Uniden Bearcat BC898T Scanner Receiver

2 Samples tested for this report.

2004 Tested Sample # 1 Serial Number (approx.) : 322Z440008xx
2006 Tested Sample # 2 Serial Number (approx.) : 322Z640005xx

County of Mfg. (including AD-140U AC Adapter) : China
Jameco # 170245 aftermarket 12v 1 amp regulated adapter (see text below) : Taiwan

Faulty Firmware (as received with sample # 1 new) : U 1.27 , checksum SEd7H
Properly Working "Updated" Firmware : U 1.29 , checksum EF9SH

Ok, it's been a long while since I have owned a real "scanner". Normally I don't cover this type of receiver here as I'm not into VHF/UHF monitoring much and just use a amateur handheld for that. But I wanted to get my feet wet with one of these "Trunking" scanners even if it's used very light where I live , and as well as having a set around for the local PD if the naborhood does wild. Ease of use is another major issue.

The BC-101 "No Crystal" / BC-210 "Direct Entry" and BC-100 "Handheld" Scanners,

I have owned other "Bearcat" scanners over the years. Lets see it started for me with a (non-Uniden) BC-101 in early 1976 I think it was. As many know this was the first synthesized model with the Bearcat name on it that did not use crystals. After 2 samples of this set, I gave up. UHF had so much phase noise mixed in that it almost covered up the desired signal.

About a year later (spring of 1977), I purchased a sample from the first production run of the Bearcat BC-210. This was of course much better with keyboard entry and LED display. A nice front mounted speaker too. But it did not cover the entire 2 meter amateur radio band. 146 to 148 Mhz only. Also had excessive phase noise as well, but not quite as bad as the old BC-101 beast. No doubt it was a landmark "scanner" for the day. No more crystals...yeah. Did not have the greatest keyboard to speak of, but it worked. I think I gave about $ 300. for the thing. That's alot a change in 1977. Lacked the real diecast bezel found on the BC101 however, which I liked.

A few years after that I purchased a BC-100 "Handheld" synthesized marvel. The phase noise was again totally unacceptable (as was battery life) and after 3 of these I said "forget it". Well the first one was almost a DOA and again all came from the first production run. The rubber antenna socket on these first units was a total joke.

We now avoided Bearcat stuff for many years, even after the Uniden purchase from Electra (Masco). I will admit that after the takeover the new radios looked much more solid all around, but still I said no.

The Uniden BC-890XLT, Another Dog !!

Then I seen the Uniden BC890XLT tabletop unit appear on the market and was thinking "this is pretty neat" as it has a real tuning knob and a large table top design. Yes a low cost receiver of this type but mind you but it's no communications receiver and I understood that. So I made a purchase of one of these and again it was from a early production run. The 800 Mhz band was totally useless for me. Was awashed with cell phone signals and digital buzzies overload across the entire band at my location. Was only a dual conversion scheme. The receiver worked OK in other bands.

Needless to say, that put any additional Uniden "Bearcat" purchases even on hold again for many years to come.

The BC-898T Scanner with Narrow Band FM mode.

I really needed to get my feet wet with all of this new trunking stuff, so a lookin I go.

Let me say that I was not prepared to spend alot of money on this new box with trunking, so price was a major issue. I seen the BC895XLT appear on the market but never went for one as it looked too much like the BC-890 and felt that it was the same box, but with trunking added (but as it turns out is a triple conversion set).

But after I seen the updated version of the set appear, I went for one of these BC898T's in mid August 2004. Once again it's from one of the first (if not the first) production runs.

So just a few tidbits on this set that I feel are important. The Bearcat manuals still lack any real receiver specifications to speak of. That part has not changed at all with Uniden over Electra.

Rear View of the Uniden Bearcat BC898T.
Note the standard female DB-9 pin RS232 connector for computer control / programming.
(photo DaveZ)

- Frequency steps include the now important 7.5 and 6.25 khz steps (either not covered on the BC895XLT). The manual indicates that the 6.25 Khz split really means 7.5 Khz when programming 150.00-162.00 Mhz.

- "ATT" (antenna attenuator) function now found on BC898 (missing on the BC895XLT). Can be selected for each channel.

- 500 total memory channels (50 channels in each of 10 banks).

- Wiill store 1000 total talk groups entries.

- 200 Talk Group Skip Memories. 100 Search Skip Memories. 10 search ranges (using the bank buttons). Modes cover AM / FM and now the new important NFM mode (lacked on the 895). This will be most needed in a few years time as well as the 7.5 khz steps in the VHF band.

- Tuning steps and modes are not tied down to certain bands. You can select any mode : FM, FMN or AM or step on any band. There is no FM wide on the BC898T, nor is frequency coverage for those modes provided.

- Large top mounted speaker

A Couple Of Standard "Uniden" Keyboard Tricks That Work On The BC898T

This Info is NOT found in the owners manual of course.

- For a "Hard Reset" (will clear all the settings and memories) : Hold " 2 + 9 + MANUAL " while turning power on.

