|
|
 |
|---|
|
The Uniden BC235XLT TrunkTracker was crowned as a technological achievement for
the monitoring hobby and lived up to all the hype preceding its introduction.
But it was hardly out of the gate when the tough questions began like "It can
only track one trunked system at a time?" and "I can't scan conventional and
trunked systems at the same time?"
It hardly seems as though that was over two years ago! Time sure does fly when you're busy monitoring. And while we were putting the BC235XLT through its paces and various web sites were springing into action to publish newfangled trunking information, rumors began to surface that the engineers at Uniden were being equally industrious! The result of their hard work is the introduction of the BC245XLT TrunkTracker II which represents another great achievement in the history of scanning! Considering all that those in the hobby were demanding, the question on everyone's mind is if this radio lives up to what has become expected of it. What follows are my personal impressions regarding the features and performance of this receiver. 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 nor business relations with Uniden America Corporation. These are simply thoughts offered to my fellow hobbyists who may be interested in purchasing this particular radio or simply knowing more about it. A lot of hard work and effort has gone into the testing and writing of this review. I would appreciate it if every effort is made to keep this document whole with me as the original author. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this document is copyrighted and therefore protected by US law and international treaties governing intellectual property. Except for personal use, and for the sake of brief passages quoted in reviews and given appropriate credit, no part of this work may be reproduced in any forms or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without prior written permission of the author. And if you want to share your thoughts about this review with me or have further questions, feel free to send e-mail. Thank you and enjoy!
Rich Wells |
| Channels | 300 |
|---|---|
| Banks | 10 |
| Coverage | 29-54 108-174 406-512 806-956 MHz |
| Scan | 100 chan/sec |
| Search | 100/300 steps/sec |
| Steps | 5 & 12.5 kHz |
| Modes | AM & FM |
| Sensitivity | Courtesy of Kurt Fritsch, WA3TOY Measurements for 12dB SINAD |
| Conversion | Triple |
| IFs | 1=254.5? 2= 10.85? 3=0.450? |
| Priority | 10 chan + 100 IDs |
| Search limits | 1 |
| Search skip | 50 frequencies |
| Auto-store | No |
| S-meter | No |
| Delay | Yes |
| Lockout | Yes |
| Attenuator | Yes |
| Lock | Yes |
| Tone codes | No |
| Computer intf | Yes |
| Rotary control | No |
| Channel count | No |
| Data skip | Yes |
| Clock | No |
| Timers | No |
| Weather | Yes |
| Weather Alert | No |
| Light | Display, constant |
| Power | 4.8 - 12 volts |
| Audio | 180 mW at 10% THD |
| Size | 2.5(W) x 1.75(D) x 6(H) inches |
| Weight | 11 ounces |
| Memory | nonvoltaile? |
Considering all that this radio does, it's not unexpected to find this manual quite thick and chock full of info. As such, it's easy for new users to get lost with all the details you have to wade through and terminology which must be learned.
Unfortunately in our "instant gratification" society, such a complex radio fits like the proverbial square peg in a round hole. If you just want to use this radio for conventional monitoring (perhaps the BC230XLT should have been purchased instead), then it will be easy to take it out of the box, program it up and let her rip.
If you plan on using its TrunkTracking operations, prepare to spend a little time with your nose in the book until you come up to speed. Even I, who have used the BC235XLT, BC895XLT, PRO-90, PRO-2050, PRO-91, PRO-2066 and OptoCom trunking radios, was taken back a bit at the amount of new information that is presented in this manual.
While most of the basic operations are the same, there are a lot of auxiliary features which you'll have to learn to get the most out of your monitoring sessions. One of the most complex new operations is the Multi-Track mode in which you can change display modes to determine which banks and Scan Lists are to be accessed.
All in all, I found the TrunkTracking aspects of the manual laid out in an orderly fashion. It progresses from trunk mode programming, to searching and its operations, scanning and its operations, priority management and finishing up with Multi-Track coverage.
Just be prepared to do your homework. Preferably with radio in hand where you can experiment with its operation until you have it mastered. If you're one of those readers who likes to skim, you are bound to miss important details and end up being frustrated and blaming the manual unjustly.
Another snafu I recently found is that the Table of Contents is missing an entry for the helpful EDACS info found on page 84 which helps to explain the AFS numbering scheme and how the XPAND feature can be used to filter AFS IDs.
Also supplied is the TrunkTracker National Public Safety Trunked System Frequency and Talk Group Guide (had it applied for an ISBN number, I'm sure it would have taken a Guinness record for longest publication title).
Organized alphabetically by state, I quickly turned to the section that concerned me most, only to find the information missing for what is probably North Carolina's third largest TRS (the city of Cary which also dispatches the town of Morrisville; the city of Apex is also on this system). Surely it was a devious plan to discourage yours truly from TrunkTracking my favorite public safety system!
The entries for each listing consist of the frequencies involved and the type of system (Motorola with type or GE/Ericsson). If the info exists, logical channel numbering for EDACS systems, talk group IDs and preset/user-defined fleet map designations are listed as well.
Construction and Physical
If you've seen or owned a BC220XLT, BC230XLT or BC235XLT, you already know
about 95% of what the BC245XLT looks like. Using basically the same case (whose
style can also be seen in the BC120XLT and SportCat models) for all of these
radios, Uniden certainly has gotten a lot of mileage out of this design!
Looking at the specifications above you'll note that the radio is a typical size in width and height but about a half inch too thick by today's standards. Not too shabby considering that it's been around for almost a decade!
I was really hoping that Uniden would release this radio in a different color to help set it apart from the BC235XLT. Owning a BC220XLT, BC230XLT and BC235XLT, I am getting a bit bored with the dark gray color (I know I have your pity on this one). I personally think that black or even dark blue would have done quite nicely!
Looking over the BC245XLT, there's little that sets it apart from its previous generation sibling. Differences include the 'TRUNK TRACKER II' label, 'REMOTE' over the E key, key icon over the DLY key (opposed to 'LOCK' over the light key) and a rubber cap over the data port on the right hand side.
