Uniden Bc296d Trunk Tracker Scanner Owners Manual

							45
Programming Trunked
Systems
Your BC296D is designed to scan most major types of
trunking systems, including APCO Project 25 Phase 1 digital
communication systems. These systems are briefly described
here. For a more technical description of each system, see
“Understanding Scanning.” General trunking options are also
covered in this section. To program the systems, refer to the
sections in the manual referenced below
•APCO Project 25 Phase 1 Systems— Digital systems
that support the APCO Project 25 protocol developed by the
Association of Public Safety Communications Officials
(APCO), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA)
and Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA). Systems can oper-
ate in conventional, trunked (9600), trunked (3600) and
mixed-modes (analog and digital) in any frequency band
including UHF, VHF, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz. See
“Programming Motorola Systems.”
•MOTOROLA– Including Type I, Type II, Hybrid, SMART-
NET, and Privacy Plus. Motorola systems are widely used
by public safety and business users. Most are on the 800
MHz band, and recent systems are appearing on other
bands. See “Programming Motorola Systems.”.
•EDACS – Including “Wideband” 9600 baud, and
“Narrowband” 4800 baud systems. “Wideband” systems are
mostly on the 800 MHz band, and are used by public safe-
ty, utilities, and business users. Some systems are used on
the VHF and UHF bands. “Narrowband” systems are used
in the 935-940 MHz band, many by utilities. See
“Programming EDACS Systems.”
•EDACS SCAT – These systems are mainly used in the
Midwestern United States and are one-channel trunking
sites using the EDACS format. See “Programming EDACS
Systems.”
•LTR – These systems are mostly for business users, and
found on the UHF, 800 and 900 MHz bands. See
“Programming LTR Systems.”
When tracking these types of systems, remember these
important points:
•Your scanner defaults to monitor Motorola Type II systems;
however, you can change this if the system in your area is
different.
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							•The frequencies for many of the trunked public safety sys-
tems are listed in the TrunkTracker National Public Safety
Trunked System Frequency Guide included with your
BC296D scanner. Frequencies sometimes change, check
with scanner.uniden.com for the latest information.
Setting Trunking Delay
Setting a delay for trunking systems helps to ensure that you
do not miss replies while scanning.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the bank
→4:DELAY
1:ON
The scanner pauses on a talkgroup for 2 seconds at
the end of each transmission to help ensure you don’t
miss replies.
2:OFF
Delay is turned off.
Using I-Call (Motorola and EDACS only)
I-Calls are direct unit-to-unit transmissions that are not heard
by other users. Your BC296D can monitor these
transmissions in either the search mode or (if you have stored
the unit number as a talkgroup) in the scan mode.
When the scanner stops on an I-Call, the scanner displays the
individual radio unit ID instead of a talkgroup ID.
EDACS or Motorola Type 1 i nnnnn
Motorola Type 2 7 nnnnn
Note:•Each radio in a system has its own unique unit ID.
Unit ID’s are not published for systems, and since
officers might not use the same radio every day, it
is difficult to predict who and what you will hear for
a specific radio ID.
•Since a conversation consists of two or more
radios, and each radio has its own ID, if you hold
on an I-Call, you will only hear one side of the
conversation.
Turning I-Call On and Off for ID Search
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the bank
→8:I-CALL
1:ON
The scanner will stop on I-Calls or normal talkgroups.
2:OFF
The scanner ignores I-Calls.
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							3:ONLY
The scanner only stops on I-Calls.
Turning I-Call On for ID Scan
To receive I-Calls for ID Scan, simply store the radio unit
number as ( ) plus the unit number in place of the
talkgroup. To receive any I-Call while scanning, enter the I-
Call wildcard ( ) 0. For EDACS and Motorola Type 1
systems, this appears as i0; for Motorola Type 2 systems, this
appears as 700000.
Setting Priority Talkgroups (Motorola and
EDACS only)
Talkgroup priority works slightly different than conventional
priority. With talkgroup priority, the priority talkgroups are only
checked when the scanner is on the control channel. So, if
you have delay turned on for the system or are holding on an
ID, the scanner will immediately switch to the priority talkgroup
if it becomes active during the 2-second delay or while there
is no transmission on the held talkgroup.
To assign a talkgroup as the priority talkgroup, select it in
Scan Hold mode (see “Holding on a Single Talkgroup”). Then,
press and hold PRIfor 2 seconds.
Multi-Track
The BC296D allows you to track more than one system at a
time. Here are some highlights of this feature:
❖You can actually track up to 10 trunking systems at
one time.
❖You can trunk, scan, or search and scan conventional
frequencies at the same time.
❖You can program conventional frequencies in the same
bank as trunking systems.
