Uniden Bc250d Widenband Scanner Owners Manual

							EDACS systems often provide users with an Emergency
mode on their radios. Users in trouble can alert the dispatcher
and other units and get priority access to the radio system.
When a user activates Emergency mode, EMERGENCYwill
flash the display during the entire transmission. At the
beginning of each transmission it will sound a distinctive
emergency alert tone three times. To turn Emergency Alert
ON/OFF, enter into the Menu mode. Select 2:SCAN
OPTION/ 2:TRUNK- select Bank number -
9:EMERGENCY  ALT/ 1:ONor 2:OFFby rotating the
VFOand pressing E.
Patch Tracking
The BC250D can follow EDACS patched talkgroups.
EDACS systems sometimes bring several talkgroups together
in a Patch. A patch might be used by a police agency at night
to provide a single channel with a single dispatcher for a wide
area. A patch is created when a single, temporary talkgroup
substitutes for the original talkgroups. While the patch is
running, which may be for hours or days, the original
talkgroups cease to be used. If you were monitoring one of
these talkgroups, you might think there was no traffic, but in
fact the talkgroup was operating at the different temporary
number.
If a talkgroup in your Scan List is patched, your scanner will
continue to receive it under its new identity until the patch has
ended. When a patch is being received, the radio will display
PATCH  ID, and will show the temporary common talkgroup
plus all the included talkgroups in a cycling display. 
The BC250D is limited to following two patches.
The temporary talkgroups used for patches are usually found
in AFS code 15-xxx, and sometimes 00-xxx.
EDACS SCAT
With the EDACS SCAT feature turned “ON”, the data stream
transmissions will be  eliminated  allowing you to clearly
monitor the voice communications on EDACS SCAT systems.
To monitor EDACS SCAT systems you only need to turn this
feature 8:EDCS  SCT.ON with designated frequency. 
You do not need to enter group ID’s.
Note:As EDACS SCAT is different from the other tracking
feature, and it is not a feature which the scanner
tracks any ID, you do not need to program Talk Group
ID in the Menu mode.
67
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 67 
						

							LT R®Reception
LT R®Tracking
LTR®(Logic Trunked Radio) systems are trunking systems
used primarily by business or private communications service
providers, such as taxicabs, delivery trucks, and repair
services. These systems encode all trunking information as
digital subaudible data that accompanies each transmission.
Users on an LTR system are assigned to specific talkgroups,
which are identified by the radio as six digit numbers. 
These numbers are in the form AHHUUU, where:
A= Area code (0 or 1)
H= Home repeater (01 through 20)
U= User ID (000 through 254)
When the scanner receives a transmission on a channel set
to the LTR mode, it first decodes the LTR data included with
the transmission. In the ID Search mode, the scanner stops
on the transmission and displays the talkgroup ID on the
display. In the ID Scan mode, the scanner only stops on the
transmission if the LTR data matches a talkgroup ID that you
have stored in the bank’s talkgroup ID list and have not
locked out.
LTR systems are frequently programmed so that each radio
has a unique ID code.
68
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 68 
						