For those of us with early BC235XLTs, we must also get used to the 'ATT' label over the decimal (.) key as well.
Other than these difference, the radios are identical in control and keypad layout, and lettering colors (silver with gold accents here and there). Upon closer examination, the actual lettering of the two is slightly different. The best way to describe it would be to say the 235 uses a normal font while the 245 uses a bold font. While I can detect no change in lettering size, the bolder text does improve readability.
As mentioned earlier, the right hand side contains the REMOTE data jack for interface to a PC (or even a modem if using the SmartScanner feature). The jack is covered by a thoughtful rubber cap simply labeled 'REMOTE'. Flipping the cap aside (a frustrating experience to say the very least) reveals the edge of a small printed circuit board connector surrounded by what is most likely a metal ground shield.
Supplied with the radio is a 3 foot long interface cord. One end of it is terminated in the usual DB-9 connector typically used to plug directly into a PC serial port. The other end plugs directly into the radio REMOTE jack and snaps nicely into place. The connector is keyed so the plug only slides in one way. This is indicated by the "UP" sticker on the plug which would have perhaps been more aptly labeled "FRONT" since the radio will usually be standing upright.
Antenna
The supplied antenna appears to be the stock unit used on all their other
handhelds. Hopefully the broken-pin fiasco that ensued with the BC235XLT will
not rear its ugly head with this radio.
My testing of this antenna shows that it is only average when it comes to overall reception. Most users will find it beneficial to replace it as soon as possible with a better aftermarket selection. If you are trying to receive distant 800/900 MHz systems, be sure to pick a replacement carefully since most antennas aren't terribly efficient in this range.
Visit my Antenna page for web links and read my Handheld Antenna review for some help in choosing a worthy replacement for the type of monitoring you do.
Features
As I mentioned earlier, if you've seen any of Uniden's previous models like the
BC220XLT, BC230XLT or BC235XLT, you have a very good idea of what this radio
looks like as well as its physical features. So I'll try not to bore you too
much and just cover the most important highlights.
The layout of speaker (top), LCD (middle) and keypad (bottom) are the same on the front panel. The LCD size remains the same as does its good contrast level and readability from all angles (except for minor blurring from above).
The LCD has a few, new indicators to keep up with the new functionality of the radio. Along the left hand side are 'M' and 'E' indicators used to indicate Motorola and Ericsson trunked systems. And packed in with the rest of the service scan indicators is the 'RR' indicator when using the railroad service scanning feature.
Another new feature of the LCD is to flash 'bc245' twice on power up.
Like its predecessors, the BC245XLT comes with a green backlight which does a very good job of illuminating the display via two LEDs along the bottom edge. A single press of the light key turns it on for 15 seconds. Pressing it before this time elapses turns it back off.
A new function of the backlight is the Autolight feature which is basically a squelch controlled backlight. Once enabled, if the radio breaks squelch to receive a signal, the backlight will come on for 5 seconds, allowing you to read the LCD information without manually have to intervene.
While this is a great feature and I'm glad to see Uniden implementing more 90'ish features, some users have become "distressed" over the Autolight's operation. It appears that once the backlight comes on and then turns off, there is a timer which prevents it from being activated again until the timer expires. This timer appears to be on the order of 2 seconds.
Most users complained about this on very busy trunked systems saying that the radio would stop on a talkgroup ID and turn on the light. After five seconds the light would go off and just shortly thereafter (within 2 seconds), another talkgroup would become active but the light would not come on.
I could see how such a scenario could occur when monitoring trunked systems since this is can be a "squelch-less" process (the majority of trunked systems are Motorola which use subaudible tones and digital data to indicate traffic so the squelch is not needed to let the radio know when traffic is active).
As a test, I put the radio to scanning 5 conventional banks which should keep it very busy with traffic. And it didn't take but a few seconds to exhibit the above problem. The radio would stop on a signal, the light would come on and then the radio would resume scanning before the light went off. Watching closely, just after the light went off another signal was received but the light did not come on!
So regardless of whether you're monitoring conventional or trunked systems with a lot of traffic, there's a good chance that the radio will not turn on the light for you when you're expecting it. I can only imagine that Uniden would have done this in an effort to reduce battery drain from excessive backlight usage on such systems.
Moving on to the keypad, it is nearly identical to the BC235XLT as mentioned earlier. What I found noticeable was that the lettering appears to be bolder than on my BC235XLT thereby enhancing its readability.
One of the biggest complaints from BC235XLT owners was in regards to the power of the speaker audio. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that Uniden has done much to address this issue. My unit does appear to have a slightly better frequency response than my BC235XLT which is evident by crisper tones on FM signals. While this does make signals sound less "mushy" it also gives the appearance that the audio power has been raised slightly, but I don't think this is the case.
Early users of the BC235XLT had problems with intermod interference in certain urban environments which can render the radio useless for TrunkTracking since digital and subaudbile decoding is hamstrung. To help alleviate this for such users, Uniden added an attenuator in later models which was at first kept a secret which caused problems for some users who accidentally activated it and couldn't figure out why they had such poor reception. Subsequent production runs labeled the '.' key's secondary function as 'ATT' as well as documenting its use in the Operating Guide.
Carrying over this handy feature, the BC245XLT does have this 15 dB attenuator which is labeled on the keypad as well as including the ATT indicator on the LCD (instead of having to note the flashing '.' on the LCD which is how the BC235XLT let you know the attenuator was active).
Another useful function of the attenuator besides reducing signal strength to prevent intermodulation interference is to prevent the desensitization of the receiver. Modern receivers have automatic gain control circuitry in the front end which varies the amplification of the minute RF signals based on their received strength in an effort to present a constant strength signal to the circuitry "downstream."
If you use a radio in an area with lots of strong RF, their reception into the radio's front end can overload the radio to the point that signals adjacent to the one which you are currently tuned can "spill over" making the radio think that the currently tuned signal is coming in too strong. To compensate, it turns the amplification down. While many times this isn't a problem, if the signal you are trying to receive is weak, this phenomenon will further weaken the signal, possibly to the point of non-reception.