After the scanner finishes checking a trunked system
for activity, it will conventionally scan the other
frequencies in the bank (remember, only trunking
frequencies are programmed in Trunk mode).
To scan a mix of trunking and conventional banks, select the
banks you wish to be active, and then press SCAN. The
scanner will instantly begin scanning. If you have not
programmed a trunking bank with talkgroup ID’s, you will
receive NO ID (----)message for that bank. 
You can switch to Search mode and the scanner will search
for any active ID’s on the system.
.
.
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							Note:To switch ID Scan or ID Search, press and hold
TRUNKor, press SCANor SEARCHwhile scanning.
Multi-Track Operational Details
When more than one trunk system is active (for example two
or more trunked systems or a trunked system and one or
more conventional frequencies), the radio jumps between
systems/frequencies as follows:
TRUNK SCAN: The scanner moves to a trunked system
and looks for IDs in your Scan List(s) for up to 1 second. 
If it finds no activity on your programmed talkgroups, it
moves on to conventional channels in the same bank or to
the next active bank.
If the scanner finds that a talkgroup in one of your active
Scan Lists becomes active, you will begin to hear that
communication and the scanner will display the proper
talkgroup number and any alpha tag. When the
communication ends, the scanner will wait for 2 seconds
for any further replies and, if none, the scanner will move
to the conventional channels in the same bank or to the
next bank. The scanner will not look for any other IDs
within the same trunked system (as this would slow the
scan process). If you press RSMwhile you are listening to
one ID, the scanner will check to see if another ID in your
Scan List is active. It will disregard the ID to which you
were just monitoring.
TRUNK SEARCH: This mode works similarly to Trunk
Scan. If the scanner finds any (non-locked-out) ID when 
it checks the control channel, you will hear it. You will then
hear any replies that follow within 2 seconds. After that the
scanner will move on and not continuously search the
system for additional IDs (on busy systems you would never
leave the system if this were the case). If you press the
RSMkey while monitoring one ID, the radio will check if any
other IDs are active (it will disregard the ID you just left),
and if none are active, it will move on.
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							49
Programming Motorola
Systems
Follow the instructions in this section to program information
for Motorola Type I, II, IIi Hybrid, and APCO 25 Digital
trunking systems.
Using Control Channel Programming
Your scanner has a powerful feature that lets you program in
only the control channels for Motorola 800 and 900 MHz
systems. This can greatly shorten the time it takes to program
system information.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the bank
→:CNTRL CH ONLY
For 900 MHz systems, you can then simply turn the feature
on or off. For 800 MHz systems, you need to select the band
plan for the system:
1:PLAN1
Use if the last three digits of allof the frequencies
used by the system end in 125, 375, 625, or 875.
2:PLAN2
Use if the highest frequency used by the system is
above 866 MHz and if the last three digits end in 000,
125, 250, 375, 500, 625, 750, or 875.
3:PLAN3
Use if the last three digits of all the frequencies in the
system end in 000, 250, 500, or 750.
4:PLAN4
Use if the highest frequency in the system is below
866 MHz and if the last three digits end in 000, 125,
250, 375, 500, 625, 750, or 875.
5:OFF
Select to turn off control channel programming for this
bank.
Note:•Many systems alternate control channels. To prop-
erly track the system, you need to program all alter-
nate control channels.
•If you do not know all of the frequencies for a sys-
tem, but know at least one control channel, start by
selecting Plan 1 (the most common type). If you
notice that you seem to be missing transmissions
and replies, try each of the other plans until you
find the one that works best.
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							Programming Type 2/Digital 800 and 900 MHz
Systems
To program a Type 2/Digital 800 or 900 MHz system, you
need to know the frequencies that the system uses.
1. Select the trunk programming mode.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK
2. Use the scroll bar to select the bank you want to program,
then press E.
1:TRUNK TYPE →1:ON
3. Select one of the following trunk types for Motorola Type 2
or digital Systems:
1:TYPE2/P25 800
Motorola Type 2 or Digital systems in the 800 MHz
band
3:TYPE2/P25 900
Motorola Type 2 or Digital systems in the 900 MHz
band
4. Select the channel to store the information into.
2:TRUNK CHANNEL
Use the scroll bar to select a channel within the bank to
store a system frequency, then press E.
5. Store the channel information
1:FREQUENCY
Enter the frequency for the channel, then enter an Alpha
Tag for the channel.
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 to store the rest of the frequencies for
the system. Then, see “Programming Talkgroups.”
Programming Type2/Digital VHF and UHF
Systems
To program a Type 2/Digital VHF or UHF system, you need to
know the frequencies the system uses and also the Base,
Space, and Offset settings. These settings are normally
provided along with the system frequencies.
1. Select the trunk programming mode.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK
2. Use the scroll bar to select the bank you want to program,
then press E.
