TRUNK - select bank number -/
8:I-CALL, and make your selection. 
The menu choices are:
I-CALLs TALKGROUPS1
OFF Not received Received normally This is the BC250D default 2ON YES Received normally Use this choice to receive I-Calls 
together with normal 
talkgroup traffic.
3 ONLY YES NOT RECEIVED Use this setting to listen to I-Calls, 
and block all talkgroup reception. 
For quick access to this mode, 
press       (decimal) then RSM. 
.
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							You can hold any I-Call IDs. Because you can only hold on
one ID, and there are two IDs involved in any I-Call
communication (the transmitting and the receiving units), you
might not hear the full conversation, but you probably will.
In Search mode, when you hear an interesting I-Call,
you can enter the instant shortcut  (decimal key)
then RSMto enter I-Call Only mode. This blocks all
talkgroup traffic and lets you hear just the I-Call. 
To return to normal reception, you must use the Menu
system to select the ONor OFFoption.
Note: When storing I-Call IDs, remember that the ID will be
for only one of the units – either the transmitting or
receiving unit. Unless you specifically want to receive a
certain ID, it might be better to use the special code in
the HINT below.
I-CALLS IN SCAN AND HOLD MODE
You can store I-Call IDs in Scan Lists, just like talkgroup IDs,
for use by ID Scan and Scan Hold modes. To program a
specific I-Call Unit ID into a Scan Lists:
EDACS or Motorola Type 1
Press  (decimal key) followed by the Unit ID digits,
then E.
Motorola Type 2
Press 7 followed by the Unit ID digits, then E.
HINT- There is a special code to let you receive all I-Call
IDs with a single Scan Lists entry. Simply press 
(decimal key), 0, E. This will store the special code
i0in an EDACS Scan Lists, or 700000in a
Motorola Scan Lists or Digital. Then, whenever you
Scan this entry, or select it in Hold mode, the scanner
will receive any active I-Calls, regardless of the Unit
IDs.
Note: Motorola I-CALL tracking performance may vary
between systems.
Multi-Track
The BC250D allows you to track more than one system at a
time. Here are some highlights of this feature:
❖You can actually track up to 10 trunking systems at
one time.
❖You can trunk, scan, or search and scan conventional
frequencies at the same time.
❖You can program conventional frequencies in the same
bank as trunking systems.
.
.
.
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							After the scanner finishes checking a trunked system
for activity, it will conventionally scan the other
frequencies in the bank (remember, only trunking
frequencies are programmed in Trunk mode).
To scan a mix of trunking and conventional banks, select the
banks you wish to be active, and then press SCAN. The
scanner will instantly begin scanning. If you have not
programmed a trunking bank with talkgroup ID’s, you will
receive NO  ID  (----)message for that bank. 
You can switch to Search mode and the scanner will search
for any active ID’s on the system.
Note: To switch ID Scan or ID Search, press and hold
TRUNKin the trunked system.
Multi-Track Operational Details
When more than one trunk system is active (for example two
or more trunked systems or a trunked system and one or
more conventional frequencies), the radio jumps between
systems/frequencies as follows:
TRUNK SCAN: The scanner moves to a trunked system
and looks for IDs in your Scan List(s) for up to 1 second. 
If it finds no activity on your programmed talkgroups, it
moves on to conventional channels in the same bank or to
the next active bank.
If the scanner finds that a talkgroup in one of your active
Scan Lists, you will begin to hear that communication and
the scanner will of course display the proper talkgroup
number and any alpha tag. When the communication
ends, the scanner will wait for 2 seconds for any further
replies and, if none, the scanner will move to the
conventional channels in the same bank or to the next
bank. The scanner will not look for any other IDs within the
same trunked system (as this would slow the scan
process). If you press RSMwhile you are listening to one
ID, the scanner will check to see if another ID in your Scan
List is active. It will disregard the ID to which you were just
monitoring.
TRUNK SEARCH: This mode works similarly to Trunk
Scan. If the scanner finds any (non-locked-out) ID when 
it checks the control channel, you will hear it. You will then
hear any replies that follow within 2 seconds. After that the
scanner will move on and not continuously search the
system for additional IDs (on busy systems you would never
leave the system if this were the case). If you press the
RSMkey while monitoring one ID, the radio will check if any
other IDs are active (it will disregard the ID you just left),
and if none are active, it will move on.
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							EDACS®Reception
EDACS®Tracking
TrunkTracker III now allows tracking of EDACS®trunked
systems. Until now these widely used systems have been
almost impossible to monitor with a conventional scanner.
With your TrunkTracker III listening to EDACS(s) is
remarkably easy, and perhaps even easier than conventional
scanning.
