How much does the BC296DGV cost?
Communications Electronics price for USA clients is listed above. Quantity discounts apply. The more you buy, the more you save.

Is the digital card in the BC296D scanner removable?
Yes.

Because the digital card is removable, can it be used in the BC250D or BC785D digital capable scanners?
Yes. However the BCi96D Digital Card will not give the BC250D or BC785D scanners 9,600 baud capabilities.

Where do I find out more information on new Uniden Bearcat scanners?
Click here for Communications Electronics new scanner news.

What is the difference between the BCi96D digital card and the BCi25D digital card?
Only the part number. For inventory control purposes, the BCi96D digital card is supplied free with the purchase of a BC296DGV handheld scanner or the BC796DGV base/mobile scanner. The BCi25D digital card is sold as an optional separate item for owners of the BC250D and BC785D digital capable scanners. These BC250DGV and BC785DGV scanners can be purchased directly from Communications Electronics or through our distributors and dealers throughout North America.

What is the difference between the Uniden Bearcat BC296D and the Uniden Bearcat BC296DGV?
When you order direct from Communications Electronics and specify part number BC296DGV, you'll get a free HF24RS headset (a $29.95 value) packed with your scanner. Many independent distributors and dealers remove our headset or other included accessories from our consumer packaging and offer these items at retail separately.

What is the performance difference between Bearcat analog and digital ready scanners?
Performance on digital systems can vary due to signal quality, multipath interference, and cellular interference. Unlike analog trunking, where you can hear the audio with some interference mixed in, interference in a digital system completely blocks the signal. If you do not get good digital reception, we recommend the purchase of the optional ANTMMBNC magnetic mount antenna. Using this antenna, adjust your location and the position of the antenna until reception improves.

