Uniden Bc250d Widenband Scanner Owners Manual

							•ID Search mode/ID Search Hold mode
Menu Description and Numeric Keypad
Equivalents
Below are the Menu screens and a brief description or
purpose of the feature.
1:SERVICE  OPTION
Service Search menus are preprogrammed services
used around the U.S.
1:WEATHER
1:MONITOR
When you select this mode, the
preprogrammed NOAA weather channel
begins to activate.
2:ALERT
You can set NWR-SAME weather alert to
1:ONor 2:OFF. With ALERT ON you can
enter the mode to program your FIPS code.
2:PUBLIC  SAFETY
3:NEWS
4:TV  BROADCAST
5:HAM  RADIO
6:MARINE
7:RAILROAD
8:AIR
9:CB  RADIO
0:FRS
:RACING
:SPECIAL
:CHAIN SEARCH
17
1:SERVICE OPTION
2:SCAN OPTION
3:SYSTEM OPTIONMENU MODE
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							You can program up to 10 search ranges. The first
time you program a range you will need to do so
through the Menu. After the first time you can
program a range as you do on most any other
scanner, using the numeric keypad or VFOcontrol.
Use this Menu item to select the search range that
you want to program. You can program range 1
through 10, one at a time. For each of the ranges, 
the following options can be modified.
1:CHAIN  SEARCH
You must turn Chain Search feature ON, in
order to use the Chain Search feature.
2:SEARCH  RANGE
1:RANGE
Enter the upper and lower frequency
limits of the Search Range.
2:STEPS
You can assign a variety of step sizes
to the search range. 
Note: The default step is usually
acceptable and is listed on
page 1.
3:MODE
You can change the Auto receive
mode to AM, FM, WFM, NFM.
4:ALPHA  TAG
You can enter an Alpha Tag for any
or all of the search ranges.
5:TRUNK
During Chain Search mode, when the
scanner finds an active frequency.
The trunk tracking system will be
active. Four frequency plans apply to
the Control Channel Only feature (for
details see page 73).
3:DELAY
Set the delay for the search ranges to 1:ON
or 2:OFF. This applies to Search mode, and
Service Search mode (See 2:SCAN
OPTION/ 1:CONVENTIONAL/
2:DELAYfor details).
4:ATTENUATOR
Set attenuation for all search ranges. 
(See 2:SCAN
OPTION/1:CONVENTIONAL/
5:ATTENUATORfor details).
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							5:TONE  DATA
The default mode is 2:OFF. This means that
you will receive all transmissions on any
frequencies that are active within your search
range(s). By selecting CTCSS or DCS you
can set the radio to receive only a particular
subaudible tone to be received during your
search. You can also lockout a particular
CTCSS or DCS tone. You may wish to do this
if you want to search a range but not hear
transmissions on any frequency that has a
particular subaudible tone.
Note: Through the System Menu you can set
the radio to operate in Tone Search
mode during Search as well. In this
mode, the radio will automatically
determine the active subaudible tone
on any frequency received during the
search.
6:AUTO  STORE
You can automatically store active
frequencies found during a search into the
memory. You can select which bank you want
to program the found frequencies. The audio
will be muted during Auto Store.
2:SCAN  OPTION
1:CONVENTIONAL
Choose the channel number. The following options
are available for the selected channel only. 
Repeat using a different channel number, if
necessary.
1:FREQUENCY
Allows you to edit or enter a frequency in
each channel you select.
Also you can set an alphanumeric text tag for
each programmed frequency.
2:DELAY
The delay for all programmed channels is 
2 seconds. At the end of any transmission 
the scanner will remain on the frequency for 
2 seconds before resuming scanning. 
This will allow you to catch most replies. 
3:TONE  DATA
You can set a CTCSS (analog) or DCS
(digital) subaudible tone for a frequency. 
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							To do so you must have the SQ Mode in the
System Menu set to Tone SQ. You can also
program a subaudible tone easily by pressing
the Ekey in Scan Hold mode after
programming a frequency. This will bring up
the Tone Data menu without having to
navigate the Menu. By doing this you will
receive all transmissions on the frequency,
regardless of the subaudible tone, except the
one which you have locked. Any transmissions
with that tone will not be received.
4:BEEP  ALERT
You can set a Beep Alert on a per-channel
basis to alert you when specific frequencies
are active. For example, you may wish to be
alerted anytime a mutual aid fire frequency 
is active. With Beep Alert, you will hear three
beeps at the start of each transmission that
you have flagged as such. You will also
notice that as you scroll pass the flagged
channel(s), you will hear three beeps.
5:ATTENUATOR
The BC250D comes with an RF Attenuation
feature. If you are near an unusually strong
signal source, the signal may overload the
scanner. The scanner may stop repeatedly 
on that signal and miss other transmissions. 
The RF Attenuation feature works in all
modes and attenuates (reduces) the incoming
signal strength to prevent stronger signals
from overloading the scanner.
6:STEPS
Your BC250D is programmed with default
step sizes for each frequency range (see
page 1). Steps are important if you are
interested in using the VFOto tune off from a
frequency programmed into memory or if you
wish to program a frequency that the default
step size will not accept. For example, in VHF
High Band mode, the default step size
between 148 and 162 MHz is 5 KHz.
