Uniden BC895XLT

It's early September and Uniden has finally started delivering the eagerly awaited BC895XLT TrunkTracker. Not quite as much stir as the introduction as the BC235 probably because most people got it out of their systems with that radio. But there are many people who had no interest in the 235 due to it being a handheld model or were waiting for this revolutionary radio from Uniden which boasted of features not found before on Uniden models. Not only does the new BC895XLT allow you to track 800MHz trunked systems, it also covers the UHF military aeronautical frequency range, provides CTCSS decode and search, an S-meter, weather alert and a proprietary interface for computer control. I took delivery of my 895 on the 10th and after playing with it for a few hours, thought I would write up my first impressions of this radio in the hopes it provides information necessary to decide if this is, or is not, the radio for prospective buyers. This, in no way, should be viewed as an endorsement to purchase this radio nor is it intended to discourage anyone from buying it. I have no personal or business relations with Uniden Corporation. These are simply thoughts offered to my fellow hobbyists who may be interested in purchasing this particular radio. Or to help satiate those chomping at the bit waiting to take delivery of theirs! Thank you and enjoy! Rich Wells N2MCA Strong Signals web site

What You Get

BC895XLT

Antenna

AC adapter

Instruction manual

Model Tested

Serial #: 750001xx

Basic Specs

Channels	300
Banks	10
Coverage	29-54 108-174 216-512 806-956 MHz
Scan	100 channels/second
Search	100/300 freqs/second
Steps	5, 12.5 & 25 kHz
Modes	AM & FM
Sensitivity	?
Conversion	Triple
IFs	?
Priority	10 channels
Search skip	20 frequencies
S-meter	Yes
Delay	Programmable 2 second
Lockout	Per channel
Attenuator	No
Lock	Rotary control
Tone codes	Yes
Rotary control	Yes
Channel count	No
Data skip	Yes
Weather	Pre-programmed
Weather Alert	Yes
Light	Display
Power	12V DC 500mA
Audio	1.8W
Memory	non-volatile?

Just a few errors were noted which is not uncommon for first product when it is being rushed out the door. The specifications page mentions the service search feature covering 7 pre-programmed bands when in fact this radio does not provide service search (other than the pre-programmed NOAA weather frequencies). Under power requirements, it lists an "internal" battery for supplying the 12 volts needed for operation. Not sure if this is some form of typo referring to a back-up battery for memory or some modification available for a 12 volt dry cell to be placed within the cabinet to facilitate rack-mount/mobile use.

There also appears to be an error regarding the tape recorder control feature which mentions that when an active frequency is being recorded, the "time, as well as the channel number and frequency, are all recorded." Since this radio has no clock, and I doubt a voice-synthesis chip as well, I would imagine this refers to capabilities which might be provided when the radio is under software control via the computer interface port.

Speaking of software control, the manual is sure to mention that Uniden will not be providing software or cables for this functionality but that third party vendors will offer these. Sure enough, there is an included flyer from Scanner Master to purchase software ($60), interface cable ($30) and a Trunking CD-ROM covering "all possible business and public safety trunking radio frequencies from across the country" ($70).

I should also mention that there was no included Starter Frequency Guide nor Trunking Frequency Guide as mentioned in the manual. These may or may not be remedied in later production unit shipments.

Construction and Physical
Those of you familiar with the BC890XLT and BC9000XLT will feel right at home. The size is almost identical to the BC900XLT; it's just a little taller. And it's one hefty unit weighing in at nearly 4 pounds. Overall fit and finish are very good. Materials used are top notch and all controls have a good, solid feel to them. The front panel and feet are made of plastic but the cabinet and back panel are all metal.

The cabinet itself is painted black while the front panel is molded in dark gray. Buttons are either black or gray and made of plastic or rubber. The rotary control is molded in black plastic and has dimple on its face for high speed tuning as well as ribbed edges for better grip.

A thoughtful touch is that the bank access keys A - J have been labelled with their respective channel numbers. So the bank keys read 'A 1-30', 'B 31-60', 'C 61-90', etc.

The speaker is quite large being nearly 3 inches in diameter. It is mounted to the top of the cabinet near the right, back corner.