							Motorola Reception
Motorola Tracking
There are really two types of Motorola trunking systems.
These are usually referred to as Type I and Type II systems.
Type I only occurs on some 800 MHz systems. All VHF, UHF
and 900 MHz trunking systems use Type II.
One important distinction between these two systems is the
amount of data transmitted by each radio when its push-to-
talk button (PTT) is pressed. Every radio in a trunked system
is assigned a unique ID so the central site computer can
identify it when it’s used. Both Type I and Type II systems
place radios (or radio users) into groups, called talkgroups,
and these talkgroups are also assigned unique IDs. Some
radios have access to only one talkgroup, while others have
access to many talkgroups. The talkgroup(s) each radio can
access is called the radio’s affiliation(s).
In a Type II system, when someone uses their radio, only the
radio ID is transmitted when PTTis pressed, whereas in a
Type I system the radio ID and its current affiliation are both
transmitted when PTTis pressed.
Why the difference? Type II systems are slightly more
advanced because the central computer maintains a database
which is used to determine each radio’s affiliation(s).
Changes to a Type II system are easier than Type I because
the system manager only needs to update the database
instead of reprogramming individual radios.
Another difference between the systems is that Type I
systems are arranged in a Fleet-Subfleet hierarchy. 
For example, its possible for a city using a Type I system to
designate 4 Fleets, each with 8 Subfleets. Their fleets might
be the Police Department, the Fire Department, Utilities, and
Administration. The Police may decide to further divide their
fleet into subfleets such as Dispatch, Tactical Operations,
Detectives, North, South, East and West Side Patrols, and
Supervisors. All the available police radios would then be
assigned to one of the police subfleets. Determining the exact
Fleet-Subfleet hierarchy for a particular area is referred to as
Fleet Map Programming, which is discussed further in this
manual.
The disadvantage of a Type I system is that when PTTis
pressed, the brief burst of data must contain the radio’s ID
and its Fleet and Subfleet. This is three times the amount of
data a Type II system radio sends, and as a result Type I
69
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 69 
						

							systems usually accommodate fewer users than Type II
systems.
Even though there are many Type II systems, Type I systems
are still in use. There are also Hybrid systems which are a
combination of both Type I and Type II. Your scanner defaults
to monitor Type II systems, but its possible to select a
Preprogrammed Fleet Map or create a Custom Fleet Map for
your area.
For VHF and UHF Type II trunking systems, you will need to
know the base, spacing frequencies and offset channels. 
See page 72 for details.
Fleet Map Programming
If you have programmed a trunk tracking bank for Motorola
type and press SCANto start Multi-Track, you will see user
IDs display on the display. Since the BC250D defaults to Type
II systems, all the IDs will appear as numbers. However, if you
notice a mix of odd and even user IDs, for example 6477,
2560, 6481, 6144, 1167, etc., then you are probably
monitoring either a Type I or Hybrid systems. These systems
are applied only when STATUS BIT is OFF (see page 73).
You may also notice that you are missing responses when
you hold on an active ID. Unlike Type II, Type I/Hybrid
systems require a Fleet Map that sets specific Fleet-Subfleet
parameters. It is easy to select a Fleet Map for your scanner;
what is not always easy is selecting or programming a map
that matches your particular area.
There are 16 preset Fleet Maps listed in the appendix that
you can choose, and these are usually a good place to start
when setting up a Type I/Hybrid trunk tracking bank. If you
choose a preset map and still have difficulty following
complete conversations, then youll have to program your own
Fleet Map.
Selecting Preset Fleet Map
1. Select 2:TYPE1for the Trunk Type.
(Refer to Selecting or Changing
Trunking System Type on page 49.)
2. Select the map you want to 
program by rotating the VFOand 
pressing E.
The scanner returns to the other programming items.
70
          M 001
 867.8375 NFM
1:TYPE2 800
2:TYPE1
          M 001
 867.8375 NFM
SELECT
PRESET1
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 70 
						

							Note: You will now begin to see Type I Fleet-Subfleet IDs.
For example, 100-12, 100-9, 000-12, 400-8, etc. 
See User Defined Fleet Maps in the Appendix for
more information about Type I IDs.
How do you know if the preset map is correct? You will have
to listen to see if youre following complete conversations. 
If not, you should try another preset map.
Programming a Fleet Map
You may want to read User Defined Fleet Maps in the
Appendix before programming a Fleet Map. It contains a
detailed explanation of Scanner Fleet Map Programming, as
well as a table listing the Fleet Map Size Codes.
1. Select 2:TYPE1for the Trunk Type.
(Refer to Selecting or Changing
Trunking System Type on page 49.)
2. Select USER  CUSTOMby rotating
the VFOand pressing E.
3. Select the size code for the first block
by rotating the VFO.
4. Press E.
The next available block displays.
5. Repeat step 3 and 4 until you have
selected a size code for each block.
For details about each size code, 
see Fleet Map Size Codes 
in the Appendix.
Programming a Hybrid System
A Hybrid system is simply a Type I system with some blocks
designated as Type II blocks. To program a Hybrid system,
follow the steps listed in Programming a Fleet Map in the
previous section. However, if you want a block to be Type II,
select Size Code S-0.
When you begin searching a trunking bank with a Hybrid Fleet
Map, you will see both types of system IDs. That is, Type II
IDs usually appear as an even number without a dash; Type I
IDs appear as a three or four digit number, followed by a
hyphen, followed by a one or two digit number.
71
          M 001
 867.8375 NFM
1:TYPE2 800
2:TYPE1
          M 001
 867.8375 NFM
SELECT FLEET MAP
USER CUSTOM
          M 001
 867.8375 NFM
BLOCK 0
SIZE CODE 0
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 71 
						

