New Firmware for 396/996 Coming

This is the place to discuss generalized scanner questions and information for San Diego County. Whether it's radios, antennas, or other general scanner related topics, you can talk about it here.
Post Reply
Mikey
Posts: 117
Joined: Mon Nov 22, 2004 4:21 pm

New Firmware for 396/996 Coming

Post by Mikey »

That’s right, updates are on the way for your scanner. Here is an advanced peek at some of the major improvements we’ve been working on:

 Improved decoding on P25 Multipacket Systems – OK, all you guys on the Virginia STARS system (and others), this is one I know you have been chomping at the bit for…and I wish I could hand it to you today, but we’ve just a bit more to go on it. Have just a little more patience…I’m sure you will agree that it was worth the wait. Our testers in Virginia and elsewhere confirm that the scanners now perform near flawlessly on these systems.

 Improved P25 Baseband decoding – this will improve the digital decoding quality on all P25 channels…those on P25 systems, Motorola Type II systems, and conventional channels. The challenge that “the other guys” sound better on digital than we do was taken to heart…and I think you’ll like what you hear.

 Much less BRAAAAP! Digital noise is virtually eliminated on the BCD996T and greatly reduced on the BCD396T. Why the difference? The architecture of the BCD996T (especially the digital/analog/both option for channels) lets us do some things that we can’t quite fit into the BCD396T. But testers on both models report that their ears are much, much happier, now.

 No more beeping! That’s right, EDACS beeps on well-received systems should be a thing of the past after this update.

 Improved auto-threshold adjustment. I should say “no threshold adjustment” because we’ve taken it all auto. The settings remain in the menus to maintain compatibility with UASD and the other great software out there, but the setting itself is just a placeholder now.

 Finally, and I know that this has really bugged at least one of you, when you resume from holding on a channel with the BCD396T, the scanner will now start from the next channel, not back to the first.

What’s Next?
Well, before we can roll out those great improvements, we need to finish testing and put the finishing touches on some pesky details. Meanwhile, there are a couple of things you’ll need to do to get your scanner ready for this update. These updates should be available on My Uniden in the next week or so (I’ll send you a quick note when we add them to the site).

Update BC_VUP to Version 2
Soon, you’ll find a new version of the BearCat Version Updater on our web site. Installing this new version will automatically remove the old version. When you run it, you’ll notice a new option to enter a Registration Key. You can ignore that, for now (more on this in a later UPDate).

Update your BCD996T’s Firmware
New firmware will soon be added to the My Downloads area. You use the standard firmware updater (BC_VUP) to apply this update to your scanner.

This update brings your scanner up to date on all updates prior to the upcoming Version 2 update. It also changes the scanner to display both the ESN (electronic serial number) and the ESN checksum when you go to the “See Firmware Version” menu.

Update your BCD396T’s Firmware
We’ll add a new update to the My Downloads area in a couple of weeks. This update is applied using a special one-time tool called “ESN Loader.” In addition to bringing your BCD396T up to the latest firmware version, it adds an ESN and ESN checksum to your scanner. Once the update completes, you will find the ESN and ESN checksum on the “See Firmware Version” menu in your scanner.

Update your Registration on My Uniden
The registration area for your scanner will soon include a place to put both the ESN and the ESN Checksum for your BCD396T or BCD996T.The web site will not accept the numbers if they are not valid. It is very important that we have an accurate ESN for future updates, so take a moment to update your records, as soon as you apply the above updates.

Why Do We Need Your ESN?
As we create new firmware loads for your scanner, we sometimes use information licensed to us by third parties. For those updates, we need to keep careful track of which scanners do and don’t include the update. We might also need to charge for some of these updates in the future, but don’t worry, I’ll make sure that any for-pay update has features you’ll be glad to pay for. Oh, and this first major update is free!


To manage this process, we are setting up a system that will create a registration key for any major update we come out with (a major update changes the first digit of the firmware version…right now we are still in Version 1, but Version 2 is on the horizon and I can almost glimpse a Version 3).

Since the registration key will be generated from your scanner’s ESN, and will be unique for every scanner, getting your ESN right is critical for making your update work (if you use a key for another scanner or don’t enter a key, your scanner will not work until you successfully apply the update with the key).

Thanks for Being There!
Well, I’m told that this update is already too long to be called “brief”, but I couldn’t close without thanking you for your business, input, and support. Your feedback is critical to our success. If you have a question, feel free to ask me: I can be found lurking the boards at RadioReference and also on the BCD996T and BCD396T and other Yahoo! Groups for Uniden products. I recommend you ask all your questions in the public forums…many times other folks have the answer and can help you out before I get around to checking out those boards (and they sometimes have a better answer than I can come up with).