EDACS systems use Transmission Trunking, which means
that each transmission is assigned a new frequency. As the
conversation moves through the systems frequencies, your
TrunkTracker III automatically follows it.
This chart shows a 30 second sample of EDACS
transmissions. Eight different talkgroups are using the system
as their transmissions switch between the thirteen system
frequencies. 
Notice how the dotted line shows talkgroup 02-023 moving
from channel to channel. Your BC250D can clearly and
automatically follow this talkgroup, or any other, as you select.
EDACS systems are organized in a logical way that keeps
related talkgroups together. Your scanner is designed to take
maximum advantage of this organization to make your
scanning easy. It lets you zero in on just the part of the
system you want to hear, whether it is an individual channel
or an entire department or city.
Programming EDACS System Frequencies
When you program EDACS frequencies, it is critical that you
store each one in the CORRECT LOCATION. By the nature
of EDACS systems this is necessary for tracking. This often is
not the frequency order, so you must be sure you have the
right sequence. Sources for this information can be found at
scanner.uniden.com.
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							65
An EDACS®Trunked system
This chart shows how talkgroups are
organized within an EDACS system 
at the Agency level. The individual
talkgroups cannot be shown at this
scale because there are over 2000.
However the chart can show the 16
Agencies in this example. The system is
logical and easy to understand. EDACS
systems are typically arranged in an
outline structure.
The system users are given blocks of
talkgroups. Sizes vary but most large
cities and other agencies have blocks of
128 channels. Smaller cities have only
64 or 32 channels.
In this example, the County Sheriff is
agency 01. The city of Sullivan is
Agency 03. Adams Hill and Matthew
Junction share Agency 08.
Your scanner shows EDACS talkgroups
in AFS (Agency-Fleet-Subfleet) format.
This helps you see, at a glance, who
you are monitoring. And with the partial-
entry feature you can easily include
nearby, related channels in the same
Fleet or Agency. You can just as easily
exclude entire unwanted Fleets and
Agencies.
When in Search mode, with the system frequencies
programmed, and your scanner locked to the control channel,
you can select a desired city by keying in the Agency part of
the AFS talkgroup. For example, you can select the entire city
of Sullivan with 4 key presses 0, 3, (decimal key),
SEARCH.
When you hear an interesting talkgroup, capture it to your
Scan List by pressing TRNSFR andEduring the
transmission.
Or hold on it by pressing the HOLD/MANkey.
If you want to monitor the Sullivan Police Dispatch channel
(which is talk group 03-062), press 0, 3, (decimal key), 
0, 6, 2, RSM orSCAN.
Your scanner can also work in decimal format. 
This talkgroup in decimal format is 434. But decimal format does
not give you any information about the system hierarchy. 
.
.
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							66
For example Sullivan, in decimal, uses channels from 384 to
511. This is not as easy to remember as Agency 03. 
But decimal is useful if you need to work from decimal talkgroup
lists. To turn Emargency Alert ON/OFF, enter into the Menu
mode. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION / 2:TRUNK-select bank
number-9:EMERGENCY  ALT /1:ONor 2:OFFby
rotating the VFOand pressing E.
Special EDACS®Features
AFS Partial Entry Feature
AFS is Unidens method of encoding EDACS talkgroups. 
AFS stands for Agency-Fleet-Subfleet.
AFS talkgroups are used in all EDACS reception -- in ID
Search, ID Lockout and ID Scan Scan Lists. The powerful AFS
Partial Entry feature designed into the BC250D lets you use
either a complete talkgroup code, or just the most significant
part.
This feature lets you expand or
narrow searching and 
scanning to one of 4 levels. 
By entering only the desired part
of an AFS talkgroup, 
you can select 2048 talkgroups, 
128 talkgroups, 8 talkgroups, or a
single talkgroup. 
For example, you could program every talkgroup in a police
department with just 4 key presses. You can use the AFS 
Partial Entry feature anywhere that you need to specify
EDACS talkgroup.
Your BC250D can also enter or display EDACS talkgroups in
decimal format (0-2047).
Select 2:SCAN  OPTION / 2:TRUNK- select Bank
number - / 0:EDCS  ID  FORMby rotating the VFOand
pressing E. And change it to 2:DECIMALand press E. You
can use this feature to translate decimal talkgroups lists to the
much more powerful AFS format.
Examples of how you might use AFS are shown above in the
description of an EDACS trunked system, and elsewhere in
this manual. It is very easy to use. Be sure to become familiar
with AFS Partial Entry, and your scanning will become far
more flexible and efficient.
Emergency Call Alert
Your BC250D alerts you when an EDACS Emergency
transmission occurs.
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