							Setting the Base, Spacing Frequencies and
Offset Channel for Motorola
VHF/UHF Trunked Systems
To properly track Motorola VHF and UHF trunked systems
you must enter what is known as the base, the spacing
frequencies and offset channels for each system.
To find these out, check the scanner.uniden.comor
www.bearcat1.com/free.htmand other web sites and
frequency resources.
To enter the Base, Spacing Frequencies and Offset Channel:
(You can set up to three sets of these, but almost all systems
only use one set)
1. Press MENU/BACK.
2. Select 2:SCAN  OPTION/ 2:TRUNKby rotating the
VFOand pressing E.
3. Select the bank number by rotating the VFOand pressing
E.
4. Select 1:TRUNK  TYPE/1:ON/ 4:TYPE2  UHFor
5:TYPE2  VHFby rotating the VFOand pressing E.
5. Select BASE  CONFIGfrom 1 - 3 by
rotating the VFOand pressing E.
6. Enter a new Base Frequency with the
keypad.
7. Press E.
The display changes for entering the
Spacing Frequency.
8. Enter a new Spacing Frequency with
the keypad.
Note: You can only enter within a range of 5-100 kHz, and 
5 or 7.5 or 12.5 kHz multiples.
9. Press E.
The display changes for entering the Offset Channel.
10. Enter a new Offset Channel with the
keypad. The Offset Channel for the
first set should be CH380.
Note: You can only input within a range
of 380-759.
11. Press E.
The display changes for entering the Base Frequency.
12. To exit from this mode, press MENU/BACKrepeatedly.
72
          M
 406.0000
ENTER FREQUENCY
BASE FREQUENCY 1
          M
   50.0
ENTER FREQUENCY
SPACE FREQUENCY1
          M
 CH 380
ENTER CHANNEL
OFFSET CHANNEL1
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 72 
						

							73
Note:•If the system is not tracking properly, you may need
to try a new Base Frequency or Offset Channel or
you may be missing frequencies from the system.
•You can set up to three Base, Spacing and Offsets
for Motorola VHF/UHF trunked systems.
Toggling the Status Bit
On Type II 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 you have
programmed talkgroup 33264 into Scan List memory, for
example, and there is an emergency call within the group, 
you will hear it on 33264.
The only time you may wish to turn Status Bits OFF is if
youre trying to figure out the proper Fleet Map of a Type I
trunking system. To turn Status Bits OFF, enter into the Menu
mode and select 2:SCAN  OPTION/ 2:TRUNK- select
bank number - / 9:STATUS  BIT. (This feature does not
apply to EDACS and LTR operation within the scanner.) Then
rotate the VFOto change the setting (1:ONto 2:OFF) and
press Eto program your change.
Control Channel Only Mode
When this function is activated, trunking is performed using
Control Channel data only. Voice channel (also known as
DATA channel) frequencies do not have to be programmed
into memory. This feature only applies to Motorola 800 MHz
and 900 MHz systems.
To turn this function on, choose Motorola 1:TYPE2  800
or 3:TYPE2  900or 2:TYPE1in the Menu mode. Then
set to the desired control plan by selecting  2:SCAN
OPTION/ 2:TRUNK- select bank number - / :CNTRL
CH  ONLY.
You must choose one of 4 frequency plans (only when 800
MHz systems is selected) before you begin to Control
Channel Trunk. The default, Plan 1, is the most common.
Read the description of the Plans below for details on which
may apply for you.
PLAN 1: Use Plan 1 if the last three digits of ALL the
frequencies in use end in one of the following three digits:
125, 375, 625, or 875 (example: 856.1125, 860.7375,
859.6625, 855.8875).
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 73 
						

