Uniden Bc250d Widenband Scanner Owners Manual

							Caution:After you have entered the search range while still
in the Menu mode, you can set your alpha tag (see
page 28), change the step size of the search,
change the mode or change the trunk set. 
Once the lower and upper parameters of your
search are edited, the Menu screen backs up one
level to allow you to modify the step size, receive
mode, and alpha tag. Select 2:STEPSfor your
step size choices and then press E. 
Select 3:MODEfor the receiver mode choices and
then press E. Select 4:ALPHA  TAGto enter an
alpha tag using the VFOand then pressing E.
Select 5:TRUNKto switch ON or OFF for trunk
search.
Starting Chain Search 
1. After setting the search ranges, select 2:SERVICE
OPTION/ :CHAIN  SEARCH/ 1:CHAIN  SEARCH
by rotating the VFOand pressing E.
2. Select 1:ONby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
3. Press SEARCHto search up to 10 ranges continuously.
Note:•If CHAIN  SEARCHis OFF, only 1 range can be
searched.
•When searching stops, press RSMto resume
searching.
•When you rotate the VFOwhile searching, you can
change the search direction to up or down.
•When searching in WFM, it will stop before reaching
the desired frequency if the step is other than 50 kHz
or 100 kHz.
Search Hold Feature
1. Press HOLD/MANat anytime to stop
the search.
2. Press RSMor SEARCH to resume
searching.
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 during search. To
activate the Data Skip feature, enter into the Menu mode.
37
SRCH   12.5k
1240.0000 NFM
Range 1
25cm Amateur Grp 
BC250D  11/6/2 11:36 AM  Page 37 
						

							1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 3:SYSTEM  OPTION/
7:DATA  SKIPby rotating the VFO
and pressing E.
3. Select 1:ONby rotating the VFOand
pressing E.
When Data Skip is active, your scanner may pause
momentarily on an unwanted signal but will resume
searching in 2 or 3 seconds. The Data Skip feature is
active as well as Scan mode and Service Search mode.
Data Skip does not function during AM/WFM band Scan,
Chain Search for AM/WFM band, or WX Search, Priority
Scan, and Trunking mode.
Frequency Skip
If a particular frequency continues to interrupt search
scanning, it is possible to set your scanner to skip the
frequency.
To skip over a frequency, press L/Owhen stopping at the
frequency you want to skip or when in Search Hold mode.
Note:•You can program up to 200 skip frequencies.
The 201st skip frequency entered
causes the first skipped frequency
to unlock.
•If all frequencies in the search
range are set to skip, a beep
sounds and it moves to Search
Hold mode.
To resume searching:
1) Cancel the Frequency Skip set. 
––– OR –––
2) Reset the Search Frequency range.
To cancel all skipped frequencies, press and hold
L/Ofor 2 seconds in Search Hold mode.
Storing Search Frequencies
You can quickly store any frequency you find during Search.
1. During Search, press HOLD/MANto store or when the
scanner stops on the frequency you want to store.
38
SYSTEM OPTION
 5:PC CONTROL
 6:CLONE
 7:DATA SKIP
HOLD/
MAN
SCAN
CH/
FRQ
MENU/BACK
L/O
.SELECT REVERSETRUNK
RSM
E
SEARCH SERVICE
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							39
2. Press TRNSFRto store the 
frequency in the channel you 
selected. The smallest empty 
channel number flashes on the
display. If necessary, you can also
change the channel by scrolling the
VFO. 
3. Press E.
Note:•If the frequency you want to store exists already,
WARNINGappears on the display and you will hear
a beep. (See “Duplicate Frequency Alert” on page
27.)
•After storing the frequency, it moves to the Search
Hold mode.
•In case there is a not a free channel, the frequency
you want to store will automatically be stored in the
previous channel before you entered into Chain
Search mode. 
4. Repeat steps 1, 2 and 3 after starting the search for all the
search frequencies you want to store.
Auto Storing
The scanner automatically stores active frequencies if Auto
Store feature is turned ON.
But the frequencies already stored can not be stored.
To make use of this feature, set a search range first (see
page 37), then enter into the Menu mode. If you start this
feature without setting a search range, NO  LIMIT  DATA
appears on the display.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 1:SERVICE  OPTION/ :CHAIN  SEARCH/
6:AUTO  STORE by rotating the VFOand pressing E.
3. Select 1:ONby rotating the VFOand
pressing E.
4. Select the bank number you want to
use with the keypad. The selected
bank number appears on the display.
Note: If the selected bank has no free
channels to store, CH  DATA
FULLwill appear on the display
and you will hear a beep.
AUTO STORE
SELECT BANK
12--56----
AUTO STORE
ERROR
CH DATA FULL
SRCH   12.5k
1240.0000 NFM
Range 1
C004 0000.0000 
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							6. Press SEARCHto start auto storing. 
