Monthly Archives: February 2016

Favorite Scanners: BC125AT

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Another entry on our favorite scanners, past and present!

Today we look at the BC125AT
The BC125AT is the premier analog conventional scanner in Uniden’s line. While it does not work on digital or trunking systems it is a fantastic scanner for analog and conventional systems. It is a favorite for planewatchers and railfans due to it’s small size and large display. It comes with the rubber-duck style antenna and beltclip. It improves on the less expensive BC75XLT in that it supports alpha-tags and PL/DCS.

I spend a lot of time trackside or at airports and the BC125AT is almost always with me. I clip it to my camera strap and it works great. The small size really helps!

This also works in the old-fashioned “Banks & Channels” programming mode. It has 10 banks of 50 channels each totaling up to 500 available channels. If the newer modes of scanner programming confuses you then this might appeal to you.

I use Banks 1 and 2 for rail channels, I put them in AAR Channel positions,  for example AAR Channel 79 is in channel 79 on the scanner. I have a bank each for a few of the local airports and a couple for some local operations. I leave the last bank open to enter in anything I might want to listen to on a trip or event.

The BC125AT uses regular or rechargeable AA batteries and can charge with the USB cable. Free programming software is available from Uniden or you can use the awesome ARC125 software from Butel for an even better experience.

 

Favorite Scanners: The BC760XLT

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One of our favorite scanners of the past is the Bearcat 760XLT and its siblings. This was a desktop-mobile scanner family introduced in the late 1990’s. Built in a fairly small package, it fit almost anywhere.

This was one of a series of scanners in the same style case sold under the Bearcat, Regency and Cobra nameplates. Other models, like the BC950XLT, BC580XLT, BC590XLT and others shared the same case style. The 950 and 760 versions handle 800 MHz, the others do not. They were all analog-only and did not have trunktacking capabilities.

There were two optional boards for these radios. One was an internal pre-amp that could amplify the signal strength. While this was not available on the 760 and 950 versions (an 800 MHz. converter was installed in the same slot on these) an external preamp was available for these.

The most interesting thing with these scanners however was the introduction of a PL board. This was the first scanner to have the PL function, a revolutionary thing back in 1998! A pair of switches on the bottom of the radio under the bail controlled these options.

These scanners came in 2 generations. The first had an older style Motorola antenna jack and the newer ones changed to a BNC. The newer versions also allowed one to use the PL on some channels and not others while on the older ones the PL board was either on or off for the whole radio.

These radios were quite sensitive and were well known as great “Skip” receivers on low-band. They were also quite popular as the core of specialty devices like wireless mic receivers in mobile video systems, the radio portion of fire station alerting receivers and other uses due to the low cost, high sensitivity and a design that made it easy to adapt for these uses.

They were replaced by the famous BC780XLT but there are still many of these around.

 

 

When bad things happen to good scanners: SD Card Corruption

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All of the various “Zip Code” type scanners such as the Uniden HomePatrol, BCD436HP or BCD536HP, Whistler WS 1080/1088/1095/1098 or the GRE and RadioShack versions use a Micro-SD Card to store the database and recordings. This SD Card is much like a disk drive without moving parts, it can be written to and read by a computer or a device; in this case your scanner.

Occasionally these cards can get corrupted which causes them to stop functioning. The scanner will display an error message and will not operate until you repair or replace the SD Card. Thankfully this is not usually a serious issue and rarely results in anything other than some annoyance. The worst that can happen is that you lose your Favorites Lists and any recordings you may have on the card.

First let’s talk about WHY this happens. Most of the time it is due to the power being removed from the radio abruptly. These scanners are basically small computers and, like all computers, they need to be shut down properly. By doing so the radio has a chance to finish writing information to the SD Card. If the power is removed before this is done then an incomplete or corrupted file may be left. When you turn on the radio the next time it doesn’t know what to do with the file and displays the error message. While this does not occur every time the radio is improperly shut down, it only has to happen once to ruin your day.

Now there is always the possibility that the card or even the radio itself is defective but that is very rare.