1:TRUNK TYPE →1:ON
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							3. Select one of the following trunk types for Motorola Type 2
or digital Systems:
4:TYPE2/P25 UHF
Motorola Type 2 or Digital systems in the UHF (450 –
512 MHz) band
5:TYPE2/P25 VHF
Motorola Type 2 or Digital systems in the VHF (148 –
406 MHz) band
4. Set the Base, Space and Offset settings.
Note:Your BC296D allows you to enter up to three Base,
Space, Offset configurations. However, most
systems only use one configuration.
a. Use the scroll bar to select the configuration to
program, then press E.
BASE CONFIG 1
b. Enter the system’s base frequency, then press E.
c. Enter the system’s space frequency, then press E.
d. Enter the system’s channel offset, then press E.
Repeat a-d or press MENU/BACKthree times to continue
programming the system.
5. Select the channel to store the information into.
2:TRUNK CHANNEL
Use the scroll bar to select a channel within the bank to
store a system frequency, then press E.
6. Store the channel information
1:FREQUENCY
Enter the frequency for the channel, then enter an Alpha
Tag for the channel.
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to store the rest of the frequencies for
the system. Then, see “Programming Talkgroups.”
Programming Type I and IIi Hybrid Systems
To program a Type I or IIi Hybrid system, you need to know
the system’s fleet map in addition to the frequency information
for the system. Fleet map information is usually provided with
the frequencies for the system.
1. Select the trunk programming mode.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK
2. Use the scroll bar to select the bank you want to program,
then press E.
1:TRUNK TYPE →1:ON
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							3. Select the following trunk type for Motorola Type I
Systems:
2:TYPE1
Motorola Type I and IIi Hybrid Systems
4. Enter the fleet map information.
Your scanner has the most common fleet maps
preprogrammed. Refer to Appendix B for a complete list of
these fleet maps. 
Use the scroll bar to select the preprogrammed fleetmap
1-16 or, if the fleet map does not match a preprogrammed
set, select USER CUSTOM. Then, use the scroll bar to
select the size code for each block.
5. Select the channel to store the information into.
2:TRUNK CHANNEL
Use the scroll bar to select a channel within the bank to
store a system frequency, then press E.
6. Store the channel information
1:FREQUENCY
Enter the frequency for the channel, then enter an Alpha
Tag for the channel.
Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to store the rest of the frequencies for
the system. Then, see “Programming Talkgroups.”
Toggling the Status Bit
Motorola talkgroup ID’s are sent as a 16-bit binary number.
Normally, the last 4 positions in the number are 0’s, which
result in all talkgroups being equally divisible by 16. These
last four bits, however, can be used by the trunking system to
indicate various status conditions. For example, an
emergency status could be indicated by setting the second-
from last digit to 1. Talkgroup 33264, then would be sent on
the system as 33266 when the radio triggered its emergency
status. By default, the BC296D ignores the last four digits of
every talkgroup, effectively rounding them down to the nearest
multiple of 16 regardless of the status bits.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the bank
→9:STATUS BIT
1:ON
Talkgroups are rounded down to the next multiple of
16.
2:OFF
Talkgroups are not rounded down, so you can
determine the value of the status bits.
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							Toggling End Code Detect
At the end of each transmission, a digital burst is sent so that
radios on the system will quickly switch back to the control
channel. Your scanner also listens for this code.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the bank
→0:END CODE
1:DETECT
The scanner detects the end code and immediately
switches back to the control channel.
2:IGNORE
The scanner waits for the carrier to drop before
switching back to the control channel.
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							54
Programming EDACS
Systems
Follow the instructions in this section to program information
for EDACS Wide, EDACS Narrow, and EDACS SCAT
trunking systems. Note that to program these systems, in
addition to knowing the system type and frequencies used,
you must know the logical channel numbers (LCN) for the
system’s frequencies. This information is usually provided with
the frequency and other information. For more information
refer to “Understanding Scanning.”
Programming EDACS Channels
1. Select the trunk type.
2:SCAN OPTION →2:TRUNK →Select the
bank→1:TRUNK TYPE →1:ON
6:EDCS WIDE
Select for 9600 baud EDACS systems.
7:EDCS NARROW
Select for 4800 baud EDACS systems.
8:EDCS SCT.
Select for EDACS SCAT systems.
2. Program each trunk channel in LCN order (not frequency
order). If you program this in the wrong order, the scanner
will not go to the correct channel when scanning.
2:TRUNK CHANNEL
ENTER CHANNEL No.
a. Enter the channel to program.
1:FREQUENCY
b. Enter the frequency then the alpha tag for the channel
Repeat a and b for each channel in the system.
Note:EDACS SCAT systems use only one channel.
Once you complete channel programming, see “Programming
Talkgroups.”
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