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News for May 14, 2010

You Are Invited!

Uniden invites you to attend the 2010 Uniden Open House on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at Uniden America Corporation Headquarters.

We are firing up the grill this Summer, and want to invite you over for some burgers, hot dogs, and other treats. We'll be announcing a revolutionary new scanner product on July 1, but attendees will get a sneak preview and introduction to the product from Uniden's Scanner Product Manager, Paul "UPMan" Opitz. Plus, hear from other guests including Lindsay Blanton, owner of RadioReference.com, the source for radio system information as well as other special guests.

We'll be opening the doors at 10:00 AM and starting the program at 11 AM. This is an event that you will not want to miss.

Because we want to be sure to have plenty of food and other goodies, we are asking you to register for this event. To do so, please go to: Open House Registration and fill out the form.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Paul "UPMan" Opitz
Product Manager, Uniden Radio Products

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News for November 13, 2009

Unit ID Firmware Update Ready for Analog Trunking Models

Today we rolled out the Unit ID firmware update for the BC346XT and BCT15X scanners. The updates and all instructions are available at: BC346XT Firmware Update and BCD396XT Firmware Update

More than a couple of you have asked what this update does and why is it useful.

What Does This Update Do?

This update allows you to see and store Unit IDs for Motorola, P25, and EDACS systems. A Unit ID is the number that identifies a specific radio on the system. Normally, every radio will have a unique ID that you can use to identify specific personnel, apparatus, or stations. You can store Unit IDs in channels and assign them alpha tags, too, so once you identify a user you can have the scanner display a name instead of a number.

Why is this Useful?

For professional users, knowing which specific person is transmitting can be mission critical information. It can save time in determining who is transmitting an SOS, which can be life saving information in a crisis. It can also help identify "rogue radios" on a system so that they can be handled appropriately. This information can also be useful for traffic reporting organizations in keeping track of accident status...knowing which apparatus is clearing can lead to more accurate and timely reporting.

P25 Conventional Bonus Information

I didn't mention this when we made the release for the digital models, so I'll mention it here. P25 Conventional channels also commonly use Unit IDs (and sometimes TGID's). To capture/manage Unit IDs for P25 conventional channels, program them as P25 One-Freq Trunked systems.

Special Thanks

Of course, I want to thank you for being part of our family. But I also want to send a special thanks out to the beta testers who helped made this happen. Preparing these updates took 3 months of intensive testing, starting with a firmware load that was "proof of concept" and progressing to a load that has features that came largely from the input our testers provided.

Until next update!

News for November 9, 2009

Unit ID Firmware Update Ready for Digital Models

We've released the Unit ID firmware update for the BCD396XT and BCD996XT. The updates and all instructions are available at: BCD396XT Firmware Update and BCD996XT Firmware Update

We'll be releasing the updates for the BCT15X and BC346XT in the next week or so.

As always, thank you for your support, and happy scanning!

Paul "UPMan" Opitz
Product Manager, Uniden Radio Products

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News for October 30, 2009

New Treat On the Way

If you were to make a list of the top requested new features for the BCT15X, BCD996XT, BCD396XT, and BC346XT, right up at the top of the list would be the ability to see the Unit IDs (RIDs in some circles) on Motorola systems. Well, I just signed off on a firmware update for each of these models that does all that (and a bit more). The update is now in QA for final check and approval, which typically takes a week or two, but I just couldn't wait to get the word out.

This update will let you see the Unit ID for transmissions on Motorola, EDACS, and (for the digital models) P25 Trunked systems. Additionally, if you store the Unit ID in a channel and alpha tag the ID, then you'll be able to see the alpha tag instead of the numeric ID (which can be difficult to parse when you want the info at a glance). You'll be able to download the update from the following pages once they are approved and released:

We started testing on this at the beginning of August, and with incredible effort from our engineers as well as phenomenal input from our beta testers really believe that this is going to be a superior implementation of the feature. Of course, you'll be letting me know through your posts on the various bulletin boards and discussion groups if we got it right.

Now I'm off to Tokyo to spend time in Engineering planning for the next generation of features and products (this is a regular meeting we have...and typically the fruit from these meetings are a year or two down the road). You gotta know that what you are talking about is a big part of the future we are planning...but I'm sure we'll be able to surprise you, too.

News for July 24, 2009

Well it has been 2 months since my last update...about time to touch base with you, so here goes.

New Models Shipping

The BCD996XT started shipping earlier this month. Check out the early reviews in the Uniden Scanners Forum at RadioReference.com and the Yahoo! Groups BCD996XT Discussion Group.

The BCT15X will start shipping in late August. I know many of you have been waiting for this one to hit the shelves, too.

Uniden at APCO International 2009

Uniden will be in the Exhibit Hall for this year's APCO International convention. Look for us in booth 1149 (across from Verizon). We'll be sharing the booth this year with CommandComm...they make what I like to call "DVR for your Scanner." Right now they are marketing primarily to professional and public safety. Check them out at their site. Note that Uniden neither supports nor warrants their product...we are just going to be very close neighbors for a few days.

If you attend the show, be sure to stop by for some goodies and to chat.

