Uniden Bct 8 Radio Scanner Owners Manual

							Precautions
Before you use this scanner, please observe the following:
WARNING!
Uniden America Corporation does not represent this unit to be waterproof. To reduce the
risk of fire, electrical shock, or damage to the unit, do not expose this unit to rain or
moisture.
IMPORTANT!
• This scanning radio has been manufactured so that it will not tune 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.
• The screen displays used in this manual are representations of what might appear when
you use your scanner.
** U.S. Patent Number 4,841,302 is licensed from Gray Electronics, Inc.
** These products contain Uniden proprietary information. Software, control codes, protocols
and other such related matter may be the copyrighted work of Uniden America Corporation.
© Copyright 2002-2003, Uniden America Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
© 2003 Uniden. This product contains Uniden proprietary information.
Software, control codes, protocols and other such related matter may be the copyrighted
work of Uniden America Corporation.
Uniden ® is a registered trademark of Uniden America Corporation.
Bearcat ® is a registered trademark of Uniden America Corporation.
May be covered under one or more of the following U.S. patent:
4,627,100 4,841,302 4,888,815 4,932,074 4,947,456
5,014,348 5,199,109 5,408,692 5,428,826 5,438,688
5,448,256 5,465,402 5,471,660 5,483,684 5,530,296
5,548,832 5,551,071 5,574,995 5,577,076 5,598,430
5,600,223 5,642,424 5,710,992 5,896,422 5,991,346
5,991,603 6,012,158 6,025,758 6,034,573 6,064,270
6,266,521 
						

							Contents
Introduction  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Front and Rear Views  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Icon Display  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Terminology  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What are Highway Patrol Alerts?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What is Scanning?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What is Searching?  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
What is Trunk Tracking? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Feature Highlights  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Where to Obtain More Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Information on the Internet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Included with Your Scanner Package  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Optional Accessories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Installing the BCT8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
For Home Use (Desktop Installation)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
For Mobile Use (In-Car Installation)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Typical Mounting Methods  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Mounting the Scanner in Your Vehicle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Applying Power for Vehicle Installation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
DC power Installation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Applying Power Using Standard AC Power  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Connecting an External Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Listening Safely  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Connecting the Clone Cable  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Scanning Overview  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Turn the Scanner On  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
How Squelch Works  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Setting the Squelch  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Highway Patrol Scanning  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Selecting the State  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Scanning Highway Patrol Frequency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
Highway Patrol Scan Hold  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Highway Warning Alert  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Alert Tone Volume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Muting the Alert Tone  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Alert Light Adjustment  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Skip Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Priority Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
Trunked Highway Frequency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Private Bank Scanning  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Programming Frequencies into Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Deleting a Stored Frequency  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
Duplicate Frequency Alert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Memory Lock  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Scanning Private Bank  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Hold/Resume  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Channel Lockout  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Restoring a Locked-out Channel in Hold Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Restoring All Locked-out Channels  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Priority Scan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Changing the Priority Channel  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
Service Scanning  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Band Search  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Setting a Search Band  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Search Hold Feature  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Data Skip  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Frequency Skip  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27
Storing Search Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
Delay  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28
iii 
						

							Trunk Tracking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Setting the Squelch  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Programming Trunking Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
STEP 1: Selecting Trunking System Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
STEP 2: Programming Trunking Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Programming Talk Group ID/Scan Lists  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Scan Lists  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
Receiving Trunked Systems  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
ID Scan Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33
ID Scan Hold Feature  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
ID Search Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
ID Monitor Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
ID Search Hold and Direct Entry ID in Hold Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Programming Scan Lists During Search  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Deleting a Stored ID  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
ID Lockout  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Review ID Lockout  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Restoring Locked-out IDs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Setting the Delay Mode for Trunking Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Trunking Frequency Confirmation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Setting Priority in Trunking Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Moving between Scan List Memories  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37
Multi-Track  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
EDACS
®Reception  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
EDACS®Tracking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Programming EDACS System Frequencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
An EDACS
®Trunked system  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Special EDACS®Features  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
EDACS ID Range Search  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
EDACS SCAT  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
LTR
®Reception  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
LTR®Tracking  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
Motorola Reception  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Motorola Tracking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
Fleet Map Programming  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Selecting Preset Fleet Map  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Programming a User Fleet Map  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
Programming a Hybrid System  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Setting the Base, Spacing Frequencies and Offset Channel for Motorola VHF/UHF 
Trunked Systems  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Toggling the Status Bit  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Control Channel Only Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
Disconnect Tone Detect Option (End Code)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Remote Interface  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
PC Control Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Clone Mode  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49
Care and Maintenance  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
Troubleshooting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Appendix  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
One Year Limited Warranty  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
iv 
						

