Help programming digital ubcd396xt

[nirvana]

Hello everyone.

I`m having trouble working out how to manually program digital channels into my ubcd396xt and was wondering if someone could please point out some basic instructions on how to do it & where I am going wrong ?

This is what I am trying to program in to get me started for my CFA Victoria channels:

Radio ID ,district HQ is 3232891 & the user is Smythesdale Field Command Mobile 1



I tried to set it up on a p25 system ,but it won`t accept the seven digit code & I read somewhere that if you put a Uid before the digits, it works, but the letters only go up to F,so I can`t put in Uid . I also tried to set it up using a Motorola system ,but it only accepts 6 digits.

Do I put the settings in as DEC or HEX ? I assume it is hex.

I have manually programmed in about 200 channels for the conventional system & have the scanner purring along with regular CFA & Police broadcasts ,but the digital side of it has me stumped.

Can anyone advise me of some step by step instructions just to get my first channel programmed ,so I know where I am ,please ?

Thankyou.

Nirvana

[NakedFaerie]

Im the same. Old channels are easy to program in but after many years i still have very little clue how to program the digital side. I mainly just install downloaded lists then lockout channels i dont use.
There should be a noob tutorial somewhere to help us?

[chainz]

It's alot easier to program with your pc

[peteramjet]

Digital channels require no extra programming than normal conventional channels or systems. The scanner should automatically determine the channel is P25 and will decide it as such.

[NakedFaerie]

Digital channels require no extra programming than normal conventional channels or systems. The scanner should automatically determine the channel is P25 and will decide it as such.

Umm, do you have digital?
With normal conventional channels all yet have is the frequency.
Digital has a lot more info needed. Frequencies, talk channels, and a heap of other crap I don't understand. Is not as easy as the old system.

[NakedFaerie]

Typical iPad doing stupid autocorrects. I guess I'll reply on other devices so I make sense.

[peteramjet]

Digital channels require no extra programming than normal conventional channels or systems. The scanner should automatically determine the channel is P25 and will decide it as such.

Umm, do you have digital?
With normal conventional channels all yet have is the frequency.
Digital has a lot more info needed. Frequencies, talk channels, and a heap of other crap I don't understand. Is not as easy as the old system.

Yes, I have a digital scanner.

You are talking about a trunked system, which can be both digital or analogue. The OP advised he wanted a digital frequency entered in, this is done in the same fashion as a conventional channel. No extra info is required.

And if the OP was after a trunked system, then a digital trunked system requires no extra information than an analogue trunked system.

Don't confuse 'trunking' with 'digital' - they are completely different.

[nirvana]

After much reading & playing around with the scanner the last 24 hours, I worked it all out .
The ID`s I mention above are not actually the frequencies ,but the id`s of the radio units being used in the field.

I am very new to all this and still finding my feet.

For those trying to program the digital trunking channel ( I hope that is the correct term ) , this is what I did to get the CFA Victoria digital frequencies . :

You need to program it to find & listen to a Control tower on a big hill. I talk in layman`s terms ,so that is my technical term for the big ariel that transmits the signal & where it is.

Go to MENU ,select Program System , scroll down & select New System ,select P25,select Standard Trunk, confirm YES , select Edit Name & re-name ( I just put P25 Fire ), press YES after re-naming & scroll to Set Audio AGC, turn both Analogue & Digital to ON, hit the menu button back 2 steps & select Edit Site,press Yes, then select Edit name & put the name of the Control tower in here ( I put in Mt.Blackwood Control),then press Yes ,scroll down to Set Quick Key & select the quick key number,scroll down to Set Frequencies,select New Frequency & put the first frequency here ( I put in 166.47500).Press Yes after putting the first frequency in & then scroll down to New frequency , put the next one in ( 165.72500 ) & continue putting all the frequencies for that particular Control tower. Mt.Blackwood has 5 frequencies ,so I put in the other three as 165.57500,165.87500 & 166.32500. The frequencies HAVE to be put in order of the Control frequency,then the alternate frequency,then the other three. I found the list of CFA Control Frequencies on the `Net & the list has the Control Frequency marked in red with a C after it ,so it reads on the website as 166.47500c ,but you don`t type C into the scanner,just the numbers. After typing in the last frequency into the scanner,just press Scan & the scanner will search for the info you entered.
I programmed in a total of 5 Control Towers with their frequencies & my scanner took all of 5 seconds to pick up the first 2 signals & was as clear as bell.

I hope this helps .


Nirvana

[nirvana]

Sorry ,the 165.57500c should be 166.47500c.

Nirvana

[peteramjet]

Hi nirvana,

Very glad you got it working. It seems you were after info on a trunking system, and as you have found, is it relatively easy to set up. You have already managed to program in a site (with a control channel), which means if you 'scan' that site you should now hear a number of different talkgroup ID's (these are programmed in a users radio as individual channels).

The radio ID (an individual number for each radio on the network) that you have won't help you scan the area that you want to listen to, but will help identify what user is talking on a talkgroup at any time.

The talkgroup ID of the area that you want to listen to is the bit of info that you need. I don't have any idea of the talkgroups for the CFA, but somebody here will, or you can scan all talkgroups and identify what one it is that you want. Once you know the talkgroup you can then set the scanner so it will only listen to that talkgroup or a number of talkgroups, just as you used to do with a conventional channel.

As chainz mentioned, it is FAR easier to program with a PC. There is heaps of free software out there, and I personally use FreeScan for all Uniden scanners.

[nirvana]

Thanks peteramjet .

I`m starting to get the gist of it ,now.


I have 5 or 6 sites in the scanner & I can hear the one closest Control to my place ,which is primarily what I need. The problem with the CFA radios is that they haven`t gone fully digital ,yet , so they are using a combination of digital & analogue. We have quite a few fires down this neck of the woods & you get to know what channels to listen to. I`m keen to get the list of talkgroup frequencies for the Grampians area , but because they are not all on digital , it may take until next fire season to get that info.


Nirvana