Case in point, I recently received an e-mail from Glenn Cohen of Scanners Unlimited. He was trying to receive a weak EDACS system and decided to install an 800 MHz beam antenna to enhance the reception of said system. But the signals went from weak to non-existent! How could this be? The answer is desensitization.
By using the tuned antenna, signal reception into the radio was now so strong that it was overloading it and causing it to reduce its amplification. Adding the antenna resulted in the opposite intention!
Glenn was able to remedy this by using the BC245XLT's attenuator which reduces the strength of all signals coming into the radio. Having done this, the overload condition was removed and the scanner used "normal" amplification to receive the signal. Glenn is now a happy camper and monitoring away!
So when using any radio, keep in mind the environment in which you are using it as well as the antenna system. If your attempts to remedy signal reception do not have the intended effect, begin to think about intermodulation interference and desensitization. Experimentation with attenuation and differing antennas can often help you get to the bottom of your problem. And some experience with these conditions doesn't hurt either!
Getting back on track with our review, the last item to be covered is the reset operation. Like all Uniden scanners before it, there is usually a reset procedure which can be used to erase ALL data within the radio and put it into a known, good condition (just as it came out of the box from the factory). Just as PCs have "three key salutes" (Ctrl-Alt-Del), so do Uniden scanners. Unfortunately, Uniden doesn't like to document this feature which is why there is a never ending stream of "How do I reset my scanner?" queries on USENET.
To reset your BC245XLT, turn it off, and hold down the 2, 9 and MANUAL keys while turning it on.
Programming conventional frequencies is as easy as it's ever been. Locate the desired memory channel, key in the frequency and press the E key. To help you to keep from programming duplicate frequency entries, the radio will warn you if you attempt to do so. You can then choose to accept or decline the duplicate entry.
As usual, moving about within memory is as simple as using the MANUAL and Arrow keys. Keying in a channel number followed by the MANUAL key takes you directly to that channel. Sitting on a single channel allows it to be monitored exclusively and if no activity is detected after a few seconds, the battery saver kicks in to reduce current drain thus allowing the battery to last longer.
Individual channels can be locked out of the scanning sequence as well as adding their own delay setting to wait on frequency for 2 seconds in hopes that a reply will be forthcoming. Unfortunately, the attenuator setting is a global action and can not be set on a per channel basis.
Scanning
To start scanning in conventional mode, SCAN is pressed which, when no signal
is being received, results in 'SCAN' being scrolled across the LCD. When an
active signal is detected, the frequency and channel number is displayed as
one would expect.
If scanning stops on an undesired signal, you can press SCAN to continue on or press L/O to lock it out. Similarly, the delay feature can be toggled on and off to suit your preferences for each channel.
Across the top of the display are the numerals which represent each of the scan banks. If a bank is included in the scanning sequence, a bar is displayed underneath the respective number. If several banks are being scanned, look for the blinking bar to indicate which bank is being scanned at any given time. As usual, banks are added to or removed from the scanning sequence by simply pressing the appropriate number key.
Searching
The BC245XLT comes with one set of frequency limits to perform a conventional
limit search. The lower and upper limits are keyed in, each followed by a
press of the LIMIT key. Once both are in, the SRCH key is pressed to being the
hunt!
Searching progresses upward in frequency value and can not be made to go in the opposite direction...bummer. Step sizes and receive modes default to the values stated in the Operating Guide and can not be changed. Search speed is quite sprightly and when using 5 kHz steps, the Turbo feature can be enabled to triple the speed. This is done by pressing the PRI key which results in the LCD SEARCH indicator flashing to indicate so.
If the search stops on an active frequency, the search resumes as soon as the signal disappears. Just like scanning, a delay can be added to make the radio wait around for 2 seconds in hopes of getting a reply before the search resumes. To stay on that frequency until you're ready to leave it, press HOLD which effectively pauses the search.
At this point, the Arrow keys can be used to step around the frequency spectrum at your command. They can also be held down for fast slewing about. Once you're ready to continue the search, SRCH is pressed and the process resumess from the currently displayed frequency.
Like the BC235XLT, if the search stops on an undesired frequency, the L/O key can be pressed to lock it out of the search sequence. When the list is full, it simply wraps to the beginning with the latest specified frequency wiping out the previous occupant thereby unlocking it in the process. But unlike the BC235XLT which had a paltry 20 search lockouts, the 245 comes with 50!
To remove a frequency lockout, you can pause the search and step around to locate the frequency and unlock it (not very efficient) or simply press and hold the L/O key until it beeps twice, at which point the entire list has been wiped clean for a fresh start!
When performing a conventional limit search, the Data Skip feature can be enabled to help skip over birdie frequencies, unmodulated carriers and some types of data signals. But it can not be used on AM/airband signals.
Service Scan
While past models with this feature called it Service Search, this manual seems
to adopt, I think, a more appropriate Service Scan nomenclature which better
reflects this feature's functionality. While most of the manual uses the newer
Service Scan wording, someone forgot to update the Feature Highlights section
which still refers to it as Service Search.
The purpose of this feature is to select one of the available service agencies and scan through a bank of their particular preprogrammed frequencies. While the BC235XLT included 5 agencies, the BC245XLT does it one better by adding railroad to the list of police, fire/EMS, air, marine, and weather banks.
To start the scan, the SVC button is pressed until the desired agency appears on the LCD. Shortly thereafter, the scan starts looking for active frequencies among those programmed for the selected agency. These frequencies consist of allocations which are used throughout the whole United States. As such, this feature is of little use for those who import the radio into other countries such as Canada and England.
When activity is detected on a frequency, the scan stops to show the frequency and let the transmission audio be heard. The delay feature can be used in this mode if desired. Undesired signals can be locked out of the scan sequence by pressing L/O or you can force the scan to resume by pressing SCAN.
And while there are thousands of programmed frequencies for these agencies, you are only allowed to lock out up to 20 of them.