							1
Introduction
The BCT8 is a state-of-the-art Trunk Tracking Scanner with BearTracker technology which
will alert you when the highway patrol is within approximately a 3 mile radius. It can store
250 frequencies such as police, fire/emergency, marine, railroad, air, amateur, and other
communications into 5 banks of 50 channels for a total of 250 channels.
Use your new scanner to monitor:
•Highway Patrol
•Local Police and Country Sheriffs
•Trunking for: 
Motorola 
Type I
Type II
Type II: (Hybrid)
EDACS 
Wide band
Scat
LTR 
•Business/Industrial Radio
•Utilities
•Marine Band
•Aircraft Band
•And much more...
The chart below identifies the scanner band numbers, the frequency range, the modulation
mode and the default step size settings.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13AM
FM
FM
FM
AM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
12.5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz     25.0000 - 27.9950
    28.0000 - 29.9950
    30.0000 - 49.9950
    50.0000 - 54.0000
  108.0000 - 136.9875
  137.0000 - 143.9950
  144.0000 - 147.9950
  148.0000 - 174.0000
  400.0000 - 419.9875
  420.0000 - 449.9875
  450.0000 - 469.9875
  470.0000 - 512.0000
  806.0000 - 823.9875
  849.0125 - 868.9875
  894.0125 - 956.0000Citizens Band
10 Meter Amateur Band
VHF Low Band
6 Meter Amateur Band
AM Aircraft
Military Land Mobile
2 Meter Amateur Band
VHF High Band
Federal Govt. Land Mobile
70 cm Amateur Band
UHF Standard Band
UHF “T” Band
Public Service Band
Band
No.Range
(MHz)Mode StepTransmission 
						

							Front and Rear Views
1. Squelch Control / Flash Brightness
Selector (
SQL, FLASH)
2. Alerting Light (
ALERT)
3. Volume Control / Alert Tone Selector
(
VOL)
4. Mute Key (
MUTE)
5. Display
6. Lockout Key (
L/O)
7. Delay Key (
DELAY)
8. Service Key (
SVC)
9. Private Scanning Key (
PVT)
2
STATE HWYPVTSVCSRCHTRUNK
11-50
4151-200 DELAY
L/O
DATA
PRI SQL
BCT8VOLpush
ALERTpush
FLASH
MUTE
ALERT
7
.RMT
251-100
5201-250
8
0
3101-150
6
9
EM-LOCKHOLD/RESUME
12
13 42
3
1
567891011
19201817161415
21. Antenna Connector (ANT.)
22. External Speaker Jack (
EXT. SP.)
23. DC Power Jack (DC 12V)
24. Remote Control Terminal (
REMOTE)
ANT.EXT.
SP.DC  12V REMOTE
21222324
10. Highway Scanning / State Key (HWY,
STATE)
11. Numeric Keypad
12. Up Key (
)
13. Down Key (
)
14. Data Key (
DATA)
15. Priority Key (
PRI)
16. Search Key (
SRCH)
17. Trunk Key (
TRUNK)
18. Decimal/Remote Key ( , 
RMT)
19. Enter / Memory Lock Key (
E, M-LOCK)
20. Hold/Resume Key  (
HOLD/RESUME)
. 
						

							Icon Display
Uniden®
, BearTracker®
and Bearcat®
are registered trademarks of Uniden America
Corporation.
TrunkTracker is a proprietary trademark of Uniden America Corporation.
3
1
10111213141516171819
23456789
20 282122212324252627
1. Trunk Tracking mode (TRUNK)
2. Motorola trunking channel (
M)
3. EDACS trunking channel (
E)
4. LTR trunking channel (
L)
5. Scan list (
LIST)
6. Scan bank (
BANK)
7. Bank’s number and ID’s list number
(
12345)
8. Remote control mode (
RMT)
9. Memory locked (
M-LOCK)
10. Highway Patrol scan mode (
HWY)
11. Private bank scan mode (
PVT)
12. Police scan mode (
POL)
13. Weather scan mode (
WX)
14. Fire and Emergency scan mode
(
FIRE/EMS)
15. News scan mode (NEWS)
16. Citizen Band scan mode (
CB)
17. Aircraft band scan mode (
AIR)
18. Railroad scan mode (
RR)
19. Marine scan mode (
MRN)
20. Scan hold and Search hold mode
(
HOLD)
21. Search direction (
, )
22. Band and ID search mode (
SRCH)
23. Priority function option (
PRI)
24. Lockout channel and talk group (
L/O)
25. Delay option (
DLY)
26. DATA Skip option ( )
27. While Alert Light is off ( )
28. Priority channel and talk group (
P) 
						