7. After the search has gone through the
search range, press HOLD/MANto
stop this feature. STORE  END
appears on the display. You may want
to let it run through the search range
several times because during the first
pass there may not have been any
transmissions at that particular time on
that frequency.
Squelch (SQ) Mode
The scanner can be set to the following SQ modes.
•Carrier SQ mode (default setting)
The scanner will stop on any transmission or squelch
opening, regardless of whether any subaudible tone has
been programmed for the channel or search range.
•Tone SQ mode
The scanner will stop on any active frequency for which
either no subaudible tone has been programmed or for
which the user-programmed subaudible tone is also active.
•Tone Search mode
During any transmission, the scanner will begin searching
all possible subaudible tones, one of which may also be in
use. The scanner counts up through the CTCSS tones and
instantly determines any possible DCS tone. See page 101
for a listing of the tones that the BC250D decodes.
Note: When Tone Search is active in Scan mode, once the
CTCSSor DCSdisplay flashes a tone repeatedly
(meaning that it has found the tone match), you can
press Eto program that frequency with the captured
tone. When you change the mode to Tone SQ from
Tone Search that frequency and tone will be
programmed.
•Tone Lock (out) mode
For either a Memory channel or a Search Range, you can
lock a particular subaudible tone by pressing L/Oafter
scrolling to the desired tone. The scanner will stop on any
transmission except those which may be using the locked
subaudible tone.
To set your scanner, enter into the Menu mode.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 3:SYSTEM  OPTION/ 8:SQ  MODEby
rotating the VFOand pressing E.
40
          C 001
1245.8500 NFM
Bank  12--56----
AUTO STORE
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							41
3. Rotate the VFOto select one type (1:CSQ,2:TONE
SQ,3:TONE  SEARCH) and press E.
4. To set Tone Lock mode, do the following first, then select
2:TONE  SQin step 3.
1) For Scan mode, select 2:SCAN  OPTION/
1:CONVENTIONAL- select the channel number -
3:TONE  DATA- 1:CTCSSor 2:DCS by rotating
the VFOand pressing E. With CTCSS or DCS, Tone
Lock ON is set by pressing L/O.
2) For Search mode, select 1:SERVICE  OPTION/
:CHAIN  SEARCH/ 5:TONE  DATA/ 1:CTCSS
or 2:DCSby rotating the VFOand pressing E. With
CTCSSor DCSTone Lock ON is set by pressing L/O.
Note:• To set Tone Lock OFF for either Scan mode or
Search mode, press Einstead of pressing L/Oon
step 1) or 2) above.
• CTCSS: Continuous Tone Coded Squelch
System.
• DCS: Digital Coded Squelch.
• For example, the scanner shows the following
displays. When Search mode and Tone Search
are selected, the display shows the frequency and
tone data alternately.
•If the Delay feature has been set while in Tone
Search mode, it resumes scanning after a 2 second
delay.
          C 001
 512.0000 NFM
  CTCSS 250.3
Bank 1           C 001
 512.0000  NFM
  DCS   025
Bank 1           C 001
 512.0000  NFM
  
Bank 1 
        C 003
 512.0000 NFM
  CTCSS 250.3
UNIDEN Group A         C 003
 512.0000 NFM
  DCS   025
UNIDEN Group A         C 003
 512.0000 NFM
UNIDEN Group A 
Tone SQ ON, 
CTCSS 250.3 Hz
setting
Tone Search, 
CTCSS 250.3 Hz
detectingTone Search, 
DCS 025 detectingTone Search, 
no signal received Tone SQ ON, 
DCS 025 settingTone SQ ON, 
CTCSS & DCS 
non-setting
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							Additional Menu Options for Searching
Each of these additional menu options applys to all search
ranges entered. If there is a range that you do not want an
option to apply, then simply enter the range number on the
numerical keypad. You will see the range number that you
have selected disappears from the display. (For more
information on these options refer to the Menu Descriptions
section and Additional Features section.)
Options:
ATTENUATOR(for more information see page 32).
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 1:SERVICE  OPTION/ :CHAIN  SEARCH/
4:ATTENUATORby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
3. Select 1:ONby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
DELAY
Refer to page 32.
42
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							Service Search
The Service Search feature allows you to scroll through the
following twelve preprogrammed services. The frequencies
selected for these services are the most commonly used
around the U.S.
• 1:WEATHER• 7:RAILROAD
• 2:PUBLIC  SAFETY• 8:AIR
• 3:NEWS• 9:CB  RADIO
• 4:TV  BROADCAST• 0:FRS
• 5:HAM  RADIO• :RACING
• 6:MARINE• :SPECIAL
1. Press SERVICE. 
––– OR –––
Another method is as follows:
To set Service Search, enter into the Menu mode.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 1:SERVICE  OPTIONby
rotating the VFOand pressing E.