What can you do to prevent this from happening to you? The best thing you can do is to make sure you turn the radio off before removing power to it. If you have it mounted in a vehicle be sure to turn off the radio by use if the volume/power knob before starting the car or turning off the ignition. If the radio loses power while still turned on then the card can get corrupted. Same goes for portable radios. do not pull the batteries unless the radio is turned off.

OK, my card got corrupted, is my scanner dead? Usually no. These cards can usually be reformatted and the database rebuilt. Even if the card is shot it can be replaced and the new card set up for your radio. You can get replacement (or spare) Micro SD Cards almost anywhere.

What can you do if this occurs to you? First make sure the card is really corrupt, some times they are just loose. Remove the card and reseat it, making sure that it clicks into place. When you turn on the radio, if it works then you are back in business. If you still get the error then you will likely have to reformat the card.

Of course the easiest way to get past this is to let us fix it for you! Just download, print and fill out the form at https://www.scannermaster.com/v/vspfiles/files/pdf/homepatrol-servies-order-form.pdf. Send it to us with the radio and we will do the rest!

To reformat the card it is best to use an application specifically for this. You can use a free program available from https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter_4/. Download the one for your version of Windows and install it. You can use an SD Card reader if you want or leave the card in the radio and connected to the computer in Mass Storage Mode. If you reformat it using Windows directly it may not be done in the proper format. Sorry Mac guys; you need Windows for this!

Once reformatted you need to reinstall the database. On Uniden scanners this is done as follows:

1: In Sentinel under the Home Patrol menu select Clear User Data, click on the Display All Drives box.

2: Be sure to select the correct drive letter then click OK. (You do not want to erase your C Drive!)

3: Run Sentinel on the computer and select the Update Master HPDB option in the Update Menu.

4: In Sentinel under the HomePatrol menu select Write to HomePatrol .You may need to select that drive again, but it will not show the serial number of the radio this time.

5: Eject the card and put it back into your scanner (if not already there). When you turn on the scanner you should be all set. You many need to reset your location, Service Types etc.

Of course this requires that you have Sentinel running in a Windows computer. If you don’t have Sentinel installed (it comes on the SD Card…) you can download it from Uniden’s website.

Whistler, GRE and RS scanners use slightly different procedures, check the manual for your radio for these.

 

Basic or Pro, Download or CD? Which is the best ARC software for your scanner?

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ScannerMaster is proud to sell ARC software products for scanners from Butel. ARC stands for “Advanced Radio Control” and there are ARC packages for most current and many older scanners. These applications share a common “Look and feel” so that if you learn your way around one you will know how to work the others. These are the easiest to use programming software for scanners and ScannerMaster is the main US distributer.

When you chose your software make sure to pick the right product! ARC Products work on specific radios. The radios the software will work on are listed in the descriptions, if you are not sure call us and one of our experts will help you make sure you have the right product. Some packages work on many different radios and others work only on one.

When you look at the ARC packages on our website you will usually see 4 choices. Two of them are named “Basic” and “Pro” and there are usually CD and Download versions each.

ARC “Basic” software allows the user to read and write to the radio, import files from RadioReference and other sources and perform all programming actions.

ARC “Pro” versions add in the ability to control the radio within the software (if your radio supports this) as well as record audio from the radio to your computer. Some radios also support a Bandscope feature.

The “CD” version comes delivered on a CD with the product key on a label inside the CD cover.

The “Download” version comes to you as a link emailed to you so you can download the software on the Internet, the product key is emailed to you. This saves you the shipping cost and if you lose your product key we can resend it to you.

Even if you buy the CD version you can download the updated version of the same software as needed, such as if you get a new computer or an update has been made. Your product keys will still work.

A couple things to remember: 

If you buy the CD Version make sure you save the product keys! We do not have copies of these numbers, if you lose the CD Case and didn’t copy the number someplace we have no way of replacing it. We can resend Download version product keys but only to those customers that bought the Download version.

Most ARC products will automatically print a confirmation sheet when you successfully register the software with the Product Keys. Save this someplace safe, it has your Product Keys on it and can be used to reinstall the software on a replacement computer.

As always ScannerMaster experts are here to help with your questions!