- To check the firmware version : Hold " 2 + 4 + 9 " while turning power on. (versions tested : U 1.27 , and U 1.29).

Better Coverage over old BC895 model / Excellent CTCSS - DCS Search That is Super Easy To Use

Frequency Coverage now dips down to 25 Mhz. The "10-4" Citizens Band is now covered. The BC895XLT started at 29 Mhz. No, the BC-898T is not a wide band coverage set. But it's not priced at $ 500 either.

So coverage goes (AM, FM and FMN modes):

25 to 54 Mhz
108 to 174 Mhz
216 to 512 Mhz
806 to 823.9875 Mhz
849.0125 to 868.9875 Mhz
894.0125 to 956 Mhz

DCS now included with the CTCSS (895 lacked DCS), and I have also been told that it decodes MUCH faster than the old BC895 (and other Uniden sets) did with CTCSS search. It's indeed very zippy in searching CTCCS or DCS tones or codes, excellent in fact. It does not mute the receiver as it's doing this either. You don't even have to know what type as it will figure out which one it is.

It's extremely easy to use too (a no brainer). Here is where amateur radio transceivers fall flat on their face, tone scan is usually some weird chore that is slow at best.

Bad News Right Out of the Box on first 2004 sample. the CTCSS/DCS failure issue.

With the first 2004 sample I purchased the CTCSS/DCS function failed to function after about 8 hours of operation. Worked fine until then. Regular signals continued to be received OK even after the channels that had CTCSS/DCS on them went sour.

The real stinker is if I powered off the receiver and then back on, "boom" it would all work again. But only for another 8 hours or so. It again died again after the same time period.

I was not the only person reporting this issue with the BC898T either on these first units. For some owners it has been reported that the problem took as long as 3 weeks to show up.

After talking to Uniden's "so called" customer service twice on the phone for a couple of "run-a-rounds", I was told to send my sample back to Uniden (Ft.Worth Texas) and about a month later it was returned to me with new firmware installed (U1.29). The receivers firmware is indeed flashable with the BC898T model.

This indeed cleared up the problem, but this also proves that the set DID NOT receive enough beta testing before it was placed on the market, leaving many owners TOTALLY in the dark and in a nasty mood (including me) !!

A real "Line Audio Output" , however it has FIVE bugs. / Triple Conversion

The LINE OUT jack is now a real line out. Unlike the BC890 and 895 that were not (just a attenuated speaker output). Volume control does NOT affect the line output on the BC898T. Toggled for each channel with Line button for use with VOX tape recorders. So no more relay "remote" jack. You might say..."Good News"....well not so fast bunkey !

The first down side is that there is a NASTY lag time that can be about 2 SECONDS long once the squelch is broken before the "line" jack has any audio. So you can miss up to the first 2 seconds on a tape recording. Great that they have a real line out now, but this excessive delay is a worst nasty I think.

Second bug is that it's bit hissy (as the receiver is anyway).

Update: As of Jan 01, 2007 Uniden has done nothing to fix any of these "Line Out" issues.

WARNING : I will NOT be held responsible for any information that is listed here.
ALL DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK !

The third nasty with this "line out" is that every time the squelch breaks , a loud "thump" (I call it a pop) is heard. James Kondel has come up with a modification to fix this (pdf file) but you will have to be good with surface mount electronics (NOTE: I have NOT tested this). Doing this of course will void the warranty.

Number 4 is that the general line output is weak, but Jim makes a note there is a trimmer control adjustment for the line outut level next to capacitor C255 (also not tested). Remember this is one tiny little control.

Reported "Line Output" level adjustment in the Uniden Bearcat BC898T.
(photo: James Kondel, edit N9EWO)

Number 5 is why the line out and the external speaker jacks are located on the front panel (just as it was on the BC890 and BC895). I feel both of these should be on the rear of the cabinet.

The BC898T is using the same "Triple conversion" receiver layout as the old BC895XLT. So that should make the first IF around 380 Mhz, second about 45 Mhz and 450 khz on the 3rd ?

Internal "Top" full view of the main PC Board in the Uniden Bearcat BC898T
(photo DaveZ)

Still Needs External Speaker to Sound Right.

The BC-898T has a fairly large top mounted speaker. It generally gets the job done, but it has a bassy trait that I do not care for. I used a external "audio response" speaker that made a huge improvement. I have to stress this one again, why the external speaker (and line output) jack continue to be found on the front panel is strange. These should be located on the rear panel in my view. The general speaker output (as is the line output) is a bit hissy as well ,but not to any nasty levels like the Yaesu VR-5000.

Good Overall Performance, 800 Mhz just OK / VHF-Lo Fair / No Alpha Tags / Not Using LED's for Backlighting.

Using the included whip, sensitivity in the VHF-Hi (108-174 Mhz) and UHF (400 to 512 Mhz) area's to me are very good if not excellent. I can hear a weak 222 Mhz amateur repeater on the BC898T quite well. This is one of the very few receivers I have even done this with only using the back of the set antenna. 800-900 Mhz sensitivity being only average but no more. However the VHF "Low Band" (25 to 54 Mhz area) is only on the fair side on the 2 samples I have used.