Two feet on the bottom can be flipped down raising the front of the radio by nearly an inch. The bottom of the feet are covered in rubber to help prevent slipping or movement.

Antenna
The antenna supplied is the typical Uniden model seen on the rest of their base and mobil antennas. It consists of a plastic cap which is simply pressed onto the rear BNC connector. This cap ends in a metal lug into which is screwed the 4 section telescoping whip forming the 90 degree angle.

Features
The first thing you'll notice when turning this radio on is the LCD display. Unlike the BC9000XLT's dot-matrix display, this is a much more useful custom LCD which can be read at nearly any angle as long as the radio is at or below eye level.

The display is backlight in orange and is quite bright (too bright?). There is included a dimmer feature (which is only mentioned in the highlights section of the manual and nowhere else) but it does not function as I had expected. Activating the dimmer simply turns off the backlight. Activating it once more turns off any LED indicators on the front panel for full dark mode. The next activiation returns the unit to normal operating mode. I would have preferred this to work like the BC9000 where the first level of dim cuts the intensity of the backlight rather than turning it off.

Other than this, the LCD is great. It has wonderful contrast and displays a wealth of information.

The audio on the BC895XLT is quite nice. Plenty of power and nice tones. Very similar to the PRO-2045 which has more high-end giving voices a crisper quality but also makes static/noise more evident. The BC9000XLT definitely sounds more muffled when compared to the 895.

The next feature which must be mentioned is the all new S-meter! Finally! What many of us have been waiting for is here! Displayed along the left-hand side of the LCD, the S-meter is a 5 segment, vertical bar graph. The stronger the signal, the "taller" the graph gets. I compared this S-meter against that found on my Yupiteru MVT-9000 and found that Uniden did a great job of calibrating the displayed segments to the signal strength.

I should mention that the graph is really 6 segments since it is possible to receive a very weak signal which activates none of the bars. The 'S' on the display is always present in the lower right-hand corner. For this situation of receiving a very weak signal, I would have preferred Uniden to normally leave the 'S' off the display and then display it for very weak signals, or at least have one bar be displayed whenever the squelch is opened.

And don't be surprised to see an S-meter reading with the squelch closed (no signal being received). Valid signal detection seems to be well done with noisy frequencies with unmodulated carriers failing to open the squelch but registering on the S-meter. This works well most of the time but can keep very weak signals from opening the squelch for proper reception.

Next up we have the new and improved CTCSS functionality. Not only can memory channels be programmed with a specific CTCSS code, but it can be set to search for CTCSS codes on active signals during scan or search. A word of warning though; the searching process is not what one would call a speedy process. The BC895XLT can handle 38 CTCSS tones. If the radio has CTCSS search enabled, each time an active signal is received, the search starts at the first code. If this code is not detected, it goes to the next one and so no. Problem is, if the CTCSS code used is the 38th, a transmission will have to be at least 15 seconds in duration to find it. Perhaps Uniden can apply some Turbo technology to this in future models?

Here's an update : when using the CTCSS search while sitting on a channel, the search will resume at the last tested tone if transmissions are too short to search all 38 tones in one transmission. Nicely done!

Like the BC9000XLT and BC890XLT, Uniden has continued to provide the all important rotary control. This control is a simple dial which can be used to scroll through memory contents or used to step the displayed frequency. The user has the choice of selecting frequency or channel control for the rotary control as they see fit. This control can also be locked via a simple press of a front-panel key.

Also included is a toggle switch on the rear of the unit which is used to prevent accidental programming of channel memory.

When performing searches, the BC895XLT allows up to 20 frequencies to be placed in the search-skip memory. Any frequency placed in this memory is not checked for activity during a search. This allows annoying, known or birdie frequencies to keep from interfering with search sessions. Perhaps future models can up this number. The BC900XLT and PRO-2045 have 50 search-skip which I consider a useful minumum.

Another useful feature included is auto-store. This allows active frequencies discovered during a search operation to be stored in memory. Simply program the upper and lower frequency limits to search between, press the Auto button, specify the banks into which the active frequencies are to be put and away you go! Once you get use to it, you'll wonder how you ever got along without it!

