How much does the BCD396T 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 BCD396T scanner removable?
No. In fact, there is no digital card in the BCD396T. The digital decoder is built-in to the scanner.

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

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. The BCD396T 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.
• Fire Tone Out Decoder - This feature lets you set the BCD396T to alert you if your selected two-tone sequential paging tones are received. Ideal for on-call firefighters, emergency response staff and for activating individual scanners used for incident management and population attack warning. To purchase a Fire Tone Out Encoder transceiver, useful for remotely activating fire pagers, tornado and enemy tactical attack siren warning systems, click here.
• Free - Uniden Advanced Scanner Director software - When you purchase your Bearcat BCD396T scanner from Communications Electronics, you also get access to free software updates from Uniden which helps protect your investment and gives you the latest scanner features. Click here for the Uniden BCD396T software download page.
• Close Call Radio Frequency Capture – Close Call exclusive technology locks onto nearby radio transmissions, even if you haven't programmed anything into your scanner. This is the easiest way ever to keep up with what is going on around you. Ideal for intelligence agencies for use at events where you don't have advance notice or knowledge of the radio communications systems and assets that you need to intercept and monitor.
• Six-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 talk group ID number.
• Blue 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 good visibility day or night. You can adjust the back light so it turns on when you press a key, when the squelch breaks during a transmission, or manually.
• Dynamically Allocated Channel Memory - The BCD396T scanner's memory is organized so that it more closely matches how radio systems actually work. Organize channels any way you want, using Uniden's exclusive dynamic memory management system. 3,000 channels are typical but over 6,000 channels are possible depending on the BCD396T scanner features used. You can also easily determine how much memory you have used and how much memory you have left.
• Preprogrammed Systems - The BCD396T is preprogrammed with over 400 channels covering police, fire and ambulance operations in the 25 most populated counties in the US, plus the most popular digital systems. A complete list of the scanner's preprogrammed systems is in the owners manual on page 140. Click to view the BCD396T owners manual.
• 100 Quick Keys – You can set the BCD396T so you can quickly select systems and groups by using the keypad. This makes it easy to listen to or quickly lock out those systems or groups you don't want to scan.
• Enemy Zeroize Memory - When your scanner is in danger of enemy capture, the BCD396T zeroize memory feature deletes all preprogrammed data by holding down the 2, 9 and hold keys while turning the scanner on. Erasing memory deprives the opposition of sensitive programmed frequency and talk group designator information which could be used for intelligence purposes. A useful feature for helping you win the global struggle against violent extremism.
• Over the air cloning - Using our radio transceiver with Fire Tone Out Encoder, a personal computer and the Uniden Advanced Scanner Director software (free from Uniden, with your Communications Electronics BCD396T purchase, click here for the Uniden BCD396T software download page), you can transmit control codes to program hundreds of BCD396T scanners simultaneously. Ideal for provisioning multiple Bearcat BCD396T scanners to help quickly restore critical communications infrastructure after a nuclear weapon detonation with the resulting electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and “late-time” magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) EMP effect.
• Analog and Digital Audio AGC - Helps automatically balance the volume level between different radio systems.
• Broadcast Screen - Sets the BCD396T so it ignores Close Call or search hits on known broadcast frequencies including pager frequencies.
• Custom Alerts – For each alert in the scanner (such as channel alert, Close Call alert, emergency alert) you can select from nine different tone patterns and also set the alert volume level independently from the main volume level.
• Custom Screen - Lets you input up to 10 frequency ranges that the BCD396T will ignore during Close Call or search operation.
• Preprogrammed Service Search (12) - Makes it easy to find interesting frequencies used by public safety, news media TV broadcast audio, Amateur (ham) radio, CB radio, Family Radio Service/GMRS, FM Broadcast, special low power, railroad, aircraft, marine, racing and weather frequencies.
• PC Programmable - Provides for both programming and remote control of the BCD396T from a PC. This feature allows the user to remotely program and control the scanner using third party software.
• Included PC Programming Cable – makes programming your scanner much easier. Free full-featured software available for download after software activation. Call Uniden customer care at +1-800-297-1023 for product support on Uniden BCD396T scanner software.