Hometown Programming, What it is and how it works

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One of the services we have here at ScannerMaster is called Hometown Programming. You can send your scanner to us and we will program it for you. It is pretty much as simple as that! These services allow your radio to be ready to go as soon as you receive it.

There are actually 2 different programming services here, the right one for you depends on the radio you have or are going to buy. “Hometown Programming” refers to programming traditional scanners as opposed to “Zip Code” location based scanners. “Optimizing” refers to the updates and programming done on the various Location Based scanners, such as the HomePatrol, BCD436/536HP models and the newer Whistler WS1080/1088/1095 and 1098 scanners.

For Hometown Programming we will program in the county of your choice, including the local police, fire & EMS channels as well as the local State Police or Highway Patrol channels. One can add additional counties if they choose for an additional fee.

When we Optimize a location based scanner we will update the database on the memory card, make sure the radio firmware is current and create a local Favorites List for your area. We will also set the location to your ZIP Code.

We also offer firmware updates and installation of features like the Extreme or ProVoice Updates on certain capable scanners.

If you buy the scanner from us we can do the programming before we ship the radio to you. While this might delay the receipt of your radio by a short time, it saves the shipping costs and lets you enjoy your scanner as soon as you receive it, knowing that it has the most up to date programming available.

If you already have the scanner you can send it to us and we will program it then return it to you. Please make sure to use the forms found at

https://www.scannermaster.com/Articles.asp?ID=365

to make sure we have all the information needed to make the radio right for you. All the information you (and us) need is on the form, including the address to send the radio. Return time varies depending on the volume of radios in process but radios are returned as soon as we are done programming them.

While we do not do repairs on scanners there are times when all it needs is to be reprogrammed. If you aren’t sure call us at 1-800-SCANNER and one of our reps will help you decide.

Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club Press Release

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Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club Press Release
Monday, February, 1, 2016
Joe Scheibinger / Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club

On Monday February 8th, Jonathan Higgins, Police Scanner Expert and Digital Media Communications Manager for Scanner Master, one of the world’s leading companies in the sales of police and aircraft scanners, will be speaking at the Fond du Lac Amateur Radio Club meeting located at the Moraine Park Technical College in room A-112 at 7:00 PM. The general public is invited and there is no cover charge.
Higgins_ScannerMaster2016Monday, February 8th, 2016 @ 7PM
Moraine Park Technical College
Room A-112
235 North National Avenue
Fond du Lac, WI 54935
Free and open to the general public

In the old days of police scanners, you purchased a “crystal”and placed it in your scanner to hear the local police. Then came programmable scanners where you just entered the frequency on a keypad. Today’s scanners are very different. You see practically every state, county and city police and fire agency in the country have their own unique radio system and/or radio frequency. Some cities and counties actually use encrypted radio systems that cannot be monitored at all, including Orlando for example. Other cities use complex radio systems that must be programmed in a very specific way for your scanner to work. Scanners are very complex. There’s a big learning curve to understand how to set-up and program a scanner for your specific area. Even the models that are pre-programmed require effort to select the channels you want to monitor and delete those not of interest.

Jonathan Higgins is familiar with radios police use in the State of Wisconsin and he will describe what you will need to enter the amazing world of scanning. The need for an advanced scanner varies widely. In some big cities such as Boston a basic scanner will work fine. But in Los Angeles as well as the backwoods of Michigan, Colorado and other states, you need a digital scanner.

You can listen to much more than police and fire on a scanner! You can monitor the local aircraft landing and taking off at your airport. You can hear the engineers on trains as they enter your city. Many people have listened to Russia’s Mir space station, the 3 person Soyuz spacecraft, and even direct transmissions from the space shuttle! Since the early 1960s weather satellites have featured APT – Automatic Picture Transmission, a simple way to receive weather satellite imagery directly from a satellite. There are a variety of commercial satellites which can be monitored on a handheld scanner, most notably the ORBCOMM store-and-forward data satellites. It’s even more of a thrill to listen to an astronaut in space talking to ham radio operators on the ground and absolutely amazing if you happen to be the one talking to the astronaut!

The presentation is open to the public with no cover charge. For more information, contact Joe Scheibinger at 920-237-1450.