Along with this is the tape recorder control feature. A special key on the front panel allows you to mark programmed memory channels. A tape recorder can then be connected to the BC895XLT via the line out and auxilary jacks. The radio is then put in scan mode. If the scan stops on active channel which has been so marked, the radio will activate the auxilary jack which is used to start the tape recorder which records the audio on the line out. When the signal stops, the auxilary jack signal goes away, the recorder stops and the radio continues scanning.

The BC895XLT has ten banks of thirty channels each. Each bank has one channel within it called the priority channel. Any one channel within the bank can be specified as the priority channel by the user. After a scan is started, priority sampling can be enabled. Regardless of the acitivy occurring on other channels being scanned, the priority channels for each active bank being scanned will be checked for active transmissions every two seconds. This makes sure important transmissions aren't missed.

This radio also comes pre-programmed with the NOAA weather frequencies providing access to 24-hour forecast information. Not only that, but NOAA is also responsible for notifying the public of severe weather broadcasts such as severe thunderstorms, hurricanes, tornados, large hail and damaging winds. The BC895XLT also comes with a weather alert feature which allows the radio to remain "dormant" until it receives a special signal transmitted with the NOAA weather which is used to indicate a severe weather broadcast. If such a signal is received, the radio emits a VERY LOUD, obnoxious alarm to get your attention and then monitors the weather channel allowing you to hear what the exact danger is.

I'll also mention that the BC895XLT can only handle AM and FM signals even though its frequency coverage does include bands covered by broadcast TV which includes audio in wide-FM. The 895 does not allow the receive mode to be altered but it does allow for the step size to be change between 5, 12.5 and 25kHz at the user's discretion.

Last but not least I'll mention the squelch tail which is the annoying burst of static heard at the end of a transmission before the squelch closes and the scan/search resumes. The BC895XLT has a squelch tail that I would characterize as moderate. Very similar to the BC900XLT and PRO-2045. While not overtly obnoxious, it could be shortened a bit.

Programming
Like the BC235XLT, the BC895 can be programmed in one of two modes; conventional and trunked. For conventional use, the memory channels are programmed as normal by simply entering frequencies. For TrunkTracking use, memory must be first be put in trunk programming mode and then the trunked radio system frequencies can be programmed.

Trunked programming is carried out on a per bank basis. Only those banks which are to follow trunked systems must be programmed in trunk mode. Any other banks can be programmed and used in the conventional sense.

Once programmed, a trunk bank can be used in trunking mode to TrunkTrack a system, or it can be used in conventional mode allowing conversations to jump all over. However, to follow a trunked system, the radio must be put in trunk mode. Once done, the radio can only TrunkTrack one bank and can not scan any conventional banks. In conventional mode, it can scan any number of banks just like a regular scanner.

Like most of the Bearcats, there is a duplicate frequency check done each time you program a channel. In conventional mode, the radio must search all 300 memories to determine if the entered frequency has already been programmed. This can take up to one second and can be frustrating at times. When programming in trunked mode, only the 30 frequencies in the bank being programmed must be checked which is much faster.

Searching
Searching in conventional mode is the same as it ever was. Specify the frequency limits and search between them.

Searching in trunk mode is much more fun! You must first enter trunk mode by pressing TRNK. The BANK indicator and bank numbers will flash waiting for you to enter the bank to TrunkTrack. Press the desired bank number and you're off! You'll see the radio scan through the bank frequencies looking for the data channel. Be sure you have programmed in the data channel and that the squelch is set to a level allowing you to receive it reliably.

Once the data channel is detected, the squelch control is "disconnected". Audio output is now controlled by data channel activity. And that means no squelch tail! I do get one once in a great while for some reason but for the most part, when the transmitter unkeys the microphone, the data channel indicates this, the BC235 "sees" it and immediately turns off the audio.

So now we are in trunk search mode indicated by the TRUNK and SRCH indicators. You'll see one of the channel activity indicators on representing the ever-busy data channel. There are 30 of these indicators and they are used to graphically represent activity on each of the programmed bank frequencies. This is much nicer than the BC235XLT which, due to LCD space constraints, only had 20 indicators. This meant that the first ten indicators were used to represent the first ten and last en programmed frequencies for the respective bank.