							4
Terminology
What are Highway Patrol Alerts?
Most highway patrol vehicles on the road today are equipped with a secondary radio system
known as a “mobile extender” or “vehicular repeater.” Whenever the dispatcher transmits to
any vehicle in the district, “mobile extender” in every car within the district is activated.
Using a constant PRIORITY check of specific frequencies in each state, the BCT8
recognizes and alerts you to transmissions from “mobile extender” radios as well as from
car-to-car, aircraft-to-car and other special-purpose frequencies. You receive an audible
(beep tone) and visual (flashing Alert light) alert whenever you are within an approximate
three-mile radius of Highway Patrol/ State Police units using a mobile extender unit.
What is Scanning?
Unlike standard AM or FM radio stations, most two-way communications do not transmit
continuously. The BCT8 scans the Frequencies you have programmed into the Scanner’s
channels until it finds an active frequency.
Scanning stops on an active frequency and remains on that channel as long as the
transmission continues. When the transmission ends, the scanning cycle resumes until
another transmission is received.
What is Searching?
The BCT8 can search each of its 13 bands to find active frequencies. This is different from
scanning because you are searching for frequencies that have not been programmed into
your Scanner’s channels. The scanner automatically chooses between two speeds while
searching. During search mode the scanner will search 100 frequencies per second for band
with 12.5 kHz steps and during Turbo SEARCH mode the scanner can achieve up to 300
frequencies per second for bands with 5 kHz steps.
What is Trunk Tracking?
Conventional scanning is a simple concept. You enter a radio frequency in your scanner’s
memory which is used by someone you want to monitor. For example, the police in your
area may broadcast 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.
As the demand for public communications has increased, many public radio users dont
have enough frequencies to meet their needs, and this has created a serious problem.
Trunking radio systems have been implemented to solve this problem. 
						

							5
In a trunked radio system the frequencies are shared among the police and fire departments
and a computer systematically assigns available frequencies when they are needed for
communications.
Sharing of the available public service frequencies, or trunking, allows cities, counties, or
other agencies to accommodate hundreds of users with relatively few frequencies. Following
a conversation on a trunked system using a scanner is difficult, if not impossible. Because
when theres a short break during the conversation youre monitoring, it’s possible that the
talkgroup will be assigned to a completely different frequency in the trunked system. This
type of scanning is difficult and frustrating.
TrunkTracker Technologychanges this! Not only does your new BCT8 scan channels like
a conventional scanner, it actually follows the users of a trunked radio system. Once you
know a talkgroups ID, you won’t miss any of the action.
If youre a new scanner enthusiast, you may want to read the first part of this manual and
use your scanner in conventional mode before you begin trunk tracking. Understanding
scanning fundamentals and its terminology will make trunk tracking much easier. 
						

							6
Feature Highlights
•Pre-programmed frequencies specific to each state (except Hawaii).
•Pre-programmed Trunked and conventional Highway Patrol frequencies
•Highway Patrol Priority Alert 
-Receive audible and visual alert when within three miles of many Highway Patrol/State
units
•Pre-programmed frequencies for the following categories: 
-Local Police and County Sheriffs 
-Fire and Emergency Medical Service 
-News Media 
-Weather (continuous NOAA weather and Canadian Coast Guard broadcasts)
-CB Radio
-Aircraft
-Railroads
-Marine Band
-Department of Transportation
•
Trunk Tracking– Follow VHF High Band UHF 800MHz trunked public safety and public
service systems just as if conventional two-way communications were used. 
•
Multi-Track– Track more than one trunking system at a time. Scan conventional and
trunked systems at the same time. 
•
250 Channels– Program one frequency into each channel. You must have at least one
channel programmed to use the Scan mode.
•
13 Bands– Includes 13 bands, with aircraft and 800 MHz.
•
5 Banks– 5 banks with 50 channels each are useful for storing similar frequencies to
maintain faster scanning cycles or for storing all the frequencies of a trunked system.
•
25 MHz-956 MHz– Indicates the range of frequencies that can be searched within the
bands of your scanner.
Note: The frequency coverage is not continuous and excludes the cellelar telephone
Band.
•
5 Priority Channels– You can assign one priority channel in each bank. Assigning a
priority channel allows you to track activity on your most important channel(s) while
monitoring other channels for transmissions. You can also assign trunking priority
talkgroups.
•
Data Skip– Allows your scanner to skip unwanted data transmissions and reduces
birdies.
•
Direct Channel Access– Go directly to any channel without entering programming mode.
•
Turbo Search– Increases the search speed to 300 steps per second. This applies only to
transmission bands with 5 kHz steps.
•
PC Programmable– Allows you to easily program all frequencies and Trunking Talk
Groups into your BCT8 through Uniden BCT8 Scanning software running on your PC.
– For more information on BCT8 SS Programming software visit our website at
scanner.uniden.com.