Uniden Scanner GPS Features

Some Uniden scanners include the ability to automatically change settings and display information when connected to an external GPS receiver.

1 Location-Based Scanning
2 Non-Radio Location-Based GPS Features
- 2.1 Contributed resources
3 GPS Display Mode
4 Compatible GPS receivers
- 4.1 Examples
5 Frequently Asked Questions
- 5.1 How do I decipher coordinates that look like 445812.79N?

[edit] Location-Based Scanning

(also see Population Area Centerpoint)

If you connect a GPS unit to the scanner, it can automatically enable/disable systems based on the geographic information you provide:

Latitude (center of the range)
Longitude (center of the range)
Range (radius of a circle around the Latitude/Longitude) which can be selected from .5/1/3/5/10/20/30/50 miles.

When the scanner is within the "circle of coverage" defined for a site or system, the scanner will automatically unlock and scan the site or system. When the scanner moves outside the "circle of coverage", the site or system will automatically be locked.

Rather than center the lat/lon on the antenna site for the system and set the range to the receivable range for the system, it makes more sense to center these settings on the geopolitical center of the system, and bound the range to encircle that entity. That is, while I can technically hear the Arlington TRS from west Fort Worth, I don’t really want to. Instead, I’d set the lat/lon/range values to approximate a circle around the Arlington city limits so that I would not hear Arlington until I approached/entered Arlington.

Also, not all geopolitical areas are perfect circles. You can modify the shape of the system by entering multiple sites for the system (even though the system might have only one site) and use different location settings for each site. For example, stack two circles to make a tall, narrow scan area for the system.

[edit] Non-Radio Location-Based GPS Features

The scanner can display information or provide an alert when certain location requirements are met. The following are the types of location features allowed.

Dangerous Xing (DXG): Stores location, range, direction of travel. If you are within range, traveling in the specified direction, you receive an alert.
Dangerous Road (DRD): Stores location, range, speed. If you are traveling at a speed greater than the one specified, and are within the range of the specified location, you receive an alert.
Points of Interest (POI): Stores location and range. If you approach the specified location, you receive an alert.

In general, a location alert can have:

Latitude
Longitude
Speed (optional)
Alpha (optional)
Alert Type and Level (optional)
Vector (optional)
Heading

Alerts are based on:

Speed setting > 0 and no vector entered, non-directional speed alert
Speed setting > 0 and a vector is entered, directional speed alert
Speed = 0 and vector is entered, dangerous intersection alert
Speed = 0 and no vector entered, point-of-interest alert

The user can quickly save a location by pressing GPS. Scanner prompts for the type of location to store (Speed, Intersection, or POI).

[edit] Contributed resources

See DRD_DXG_POI

[edit] GPS Display Mode

Location information is displayed, as well as information about the scanner's position relative to a selected point of interest.

[edit] Compatible GPS receivers

Any GPS receiver meeting the following requirements:

Female, 9-pin serial connector
NMEA-0183 ver.3.01 compliant, including GGA and RMC sentences.

[edit] Examples

Garmin GPS 18
Delorme Tripmate (with modification for autostart)
GARMIN eTreX
GARMIN eTreX Legend
GARMIN eMap
GARMIN Rino110
GARMIN GPS18PC
GARMIN 12XL
GARMIN GPSmap 60CS (needs Garmin 010-10141-00 or equivalent cable)
GARMIN GPS2 Plus
Lowrance iFinder GO2
MAGELLAN Meridian Marine
Uniden Mystic
GPS1 Module Kit sold via Scannersoft website
HOLUX Mouse GR-213 (when ordered with a serial cable)

[edit] Frequently Asked Questions

[edit] How do I decipher coordinates that look like 445812.79N?

Geographical coordinates can be represented in a few different ways. The two most common representations are DMS and Deg.

DMS breaks the coordinate into Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds. This is typically represented like: 44° 58' 12.79" N. The BCD996T UASD uses this format, but discards the symbols. So, this same coordinate would be entered as 445812.79

Decimal degrees simply use the degrees expressed as a decimal number. 44° 59' 12" equates to 44.97381 Degrees. Mathematically, you can change DMS to Deg using the formula DDD + MM/60 + SS.ss/3600. You would perform the reverse calculation to convert Deg to DMS.

To more easily convert Decimal Degrees to the DDDMMSS.sss format or vice versa, see the converter at this link.

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