• Lockout - You can lock out any system, group, frequency, or channel while scanning. If you lock out a system or group, any channels belonging to that system or group are also locked out. You can lock out up to 200 frequencies. The BCD396T skips locked-out frequencies while using the Close Call feature or while searching.
• 3 AA NiMH or Alkaline battery operation and Charger – 3 AA battery operation - The BCD396T includes 3 premium 2,300 mAH Nickel Metal Hydride AA batteries to give you the most economical power option available. You may also operate the BCD396D using 3 AA alkaline batteries.
• Dynamically Allocated Channel Memory - The BCD396T scanner's memory is organized so that it more closely matches how radio systems actually work. Organize channels any way you want, using Uniden's exclusive dynamic memory management system. 3,000 channels are typical but over 6,000 channels are possible depending on the BCD396T scanner features used. You can also easily determine how much memory you have used and how much memory you have left.
• Preprogrammed Systems - The BCD396T is preprogrammed with over 400 channels covering police, fire and ambulance operations in the 25 most populated counties in the US, plus the most popular digital systems. A complete list of the scanner's preprogrammed systems is in the owners manual on page 140. Click to view the BCD396T owners manual.
• Display Contrast - Select one of 15 display contrast levels for different viewing conditions.
• Alpha Tagging - Allows the user to assign an alpha description to each channel, trunking talk group and bank.
• Attenuator - You can set the BCD396T's attenuator to reduce the input strength of strong signals by about 18 dB.
• Automatic Digital Detect – Allows the scanner to switch to digital voice decoding when it detects valid APCO 25 data without any special programming.
• Auto Store - The BCD396T can automatically store any found active frequencies into an assigned bank.
• Battery Save – automatically reduces power requirements when you are holding on a single channel or frequency and there is no activity.
• Chain search mode - When the scanner finds an active frequency, the trunk tracking system will be active.
• 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.
• 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..
• 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. Helps prevent interference from stations not using the mode you select.
• 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.
• Direct Channel Access - Jump directly to any channel without stepping through other channels or entering menu 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.
• Enter Lock - Allows you to lockout the keypad to prevent reprogramming of channels, talk groups and tones.
• 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 and county all hazards warning. The BCD396T 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://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/indexnw.htm#sametable.
• Key Beep Option - Allows you to turn the key beep on or off..
• Manual Channel Access - Go directly to any channels without stepping through other channels.
• Memory Backup - If power is disconnected, the frequencies programmed in your scanner are retained in memory.
• Menu-Driven Design - This function allows advanced programming and control operation through the easy-to-use menu system.
• Multi-System Tracking – Scans conventional and trunking systems at the same time.
• 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.
• One Touch Weather - Automatically scans all national weather channels with a single touch.
• Priority Channels - Designate any channel as a priority channel. 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.
• Priority Plus Scanning – Lets you scan only those priority channels in unlocked conventional systems.
• Programmable Search - Allows you to find new frequencies in any of the bands.
• Receiving Mode Selection - You can set the receiving mode, AM or FM in conventional mode or chain 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.
• RF Attenuator - The BCD396T 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.
• 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 all hazards warning radio. To obtain further information about S.A.M.E. and FIPS code, visit http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/index.html.
• Text Tagging - You can name each system, group, channel, talk group ID, custom search range, and SAME group, using up to 16 characters per name.
• 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). You can also follow VHF High Band, UHF 800/900 MHz trunked public safety and public service systems on conventional two-way communications.
• 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.
• Control Channel Only Mode - If the BCD396T is set to scan Motorola trunking frequencies, you can set it so it scans using only control channel data. You do not have to program voice channel frequencies into memory in this mode.
• Scanner Clone Mode - Allows for cloning of another scanner's programmed frequencies.
• VFO Control - Allows the user to tune through frequencies, channels, alpha characters and more with the handy VFO tuning knob.
• Scan/Search Delay - You can set the BCD396T so it remains on a frequency up to five seconds after the last transmission to wait for a possible reply.
• 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.
• 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.