MikeRugg

I have read several positive reviews of the Uniden Beartracker scanner, but it was a rennlist member's endorsement that sold me.

Does anyone know which model is best suited for smokin' out the Cal hwy Patrol and their brethren? Any thoughts or experiences?

Ever since I got popped by some mad-at-the-world cop in my no-crime So Cal hometown, I have been driving way too slow. Its time to change that.


Thanks Guys

KPV

Bearcat BCT-7




Buy it here:

http://www.scannermaster.com/store/s...0Scanners.html

MikeRugg

Thanks KPV, I have one ordered and will post impressions as soon as it gets here.

David in LA

Sorry for the newbie question, but are there any laws (state or Fed) that affect ownership or operation of one of these?

TIA

Sun Ra

bearcats work great everywhere but arizona, i have the visor size bc7 i believe, in AZ all you get is skip and distant ahp, no local warnings. works great in CA but remember he can still be there, but silent.

washington951

hey ken - did you use it during the gumball? what were the results?
mike - what was the recommendation that lead you to this?
i'm doing a run from cincinnati to miami in a few weeks - i might want to pick one up for that....

Minis-are-slow

I have this theory...
I never see cops/chp "hiding in wait to bust a speeder"
They seem to usually be out in plain view.
It also seems to me that most drivers are just oblivious(myself included)
until we realize we're toast! If my observations are accurate, then wouldn't
it be pretty effective to train yoursellf to be always watching for "The MAN"?
Whenever I've had Radar detectors, I get so stressed-out by all the false
alarms! Of course a scanner is a different animal. But you see what I'm sayin'?
Or am I on crack? HeeHee!

KPV

First off, I don't like your screen name "Minis-are-slow" LOL (look at my sig to get it.)

Now, back to the issue at hand. These scanners are illegal for use WHILE DRIVING in some states. You would have to check the local laws and restrictions. The various state and local police throughout the country use various equipment with many of them going to digital recently. In those cases, this, or any other analog scanner will be of no use. There are other, more expensive, larger and bulkier, digital scanners that can find and decode the digital signals.
Obviously, the reason for anyone here having a scanner in their car is not because it is a hobby. It is because they want to be alerted in as many ways possible that there is possible police activity near them. With that said, be aware of the limitations of this or any scanner device. In order to be effective, the scanner needs to be set to scan the numerous frequencies that the state and local authorities use in a partiicular region, state, municipality, etc. As this is the case, it takes a certain period of time for the scanner to literally scan all of the those frequencies. That time varies depending on the total number of frequencies you ask the scanner to scan. I mobile unit suvh as the one I recommend above, is slow (relatively speaking) as compared to other, more expensive bulkier scanners. That is the price you pay for portability and stealth. Because of the slower scan speed, it is entirely possible that you could miss a transmission on one frequency while the scanner is scanning the remaining frequencies. Couple that with the fact that the scanner will stop on a frequency that has some activity further exascerbating the speed problem. I have found that many times, it will stop on a frequency that is digitally garbled and hang there. You have the option of either blocking that frequency out of subsequent scans (one button push) or keeping the scan moving on in a different button push but, again, that is time. It would be quite possible for a transmission of interest to occur and you would entirely miss it.
Now, another thing to realize in your favor. The way I understand these transmissions work is through a repeater process. In other words, when a single police unit (car) transmits, each of the other cars retransmit the same transmission. It is sort of a network as I understand it. It increases the liklihood that the transmission will be heard since it doen't solely rely on base to mobile direct communication.

Watt,
I believe you have the BCT-12.





It was a really slick unit that I tried to buy when I bought the BCT-12 but it was discontinued. It is a little larger than a radar detector and suction cup mounts to the windshield. You can still find them on ebay. The above two photos were taken from current ebay auctions. It has further functionality drawbacks compared to the BCT-7 due to its dimunitive size.

You can see the BCT-12 in use in the Mischief 3000 DVD available at Circuit City or Best Buy. One of the teams used one exclusively in Gumball year 2002.

Fred-TTX50 has a built in BCT-7 in his car that he used for the Gumball this year. You may try to contact him. I think his installation may even be in his photo page.

Hope all this helps.

Sun Ra

that's it Ken,
uniden said they quit making it cause customers were complaining it was being confiscated as a detector [CT, VA i guess]. i like it cause its small and you just punch the new state as you cross the line.

LSM

What does this scanner exactly accomplish?

-Lou

KPV

It picks up police and trooper radio transmissions so you can, in theory, glean important location information from it. It also has a feature that flashes a light when the signal strength relates to a transmission made within a few miles of your current location. So, in a perfect world, it is a "Police Radio Transmission Detector" of sorts.

Watt,
The BCT-7 has the same "State" button as well as the other features. It is just a little bigger and definitely not as slick.

Incidentally, the BCT-12 that Watt has can be purchased on ebay between $50 and $150 as far as I know. Simply do a search for BCT-12.
Besides the difference in size, the biggest difference between the BCT-12 (discontinued) and BCT-7 (current) is the ability to program new frequencies into it. That is a good feature of the BCT-7.

KPV

Here is a link to a page with pictures of Fred's installation of his BCT-7 from his photo album:

http://homepage.mac.com/fredcourtot/PhotoAlbum6.html

nkhalidi

if anyone's interested, I have a uniden BCT-10 that I'm willing to part with for $87, including shipping anywhere in the continental U.S. works perfectly, I bought it new and never really used it - I don't drive very fast. Just had it on eBay and the auction fell through due to shenanigans with the winning bidder. send me an e-mail if you're interested.

matterhorn762

I'm bringing this thread back from the dead because I'm in the process of making the exact same decision.

Choice 1: BCT-12.

Pro: Slick mount and small size. Portability.
Con: Will it cover as much as quickly as the BCT-7 or 8?

Choice 2: BCT-7

Pro: Better coverage than the BCT-12? I don't know.
Con: Consol space

Choice 3: BCT-8

Haven't found much information on this one. Is it just an improved BCT-7? Is it worth the extra cost?

Thanks.

washington951

matteerhorn - sent you a PM - and it may be a bit redudant after reading your post here.....the one thing i've found with the 12 is that the volume is pretty weak. now - i think the only way that i'll run it is to have the scanner traffic volume turned down most of the time and just heed the mobile extender 'warning'....there may come a day where i would turn up the scanner traffic - i'm in the TV news/production business - and it may come in handy.

i do like the small size, tho - we'll see as i have a cincy-miami road trip coming up....but i wish it were in the 951 instead of the explorer...sigh....i'll post again after the run at the end of the month.