Uniden Bct 8 Radio Scanner Owners Manual

							17
Highway Patrol Scan Hold 
1. When scanning stops on a desired frequency, press
HOLD/RESUMEto hold on that frequency as long as you
like. When in the HOLD mode, press the 
or key to step
up or down the frequency. To step up or down rapidly, press
and hold the 
or key.
If you change into a frequency which is a control channel, the
scanner may display the Active ID (When TRUNK mode is
active).
2. To resume scanning, press 
HOLD/RESUME. 
Note: Highway Warning Alert does not work while in the HOLD
mode.
Highway Warning Alert
The scanner alerts you when Highway Patrol/State Police units using mobile extenders are
within an approximate three mile radius.
1. The ALERT Light flashes and the Alert Tone beeps twice
when a signal is received. 
2. The ALERT Light glows steadily for approximately three
minutes. Then, if no other mobile extender transmissions are
received, the light goes out.
3. If more transmissions are received before three minutes have 
passed, the ALERT Light flashes and the Alert Tone beeps once.
Alert Tone Volume
Push VOLto select Loud, Medium, or Soft.
The Alert Tone beeps and the ALERT Light flashes to your
choice.
Muting the Alert Tone
Temporary Mute  
Press MUTEduring the Highway Warning Alert. The Alert Tone
stops and the MUTE LED flashes until the alarm cycle (three
minutes) is finished.
Continuous Mute
Press and hold MUTEfor two seconds to turn Continuous Mute on whenever you wish. You
hear two beeps and the MUTE LED lights continuously. No Alert Tones will beep.
Canceling Mute
To cancel Mute,
SQL
VOLpush
ALERT FLASH
MUTE ALERT
Alert
Light
Flashes
VOLpush
ALERT MUTE ALERT
Push In
SQL
VOLpush
ALERT FLASH
MUTE ALERT
MUTE LED
Flashes 
						

							•Press MUTEto cancel One Moment Mute.
•Press and hold 
MUTEfor two seconds to cancel Continuous Mute. You hear two beeps
and the MUTE LED goes out.
•Change states. The MUTE LED goes out after scanning starts.
•Turn the scanner off and on.
Note: If MUTEis pressed for less than 2 seconds during the Continuous Mute mode,
nothing will be changed.
Alert Light Adjustment
The ALERT Light has three settings: Bright, Dim, and Off.
Push 
FLASHto select Bright, Dim or Off. The ALERT Light
flashes and the Alert Tone beeps. 
If you select Off, “” on the display reminds you the ALERT
Light is off.
WARNING: You can turn off the ALERT Light and completely
mute the Alert Tone at the same time. 
This deactivates the Highway Warning Alert.
Skip Frequencies
To skip a frequency, press L/O.
You can program up to 50 skip frequencies for priority channels. And also you can program
up to 100 skip frequencies for other frequencies (See page 27). If you skip a
preprogrammed frequency in one state and that frequency is programmed into another state,
the frequency is skipped of both states. If you change the state code, skipped frequencies
are cancelled as soon as scanning starts.
Priority Channels
Each state preprogrammed in the scannercontains a number of Priority channels. The
scannerautomatically checks a state’s Priority channels every two seconds for activity. If
there is activity on one of the Priority channels, the ALERT Light will flash and the alarm
tone will beep (see “Highway Warning Alert,” page 17).
18
SQLpush
FLASH
MUTE ALERT
Push In 
						

							19
You will experience a slight in the conversations you hear as the scannerchecks the
Priority channels. You can cancel the priority check and the interruptions in the
conversations by pressing 
HOLD/RESUMEto hold on the frequency.
Note: The Highway Warning Alert is inoperative while the scanner is on Hold.
Remember to press 
HOLD/RESUMEto return to normal priority-scan operation.
Priority channel cannot be changed, but you can lock-out priority channels using 
L/O.
Priority channels have been pre-determined by the manufacturer as those Highway Patrol
frequencies most commonly used for mobile extenders and for car-to-car and aircraft-to-car
operations. Mobile extenders re-transmit every radio broadcast received on the patrol car
radio to the officer’s walkie-talkie at low-power. Every time any officer or dispatcher talks
(transmits), the signal is broadcast like a beacon at low-power whether or not the officer is
out of the car.
You can select Priority Scanning mode by pressing 
PRI.
•Normal Priority Scan mode.  
The scanner checks the Priority frequency every two seconds. “
PRI” will be displayed.
•Priority only mode.
To only monitor the priority frequencies, press and hold 
PRIto select Priority Only. This
mode is especially recommended for the following states:
(Arizona) (Michigan)
(Delaware) (Oklahoma)
(Florida) (Wisconsin)
“
PRI” flashes when you select Priority Only Mode.
•Priority off mode
The scanner does not check the Priority frequency. “
PRI” will not displayed. 
						