When no signal is being received, the frequency display contains "-----". The radio constantly monitors the data channel for the start of a trans- mission. As soon as a signal is received, the display changes to show the trunking id associated with the transmission. While the frequency is active, you'll notice a flashing channel activity indicator which represents that transmission as well as aiding in the identification of the physical frequency being used by virtue of its position.

If other transmissions occur while you are listening to this one, you'll see activity indicators light up and remain solid for the duration of their conversations. To pick up one of these, simply press the SRCH key to step through each conversation.

While in trunk search mode, you can enable the delay feature just like conventional searching. If delay is on, after activity ceases, the radio will stay on that id and monitor it for up to five seconds. If nothing is detected after this time, the radio goes back to searching for any active id.

If the radio stops on an id and you wish to remain on that id, simply press the HOLD key. The only transmissions you will hear from now on will be those using the displayed trunking id. There is also the capability to monitor any trunking id by simply keying in the id number.

While in search mode, you can lockout any ids that you do not want to monitor. When the trunking id appears, simply press the L/O key and you will no longer hear any more conversations from this id. Even though you will not hear these conversations, you will see when it is active via the channel activity indicators.

Up to 100 ids can be locked out in this manner. There is a feature that allows you to view locked out ids as well as restore one or all ids. Be advised that the lockout list is common to both search and scan modes (described below) so be careful. When you lock out an id in one mode, you lock it out in both.

A final feature available in trunk search mode allows you to simply monitor all ids in use. By pressing and holding the SRCH key until it blinks, you are placed in ID monitor mode. Active transmissions will now display their trunk ids but you will hear no audio. If there is more than one id active at a given time, the radio simply flashes each id in turn.

Another note about the channel activity indicators. The manual states that if you see a indicator but get no audio (and the id is not loced out and you are not in monitor mode) the indicator represents a private or telephone-patch call which "are not monitored by your scanner."

After further use, I have confirmed that you will usually hear the start of the telephone-patch (dial tone and first few digits being entered) and then poof...all goes quiet.

Scanning
In conventional mode, you typically program frequencies for a particular agency into a bank for logical organization. When in trunk mode, you have the capability of logically grouping ids by programming them into what is called a scan list. Each bank can have up to 5 scan lists and each list can contain up to 10 trunk ids. This makes it handy to put police trunk ids in one scan list, fire in another list and so on.

To program the scan lists, simply enter trunk search mode. Then press MAN and the HOLD indicator will display just like in conventional mode. The current scan list is indicated by the bar under the number and the current channel number for that list is displayed. Simply use the MAN or arrow keys to select the desired scan list and channel. Key in the desired trunk id and press ENTER.

To start scanning, press SCAN. Like conventional scanning, the list(s) being scanned are indicated by the bars under the list number. Toggle each list on or off using the appropriate key. Be advised that in this mode, the channel activity indicators are not displayed (they are being used to indicate which scan lists are active).

Just like conventional scanning, individual channels can be locked out so that you hear no activity for that trunk id. Remember that the lock out list is shared between the search and scan mode so any id you lock out in a scan list is also locked out for search mode.

Be aware that when in any trunk mode, you can only scan one bank at a time. And remember, you can scan a trunked bank in conventional mode just like every other scanner. And if you do lock out the data channel in conventional mode, this will not interfere with the detection of the data channel when you go into trunk mode.

VHF/UHF Performance
The first order of business was to search for birdie frequencies to see how good internal shielding is. My results found 7! Great job Uniden!

Next, I performed a search of the entire frequency range while at home and using the stock antenna to get a feel for image and interference rejection.

The BC895XLT provided excellent results and seems indicative of a triple conversion unit with good filtering. The only problems seemed to come on a few frequencies due to images of strong broadcast TV signals. And there are definitely not going to be cellular images heard. Not only does this radio do a great job of filtering and adjacent channel attenuation, but the IFs chosen will place cellular images way above the frequency range of this radio. For instance, a cordless phone conversation on 46.93MHz was detected at 808MHz!