However, the FCC has recently instituted 7.5
KHz channel intervals. If you wish to enter
155.4075 into the scanner without changing
the default step, the scanner will change the
programmed frequency to 155.4100. Use the
Menu to change the default step size to 7.5
KHz and then you will be able to enter
155.4075.
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							7:MODE
Default Auto receive modes are also
programmed into memory. AM for aircraft and
CB bands, for example. All frequencies (other
than audio TV broadcast) above 400 MHz are
received in NFM mode which helps prevent
adjacent channel interference. You can
change the default settings on a per-channel
basis with this Menu item.
2:TRUNK
Choose the Trunk bank. The following options are
available for the selected trunk bank only. Repeat
using a different trunk bank, if necessary.
1:TRUNK  TYPE
You will need to assign the correct trunking
type for the bank you are about to program. 
If you want to listen to a Motorola Type I
system, you will need to use this Menu option
to assign the same. If you do not know the
type of trunking system you are about to
monitor, refer to the guide included with the
scanner or check out www.bearcat1.com.
Note: Some trunking systems require that you
know the channel order. In these cases
you will also need to start programming
the trunked system at the start of the
bank. The scanner defaults to the most
common type of trunking system,
Motorola Type II 800.
2:TRUNK  CHANNEL
1:FREQUENCY
To use Trunk Tracking, you need to
program a frequency for at least one
channel. Also you can enter an alpha
tag for each channel in this Menu.
2:STEPS
You can assign a variety of step sizes
to the channel.
3:TALK  GROUP
You can program IDs into the Scan List
memory either during Trunk Scan or Search
without going into the Menu. However, you
can also use the Menu to program IDs.
This is particularly helpful when you are not
near the trunked system you wish to later
monitor. You can set it up and have it ready
to go at some later time. After you have
selected the Scan List location (1-10), you
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							can then do the following:
1. Program ID number
2. Set an alpha tag
3. Assign a Beep Alert to the ID. Whenever
that ID is active, you will hear three beeps
at the start of the transmission.
4:DELAY
You can set a delay for a trunk system on a
bank by bank basis. The delay time is 2
seconds, and this setting can not be changed.
5:ID  LIST  TAG
Assign an alphanumeric tag to any or all of
the 10 Scan Lists for the system. During ID
Scan Mode, you will see the ID List Tag (on
the bottom text line) along with any alpha tag
you may have set for an ID. In Search mode,
you will see any Bank Tag you have set.
6:L/O  ID  REVIEW
Use this Menu item to review the IDs that you
have locked out during Search and Scan.
Rotate the VFOup or down to view the IDs
that have been locked out. To leave the
lockout IDs unchanged, press MENU/BACK
to back out of the Menu. To unlock an ID,
press the L/Okey. To unlock all the IDs that
have been locked out, press and hold the L/O
key for about 2 seconds.
7:  ACTIVITY  ID
When activity ID is set to ON, your scanner
receives any transmissions on the ID every
0.5 seconds while scanning.
8:I-CALL (MOTOROLA/EDACS)
Most communications within a trunked system
are group calls where one unit (such as a
dispatcher) communicates with all the units
within his/her group (all the patrol vehicles on
the east side of town, for example). The units
within this group comprise what is typically
known as a talkgroup. There are some
communications which are direct unit-to-unit
conversations where one individual converses
with another individual. The call is initiated by
a radio and is directed to another single radio.
Within the system, no one outside of these
two users hears the conversation.
Your BC250D defaults to I-CALL OFF mode.
You can hear these conversations by using
this Menu item to turn the I-CALL function to
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							ON. In Search mode, with I-CALL ON, you
will hear both talkgroup calls and I-CALLs.
You can also set I-CALLs to I-CALL ONLY
during which you will monitor only I-CALLs in
Search mode. You can also program I-CALL
IDs into Scan List memory.
OR
8:ID  SCAN  LIST (LTR)
When scanning an LTR system you can only
turn Scan Lists OFF and ON when an LTR
talk group that you have entered into memory
is active. To provide you with another method
to turn Scan Lists ON and OFF, you can use
this Menu item which only appears when you
have selected LTR in trunk type.
9:EMERGENCY  ALT (EDACS)
In EDACS trunked systems, you can set an
alert for an EDACS transmission received.
Set Emergency Alert to ON, EMERGENCY
flashes on the display and you will hear beep
alerts when you receive an EDACS
emergency transmission.
9:STATUS  BIT (MOTOROLA)
On Type 2 trunking systems there is a
method by which specialized types of
communications utilize unique talkgroup
numbers. An emergency call will occur on 
a unique talkgroup from its primary
assignment, for example. Because the 
BC250D defaults to Status-Bit ON mode, you
never need to worry about missing these
transmissions. If youve programmed
talkgroup 33264 into Scan List memory, for
example, and there is an emergency call
within the group, you will hear it on 33264.
