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BCD436HP and BCD536HP Page 2

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Revision as of 10:43, 12 January 2018 by Ka3jjz (talk | contribs)

Scanner FAQ and Information Page 2

Questions regarding software, firmware or other web resources for these 2 radios can be found on Page 1 of this document.


Installation and Registration

What should I do when I first get my scanner?


Where do I go to register my new scanner(s)?


During installation of Sentinel, how do I fix this error? "Unhandled Exception has occurred in your application. If you click Continue, the application will ignore this error and attempt to continue. If you click Quit, the application will close immediately."
  • Before you do the final step, do this:
    • Right-Click on the firmware updater program
    • Click Properties
    • Click the Compatibility tab
    • Check the box to enable "Run in compatibility mode"
    • Check the box to enable "Run as Administrator"
    • Click "Apply"
    • Then do last step.
    • Thread on unhandled exceptions
  • Do you have the correct Microsoft .net framework installed?


BCD536HP Only

Where can I download "Wi-Fi-Updater.zip"?
  • Download the file from here
    • Run these updates as Administrator to ensure full hardware access.
    • Thread on wifi issues


Can the power cord from BCD996XT be used with this scanner?
  • Yes, in-theory any Power cord from 10.5vDC at 1500ma/1.5amp to 16v at 500ma/.5a with 5.5mm o.d-2.1mm i.d can be used, double check polarity.


Operational

My new BCD436HP/BCD536HP is constantly asking me to set the time and date...what gives?
  • From Uniden's UPMan:
Keep the Time!
Plug in your scanner and turn it on. The first things you'll see are prompts to set 
the date and time. The scanner has a real-time clock with backup power that will run 
the clock for about 1 week. The backup power needs to charge for about 50 hours 
before full backup-time becomes available. If the backup source is depleted before
power is restored, you will be prompted to set the time again upon power up.
  • Upgrade the Firmware to a newer one if prior to 1.09.02.
  • There has been a Repair campaign start for scanner owner's whos scanners are not keeping the correct date and time moments after supplied power is removed and the scanner has been kept on recently for the recommend 50hrs. For other Users in general, users should not expect their scanners to keep the date and time for weeks and months unpowered. Visit Uniden's Repair Campaign website or See our Thread for FAQ's asked by members.


I am a little confused... What's the difference between Quick Keys and Number Tags?


How do I use Favorites Lists and Quick Keys?
  • See this writeup by Jay911
  • OR see these, halfway down, on their respective pages: Favorites, Systems, Departments or Multi-Site Trunking
  • A Favorite does have to be Downloaded, Monitored, and Enabled, then the System has to be Enabled, then as well the corresponding Department - Group of TGID(s) and Site(s)


Are Favorites Lists automatically updated when the database is?
  • No. It is prudent to keep an eye on the Favorites Lists you plan to use regularly and compare them to the latest database. Checkout this third party websites helpful tool BCDx36HP Sentinel Favorites Lists Tool Print Options available for Favorites, Systems, and/or Departments. Additional Premium RadioReference (RR) Member may set their RR account to notify them of "marked" Systems changes.


Where can I learn about programming a DMR system once I have applied the upgrade?
  • The page where you got the upgrade also has instructions for programming and other tips. If you have further questions, view previous discussions or post them on the Uniden Tech Support forum


How do I program a simplex channel (no repeater) for DMR?
  • See this Thread for a discussion on this question


Problems and Issues

VHF-Hi and/or UHF Reception is noisy; the scanner seems less sensitive on this band when compared to other radios
  • I get a lot of noise decoding a DMR (digital) UHF signal
    • See this Thread for a full discussion of this topic


My BCD436HP seems to have "gone deaf"

In list of likelyhood:

  1. Actual "Site" has switched to a different Control Channel
  2. DQK is not Enable/On, as well as Systems QKs or Favorites QKs aren't Enabled.
  3. Site is "Avoid"ed, and/or a frequency is Avoided (possible with older version of software)
  4. This is a situation where your unit has been operating without any issues, the user has made no changes to lists, the unit has not been moved, and the departments have not gone encrypted. In other words, everything looks fine but the unit just does not receive anything anymore. You will say, "It was working yesterday but today I'm not receiving anything." If you cannot even receive NOAA broadcasts, your unit has "gone deaf" and will need to be repaired. This is a repair covered under the Uniden one-year from purchase warranty and involves replacing the Q2 and Q3 circuits. When you ship the unit, describe the problem as "No channel reception."
  5. Site is Down


The audio from my simulcast digital system is lousy / distorted. What is wrong?