As may pepole have already said, the set does lack any "alpha tags" and is a very important missing feature. But the price point would suffer I think if it were to be added, so it goes.

A gripe is why Uniden continues to use 4 "panel lamps" (2 on each end) to light up the display is beyond me ?? LED's are cheaper these days and last much longer. Arrg !! At least we have a way to dim it down or turn off the backlight all together.

Intermod Issues.

The tested samples were used in a city of about 80,000 , so were are not talking about a huge metro city here. Only using the included "back of the set" antenna, I noticed a pretty heavy amount of intermodulation products in the 400 to 440 Mhz government part of the spectrum from signals in the 460~465 Mhz area. Other than this I noticed no other nasty receiver quirks. Please note that no outdoor antenna's were used in testing , just the back of the set antenna .

WARNING : I will NOT be held responsible for any information that is listed here.
ALL DONE AT YOUR OWN RISK !

A minor downside to this however. The only gremlin using this Jameco wall wart supply is that the measured voltage output is about 12.4v, so the audio amplifer has a touch less punch. The voltage with the unregulated AD-140U adapter and the BC898T operating is approx 13.6 volts. This drops the performance of the receivers TDA1905 5 watt audio amplifer IC "slightly" (about 800 mw's from looking at the IC's spec sheet). I have found that this actually helps making the volume control a bit more linear, very good for adjusting the volume late at night (with the AD-140 adapter in use this is a bit harder to do as it's louder). But if you need and must have total audio punch, then still use the AD-140U or another LINEAR regulated supply that can supply 13.6 to 13.8 DC volts for no slight hum.

The audio amplifer in most receivers (including the BC898T) do not see any internal power regulation that the rest of the circuits see. The audio amp receives the raw input voltage. Well almost as with the BC898T it does see a power choke, 2800 ohm surface mount resistor and a elect. capacitor, but that's about it (no regulation).

Nice Tuning Knob (encoder) / Some keys only fair.

The tuning knob uses a mechanical encoder , and as the case usually is with these, it will skip a channel once in awhile in rotation. But is not as much of an issue as with a shortwave receiver as it's use is much less and the price point gets in the way again.

Most buttons all have a good feel and work good. However, the numeric entry keys (0 to 9), and the 6 keys just left of the LCD are very stiff and require more of a punch for entry. A number (say 4) of proper size stick on rubber feet on the rear bottom edge of the cabinet is a good idea because of this. Remove the paper white sticker on that bottom edge along with the sticky remains before you do this. Allow at least 48 hours before you more it around after you stick these on so the feet's glue sets properly.

Uniden's BC898T SS Scanner Software.

One can download a demo version of the Uniden SS BC898T Scanner software (size is about 18 MB, also the firmware upgrade if you need it is here too). This will allow you to try it out and work with frequency entries in bank "one" to see if it trips your trigger. For $ 30 US you can purchase the "key" to open it up so it works in all 10 banks.

The screen shot below shows the layout for "punching on the screen" operation. The database part of the program allows you upload/download from the set and of course enter frequencies or just about any other entry of the set for very easy programming. This works very well and is one of the best radio control programs I have ever used for ease of use. It's a breeze to enter trunking data where doing it without can be a royal pain in the rump with the lousy owners manual.

A standard serial port connection is made between the BC898T's 9 pin female and the computers 9 pin male jacks. No null modem adapters or cables are used (unlike JRC). Follow the RMT mode selection in the program docs or manual to turn the computer port on in the BC898T.

NOTE : This program requires at least Windows 98 SE or above to work (will NOT work with Windows 95 or the Standard version of Windows 98...I have tested this). A more zippy computer of around 600 Mhz is required too. Mac is not supported. Unknown if this software will work with Windows Vista ?

Screen Shot of Uniden Bearcat BC898T SS Scanner Software
(in general receiver control mode)
(photo : DaveZ)

Nice scanner but why did we have to put up with the CTCSS/DCS bug at all ??

The BC898T performs well with many features and ease of use in a great larger package with that super "tuning knob" to boot. The receiver sensitivity is excellent across the range for the price point. Above frequency average coverage as well. Remember, this is a "scanner" and not a communications receiver. It's the largest and heaviest scanner in Uniden's product line.

However, why did I have to put up with the headaches that I had to deal with on the first sample, and the extra money spent (for shipping, etc) back in 2004. There should have been more time "beta" testing of this product before it was placed onto the market.

Anyway, I'm very glad to see that the problem is behind us with Uniden fixing the major problem even if it took a good month back in the fall of 2004. But a few "not so happy" customers in the process.

Another area that still needs to be improved is the owners manual. Yes, it's that bad to my eyes. It might make a "trunking newbe" to heave it all in the trash.

Dave N9EWO
© 2008 N9EWO
ver 3.1