One nice feature about the marine and railroad scans is that when it stops to monitor a signal, the LCD will alternate between displaying the frequency and the "official" marine/railroad channel number.
TrunkTracking
Here's where we start to get into the real meaty issues! It's usually the place
where most new users have the hardest time trying to understand the theory
behind trunked radio systems and what trunking/talkgroup IDs are all about.
Such concepts have also been known to befuddle even those who have been around
since the "crystal days", so pay attention!
Even if you have been around the TrunkTracking block a few times, there are a number of new features that you have to learn about which can greatly enhance your enjoyment of this radio. I know I was pleasantly surprised by the number of enhancements that were made!
The first thing you need to do is figure out which systems you're going to monitor so you can plan to put them in specific banks of the radio. You can then program up the conventional banks as mentioned above.
For the trunked banks, you have to gather ALL the frequencies for the system in in question. If you're missing any, you might miss some activity and if you're missing the control channel frequency, you'll miss all the activity! To look up such information, you can use the included Uniden guide, Radio Shack's Police Call Plus, or the wealth of information available all over the internet.
Since the BC245XLT allows TrunkTracking of systems in multiple frequency bands as well as EDACS systems, there are a few new issues to be resolved. For Motorola Type II systems on VHF-hi and 400/500 MHz, not only must the frequencies be entered but special base and offset frequency values must be entered which are unique to each system. Where this information is acquired, I do not know. Hopefully, over time, the "experts" will be able to come up with a foolproof way to determine such values as well as see to it that known values are published accordingly.
When programming GE/Ericsson EDACS systems, frequency values must be entered in a specific order (logical channel numbering or LCN). Worse yet, as the manual hints at and David Safdy pointed out on my Message Board, some systems have "holes" in them which will require that channels be left empty and thus skipped over to represent these "holes". While the LCN concept is enough of a pain, these holes will only add to the "black magic" effect of what was once reserved to Motorola Type I/IIi fleet map programming.
With all this precious info in your hands, you are now ready to program the scanner. The TRNK button is held until the radio beeps and then the desired bank to be programmed is chosen. At this point, the BC245XLT programming differs from the BC235XLT by prompting you for which of the 6 trunked system types this bank will conform to.
Once done, the frequency data can be entered into memory just like in conventional mode. Keep in mind that you can only program the channels within this bank and are not allowed outside of it. With that being the case, that means you are limited to 30 frequency values for your trunked system. But some of you will come across systems which list more than this number of frequencies.
As John T. Ward pointed out on my Message Board, such larger systems are really composed of two or more subsystems which are "stitched together". Somehow, you must determine which frequencies belong to each subsystem and then program those systems into separate banks, if you desire, and each should be less than the 30 frequency maximum. Keep in mind that some of the frequencies might not be part of the trunked system but are used for backup simplex operations in case the trunked system goes down.
With the system all programmed, a press of the SRCH key starts the radio searching for active trunking/talkgroup IDs. While searching, the display will show '-- ---' with a set of bars near the top which indicate the activity on the physical frequencies (channel activity indicators in TrunkTracking lingo).
Once an active ID is detected, it will be displayed. A handy new feature allows the display to alternate between this ID and the frequency in use by simply pressing the LIMIT button. This function is enabled only for the duration of the transmission and then reverts to ID only mode. If you find this function particularly handy, you can lock it on by pressing and holding LIMIT until the radio beeps twice.
Just like conventional searching, you have the ability to lock out those signals which are of no interest to you. In trunking parlance, this means you have the ability to lock out specified IDs. Should an ID become active that you do not wish to hear, simply press the L/O key to add it to the ID lockout list. You won't hear any traffic on this ID again! While the 235 only allowed up to 100 IDs to be locked out, the 245 allows up to 200!
Just be aware that if you lock out an ID in search mode, it will also be locked out when you get into scanning mode. That's why it is a good idea, whenever you finish search mode, to unlock all IDs as explained in the manual!
Using this search mode, it will be possible to collect the IDs which are active on each system. Over time you'll be able to figure out which agency uses each one and for what purpose. If you're particularly lucky, you might find some of this information in various publications or on the internet!
Interesting features include the ability to hold an ID once it becomes active by pressing the HOLD key. You can also manually key in an ID if you want to monitor it exclusively as well. While searching and the radio stops on an ID, you also have the ability to transfer it directly into a specified Scan List location and then return to searching!
To concentrate your listening on specific IDs, you'll have to program the Scan Lists with these IDs. The BC245XLT comes with 10 Scan Lists, each of which is capable of holding 10 IDs. That's twice the number allowed by the BC235XLT!
If you're like me, you'll find it useful to program up each Scan List with a different agency, like #1 for police IDs, #2 for fire IDs, #3 for EMS, etc. And if you have more than 10 IDs for an agency that you need to program, just put them in sequential Scan Lists (like #1, #2 & #3 for police, #4 & #5 for fire, etc.)
Once you have the Scan Lists programmed, a simple press of the Scan button puts the radio in trunked scanning mode. In this mode, 'id SCAN' is scrolled across the display while the scanner checks to see if there is any activity on the IDs you have programmed into the Scan Lists.
And just as you configure your listening interests by toggling banks on and off in conventional mode, you can toggle various Scan Lists on and off while in trunking mode to only monitor those Scan Lists of interest at the time. For instance, the police might be in a hot pursuit and you don't want to have all the good chatter interrupted by fire or EMS signals. Just turn off all other Scan Lists leaving just the police ones enabled.
You can further configure your listening by going back into the Scan List contents and locking out those IDs which are of no current interest. You can do this when manually viewing the list contents, or by pressing the L/O key when the scan stops on an unwanted ID.
One of the greatest new additions to the 245 is the Multi-Track feature. Not only does it allow multiple trunked banks to be scanned/searched at the same time, it allows you to mix in conventional banks as well. As if that wasn't enough, you can even put conventional frequencies in a trunked bank and they will be scanned as well!
