Uniden Bc296d Trunk Tracker Scanner Owners Manual

							•SAME Weather Alert with FIPS– lets you set your
scanner to listen for a SAME event code from the local
weather service; sounds an alert and displays the text
description for any alert received. FIPS programming lets
you restrict the alerts to one county.
•Turbo Search – searches for activity on frequencies at up
to 300 steps per second (in the 5 kHz step ranges).
•Backlit Holographic Display – provides for great visibility
at any angle, day or night.
•Battery Save – automatically reduces power requirements
when you are holding on a single channel or frequency and
there is no activity.
•Rechargeable NiMH Battery Pack and Charger –
provides you with the most economical power options
available.
•Scanner Clone Mode – lets you connect your scanner
directly to another scanner to clone all channels and
settings.
Using this Manual
To get the most from this manual, review the contents to
become familiar with the basic functions available. If you are
new to scanning or trunktracking, be sure to read the
“Understanding Scanning” section for a quick background on
the technology behind the hobby. 
The first thing you’ll need to do is plug the AC charger into the
scanner. See “Setting Up Your Scanner” if you need any help
doing this.
Next, you’ll want to listen to see what you can hear with your
scanner. Install the antenna, then press SERVICEand use
the scroll bar to select TV Broadcast. Assuming you are in an
area with a strong enough TV broadcast, your scanner should
soon stop on a station’s audio program. Listen to this, or try
searching another service for something more interesting,
while you review the rest of the manual.
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							Understanding Scanning
This section provides you with the background on how
scanning works. You don’t really need to know all of this to
use your scanner, but some background knowledge will help
you to get the most from your BC296D.
Conventional Scanning
Conventional scanning is a relatively simple concept. Each
group of users in a conventional system is assigned a single
frequency (for simplex systems) or two frequencies (for
repeater systems) to use. Any time one of them transmits,
their transmission always goes out on the same frequency.
Up until the late 1980’s this was the primary way that radio
systems operated. Even today, there are a lot of 2-way radio
users who operate using a conventional system:
•Aircraft
•Amateur Radio
•FRS/GMRS Users
•Broadcast AM/FM/TV Stations
•Many Business Radio users
When you want to store a conventional system, all you need
to know is the frequency they operate on.
When you are scanning a conventional system, the scanner
stops very briefly on each channel to see if there is activity. If
there isn’t, the scanner quickly moves to the next channel. If
there is, then the scanner pauses on the transmission until it
is over.
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 1-5 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
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							operation. When a user transmits (on an input frequency), the
signal is picked up by the repeater and retransmitted (on an
output frequency). The user’s 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.
Tr u nked Scanning
While conventional scanning worked great while there were
only a few groups wanting to use the frequencies, with the
advent of smaller, lower-cost radios more and more agencies
and businesses wanted to take advantage of the utility of 2-
way radio. As a result, the bands that were used most
became full, so new users were not able to take advantage of
the technology as quickly as they wanted.
Trunking solved this frequency shortage by allowing multiple
groups to use the same set of frequencies in a very efficient
way. While each type of trunking system operates a little
differently (see the next few sections), they all work on the
same basic premise: even in a system with a lot of users, only
a few users are ever transmitting at any one time. 
Instead of being assigned a frequency, as with conventional
systems, each group is assigned a Talkgroup ID. A central
computer controls the frequency each group operates
on...and this frequency selection is made each time a user
transmits. So, while on a conventional system queries, replies,
and follow-ups are all on a single frequency, they could each
be on completely different frequencies on a trunked system.
This semi-random frequency assignment made monitoring
such a system impossible prior to Uniden’s invention of the
Trunktracking scanner.
Motorola Trunking
While there are 4 different types of Motorola trunking systems,
they all use the same basic trunking method. The system
consists of one control channel plus one or more voice
channels (typically 10, 20, or 30 total channels). When a user
presses Push To Talk (PTT) to transmit, their radio first sends
their talkgroup information to the control channel. The
computer then assigns that talkgroup to a specific voice
channel and transmits that data over the control channel. All
radios in that talkgroup switch over to the assigned voice
channel and the user can begin speaking. This all typically
takes place in about a second...the person transmitting hears
a beep from their radio when the channel is assigned and it is
OK to start talking.