							Trunked Highway Frequency 
Trunked Highway frequencies are pre-programmed for each
state. When the scanner finds the control channel data, the
scanner begins to find any active IDs. If the scanner finds any ID,
the active ID appears on the display and you will hear it. 
If you press the 
key while monitoring an ID, the scanner will check to see if any other IDs
are active. If none are active, scanning resumes.
When the scanner finds a control channel, it will stay on that control channel until reception
of the control channel is lost. To force the scanner off of the trucking control channel, press
DATA. 
If you press the 
key while a talk group ID is active, the
frequency on which talk group is transmitting flashes on the
display.
Or press and hold the 
key for two seconds, and the ID and the frequency alternately
appears on the display. To return to the normal display, press the 
key again.
Like conventional scanning, you can lockout reception of unwanted traffic.
You can lockout up to 30 IDs. Press 
L/Oon the ID you want to lockout.
If you lockout 31st ID, the 1st ID already locked out is restored. 
If you want to restore all the locked out IDs, pres and hold 
L/Ofor two seconds.
Or, when the state code is changed, all lockout IDs are restored as soon as scanning starts. 
If you find an interesting ID you want to continue listening to,
press 
HOLD/RESUME. 
Press 
HOLD/RESUMEto resume scanning.
You can set the scanner to hold on an ID for two seconds to wait for a replay before
scanning resumes. While trunking, press 
DELAY. “DLY” appears on the display. 
20 
						

							21
Private Bank Scanning
Programming Frequencies into Channels
Before the scanner begins Private Bank scanning, you must program a frequency into at
least one channel. Program frequencies you purchased from your dealer, from various free
and FCC-based sources on the internet, or from the Frequency guide included in BCT8
package. You will need to program each frequency into the
scanner’s channels in order to hear these frequencies.
1.  While Private Bank scanning is activated, press
HOLD/RESUMEand enter the channel number where you
want to store a frequency by using the keypad, then press
HOLD/RESUME. 
Change the channel by using the or key. 
2.  Enter the frequency you want to store by using the keypad
and (decimal key).
3. Press 
Eto store the frequency into the channel.
4.  If you want to program another frequencies into the channel,
select another channel by using the 
or key.
Note:•To clear a mistake while entering the frequency, press  (decimal key)
repeatedly until the display is cleared.
•If you enter a invalid frequency, an error tone will sound and  appears on the 
display. To clear the Error message immediately, press  (decimal key).
•Even if you dont enter full numbers as a frequency number, the scanner will auto-
matically select the nearest valid frequency.
Deleting a Stored Frequency
To delete a stored frequency:
a. Select a channel.
b. Press 
0.
c. Then press 
E.
Note: Channels with no frequencies are automatically locked out.
.
.
. 
						

							22
Duplicate Frequency Alert
If you enter a frequency which has been stored in another channel, you will hear an error
tone and the other channel displays.
Press  (decimal key) to clear and start again.
––– OR –––
Press 
Eagain to store the frequency in both channels.
Note: The smallest channel appears on the display when you store same frequency in two
or more channels.
Memory Lock
To avoid the accidental programming frequencies and talk group IDs, you can lock the
memory with Memory Lock.
Press and hold 
M-LOCKfor 2 seconds to activate this feature ,and “M-LOCK” appears on
the display. If you press 
Eto program memory, you will hear two beeps. To deactivate
Memory Lock, press and hold 
M-LOCKfor 2 seconds again.
Scanning Private Bank 
1. After programming frequencies, simply press HOLD/RESUME
to begin scanning. Or pressing PVTrepeatedly until “PVT”
appears on the display, you can start Private Bank Scanning.
The scanner scans only upward all the channels.
2. The bank indicators selected for scanning appear on the display, and the bank being
currently monitored flashes. You can deselect banks from active scanning by entering
their numbers on your keypad. The indicator for each deselected bank disappears, and
the bank’s channels are not scanned.
Note: One bank must always be active. You cannot deactivate all five banks at the same
time. If you try to deselect all the banks, the first bank is automatically selected.
To restore a bank to active scanning, enter the bank’s number on your keypad.
The bank’s indicator will display again.
3. During normal scanning the scanner skips unprogrammed or
locked out channels.
4. When a transmission is received, the scanner stops on that
channel. When the transmission ends, scanning resumes
automatically.
Note: You can set the scanner to hold for two seconds on the
frequency for a response. For more information on Delay
feature, please see page 28.
.
13452BANK
Frequency not entered
 or Locked Out (L/O)
SCAN 
						