And now, a word of warning that I passed along to the readers of my Message Board regarding my "harrowing" experience with the BC245XLT fresh out of the box. Since the BC235XLT did not have Multi-Track, it was not possible to monitor conventional and trunked frequencies at the same time. When I wanted to listen to the trunked system and conventional banks, I would lock out the control channel in the trunked bank and then monitor conventionally. And when I went into trunk monitoring mode, the locked out control channel did not phase the radio from finding and tracking it.
Not so with the 245! When programming my new 245, I unknowingly locked out the control channel as a matter of habit. When I tried to enter trunking mode, I got a big zilch! If the control channel is locked out, the radio will skip over it when looking for the digital data stream it needs to lock onto to do its stuff!
Now, with this Multi-Track feature, it begins to become a housekeeping nightmare when multiple systems are being tracked! Luckily, the DATA key rides to the rescue thanks to clever thinking on Uniden's part. This key, when used in trunking mode, is used to not only control the information displayed on the LCD, but also to configure whether the numeric keys are used to toggle banks or Scan Lists!
As you might have already noticed, pressing the TRNK key starts the radio scanning in Multi-Track mode. In this mode, you can monitor any of the systems you have programmed in any of the 10 banks regardless of whether they are conventional or trunked.
So, you start pressing keys to select the banks which you want to monitor. The problem comes when you want to adjust the scanning of the Scan Lists for a trunked bank! How to you toggle these on and off as was so easily done on the BC235XLT?
Keeping an eye on the LCD, note what happens when you press the DATA key repeatedly. This is the key you need to understand to take the mystery and confusion out of the Multi-Track scanning mode.
The very first time you get into trunking mode, you'll most likely notice the TRUNK and BANK indicators in the upper left hand corner. The TRUNK indicates that the radio is in trunked (or Multi-Track) mode where it can monitor trunked or conventional memory banks. The BANK indicator lets you know that the row of numbers following it represent the banks which are being monitored. So in this mode, pressing the number keys will toggle individual banks on and off.
If you now press DATA, you'll see the BANK indicator disappear along with the row of numbers. This mode should look very familiar to the trunked searching mode where the channel activity indicators are being displayed.
Press DATA again and you'll see just the row of numbers reappear. These numbers now represent the Scan Lists which are active for the trunked bank being currently scanned. So in this mode, pressing the number keys allows you to toggle individual Scan Lists on and off.
There you have it! Once you get use to using the DATA key, it's a breeze to control the Multi-Track operation and quickly target the resources you want to monitor at any given time.
By the way, if you are using the DATA key and it beeps when you press it, that just means that you happened to press it while scanning a conventional system. This can happen in Multi-Track mode while scanning both trunked and conventional. Simply keep pressing it and at some point you'll be scanning a trunked system where this key is used.
Since we're on the subject of Multi-Track, now would be a good time to cover what I feel is a very bothersome attribute of its operation. And this is the built in delay used when scanning trunked systems. For whatever reason, Uniden chose to implement a five second delay which is used to force the scanner to monitor a single trunked system.
If you only monitor a single trunked system then you won't see this delay. However, if you make use of the Multi-Track option and use it to monitor multiple trunked systems and/or mix in conventional frequencies either in the same bank or another, you will see it right off!
Let's say we are monitoring banks 1 - 4 with banks 1 & 2 being conventional while banks 3 & 4 are trunked. WHen you press TRNK to start trunked scanning, you'll notice that the radio rips through banks 1 & 2 and reaches bank 3 in no time. And there it will sit, on bank 3, for a minimum of 5 seconds before it moves on to bank 4. Where it will again spend a minimum of 5 seconds monitoring it before it starts the process over again at bank 1.
In this example, it means that it takes 11 seconds to make a full sweep of the 4 radio systems in question! That's a lot of room for missed traffic! Had this been 4 conventional banks, it would complete the sweep in roughly 2 seconds. For a worst case scenario, consider the 50 second delay associated with scanning 10 trunked systems! That's 45 seconds between each sweep of the same bank!
A similar phenomenon occurs if you put conventional frequencies in a trunked bank for monitoring. With this Multi-Track delay, the conventional frequencies will only be checked every 5 seconds.
Does anyone else see this as unduly restrictive? How many conventional scanners would be sold if every one of them forced you to stay scanning on each bank of frequencies for a minimum of 5 seconds? I dare say not too many. Yet on this highly sophisticated radio which pulls out all the stops for technological achievements, we must deal with this hamstringing.
We can only hope that Uniden chooses to rethink their position on this one and either back this delay down to the 1 second range or remove it altogether. In one of my most recent site polls, I asked BC245XLT owners what they thought about this delay. 11% of the respondents said it should be left as is, 59% said it should be shortened and 21% said to remove it completely. Count me in on the 21% faction.
There is one issue that I just thought of with regard to the Multi-Track delay. While the scanner is doing it's 5 second per system monitoring, it does give you time to use the DATA key and then the number keys to select which Scan Lists are active. If this delay is removed or shortened too much, it will not allow enough time to perform all of these actions.
Clearly another methodology is needed to avoid the arduous 5 second delay but allow manipulation of the banks scanned and the Scan Lists being accessed. The easiest approach to me seems to be another keypress to toggle the 5 second timer on and off. You'd turn it on to manipulate the banks and Scan Lists, and then turn it off while actual monitoring.
Turning our attention to other features, we must talk about those features which were added to support individual Motorola and Ericsson system traits.
We'll start with Motorola and the Disconnect Tone Detect and Status Bits features. On these systems, the end of a transmission is indicated on the current voice channel by a set of subaudible tones. The TrunkTracker scanners use these tones to abandon the voice channel and return to monitoring of the control channel for more active transmissions. Makes it quite nice for us listeners since the squelch is not used for this purpose which helps to make annoying squelch tails non-existent!
But early BC235XLT users encountered a problem. It seems that overmodulated signals on some systems can falsely generate this set of tones. So what happens is that sometime during the transmission, the radio will leave the frequency to return to the control channel frequency because it thinks the end of the transmission was sent. Of course the transmission is likely still ongoing so the radio returns to this frequency where it will likely once again abandon it prematurely due to this fake tone syndrome.