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							The four systems in use are:
•Motorola Type I– the radios send the radio ID, the fleet
and subfleet talkgroup ID to the control channel each time
they transmit. To program a Type I system, you need to
know the system’s fleet map. The most common fleet maps
are included at the back of this manual. You can also find
fleet map resources on the web.
•Motorola Type II– the radios only send the radio ID and
radio channel code to the control channel. The central com-
puter keeps a database of radio ID’s and which talkgroup is
assigned to which channel code for each radio, so with this
system the user’s radio sends only about 1/3 the data as a
Type I system with each transmission. Type II systems do
not use Fleet-subfleet talkgroups; instead they use a 5-digit
ID for each talkgroup.
•Type IIi Hybrid— these systems support a mix of both
Type I and Type II users. Like Type I systems, you must
know the system’s fleetmap to ensure proper tracking.
•Motorola Astro Digital — for channel control purposes,
this type of system operates just like a Type II system —
although the control channel can be a 3600 bps data rate
(for mixed analog/digital systems) or a 9600 bps (for digital-
only systems). Pure digital systems can be implemented
under APCO 25 Phase 1 or Phase 2 standards. Your
BC296D is able to decode all unencrypted digitized voice
traffic on either mixed mode or digital-only APCO 25 Phase
1 systems.
One big difference you will notice with digital versus analog
transmissions, is that with analog systems, you might be able
to hear weak signals interspersed with hissing. As you move
further away from the system, the interference gradually
increases until you are unable to make out the transmission.
With digital systems, the cutoff point is much more abrupt.
You might have a small area where partial decoding
occurs...in which case you will hear partial and garbled audio.
However, once the scanner is unable to receive the data well
enough to decode it, the audio stops entirely. For the best
range, antenna selection and placement is critical. See
“Installing the Antenna” for more information.
EDACS Trunking
EDACS trunking works in much the same way as Motorola
trunking with a couple of major differences. In an EDACS
system, each frequency used by the system is assigned a
Logical Channel Number (LCN) so that less data needs to be
transmitted by the control channel. Also, talkgroups are
assigned in an Agency-Fleet-Subfleet (AFS) hierarchy.  Also,
there is one variation of EDACS called SCAT that your
BC296D can monitor.
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							•Logical Channel Numbers– each frequency used by the
system is assigned an LCN. This information is
programmed into each user radio. When a user presses
PTT, their radio sends their AFS information to the control
channel. The computer then assigns that talkgroup to a
channel and sends the LCN so that all other radios in that
talkgroup will switch to the correct channel. To program a
EDACS system in your scanner, you will need to know both
the frequencies used by the system and the LCN for each
frequency so that you can program the frequencies in LCN
order.
•Agency-Fleet-Subfleet– talkgroup ID’s for EDACS
systems are assigned in a way that makes it easy to see at
a glance the affiliation of the user. Each radio is assigned a
2-digit agency identifier from 00 – 15. For example, 01
might be used by the police, 02 by ambulance service, 03
by the fire department, and so on. Each agency is then
subdivided up to 16 times to provide fleet identification, and
then 8 more times to identify subfleets.
For example, the complete AFS for the Police Department
West District’s dispatch channel might be 01-062. 01
identifies the agency as the police department, 06 identifies
the fleet as the West district, and 02 identifies the subfleet
as the dispatch channel. While these assignments are
somewhat arbitrary and vary from system to system, there
are many resources on the web for finding the assignments
for most systems.
Because of the logical hierarchy of the AFS system, your
BC296D lets you assign wildcard ID’s that let you, for
example, use only one ID memory to identify all units in
either an agency or a fleet.
•EDACS SCAT– EDACS SCAT (Single Channel
Autonomous Trunking) systems operate on a single channel
and alternate control data with analog voice traffic. While
your BC296D cannot track ID’s in this system, it can
eliminate the control data so that all you hear is the voice
transmissions when you monitor this type of system.
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							LTR Trunking
LTR®
(Logic Trunked Radio) systems are trunking systems
used primarily by  business or private communications service
providers, such as taxicabs, delivery trucks, and repair
services. These systems encode all control information as
digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmission,
so there is no separate control channel. Users on an LTR
system are assigned to specific talkgroups, which are
identified by the radio as six digit numbers. These numbers
are in the form AHHUUU, where:
A= Area code (0 or 1)
H= Home repeater (01 through 20)
U= User ID (000 through 254)
When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel set
to the LTR mode, it first decodes the LTR data included with
the transmission. In the ID Search mode, the scanner stops
on the transmission and displays the talkgroup ID on the
display. In the ID Scan mode, the scanner only stops on the
transmission if the LTR data matches a talkgroup ID that you
have stored in the bank’s talkgroup ID list and have not
locked out.
