Tag Archives: Uniden Bearcat Scanners

DMR, ProVoice and Ultimate Updates for Uniden Scanners.

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ScannerMaster offers a service to install the various paid updates for Uniden HomePatrol, x36 and P2 series scanners. These updates include the HomePatrol Ultimate Update (for HomePatrol 1 and 2 scanners) as well as the ProVoice and DMR/TRBO updates for the BCD436HP, BCD536HP, BCD996P2 and BCD325P2 scanners.

If you buy one of these scanners from ScannerMaster we offer a service to install these options for you before we ship the scanner. You can also send the scanner to us to perform the update, we then send the radio back to you.

Sometimes however it is not practical to send the radio to us. For US and Canadian customers it is pretty simple to buy the update directly from Uniden and install it yourself. For customers in other countries however it is a different story. Uniden can only accept credit cards from US and Canadian addresses. If you live in other countries then Uniden cannot accept your credit card for payment for these updates. They will refer you to a third party like ScannerMaster to obtain your updates.

ScannerMaster can accept credit cards from most countries. As long as the card works on our payment system we can provide you with the secret code to unlock the update for your radio. There are a couple things you will need to do to make this all work out:

First you need to update the FIRMWARE for your scanner. This is so important that if you don’t do it the paid updates just will not work! On the HomePatrol and x36 scanners it is done thru the Sentinel software, on the 325 and 996P2 radios it is done thru a separate (free) program available from Uniden’s website.

Once you have done the Firmware Updates then you need to obtain the “ESN” (Electronic Serial Number” from your scanner along with the “SUM” code. Here are the procedures for this:

HomePatrol-1 and HomePatrol-2:

  • Press Menu
  • Press Advanced Menu
  • Press the down arrow to get to the second page of items
  • Press the Version Information Button.

The ESN is listed and starts with 36 for the HP-1 and 37 for the HP-2. The SUM Code is the last 3 digits past the second dash. The ESN will look something like 36327-0040012345-123, the SUM code is the “123” part.

BCD436HP, BCD536HP, BCD325Ps and BCD996P2:

  • Press Menu
  • Select Settings.
  • (If you do NOT see “Upgrade” as an item in the list go back and update the firmware and start over!)
  • Select See Scanner Information
  • Select Firmware Version
  • The ESN will be listed as “SN37……”
  • The SUM Code will be a 3-digit letter/number combination.
  • We need both the ESN and the SUM Code. Don’t worry about the M-VER code.

We need the complete ESN and the SUM Code as well as the model of radio you have. With this info we can obtain the one-time code that unlocks the feature you want and send that code to you. You then go to the Upgrade menu on your scanner and enter it using the rotary knob to select the numbers. Once the code is properly added the radio will think it over for a minute or so and then announce that it was successful.

Once properly updated the code will stay working on the radio and will not need to be reinstalled. The code will only work for the radio it was obtained and if you dispose of the radio there is no way to transfer the code or feature to another radio.

GPS Based Scanning Tips

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Several Uniden scanners support GPS based scanning. There are two main ways this works; Database based and Programming Based.

Scanners that support ZIP Code based programming (The HomePatrol and x36 types) can support GPS in both ways. Scanners that do not have the ZIP Code feature only support Programming based GPS.

ZIP Code based GPS scanning allows the radio to reload itself with the local frequencies based on locations provided by the attached GPS receiver. Instead of pulling over to change the ZIP code every once in awhile the GPS receiver sends the location to the scanner and it will update the location on a regular basis and reload the channels for that area.

Since these use the RadioReference database to provide the information, the GPS centers and ranges are set in the database and included when you update the scanner’s database in Sentinel.

Programming based GPS scanning requires that the Systems, Sites and Groups (or Favorites Lists) be programmed with GPS coordinates and ranges. The GPS sends the location to the radio and when the radio determines that you are within the circle drawn based on the location and range it turns on that item. When you leave the circle it turns it off.

If you use your scanner over a wide area a GPS can allow you to automatically turn on and off systems, sites, groups and/or Favorites Lists automatically and without having to punch in a ZIP Code all the time. If you only use the scanner at home or around a small area a GPS wouldn’t help you but if you travel a lot (RV folk, truckers etc.) it can be invaluable.

Most people use the Uniden GPS receiver with their scanners. It works on all Bearcat GPS-aware scanners without needing to configure it. If you want to use another GPS it has to support the older Serial format and the baud rate settings must be set to match that of the scanner. Most GPS receivers these days (Garmin, TomTom etc.) do not support Serial mode so you will likely be better off with the Uniden GPS.

Scanners that support GPS Scanning:

How to connect the Uniden Bearcat GPS Receiver to the Uniden Bearcat BCD325P2 and the SDS100 Scanner with the optional cable.

Sentinel, Sentinel: What’s the difference?

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Owners of Uniden ZIP Code scanners can use the free Sentinel software to do database and firmware updates as well as create and edit Favorites Lists. While they look and feel very much the same, the versions of Sentinel for the HomePatrols is different than that for the BCD436HP and BCD536HP.

The HomePatrol Sentinel works for both the original HomePatrol 1 and the newer HomePatrol 2. When installed on your Windows computer it will have a brown shield icon on the desktop.

The BCDx36HP Sentinel works for both the BCD436HP handheld and the BCD536HP desktop/mobile scanners and has a green shield icon on the desktop.

You can easily share Favorites Lists between HP-1’s and HP-2’s as well as between 436’s and 536’s. In order to share Favorites Lists between HomePatrol’s and “x36’s” you need to export from one and import it to the other.

If you have both types of radios you will need to install both versions of Sentinel. Even though they look and feel the same they cannot handle the other radio types. There is no additional learning curve but there are a few terminology differences. For example, in the HomePatrol Sentinel the menu used to read or write to the radio is called “HomePatrol” while the x36 version it is “Scanner”.