I then moved on to testing the sensitivity of this radio compared to its big brother, the BC9000XLT and its closest competitor, the Radio Shack PRO-2045. I used the stock Uniden antenna on all three radios and did extensive monitoring to determine the winner for each frequency.

In the results table below, for each frequency, I ranked the radios from 1st place to last. If a radio did not receive the test signal, a 0 was registered.

As you can see from the above table, the results were astounding. The BC895 proved the winner across the entire receive range. It was simply astonishing to see how well this radio performed.

Compare/Contrast
To help prospective buyers compare the BC895XLT with its two closest competitors, I have created the following table.

Further, let me say that the key layout of the BC895/9000 is much nicer than the haphazard arrangement found on the 2045. The custom LCDs of the 895 and 2045 provide much more pleasant viewing than the dot-matrix used by the 9000. I consider the 895 LCD to be superior to that of the 2045.

Comments
Uniden appears to be on a roll. The BC895XLT does so many things well that it is hard to believe of anyone not being happy with this radio. Forgetting the TrunkTracking capability for a moment, when you consider the radio with what's left you still have a winner.

The new S-meter will be well received by the monitoring community. Wide coverage is always welcome as is the rotary control. Having a built-in CTCSS decoder is great but provides even more capability with its search feature. Auto-store is great and always appreciated. Search-skip helps remove much of the frustration when searching for new signals. Pre-programmed weather frequencies are helpful but the weather alert feature will be especially appreciated by those who live where severe weather is a danger during various times of the year. Add in search-skip, tape recorder control and a computer interface and you've got one heck of a monitoring station!

For those of us with 800Mhz trunked systems around, the BC895XLT is worth its weight in gold.

And of course we can't forget the great receiver performance. Front-end filtering, selectivity, sensitivity and image rejection are all top-notch and are really what anyone buys a receiver for.

All of this for $300 or less. Hard to go wrong when you consider all you get. One nice radio that I expect to get a LOT of use out of in the years to come. Nice job Uniden!

Updates - October 8, 1997
In regards to the functionality of my LCD dimmer control. It seems my unit is 'broken'. The dimmer should work just like it does on the BC9000. The first press should dim the display. The second press should turn off the baclight as well as lit LEDs. The third press should restore 'normal' or full illumination.

I have also heard of two other problems people have experienced with their 895s. The first relates to locking out trunk ids. Many have reported that the first time they went to lock out a trunk id that the radio said the lockout memory was full. Seems there's a problem with how some radios left the factory without the lockout memory being properly initialized. I have heard that the only way to fix this condition is to perform a hard reset of the radio (hold 2+9+MANUAL then power on) which also wipes out all memory contents.

The second problem relates to the scanning of locked out channels. Many have reported that their 895s actually scan channels which are automatically locked out when programmed with a frequency of 0. Scanning of these memory channels is described as VERY slow. To fix this problem, try a hard reset (mentioned above) or simply reprogram each empty channel with a frequency of 0 which should properly set its lockout state.

Rumor has it that Uniden is having second thoughts about supporting the computer control option. Allegedly, Uniden is not letting out details of the port and even thinking about rescinding Scanner Master's rights to author the official BC895XLT PC control software.

If you have experienced any other problems, I urge you to write and tell me about them so we can get them communicated and help alleviate some of this frustration. Thanks to those of you who have written me about the above problems! Good communication works for all of us!

Update - July 29, 1999
The latest update is that the BC895XLT firmware has been updated to include the Disconnect Tone Detect enable/disable feature.

When monitoring Motorola systems, the radio knows to stop monitoring a transmission and return to the control channel when it detects a series of sub-audible "disconnect" tones. Unfortunately, on some systems, outside interference can trick the radio into thinking it has received these tones. The result? The radio will abandon a transmission before it is completed which can be very frustrating to the listener.

Early model BC235XLTs had this problem which was rectified in later production runs by including the ability to turn off this Disconnect Tone Detect function.

This feature has now been added to the BC895XLT as well! While this feature is accessed via the CTCSS key while trunk monitoring, I don't know if it has been added to the documenation yet.

Copyright © 2010 by Richard J. Wells