LTR systems are frequently programmed so that each radio
has a unique User ID.
LTR systems also need to be programmed into your scanner
in channel-order. 
Since many LTR systems use only odd-numbered channel
slots, you would program these systems using only the
corresponding odd-numbered channels in a bank (for
example, you would program a system with channels at 1, 3,
5, and 9 into Trunk 2 channels 101, 103, 105, and 109).
Understanding Banks and Channels
The memory in your scanner is organized into 10 banks of
100 channels each. Each bank can contain conventional
channels as well as 1 trunking system. For each trunking
system, each bank can also store 10 groups of 10 talkgroup
ID’s (100 per bank).
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							Getting More Information
By itself, this manual really only provides part of what you
need to know to have fun scanning – how to program and use
the scanner. The two supplied Conventional and Trunking
frequency guides will give you a good head start on the other
part of what you need to know – what frequencies have
interesting content. You can also find a wealth of information
on the Internet...check out scanners.uniden.com for the latest
frequency information in your area.
In addition, you can contact the following source of frequency
information:
•Scanner Master
(800) 722-6701 (Hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time Monday through Friday.)
To purchase another copy of the conventional or trunking
frequency guide, contact one of the following:
•Uniden Parts Department
(800) 554-3988 (Hours are from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Central Time Monday through Friday.)
•Your Local Dealer
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							A Quick Look at Your
Scanner
Buttons and Controls
1. Antenna Connector
2. Speaker
3. Display
4. DC Power Jack
5. Hold/Manual/Channel/Frequency Key (HOLD/MAN)
6. Scan Key (SCAN)
7. Menu/Back Key (MENU/BACK)
8. Lockout Key (L/O)
9. Light/Keypad Lock Key (/ )
10. Decimal/Reverse Key ( )
11. Earphone Jack
12. Volume/ON/OFF Control
13. Squelch Control
14. Remote Jack
15. Scroll Control
16. Resume Key ( )
17. Service Key (SERVICE)
18. Search Key (SEARCH)
19. Numeric Keypad
20. Trunk Key (TRUNK)
21. Priority Key (PRI)
22. Transfer/Mute Key (TRNSFR/MUTE)
23. Enter/Select Key (E)
RSM
.
12
2
1
3
4
5
6
7
8
9102223
21
201918171615
14
13
1211
SEARCH SCAN
BC296D
SERVICE
CH/
FRQ
MENU/BACK
L/O
.SELECT REVERSETRUNK
RSM
E
HOLD/
MAN
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							Display Icons
13
                          DESCRIPTION
Priority Channel Indicator
Lock Out  Mode Indicator
Scan/Search Direction Indicator
Chain Search Mode Indicator
Service Search Mode Indicator
Scan Mode Indicator
ID Scan Mode Indicator
ID Search Mode Indicator
Channel Type
Conventional Type
Trunk Type
Motorola Tracking Type
LTR Tracking Type
EDACS Tracking Type
Control Channel Data
Voice Channel Data
Digital Communications
P25: APCO Project 25
Receiving Mode Indicators
Signal Meter
Battery Indicator appears when the battery needs 
to be charged. The scanner also beeps every 
15 seconds to let you know the battery is low.ICON
P
L/O
SRCH
SRVC
SCAN
ID SCAN
ID SEARCH
C
M
L
E
DAT
LNK 
P25
AM,FM
WFM,NFM
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							Included With Your
Scanner
If any of these items are missing or damaged, immediately
contact your place of purchase or call Uniden Parts
Department at: 800-554-3988, 8:00 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30
to 5:00 p.m., Central Time, Monday through Friday.
•BC296D Scanner
•AC Adapter/Charger (AD-600U)
•Ni-MH Battery (BP-250)
•Rubber Antenna
•PC Cable
•Belt clip
•Operating Guide
•BC296D SS CD-ROM
•TrunkTracker Frequency Guide
•Conventional Frequency Guide
•Other Printed Material
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