UPMan on the Air

In support of our participation at the Barjan distributors show, I had an opportunity to sit down for an interview with the Midnight Trucking Radio Show this week. Check out the results right here!

News for May 20, 2009

We've released firmware updates today for two of our newest models, the BC346XT and BCD396XT. These updates take care of a few minor issues that were found late in beta testing, but weren't serious enough to require us to hold up releasing the product. Specifically, the updates:

We are committed to providing continuing support for our scanners, both fixing issues that are found by our users and also enhancing the operation. You can find complete details for these updates at:

News for May 18, 2009

I have a special opportunity open for subscribers of this list...I currently have an opportunity for about 5 more beta testers for the upcoming BCT15X model. Beta testers provide early input on existing feature functionality (i.e. "bug checking").

To participate, you will need to agree to several terms spelled out in a Non Disclosure Agreement, which basically are:

  • Agree to provide meaningful feedback during testing.
  • Agree to keep all testing results confidential.
  • Agree that all intellectual property generated during the course of testing belongs to Uniden.

The specific legal terms are in the agreement itself which you'll have a chance to read and sign prior to acceptance.

You don't need any particular technical proficiency...but you do need to be able to both use this site (for posting files, reporting bugs, etc) and Yahoo! Groups (for discussing issues with myself and the other beta testers).

In return for your assistance, you get to keep the test unit for your use (well, actually we exchange the first one we send to you with a production unit).

If you are interested in participating, email me before the end fo the day, today, May 18, 2009 at popitz@unidenNOSPAM.com (remove NOSPAM from my email before sending). If you are reading this posting after that date, this offer has closed.

Oh, and since this is an "exclusive" offer to list members, I'd hope that it would take a while for this to show up on any of the various discussion forums (if ever).

News for May 5, 2009

First, I want to apologize to those of you who received the May 4 announcement again today. It was human error on my part (I made a minor change to the page and neglected to suppress the version change). I'll try not to do that again.

Next, many of you have had questions about specifics about the two new models. So, I've decided to release the details a little earlier than planned. All the pages at Uniden's Scanner Web Site have now been released. I know there are a few pages that still need some work, but 99% of the work is done...if you run into one of the 1%, be patient and it will be updated soon.

If you see a glaring error and want to report it, please check Unfinished Pages first. If the page shows in that list, then I am aware of the need to add the information, no need to tell me about it. Otherwise, send an email to the site administrator and I'll add it to my list of things to do.

If you have an idea for enhancing the site content, I'm more than open to adding an article, with writing credits to the submitter. There are so many things that these scanners do, and even I only use a fraction of their capabilities so if you have some particular feature expertise please help to share it with your fellow scanner users. I know that more content needs to be added to cover the IFX, Band Scope, Fire Tone-Out and other new features. IFX will be remedied soon thanks to a RadioReference contributor. Drop me a line if you can help out.

Finally, thank you all for your interest in Uniden products. I know that we will continue to improve our products thanks to the help you provide.

News for May 4,2009

Today Uniden is announcing two new scanner models: The BCD996XT and BCT15X base / mobile scanners bring the latest improvements to Uniden's core scanner platform to the mobile scanner audience.

Complete details about these scanners will soon be available covered in our main Scanner Manuals site, but here are some of the features added to the new models:

  • More memory
    • BCD996XT: 25,000 channels
    • BCT15X: 9,000 channels
  • Fully automatic P25 decoding (BCD996XT only)
  • Enhanced GPS compatibility -- controls the scanning of groups of channels within systems.
  • More channels per system -- up to 500 channels per trunked system.
  • Channel Number Tagging -- lets you quickly select a channel for monitoring.
  • Fire Tone-Out Search -- helps to identify the tones used on fire paging dispatch channels.
  • Band Scope -- provides a visual representation of activity within a selected frequency range to help quickly identify active frequencies or sources of interference.
  • Multi-Color Display Backlight (BCD996XT only) -- lets you have the scanner alert you to particular channel activity using specific colors.
  • NAC Decoding -- lets you lelect specific NAC codes to limit reception to only the desired agency. (BCD996XT only)
  • Individual Channel Volume Offset -- helps to compensate for agencies that over- or under-modulate consistently.
  • Priority ID scan for trunked systems -- assigns preference to priority channels when evaluating incoming channel grants.
  • Preemptive Priority for Motorola Systems -- jumps to a priority channel even if the scanner is on a differerent voice communication on the system (requires compatible system-side priority assignments).

    • And more...

    Availability for both models is expected late Summer, 2009.

    In a week or so I'll have all the details for all the new features as well as in-depth instructions posted at Scanner Manuals. I'm continuously adding more material to this site...the update for these scanners involves literally hundreds of changes to the site, including both adding information about the new models and enhancing information available for the BCD396XT and BC346XT. I'll drop you another note when the new pages go live.

    News for April 17 ,2009

    No news is not news. But, I really want to do one "live" test of our new system before the important stuff is ready to post. So, forgive this bit of non-news.

    I will give you one little tidbit: Real news is on the way very soon. Pass the word.

    News for April 9, 2009

    In case you missed it, we've released the update to our BC-RH96 remote head that allows it to be used with our new models. You can find that update at the BC-RH96 Firmware Update page.

    More news to come, soon!