2. To start the Service Search, select one
Service Search menu you want from the lists above by
rotating the VFOand pressing Eor directly enter the
number listed above.
Note:When you start Service Search by pressing SERVICE,
you can start Service Search without pressing E.
3. After a 3 second delay, searching begins for the selected
service. If you want to start searching immediately, press
RSM.
4. To change the searched service, rotate the VFOor directly
enter the number listed above after pressing SERVICE.
Note:•When you start searching, select :RACINGor
:SPECIALby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
•You can not change such settings as Auto Delay,
during a Service Search.
•You can enter one of the Service Search frequencies
into Channel Memory by pressing TRNSFRwhen
holding on one of the frequencies and pressing E.
•Special Frequencies are low-power, itinerant, FRS,
splinters and other frequencies which are
43
SERVICE OPTION
1:WEATHER
2:PUBLIC SAFETY
3:NEWS
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							commonly used at special events and other locations
and may or may not be licensed.
•When you rotate the VFOwhile the Service Search
is active, you can change the search direction to up
or down.
During the search of one of the preprogrammed services, the
lowest display line will indicate the service that you are
searching. To stop the search, press HOLD/MAN. Rotate the
VFOto move up or down one programmed frequency or
press RSMto resume searching.
Service Search Skip
You can set the scanner to skip the unwanted frequencies
during Service Search. 100 skipped frequencies are
programmable.
1. To skip over a frequency, press L/Owhen stopping at the
frequency you want to skip.
2. To cancel a skip during search, press HOLD/MAN, select
the desired frequency by rotating the VFO, then press
L/O.
To restore all skipped frequencies,
press and hold L/Ofor 2 seconds.
Note:•You can not skip a set frequency
in WEATHERservice mode.
•If you start the service seaching while all frequencies
in service search menu are set to skipped the
frequencies, you hear a beep and the scanner
moves to the Hold mode.
NWR-SAME Alert
In addition to the conventional weather broadcasts, your
BC250D is compatible with NWR-SAME weather alert. 
When the scanner receives NOAA’s Specific Area Message
Encoding (SAME) coded weather emergency signal, it sounds
the alert siren with a specified message. You must program
your FIPS code to identify the specific area where you are
located.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 1:SERVICE  OPTION/ 1:WEATHER/
2:ALERTby rotating the VFOand
pressing E.
3. Select  1:ONby rotating the VFOand
pressing E.
44
SRVC     --CH   
 453.6000 NFM
SERVICE SEARCH
PUBLIC SAFETY
SRVC      2CH
 162.6000  FM
SERVICE SEARCH
WX ALERT ON
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							45
Note: You can also set Alert mode to OFF by pressing RSM
without entering the Menu mode.
4. When the unit receives a warning signal, it shows a
message with the alert siren defined. (For NWR-SAME
EVENT CODE, see the table on page 99.)
5. To deactivate, just press any key or it is automatically
canceled and the alert siren stops.
Testing the Alert Siren
To test and recognize the difference between the types of
alert sirens, perform the following steps:
1. During WX Hold mode and when the WX ALT is OFF,
press and hold the PRIkey for 2 seconds until you hear
the statement alert siren. SIREN  TESTappears on the
display and the statement, watch and warning sirens
sound alternately.
Note: The samples of each alert siren only last for a few
seconds. You may need to listen to each siren several
times to be sure you recognize the different sirens. 
The sirens continue to sound rotating through the
samples until you silence the test.
2. To stop the test, press any key.
Make sure you can hear the siren in all areas that you would
need to. If not, optional accessories can be purchased to
ensure that you are alerted for emergency broadcasts.
See your dealer or local electronics store for accessories. 
DO NOT USE EARPHONES TO LISTEN TO THE TEST.
DAMAGE TO YOUR HEARING COULD OCCUR.
Programming FIPS Code
The 6-digit Federal Information Processing System (FIPS)
codes established by the National Weather Service (NWS)
must be programmed in your scanner. These codes specify
an emergency and the specific geographic area (such as
county) affected by the emergency.
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 1:SERVICE  OPTION/
1:WEATHER/ 2:ALERTby
rotating the VFOand pressing E.
3. Select 1:ONby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
4. Select the desired memory number (FIPS  CODE  1
~15) by rotating the VFOand pressing E.
WEATHER ALERT
SELECT CODE No.
FIPS CODE 1
------
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							46
When you rotate the VFOto move down when FIPS
CODE  1is displayed or VFOto move up when FIPS
CODE  15is displayed, ALL  FIPSappears on the
display.
5. Enter the FIPS code using the keypad.
6. Press E.
Note:•To cancel the entry, press  (decimal key).
•To clear a stored FIPS code, press 0and E
successively
•To obtain the FIPS code for your area, contact the
NWS toll free at 1-888-697-7263.(1-888-NWR-
SAME) or visit their web site
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm
.
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