WYOMING SURVIVAL: Uniden BCD436HP VS. Analog Radios.

I get bored and have to mess with stuff. I decided I wanted to see how good the Uniden BCD436HP close call feature works with a better antenna at a higher elevation against a standard analog radio.

On my first test of the BCD436HP I only went out to 100 ft and was using a telescopic antenna. You can read my first tests here.

I recently installed the Diamond Antenna V2000A Tri Band Base Antenna (6m/2m/70cm) on a 20ft pole at my house. This is what I connected to the BCD436HP.

The radios I used for this test was the standard Baofeng UV-5R in a common configuration. The radio that I was trying to capture was on high power with a high gain omnidirectional antenna. Most people that don’t know any better run this setup or something similar on their kit.

As you can see in the picture below I have the BCD436HP connected to one UV-5R with an APRS cable. That radio is on the MURS frequency. The third UV-5R is also on the MURS frequency. The test radio with the large antenna is on a UHF frequency.

I had to have with me two radios to run this test myself. The test radio on UHF and the other one on the MURS frequency. I turn on the BCD436HP and select the close call feature. I then key up on the MURS frequency and once the close call feature picks it up I select AVOID FREQUENCY on the scanner so its not picking that frequency.

Make sure you avoid the frequency of the radio thats connected to the scanner.

I then headed outside. At 50 yards I keyed up the test radio thats on the UHF frequency. Within 1 second I was coming across the second radio on the MURS frequency. Well 50 yards wasn’t far enough. Out to 100 yards I went. Keyed up and in 1 second I was picked up again. 170 yards and…… was picked up in 2 seconds. 200 yards the radio inside the house wasn’t reaching. At this point I went back to the house and took a magnet mount antenna from my old truck and put it on the metal roof of the house and ran the coax into the house back to the radio connected to the scanner.

Antenna connected to the UV-5R in the house

This time I went to 350 yards and within 2 seconds the close call feature picked me up. So now I’m interested in just how far this close call feature will pickup analog radios. Next was 500 yards.

At 500 yards it got me in 3 seconds. At this point I decided to push it and went out to 1 mile. At one mile line of sight back to my house it got me in less than 2 seconds. I then put the radio on low power and it still got me just as quick. I didn’t move any further back than 1 mile. Now as soon as I had a piece of terrain in between me and the antenna at the house it wouldn’t pick it up even on high power. As I drove back to the house I kept trying with the terrain in between me and the scanner antenna and even up to the 400 yard mark it wouldn’t pick me up as long as I had something in between me and the scanner antenna (hint hint)

This testing was basically done in optimal conditions. I have zero trees or buildings blocking the view of the antenna. I made sure I could see the antenna when I keyed up. I am HIGHLY impressed that it will pickup an analog signal from a mile on low power though. It still wouldn’t close call my DMR radio. I did this testing for all the guys who are running analog radios. You need to know what can get your signal and how fast. You need to know what techniques it takes to defeat this also.

All of this will be gone over in my TACCOMMS CLASS. If you are interested look over my schedule of if you want to host me contact me at [email protected].

By NC ScoutPublished On: December 4, 2021Categories: AP Staff, Comms2 Comments

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

2 Comments

Tunnel+Rabbit December 4, 2021 at 14:32

It is very good to see the results of this survey.

I may put one scanner on two opposing Moxons that would then be better able to detect the most common handhelds that are FRS/GMRS. These are the most likely radio that would be used. It is easy to make a robust Moxon using 1/2”copper, and 1/2 poly pipe. Moxon’s have a gain of around 6Dbi and would ‘hear’ twice as well as 1/4 wave, or the typical high gain antenna. The pine tree needles around here soak up UHF signals. A 250mw or less, UHF signal out of a cheap fixed antenna could be very hard to pick up at 1/4 mile. Given the remote mountainous terrain, avenues of approach are restricted, so I might use another scanner on a UHF yagi pointed in correct direction that is down a valley, or ‘holler’ for you folks. The rotator that I have, unfortunately requires 110vac. The 6 element OWA direct connect yagi is also an easy build and wide banded.

Wish I could afford at least two of these Uniden scanners, one for VHF, and one for UHF. Unfortunately these lower cost Uniden scanners with the Close Call feature, can be programmed to do only one, or the other band. I am not familiar with very nice Uniden featured in the article.
Tunnel+Rabbit December 4, 2021 at 15:52

On a second read, I happened to discover this link to Part 1 of this article. It is also instructive and would save the reader money and grief: https://wyomingsurvival.wordpress.com/2021/07/12/uniden-bcd436hp-vs-whistler-trx-1/

”Let discuss another problem I found with the BCD436HP. I cannot for the life of me find where I can just punch a single frequency in and monitor that frequency. This is a HUGE negative for me!! So let’s say I do pick up a DMR signal and I just want to monitor it to gather information. As far as I can find on this scanner its impossible. There are search limits that I can narrow to almost nothing but I like to be able to punch the single frequency I want to listen to into the scanner and monitor just that frequency. ”

Yes, this is a serious issue, and so is the fact that the Close Call feature requires the user to closely monitor and capture the frequency that is only displayed for a fraction of one second after transmission has ended. Given this, and other limitations, and my AO that is remote, and where digital is seldom encountered, I put scant resources into a bank of 7 analogue scanners that each are utilized, together and separately, to intercept the most likely frequencies that might experience traffic,

. Scanners can perform in two difference ways. They can be set up to rapidly scan, scrolling through hundreds of specific frequencies that have been programmed in, and to sweep a band. Using a scanner to sweep a band, the scanner scrolls through all of the usable frequencies by bandwidth steps within a user determined preference, that can be limited. If we are ‘sweeping the entire VHF band, the time need to complete the sweep is extended. If we limit the sweep, the time to complete is greatly shorten.

Using several scanners to sweep different portions of the VHF band ensures coverage of that portion of the spectrum to that which greatly increases the odds of interception. The technique pretty much eliminates the need for a frequency counter that is marketed as Uniden’s Close Call feature. And we have the advantages of capturing the frequency even if the dispatcher, or attendant is distracted. If we used a digital recorder’s VOX function, we can also capture the traffic and the frequency as it can remain displayed until the user resets the scanner.

Frequency counters are not as sensitive for a reason. The Close Call feature is essentially a frequency counter repurposed. We should consider using this feature as it was intended. It can service us better as designed, as it can alert us to traffic that potentially dangerous close by, or as an adjunct to our primary means.