I'm having trouble receiving P16 or P25 systems. Is there a fix?
  • See the UPMan's suggestion for P25 reception Thread
  • See the P25 audio decode level adjustment article for adjustment procedures, believe it or not, before Audio can be decoded the CC has to be, so adjustment of decode will effect both reception ability and decode ability.
  • See the Simulcast digital distortion article for a full explanation
  • Check Band Plan setting is set to Custom for Motorola Type I or Type II where it's 800 MHz, or VHF or UHF, proper plan should allow reception
  • Check to see System Hold Time is greater than 2 and "Digital Threshold Mode" is set to "Manual", for LSM Phase I or Phase II systems.


If I am having headphones-issues, what can I do?


Why is Simplex reception not perfect?
  • Scanner is has only a single receiver, not the 2 required for proper decode and reception.
  • You may have overloaded the scanner with your Transceiver - transmitting close by.
  • Try FM instead of NFM with Manual Digital Threshold Manual of between 1-5 available in ProScan and ARC.


Why won't my scanner receive DMR on Slot 1 and or Slot 2
  • Try reversing Slot numbers compared to System's Slot numbering.


On DMR I can't see the Flavor Type, Color Code or Slot
  • Display Mode 1 - will show the flavor (CON, CAP, XPT, etc).
  • Display Mode 2 - will show the Color Code.
  • Display Mode 3 - will show the slot.


My Unit Id's UID are not displayed correctly, even when replayed?
  • During a constant transmission, the scanner does not attempt to decode the UID multiple times, so-there-for until transmissions breaks, the scanner will not re-attempt to decode another units identification number, as well as it's not decoding digital data on the Control channel while it's on a voice channel, like your SDR or Commercial Radio can.


SD Card Questions

My scanner's keypad is slow to respond to a keypress or key-presses, what should I do.
  • Invest in a faster class of microSD card, though a bigger card may not be utilized to it's full potential, the speed of boot may indeed be faster, without the boot speed hit GRE/RS/Whistlers take for bigger cards.


My microSD card needs to be replaced / is corrupted. Where can I find tips for this?


What may be a cause of the scanner rebooting itself, acting weird or strange?
  • MicroSD Cards have a so-called "FAT File Limit"; they're issues related to the amount of files (not size) to be saved, before a larger card is filled: i.e 5Gb of a 16Gb card w/ between 55k and 65k files written. This may cause these scanners to begin to show signs that the data may be corrupt and the scanner reboots itself. See the question above for information on replacing SD cards.


Can I turn off the constant writing to the microSD card?
  • Yes, you can. The "Replay" option is what is always writing to the SD card. It is writing continuously so the last received audio (how much depends on your setting) can be replayed. In order to do this, it is constantly recording to the SD card. As of firmware 1.09.02, Uniden added an "Off" option to the list, which disables this feature entirely. The downside - you can't replay missed audio. The upside, is it's not writing to your SD card ALL THE TIME. To turn this off, do the following:
  1. Click "Menu"
  2. Scroll to "Settings" and select it.
  3. Scroll to "Replay Options" and select it.
  4. Select "Set replay Duration".
  5. Scroll to "Off" and select it.
  6. Press "Avoid" to quickly back out of all the Menus. thanks Dsaloman


Modifications

(BCD536HP) Can I access the discriminator?


(BCD536HP) How do I replace the Backlight LEDs?


(BCD436HP) How do mod the background color of the screen