The cure for this problem was to tell the scanner that the tones should be ignored and to use the squelch to indicate when the transmission was at an end. This feature was incorporated on later production runs of the BC235XLT and comes standard on the BC245XLT as Disconnect Tone Detect. The only snafu here is that with the use of squelch comes the return of squelch tails.
Another Motorola system feature is that of the Status Bits. These are data bits within the trunking protocol that are used to indicate "special" calls and typically have IDs which are based on the primary ID assignment for which the signal is being broadcast.
For example, an emergency call can go out on an ID which is used by the police. If so, such an ID will add 2 to the numeric value of the police ID being used in this case. If your police were using an ID of 1168, an emergency call on this channel would be seen as an ID of 1170.
Now, there are a number of these "special" calls (15 I believe) which can be "piggybacked" on any system ID. Considering all the IDs you have to monitor, that's the potential for a LOT more traffic if "special" calls are used on your system.
To help you sort things out, Uniden included the Status Bits function. From the factory, the radio comes with Status Bit turned on. What this means is that if a "special" call goes out, the radio will effectively ignore the special ID (1170 in the example above) and display it as its primary assignment (1168 in the example above). So with Status Bits on, you can program 1168 into your Scan List and be assured that you won't miss any "special" traffic for this primary ID!
So why would you ever turn the Status Bits off? You would do so if you needed the ability to separate some "special" calls from others. In these cases, you need to be able to uniquely identify each ID so you don't want the radio to map all "special" IDs onto their primary ID assignments. This is also useful when trying to work out the fleet map for Type IIi (hybrid) systems.
On some systems, digital encryption is used to protect signals from prying ears. According to my notes, 7 of the 15 special ID types are used to indicate encrypted signals while the rest would carry normal voice traffic. To be able to separate your listening to avoid the encrypted signals, you would turn off the Status Bits feature. If you then needed to be able to monitor any of the other 8 "special" calls, you could manually program their unique IDs into your Scan Lists.
Let's move along to Ericsson systems and the features of the BC245XLT which help you to monitor them effectively. To do, we'll first need to discuss the numbering scheme used on these EDACS systems. It's called AFS and stands for Agency-Fleet-Subfleet. It's mentioned in the Operating Guide and has a good example of how it is used inside the back cover.
To effectively manage a radio system, the EDACS protocol breaks the system users down into a number of tiers. The highest tier is the Agency level and there can be 16 of them in a system, labeled 00 - 15. Each Agency can then be divided up into as many as 16 Fleets (00-15). Going further, each Fleet can be divided up into as many as 8 Subfleets (0-7).
Typically, individual public safety agencies are each assigned to an Agency. So the city police might use Agency 00, city fire Agency 05, county sheriff Agency 11, etc. Each of these agencies are typically segregated into geographic and/or municipal boundaries which can be represented by Fleet assignments. And then within each Fleet, unique users can be assigned a Subfleet number.
So the AFS numbering scheme follows the format AA-FFS where AA specifies the Agency, FF the Fleet, and S the Subfleet. To uniquely identify a user of the system, the ID is keyed in using this AFS scheme. Of course, each ID has a decimal equivalent (0 - 2047) if converted properly and the BC245XLT can take numbers in either format. But most users will opt for the AFS scheme since it is more logical and therefor easier to manage IDs.
With the AFS format being so orderly and efficient, Uniden found way to make monitoring such a system just as easy! It's called the XPAND feature and allows IDs to be programmed into the radio at the Agency, Fleet or Subfleet level!
Think of it as a filter which allows you to program as much or as little of the AFS ID as you deem necessary. If you want to listen to a unique user, you can program in the full AFS ID which includes Agency, Fleet, and Subfleet numbers. But consider the listening possibilities available to you if you could specify just the Agency and Fleet, and thereby allow through any Subfleet user? That's what the XPAND feature allows!
Simply key in the Agency and Fleet numbers and the BC245XLT will allow any Subfleet to be heard that is in this specified Agency/Fleet. Going one step further, you can key in just the Agency number and the radio will let you listen to any Fleet/Subfleet combination in the specified Agency! In search mode, this is a powerful tool for targeting your monitoring (by listening for or locking out entire regions of the AFS hierarchy) and in scan mode, it allows for fewer individual IDs to have to be programmed.
Priority
Like the BC235XLT, the BC245XLT comes with one priority channel for each of
the ten banks and the priority channel can be made to be any channel in a
bank. When priority is engaged in conventional scanning mode, it checks for
activity on each priority channel frequency, for the banks being scanned,
every two seconds.
A new feature of the BC245XLT is its ability to use "limited" priority for trunked banks. Each trunked bank comes with 10 Scan Lists and each of these Scan Lists contains one priority channel (ID). Just like their conventional counterparts, this priority channel can be assigned to any of the IDs within each of the Scan Lists.
The difference between these conventional and trunked priority schemes is that while conventional priority will interrupt the scan sequence every two seconds to check for activity on priority channels, when in trunked mode, the priority channels (IDs) will only be checked after the scanner has monitored the trunked system for the 5 second Multi-Track delay.
So while the trunked priority concept is helpful, it's not as dependable as conventional priority since it has no ability to interrupt the scanning sequence on a fixed basis.
Computer Interface
Along with its EDACS ability and Multi-Track feature, the addition of a
computer interface port adds an entirely new level of power and flexibility to
the BC245XLT. This port allows for three functions: SmartScanner, radio
cloning, and computer control. And unlike the BC895XLT, the BC245XLT comes with
the necessary interface cable!
Since I first heard of the SmartScanner concept, I had my doubts about it. And the first words that popped into my head were "marketing propaganda."
In theory, it is supposed to allow a user to connect their radio to a PC or modem and dial into the Uniden database server. Once there, you specify your ZIP code which gives the server an idea of your geographic location. With this information in hand, the server then rummages through its database to pick those frequencies which are likely to be of the most interest to you (and may also include trunking IDs and fleet maps), and download them automatically into the BC245XLT's memory. One of those "greatest things since sliced bread" ideas designed to make hobbyists salivate.