• Digital Ready - APCO Project 25 Phase 1 Digital Ready. Now with 9,600 baud APCO digital control channel with digital voice. Also features C4FM and Compatible Quadrature Phase-Shift Keying (CQPSK) compatibility. Not compatible with AEGIS, ASTRO or ESAS systems. With your purchase of a BC296DGV scanner from Communications Electronics, the APCO Project 25 Digital Card is included, free. When the BCi96D card is installed, you can monitor public safety organizations who currently use conventional, trunked at 3,600 and 9,600 baud analog control channel and digital voice and mixed mode APCO Project 25 systems.
• TrunkTracker IV - Search for and monitor all the groups within a specific trunked system. Lockout unwanted groups during the search and save other groups to scan lists. (EDACS™, Motorola, E.F. Johnson). Follow VHF High Band, UHF 800/900 MHz trunked public safety and public service systems just as if conventional two-way communications were used.
• Four-line, 16-character, Alpha Display - You can customize your scanner by storing text tags for easy identification of banks, channel transmission, trunking talk group ID and more. Allows for alpha tagging display of channel, bank or search range. makes it easy for you to see who is talking by displaying the assigned text tag instead of just a frequency or talkgroup ID number.
• Backlit Full-Frequency Display - Shows the channels being scanned and the frequency entered into each channel with an easy-to-read backlit display for enhanced night visibility. Provides for great visibility at any angle, day or night.
• Automatic Digital Detect – Allows the scanner to switch to digital voice decoding when it detects valid APCO 25 data without any special programming.
• Multi-System Tracking – Scans conventional and trunking systems at the same time.
• 1,000 Channels - Lets you store frequencies in 10 banks of 100 channels each. Program one frequency into each channel. You must have at least one channel programmed to use the scan mode.
• 1,000 Talkgroup ID’s – Lets you store 10 groups of 10 ID’s each per bank.
• 27 Bands - Includes 27 bands, with aircraft and 800 MHz.
• Continuous Band Coverage (25 MHz TO 1.3 GHz) - Allows coverage from virtually every frequency from 25 MHz to 1.3 GHz excluding the cellular bands and UHF TV band, so you can tune into police, fire, weather, ambulance, aircraft, military, "Ham" radio and much more.
• 10 Banks - 10 banks with 100 channels each are useful for storing similar frequencies to maintain faster scanning cycles or for storing all the frequencies of a trunked system.
• 10 Priority Channels - You can assign one priority channel in each bank. Assigning a priority channel allows you to keep track of activity on your most important channel(s) while monitoring other channels for transmissions. When Priority Scan is turned on, your scanner checks the priority channel in the banks you selected every 2 seconds for activity. If a signal is present on the priority channel, your scanner monitors the channel until the transmission ends, then resumes normal scanning. You can designate one channel in each bank as a Priority Channel. By default, the first channel in each bank is the Priority Channel, but you can change this setting.
• Priority Talkgroups – Increases the priority of selected talkgroups so the scanner is more likely to switch to them if there is activity.
• Priority Plus Scanning – Lets you scan only those channels you have selected as priority channels.
• Preprogrammed Service Search (10) - Makes it easy to find interesting frequencies used by public safety, news media TV broadcast audio, Amateur (ham) radio, CB radio, Family Radio Service, special low power, railroad, aircraft, marine, racing and weather frequencies.
• Data Skip - Automatically skips frequencies that have a constant-level transmission such as used on data channels for some systems, paging systems, and internally generated birdies.
• Memory Backup - If power is disconnected, the frequencies programmed in your scanner are retained in memory.
• Direct Channel Access - Jump directly to any channel without stepping through other channels or entering menu mode.
• RF Attenuator - The BC296D comes with an RF Attenuation feature. If you are near an unusually strong signal source, the signal may overload the scanner. The RF Attenuation features works in all modes and attenuates (reduces) the incoming signal strength to prevent stronger signals from overloading the scanner.
• PC Programmable - This feature allows the user to remotely program and control the scanner using third party software (available from www.usascan.com). Optional baud rates include 2400, 4800, 9600 (default) and 19200 operating through the scanner's DB-9 RS-232C port.
• Included PC Programming Software and Cable – makes programming your scanner much easier. Full-featured software included (no registration needed).
• Turbo Search - Searches for activity on frequencies at up to 300 steps per second (in the 5 kHz step ranges).
• Turbo Scan - This lightning fast technology allows you to scan and search nearly 100 channels or steps per second.
• Auto Store - The BC296D can automatically store any found active frequencies into an assigned bank.
• CTCSS/DCS - This feature allows the user to assign analog and digital subaudible tone codes to a specific frequency in memory. The scanner will also search for unknown CTCSS and DCS tones.
• National Weather Radio - Can be programmed to receive special localized weather warnings broadcast by NOAA. The scanner is compatible with warning siren and message transmissions.
• Specific Area Message Encoding (S.A.M.E.) weather alert - S.A.M.E. is NOAA’s coded emergency weather signals that identify a specific geographic area affected by an emergency. In weather alert with S.A.M.E. mode, your scanner functions as a county specific severe weather warning radio. To obtain further information about S.A.M.E. and FIPS code, visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/index.html.
• FIPS Code - This feature allows you to input a six-digit code Federal Information Processing System (FIPS) code that will designate a localized severe weather warning. The BC296D can decode the 6-digit FIPS code established by the National Weather Service (NWS). This FIPS code identifies geographic areas anywhere in the United States, US territories and US possessions. Programming the FIPS code is necessary to receive S.A.M.E. alerts about weather occurring in a particular area. To obtain a FIPS code for your area, call the National Weather Service toll free at 1-888-697-7263 or visit http://205.156.54.206/nwr/nwrsame.htm.
• Dimmer - Allows you to change the brightness of the display.
• Enter Lock - Allows you to lockout the keypad to prevent reprogramming of channels, talkgroups and tones.
• Key Beep Option - Allows you to turn the key beep on or off.
• Screen Mask - Screen Mask allows you to limit what appears on the display to the alpha tags that you have set for a channel along with a few function icons. Screen Mask removes the frequency, receiving mode tone data and signal strength bars. This mode is particularly useful in public safety vehicles where "information overload" is already a problem. Screen Mask does not work in Search mode.
• Reverse Mode - This key will allow you to observe the reverse frequency of the repeater. While pressing "RVRS", the standard repeater pair frequency will be displayed.
• Channel Step Selection - You can set channel steps, 5 kHz to 100 kHz or Auto, in conventional mode or chain search mode. The default receive mode should be the proper mode setting in almost all cases. You may wish to set some VHF channels for NFM mode, depending on any adjacent channel interference problems. WFM is typically used for broadcast frequencies such as TV audio or FM radio.
• Mute On/Off - Allows you to manually turn the mute function on or off.
• Receiving Mode Selection - You can set the receiving mode, AM or FM in conventional mode or chain search mode.
• Duplicate Frequency Alert - If you enter a frequency which has been stored in another channel, you will hear a beep and the channel stored displays a duplicate warning message.
• Control Channel Only Mode - Allows the user to automatically trunk certain systems by simply programming the control channel.
• Scanner Clone Mode - Allows for cloning of another scanner's programmed frequencies. (The two scanner's must be connected by a cloning cable for the cloning process to take place.)
• Alpha Tagging - Allows the user to assign an alpha description to each channel, trunking talk group and bank.
• Beep Alert - You can set a Beep Alert on a per-channel basis to alert you when specific frequencies are active. For example, you may wish to be alerted anytime a mutual aid fire frequency is active. With beep alert, you will hear three
  beeps at the start of each transmission that you have flagged as such. You will also notice that as you scroll pass the flagged channel(s), you will hear three beeps.
• VFO Control - Allows the user to tune through frequencies, channels, alpha characters and more with the handy VFO tuning knob.
• Menu-Driven Design - This function allows advanced programming and control operation through the easy-to-use menu system.
• Frequency Delay Selection - A default delay of 2 seconds is automatically set for each frequency or talk group A different delay can be set for each programmed channel so that when scan or search stops on a channel there is a brief pause before the scanning cycle resumes. To set the delay feature, enter into the menu mode.
• Negative Delay Selection - Setting negative delay periods are useful if you are only interested in small segments of conversations. For example: If you set a -5 second delay, you will only hear 5 seconds of the conversation and then the scanner will resume scanning, whether or not the conversation is finished.
• Total Channel Control - Allows the user to program delay, step, mode (adjustable) priority, attenuation and more on a per-channel basis.
• Chain search mode - When the scanner finds an active frequency, the trunk tracking system will be active. Four frequency
  plans apply to the Control Channel Only feature
• Trunk Search - Search for and monitor all the groups within a trunked system. Lockout unwanted groups during the search and save other groups to scan lists.
• Trunk Lockout - Lockout groups you don't wish to monitor, (including data groups) from the trunked system.
• Trunk Delay - Apply a five second delay to trunking groups so that both sides of a conversation can be heard, even if the trunking frequencies change between replies.
• One Touch Weather - Automatically scans all national weather channels with a single touch.
• Turbo Scan - This lightning fast technology allows you to scan and search nearly 100 channels or steps per second.
• Memory Backup - Retains frequencies entered for more than 3 days without batteries or during a power failure.
• Programmable Search - Allows you to find new frequencies in any of the bands.
• Manual Channel Access - Go directly to any channels without stepping through other channels.
• Battery Save – automatically reduces power requirements when you are holding on a single channel or frequency and there is no activity.
• Rechargeable NiMH Battery Pack and Charger – provides you with the most economical power options available.