							23
Hold/Resume
If you want to stop on a channel during scanning, press
HOLD/RESUME.
If you want to resume scanning, press 
HOLD/RESUME.
Direct channel access:
There are several ways to access a specific channel quickly.
1. Press 
HOLD/RESUME.
2. Using the keypad, enter the channel number.
3. Press 
HOLD/RESUMEagain.
Note: You can also use the PVT, or key instead of
pressing 
HOLD/RESUME.
Channel Lockout
You can lockout any channel so it is not checked during normal scanning. You can also
restore the channel to scanning when you wish.
Lockout in Hold Mode
1. Press HOLD/RESUMEand enter the channel number by using the keypad, then press
HOLD/RESUME.
––– OR –––
1. Press 
HOLD/RESUMEand enter the channel by using the 
or key.
2. Press 
L/Oto lockout the channel.
“
L/O” appears on the display.
Lockout in Scanning Mode
If the scanner keeps stopping on a particular channel due to noise or frequent transmissions,
you may want to keep that channel from scanning.
1. Wait until the scanner stops on the channel.
2. Then press 
L/O.
3. The scanner immediately resumes scanning because the locked out channel is no longer
in the scanning sequence.
Lockout TipsWrite down your locked-out channels and put in a convenient place in
case you need to restore them.
Restoring a Locked-out Channel in Hold Mode
1. Press HOLD/RESUMEand select the channel number you want to restore by using the
keypad, the 
or key, then press HOLD/RESUME.
2. Press 
L/Oto unlock the channel. The “L/O” disappears. 
						

							Restoring All Locked-out Channels
You can restore all locked-out channels in a bank only when a bank is selected for scan. If
you have deselected a bank and you want to restore all of its locked-out channels using the
steps below, you must press 
PVTuntil “PVT” appears and then enter the number of the
bank on your keypad.
1. Press 
HOLD/RESUME.
Note: You must be in Hold mode before restoring all locked-out channels.
2. Press and hold 
L/Ofor about 2 seconds. You will hear two beeps when all the channels
have been restored.
Priority Scan
When Priority Scan is turned ON, your scanner checks the priority channel in the banks you
selected every two seconds for activity. If a signal is present on the priority channel, your
scanner monitors the channel until the transmission ends, then resumes normal scanning.
You can designate one channel in each bank as a Priority Channel. By default, the first
channel in each bank is the Priority Channel, but you can change this.
To activate Priority Scan (in either the Hold or Scan mode):
1. Press 
PRI. “PRI” appears.
Note: If you have locked out the priority channel, error message
appears when you select Priority mode.
2. Press 
PRIagain to deactivate Priority Scan. “PRI” disappears.
Changing the Priority Channel
You cannot eliminate the Priority Channel, but you can change it to any one of the 50
available channels in each bank.
1. Press 
HOLD/RESUME.
2. Select a new Priority Channel:
a. Enter the channel number using the keypad.
b. Then press 
HOLD/RESUME.
3. Press and hold 
PRIfor 2 seconds to designate this channel
as your new Priority Channel.
When you hear two beeps, the Priority Channel has been
changed. “
P” appears on the display.
Note: Priority in Trunking mode works just the same, except you set them for talkgroup IDs
instead of setting priorities for channels. The scanner only checks priority talkgroups
between transmission.
24 
						

							25
Service Scanning
The service scan feature allows you to rotate through the following nine service banks.
➀Local Police and County Sheriffs *1
➁Fire and Emergency Medical Service
➂News Media
➃Weather (NOAA, weather and Canadian Coast Guard broadcasts)
➄CB Band
➅Aircraft *2
➆Railroads
➇Marine Band
➈Department of Transportation *1
*1) Frequencies are pre-programmed on every U.S. state.
*2) Except Aeronautic Radio Navigation (108-117.9875 MHz)
1. Press 
SVCto select a Service. 
The current service bank icon appears on the display.
2. Continue pressing 
SVCuntil your desired Service is
displayed.
3. After a three second delay scanning begins.  If you want to
start scanning immediately, press 
HOLD/RESUME.
Notes:•Press HOLD/RESUMEat any time to hold the frequency. Press the or key to
move up or down the frequency. If you find the frequency you want to store, while
in Hold mode you can store the frequency (see page 21).
•If you want to remain on a frequency until a responding transmission is received,
press 
DELAYto activate the delay feature (See page 28).
•To skip a frequency, press 
L/O. You can program up to 100 skip frequencies for
Local Police, County Sheriffs and Department of transportation. And you can
program up to 50 skip frequencies for other services (See page 27).
•If you select POLICE or DOT, press 
STATEto select the desired state. 
						

							26
Band Search
Setting a Search Band
The BCT8 can search up to 13 separate frequency ranges to help you discover new stations
in your area.
To set a Search Bands, enter into the Band Search mode.
1. Press 
SRCH. The upper and lower limits of the Bands
currently selected are on the display. 
2. Use the 
or key to select the band you want to search.
Wait for about two seconds and the scanner will begin
searching that band. Or press 
HOLD/RESUMEto begin
immediately. 
Notes:•You must set the Search Bands prior to any searching.
•The scanner automatically increases its search speed up to 300 steps per second
for bands having 5 kHz steps. (Turbo Search)
•While searching, you can change the search direction by using the 
or key.
Make sure which of icon, “
SRCH” or “SRCH” appears on the display.
Band
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13Mode
AM
FM
FM
FM
AM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FM
FMStep
5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
12.5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHz
12.5kHzDisplay
25-28
28-30
30-50
50-54
108-137
137-144
144-148
148-174
400-420
420-450
450-470
470-512
806-956 Frequncy Range (MHz)
    25.0000 - 27.9950
    28.0000 - 29.7000
    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 - 956.0000