How well does it work in the real world? We have no idea! It's been almost a month since the radio was released and the server is still not yet operational. Worse yet, Uniden has connected the server to the phone lines allowing who knows how many poor saps to dial in, only to get an error message. While the manual states that a typical SmartScanner session results in a $3 charge on your telephone bill, those who have been calling this offline server have been getting charged about $1.20 a pop!
I predict that the next edition of the Webster's dictionary will have a new entry added for the word fiasco. If this dictionary were to define concepts like 'marketing disaster' and 'public relations nightmare', I'm sure you would find SmartScanner listed there as well.
Moving along, we come to the radio cloning feature which seems to be the up and coming thing to include on handheld radios from all manufacturers these days. This feature allows the contents of one BC245XLT to be transferred into another, thus cloning the radios (at least from a data standpoint). What's needed to do so are the radios and their interface cables along with null modem adapter (be sure to account for differing genders in the connections on both ends).
That brings us to the computer control aspect of the data port which allows memory upload, download and virtual control of the radio just as though you were using the keypad in real life.
Uploading the radio's contents to the PC allows you to make backup copies of all the goodies you have worked so hard to obtain. Backups are our friends!
The ability to download data into the radio not only removes the burden of keying in data by hand, it allows you to reconfigure the radio with just a few clicks of the mouse! Make one file which contains your normal everyday monitoring scheme. Then create other files for your other interests. In just a few seconds, you can reprogram the entire radio to take to the CART/NASCAR/IRL race, airport, railroad yards, harbor or whatever agency you find the most appealing!
Last, but certainly not least, is the ability to control your BC245XLT's operation using PC software. This is the same functionality provided by the BC895XLT which found support in many software packages including Radio Manager, ScanCat, Listening Post, RadioMax, Scan*Star and Scanner Master.
Unfortunately, Uniden has been about as forthcoming with the computer protocol for the BC245XLT as they were with the BC895XLT. This has generated the expected frustration from the companies desiring to support the BC245XLT with their third party software packages.
One newcomer to this field is Pozilla Software whose WinScan product will support both the BC245XLT and BC895XLT. Based on the radio it detects attached to your PC, it brings up a graphical image of that radio on your screen which is how the radio is controlled. So while you do have to learn a few new details regarding their options and memory database, controlling the radio is a breeze if you are familiar with how these radios work in the physical sense!
Adam Goldman, CEO of Pozilla, was kind enough to allow me to partake in their Beta testing program. I've been having a good time using their software and feeding back problems as well as suggestions.
While Pozilla planned their first release early in the first week of August, problems with the company that replicates the media for distribution has put that release about a week behind schedule. To put this delay to good use, Adam says they are working in a shareware version of the program so people can download it from the web and test drive before buying!
As soon as the full release version is available with hardcopy documentation, I plan to review it accordingly.
VHF/UHF Performance
As always, the first test was a birdie check to see how well shielded the
receiver is from its own internally generated transmissions. And as expected,
it came out at a very admirable count of 12!
Breaking out the notes taken during testing of the BC235XLT not only reveals that it had 19 birdies, they were almost all different as well! Only two birdie frequencies compared the same! The rest were all very different which is something I wasn't expecting at all. It would appear that the radio has been tweaked when compared to its predecessor.
While at home, I used the stock antenna and swept the entire receive range looking for signs of image or intermodulation interference. None detected. I then strapped on a 19" whip antenna and did the same sweep. The biggest problem was my neighbor on a 46 MHz cordless phone who showed up bit above and below the "true" 46 MHz base frequency as well as in the 52 and 140 MHz ranges.
The only other detected problems were with a 900 MHz page image near 818 and a cell image near 926. Quite nice results!
We then took a little trip to a nasty part of town where I like to test radios in the line of fire! Parked by a small island near the middle of a LARGE parking lot, I began testing the 245 in this "RF hell" which has several nearby TV, pager, FM broadcast and cell towers.
A search using the stock antenna revealed some surprising results when you compare them to the notes I have on the BC235XLT tested in the same area over 2 years ago.
Unlike the 235 which had a few cell and TV images on VHF-lo, the 245 was free of these interferences. Moving up to the lower end of the commercial aero band, the 245 had a few cell images while the 235 had pager images. The 245 had no further problems on VHF while the 235 had a few various images throughout the rest of this range.
Moving on into the 400s, notes on the 235 testing revealed lots of problems from all kinds of images and intermodulation. The 245 had about 1/4 the number of the 235's interference with about a dozen TV and pager images along with TV/page intermod between 419 and 467 MHz. The 235 had problems all the way from 407 to over 500 MHz.
Testing of 800/900 MHz revealed more differences. While the 235 liked to get 850 MHz images in the 806 - 814 range and cellular images in the 817 - 824 range, the 245 had cell/cell and cell/pager intermod in the 809 - 817 range. And while my 235 was relatively free of interference in the 849 - 869 range, the 245 picked up gobs of cellular images, much to my disliking. There were also similar images in the 894 - 900 range which was care free on the 235.
Moving into the 900s, the 245 had more cell images in the 911 - 912 range as well as 946 - 950. It also had some cell/pager intermod in 930 - 933. The only problem the 235 had was with 850 Mhz images in the 947 - 950 range.
Wanting to rule out any changes in antennas between the two radios which might account for differences in these tests, I put the 245 antenna on the 235 and checked it out. The results compared right on with the 235 notes and confirmed the large differences between these two radios in their UHF reception.
To make a long story short, it appears that the 245 has made some tradeoffs when compared to the 235. While 400/500 MHz reception has been improved, 800/900 MHz reception appears to have suffered. Many more differences than I had expected, but then the 245 is a much different radio than the 235!