Look for these updates in the next few weeks. I’ll send you another quick note when they arrive, along with detailed instructions for applying the updates to your scanners.
Paul Opitz
Product Manager
Uniden America Corp.
SDnative
Posts: 168
Joined: Mon Jun 27, 2005 3:04 pm

Post by SDnative »

Is any of this going to solve the apparent problems now encountered scanning trunked systems that have gone thru rebanding? Apparently the Uniden scanners do not follow the trunking correctly now.
IronCross
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:50 am

Post by IronCross »

Has SD even started rebanding.

I been reading this before I got my scanner.

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Rebanding

I think by that list, we are the last to be rebanded.


I love this part

NEXTEL is paying for the costs of rebanding. However, they are only required to compensate licensees. Scanner users aren't typically licensees, so the cost of creating new firmware, replacing scanners, or reflashing scanners will be borne by the scanner manufacturers and hobbiests.

In exchange for paying the costs, NEXTEL is getting RF spectrum in the 1.8 GHz range.
SkipSanders
Posts: 165
Joined: Sun Dec 03, 2006 10:12 pm

Post by SkipSanders »

The currently coming update(s) do not cover rebanding.
Brian
Posts: 1455
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:54 pm

Post by Brian »

the updates will be posted on Thursday.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Uniden UPMan"

When released tomorrow, you'll find the updates by logging into http://www.uniden.com/my and registering your scanner. If you have already registered your scanner and opted to receive notifications for firmware updates (this is a seperate opt in than the one used for marketing and promotional materials) you should receive an email within minutes of the firmware becoming available.

All instructions for applying the updates, as well as release notes, are included in the links to the firmware after you register.
While it should not be necessary, we recommend that everyone make a full backup of their scanner's programming before applying any update (and this will be in the release notes, too, along with instructions for how to use UASD to make such a backup). Under normal circumstances, though, your programming will be completely unaffected by applying the updates.

UPMan
IronCross
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:50 am

Post by IronCross »

Brian wrote:the updates will be posted on Thursday.
Who will be updating?

Im like 80% going to but wanted to see what you guys said.
Brian
Posts: 1455
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 8:54 pm

Post by Brian »

I will be waiting for a few days and might do the updating on Tuesday with my 396/996's.
* update: updated my scanners on Friday :) *

The best place to read about others updating will be on these sites.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BCD996T
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BCD396T
http://www.radioreference.com/forums (Uniden scanners group)

RR Thread: BCD396T and BCD996T Updates are Here
http://www.radioreference.com/forums/sh ... p?t=102611
Last edited by Brian on Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:20 pm, edited 2 times in total.
IronCross
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:50 am

Post by IronCross »

AH YES!!!!

I just updated and I would say all of you should update.

One of the best things I see is Volume levels between the RCS and the City TRS have been fixed. Aswell added a bit.

I have the 996 with the USB cable it took about 10mins after I got it to work.


Little preview:

BC_VUP_v2.0.0.3 (New firmware updater)

Firmware 1 ( To get ESN Check Sum to update your uniden account to get the real new firmware)

Firmware 2 ( The real update it fixes a lot IMO)


BCD396T - As shipped from the factory, your BCD396T does not have an ESN. If the ESN is not displayed when you select the commands above, you need to use the ESN Update Tool to apply the ESN and ESN checksum to your scanner before applying any major update (i.e. 2.nn.nn). ESN's for the BCD396T always start with 32826.

396 Part 1: http://www.uniden.com/files/BCD396T_V1_Information.pdf

396 Part 2: http://www.uniden.com/files/BCD396T_V2_Information.pdf


BCD996T - Your BCD996T ships from the factory with an ESN. If your scanner does not display both an ESN and an ESN Checksum, you need to update it to version 1.04.12 using BC_VUP (the Version Upgrade tool) before applying any major update (i.e. 2.nn.nn) ESN's for the BCD996T always start with 33526.

996 Part 1: http://www.uniden.com/files/BCD996T_V1_Information.pdf

996 Part 2: http://www.uniden.com/files/BCD996T_V2_Information.pdf


If you need help. Ill be here all day and happy to help. Just add me on any of the messengers below for the quickest response.
IronCross
Posts: 104
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2007 2:50 am

Post by IronCross »

Didnt want to make another one but there are new updates now

http://www.uniden.com/my
Post Reply