The Uniden BCD396T is my favorite police scanner. It can be controlled by a computer and is capable of just about anything (it seems). Having the capability of hooking up a scanner to a PC makes it a lot easier to upload new frequencies to it. Another thing I love about new scanners like this, in addition to its dynamic allocated channel memory, is that you can title (or text tag) frequencies and talk groups. So instead of seeing 155.580 MHz, you can make it say "Seattle WSP Disp" under the group "West WSP" and the system "WA State Gov." It has 100 quick keys for systems and 10 for each group in the system. It is preprogrammed with 12 service searches that are actually up-to-date: ". . . Public Safety, News, HAM Radio, Marine, Railroad, Air, CB Radio, FRS/GMRS, Racing, TV Broadcast, FM Broadcast, and Special searches. . ." (BCD396T Manual). It of course has CTCSS and DCS squelch modes. In addition, the analog and digital audio AGC makes it nicer to listen to than most scanners (because the volume stays generally level no matter what channel). The fire tone-out standby feature is interesting, but I never got that to work. The trunk tracker IV allows the scanner to follow, ". . . unencrypted conversations on analog Motorola, Motorola Astro 25 (APCO 25), EDACS, EDACS SCAT, and LTR trunked radio systems, including systems in VHF, UHF, 700 MHz, 800 MHz, and 900 MHz bands. The scanner can scan both conventional and trunked systems at the same time" (BCD396T Manual). Also with this scanner, you only have to input the control channel of trunked Motorola systems (not the other voice channels). It has a frequency step of 5, 6.25, 7.5, 8.33, 10, 12.5,15, 20, 25, 50 or 100 kHz depending on what you prefer. There are so many things you can do to customize this scanner that I don't have room to write them all in this description. But if you are going to get this, you got to save up: they usually cost around $500.
BCD396T information can be found at http://wiki.radioreference.com/index....
Memory:
400 systems (20 groups per system and/or 200 channels per trunked system)
Up to 6,000 channels
Frequency Coverage:
About 25MHz to 1.3Ghz
OR
25.0000 - 27.9950 MHz (5.0 kHz steps)
28.0000 - 29.6800 MHz (20.0 kHz steps)
29.7000 - 49.9900 MHz (10.0 kHz steps)
50.0000 - 53.9800 MHz (20.0 kHz steps)
54.0000 - 71.9500 MHz (50.0 kHz steps)
72.0000 - 75.9950 MHz (5.0 kHz steps)
76.0000 - 87.9500 MHz (50.0 kHz steps)
88.0000 - 107.9000 MHz (100.0 kHz steps)
108.0000 - 136.9750 MHz (25.0 kHz steps)
137.0000 - 143.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
144.0000 - 147.9950 MHz (5.0 kHz steps)
148.0000 - 150.7875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
150.8000 - 161.9950 MHz (5.0 kHz steps)
162.0000 - 173.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
174.0000 - 215.9500 MHz (50.0 kHz steps)
216.0000 - 224.9800 MHz (20.0 kHz steps)
225.0000 - 399.9500 MHz (50.0 kHz steps)
400.0000 - 512.0000 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
764.0000 - 775.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
794.0000 - 805.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
806.0000 - 823.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
849.0125 - 868.9875 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
894.0125 - 956.0000 MHz (12.5 kHz steps)
1240.0000 - 1300.0000 MHz (25.0 kHz steps)
Scan Rate:
100 channels per second (conventional mode)
Search Rate:
300 steps per second (5 kHz step only)
Size:
2.40 in. (W) x 1.22 in. (D) x 5.35 in. (H)
The recording program I used is free and can be downloaded at http://www.davee.com/scanrec
The scanner software I used I think I got from the actual Uniden website after registering. The official Uniden scanner page is at http://www.uniden.com/products/index.cfm?cat=Scanners
Also, lots of people have asked me about how I programmed the intro-screen. I did it with a free program called ScanControl, and you can download at http://www.scannersoft.com (click the "Radio Settings" button).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln5ID3UkLkU
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