							PLAN 2: If the last three digits of frequencies are less than
869.0000 and end in one of the following three digits (125,
375, 625, or 875) and if ANY other frequencies end in (000,
250, 500, or 750) use Plan 2.
PLAN 3: If the last three digits of ALL the frequencies in
use end in one of the following three digits (000, 250, 500,
or 750) use Plan 3.
PLAN 4: If the last three digits of frequencies are less than
866.0000 and end in one of the following three digits (000,
250, 500, or 750) and if ANY other frequencies end in (125,
375, 625, or 875) use Plan 4.
Of course you will know the Control Channel frequency itself
so that will help you determine the proper plan. If you try one
plan and you receive errors (such as the scanner jumping to
channels that are obviously not part of the system), you
should try an alternate Plan.
Note: In Chain Search mode, Control Channel Trunk is
activated in the Menu mode (See page 18). You must
choose one of 4 frequency plans. This plan applies
only when the scanner searches the 800 MHz range.
Since a default plan is automatically used when the
scanner searches the 900 MHz range, a user does
not need to select a plan.
Note: You can assign a Fleet Map to TYPE 1 or Hybrid
systems scanned in Control Channel Only mode by
going into the Menu. You can also program IDs, set a
delay, alpha tags and all the other parameters for
systems scanned in this mode. You can then either
search the system to find new IDs or you can
program IDs into memory and then scan them.
Note: The Control Channel Only feature is an extremely
powerful tool. You can use it to determine if systems
you are familiar with may have added new
frequencies or you can use it to discover new
systems by simply finding active control channels
(using Search) and then programming them for
Control Channel operation only.
Remember that this feature only applies to Motorola
800 and 900 MHz systems, that you do have to set
the Menu for the proper system type (800 MHz of
Type 1 or Type 2 or 900 MHz) and you do have to
program the Control Channel frequency into Memory.
74
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 74 
						

							75
Disconnect Tone Detect Option (End Code)
When this function is disabled, the radio looks for squelch
before returning to the Control Channel instead of waiting for
the Disconnect Tone. Only in rare instances will you need to
adjust the default settings.
The condition to return to Control Channels depends on
whether the signal is present or not.
To set this function to ON / OFF, select 2:SCAN  OPTION
/ 2:TRUNK- select bank number - / 0:END  CODE.
Select 1:DETECTor 2:IGNORE.
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 75 
						

							APCO Project 25
Reception
APCO Project 25 is a modulation process where voice
communications are  converted into digital communications.
This conversion is similar to the technology used with digital
mobile phones. There are several types of Project 25 systems
available! Systems the Uniden BC250D supports are listed
below.
- Conventional – one frequency with digital voice.
- Trunked with analog control channel and digital voice –
Many frequencies shared by many departments and the
control channel is analog with digital voice. Control channel
operates at 3600 Baud.
- Mixed mode – trunked (3600) system with an analog control
channel alternating / mixing analog and digital voice
communications.
Note:Do not install the APCO card with the AC Adapter
connected.
Installing the APCO P-25 Card
1. Turn OFF the
scanner, and open
the cover.
2. Carefully unplug the
battery pack.
3. Insert the APCO card
with the label (the
side “APCO P-25
DIGITAL CARD” is
printed) facing up as
shown.
4. Carefully connect the
battery pack,
matching the red and
black wires with the
corresponding
Red/Black plug.
76
BC250D  11/6/2 11:37 AM  Page 76