With these results in hand, along with feedback I had heard about the 245 and supposedly poorer 800/900 interference rejection, I did some more testing on the drive back home. I took an 800/900 MHz tuned antenna, put it on the 245 and hung it from the radio hanger I have attached to a car vent near the center console. I set it to scan 3 trunked systems (all 800 MHz Motorola) and 3 conventional banks (comprising VHF-lo, VHF-hi and 400 MHz public safety freqs). I then took a meandering path home and noted the results.
I was happy to see the 245 do its thing without a hiccup! The only problem came from the 400 MHz conventional freqs which had a few blips of pager intermod. Granted, this is not the worst environment in which to stress this radio but it is a decent "test of character" and I think it held up well. Selective use of antenna and attenuator should yield similarly good results for most other users.
Back home, I put the BC245XLT up against the BC235XLT and the Sony ICF-SC1 to see how well it did in the overall sensitivity department. First, I detected no difference in sensitivity between the 235 and 245. The Sony was more sensitive on VHF and UHF-lo (400/500), but they were equal on 800/900 MHz. So overall, I'd qualify the BC245XLT as above average in sensitivity, just like the BC235XLT.
| Category | Score | Out of |
|---|---|---|
| Sensitivity | 15 | 25 |
| Selectivity | 5 | 15 |
| Interference rejection | 15 | 20 |
| Coverage | 30 | 90 |
| Channels | 10 | 15 |
| Channels per bank | 15 | 15 |
| Ease of use | 10 | 20 |
| Scan/Search speed | 10 | 10 |
| Receive modes | 0 | 15 |
| Step sizes | 0 | 25 |
| Conversion | 10 | 10 |
| Audio | 10 | 20 |
| Antenna | 5 | 20 |
| Construction | 5 | 20 |
| Size | 5 | 15 |
| Search | 10 | 35 |
| Attenuator | 5 | 20 |
| Auto-store | 0 | 20 |
| Search skip | 10 | 15 |
| Backlight | 15 | 30 |
| Alpha-tagging | 0 | 20 |
| VFO | 0 | 10 |
| Squelch tail | 5 | 10 |
| Priority | 10 | 20 |
| Delay | 10 | 15 |
| Hold | 0 | 10 |
| Rotary Control | 0 | 10 |
| S-meter | 0 | 10 |
| Power-on resume | 0 | 10 |
| Computer Interface | 20 | 20 |
| Tone Decode | 0 | 15 |
| Battery indicator | 0 | 10 |
| Channel count | 0 | 5 |
| Tape record control | 0 | 5 |
| Clock | 0 | 5 |
| Timers | 0 | 5 |
| Weather programmed | 5 | 5 |
| Weather alert | 0 | 5 |
| Data skip | 5 | 5 |
| Bank delete | 0 | 5 |
| Bank sort | 0 | 5 |
| Total | 240 | 670 |
| Total | 36 | 100 |
And while its exterior is dated and showing its age, it couldn't be less indicative of the technological breakthroughs and overall capabilities lurking just beneath the plastic. 300 channels. Motorola and GE/Ericsson tracking. Multi-Track. 1000 trunking IDs. 2000 search ID lockouts. 10 conventional and 100 trunking priority channels. XPAND. Autolight. Computer control. Radio cloning. Six agency Service Scan. And so on.
But no diamond is without its flaws and gives the manufacturer a chance to come out with an even better model on the next go around. If they pay attention to the voices of those they claim to serve, that is.
The radio could use better dynamic range so let's hope that it is on a drawing board somewhere within Uniden. It does manage to keep a performance level just above the pack as a whole but good thinking and experimentation with the attenuator and different antennas will be needed by some to make the most of what this radio has to offer.
The NiCd battery pack...I still don't get it.
As for SmartScanner, the rest of that book hasn't been written yet but let's hope the future is a tad brighter than what we've seen thus far. Seeing as how Uniden is also touting this feature for their upcoming SportCat replacement, I think they have more than enough incentive to get on the ball. Rich Barnett says he thinks everyone will be pleasantly surprised by what it has to offer. Hopefully the road ahead will give us an idea of just how clear Rich's crystal ball really is!
In closing, the BC245XLT is destined to be heralded as a milestone in the monitoring hobby. So much useful technology packed into a truly useable radio, it really does deserve serious consideration by everyone in the hobby. I think it has something to offer everyone and at just over $200, it will be hard to say no.
Recommendations
The obvious contenders in this market are the other TrunkTrackers by Uniden and
the TrunkScanners they make for Radio Shack.
The BC235XLT, PRO-90 and PRO-2050 are all basically the same radio. Comparing current pricing and features, it's a no brainer to go with the BC245XLT.
The other Uniden contender is the BC895XLT base model. While "only" being a first generation TrunkTracker, it still has value when you consider its mil aero coverage, CTCSS, S-meter, computer control, tape recorder control and weather alert. A totally different beast from the BC245XLT so picking between then should be easy based on individual needs.
Turning to Radio Shack, we have the older PRO-91 handheld and newer PRO-2066 mobile. Keep in mind that both are obviously first generation models. The 91's chief claim to fame is the use of AA cells (brilliant!) but unfortunately it only has 150 channels and my testing revealed that its receiver just isn't up to par with the other models.
The 2066 is a great mobile radio with good dynamic range, is well made, has a great backlight and fits in the standard dash DIN-E slot. But it too only has 150 channels. Since the BC245XLT could be mounted mobile, the addition of an amplified speaker would make a serious argument against the 2066.
While the BC245XLT is targeted at the mainstream, there is another choice for those looking for even more functionality from a radio. And that would come in the form of the Optoelectronics OptoCom. Priced at $500, it's not for everyone though. It is a superb receiver and can do many things the BC245XLT can not. It has its own version of Multi-Track and with the latest Scan*Star software can not only do Motorola and GE/Ericsson, but LTR as well!
But the OptoCom is primarily designed to be a slave to your PC and just isn't the portable monitoring tool that the BC245XLT is. Again, these two radios are as different as night and day so investigate the features of both and see which fits the bill your looking to fill.
|
|---|
If you are interested in purchasing one of these radios or simply want more information, please contact Jeff at sales@hamstation.com.
| Copyright © 2010 by Richard J. Wells |
 |