0:EDACS  ID  FORM (EDACS)
You can change to display the talkgroups in
decimal mode, but this mode does not
provide you with the flexibility that you get
with AFS. The BC250D defaults to show the
talkgroup number in AFS mode (Agency-
Fleet-Subfleet). For details on AFS see pages
65~67.
OR
0:END  CODE (MOTOROLA)
When this function is disabled, the radio looks
for squelch before returning to the control
channel instead of waiting for the disconnect
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							tone. Only in rare instances will you need to
adjust the default settings. The condition to
return to control channels depends on
whether a signal is present or not.
:CNTRL  CH  ONLY 
(TYPE 1/TYPE 2 800, 900)
With this mode you will be able to track
Motorola Type I and II 800 and 900 MHz
trunked systems by simply entering the
control channel which manages the trunked
system. You will not have to program the
voice channels. There are 4 channel plans
which you can select from.
3:SYSTEM  OPTION
1:DIMMER
Allows you to change the brightness of the display.
Also you can change the lighting length of time.
2:SCREEN  MASK
Screen Mask allows you to limit what appears on the
display to the alpha tags that you have set for a
channel along with a few function icons. Screen Mask
removes the frequency, receiving mode tone data
and signal strength bars. This mode is particularly
useful in public safety vehicles where information
overload is already a problem. Screen Mask does
not work in Search mode.
3:KEY  BEEP
Use this function to turn 2:OFFthe keypad
acknowledgement beep. The default setting is 1:ON.
4:ENTER  LOCK
Use Enter Lock to prevent accidental re-programming
of channels, tone (CTCSS/DCS) and talkgroups
entered into memory. The default setting is 2:OFF.
5:PC  CONTROL
Use this function to set the transfer speed (baud rate)
at which your personal computer (PC) communicates
with the scanner when downloading information into
your scanner using the Uniden’s E-Scanner software.
See page 80 for details.
6:CLONE
You can clone all the programming, including
frequencies, talkgroups and alpha tags as well as
bank settings and other parameters from one
BC250D to a BC785D or another BC250D.
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							25
7:DATA  SKIP
A scanner will normally stop on any transmission it
receives. This means the BC250D will occasionally
stop on data signals and unmodulated transmissions.
You can automatically skip many of these types of
transmissions with data skip turned ON.
8:SQ  MODE
The SQ Mode allows you to set at your option,
whether the scanner will stop on all active
transmissions on a particular frequency or it will only
respond to transmissions with a pre-set subaudible
tone. This applies to both Conventional Search and
Scan modes. The options are as follows:
1. CSQ - The default setting is CSQ (carrier
squelch). In this mode the scanner will stop on
any transmission on a programmed frequency
(Squelch mode does not apply to trunking).
2. TONE SQ - In Tone Squelch mode, if you have
set a subaudible tone (CTCSS or DCS) for a
frequency, the scanner will only stop on that
frequency if the transmission includes the
prescribed tone.
3. TONE SEARCH - In this mode, as soon as the
scanner stops on any (non-trunked) channel, the
scanner will begin to search for any subaudible
tone that is being used on a transmitted
frequency. The scanner will check each CTCSS
tone sequentially and it will find DCS tones
instantly.
9:BANK  TAG
Allows you to set an alphanumeric text tag for
individual banks in the scanner (1-10). (The 0 key
represents bank number 10.) For example, you may
wish to set the bank one text tag as Law
Enforcement, the second bank as Fire, etc.
0:P-25  CARD
When you insert the optional card (BCi25D) and
select 1:ENABLEin this mode, you can monitor
APCO P-25 digital communications. See page 76 for
details.
:BATTERY  SAVE
When you set Battery Save to ON in this Menu,
Battery Save is active in Scan Hold mode (except
Priority Scan mode).
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							26
Programming
Before the BC250D can begin conventional scanning, you
must program a frequency into at least one channel. 
Repeat this procedure for each channel you want to program.
Storing Frequencies into Channels in Menu
Mode
1. Select frequencies you received
from your dealer, from various
sources on the internet, or from
one of the guides listed on 
page 11.
Here is a list of sample 
frequencies you should try:
156.800 Marine Calling channel 
155.340 Ambulance operations
155.280 Ambulance operations
155.160 Ambulance operations
462.950 Ambulance operations
462.5625 Family Radio Services (channel one)
2. Press MENU/BACK.
3. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION/ 1:CONVENTIONALby
rotating the VFO and pressing E.
4. Select a channel.
a. Enter the 
channel number
using the keypad.
b. Then press E.
5. Select 1:FREQUENCY, and press E.
a. Enter the frequency number
using (decimal key) and the
keypad.
b. Then press E.
6. Enter the alpha tag and press E. 
(See page 28.)
7. The following display appears, select
the location you want.
.
HOLD/
MAN
SEARCH SCAN
SERVICE
CH/
FRQ
MENU/BACK
L/O
.SELECT REVERSETRUNK
RSM
E
         C 001
1:FREQUENCY
2:DELAY
3:TONE DATA
         C 001
 855.0000 NFM
ALPHA TAG
¡
1:OTHER CHANNEL
2:CHANNEL OPTION
3:DONE
         C 001
0000.0000 NFM
FREQUENCY
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