Non-Scientific Comparison - BC296 vs Pro96
Click for larger picture (64k)
Size and appearance
Both radios are pretty similar in size, the Pro96 is about 1/4 inch longer and
wider, while the BC296 is about 1/4 thicker. The BC296 case is black
with silver keys, and the Pro96 is silver with black keys. Display
size is the same. The BC296 has a small, thumb scroller, which
can be used for scrolling through menus and text ID's.
Batteries
Pro96 uses 4 AA batteries, two battery holders are provided, one for rechargeable,
and one for regular batteries. The BC296 uses a rechargeable battery
pack, no option to use regular batteries. The spare BP250 battery pack can
be purchased, but swapping batteries means yanking on the small connector clip,
which could cause problems over the long run.
Operation
Most of my scanners have been Unidens, so using the BC296 was pretty intuitive,
while the Pro-96 required a few trips to the manual. I'm sure those
used to Radio Shack radios will have the same experience, albeit in reverse.
I found trunk scanning on the BC296 to be easier, especially turning banks on
& off. With the BC296, each frequency bank has 10 trunk ID
banks, holding 10 ID's (total of 100). The Pro 96 has 5 banks of 30 (total
of 150). The Pro 96 can store more ID's per system, but
has fewer options to quickly turn off/on groups of ID's.
Scanning saved ID's or searching for new ID's is different between each model.
With the BC296, while in the correct trunked system bank, hit Search, and the
radio will stop on all ID's it encounters. ID's can be locked out in
search mode, with RADIOWIDE total of 200 ID's. On the Pro96, switch
between OPEN bank and CLOSED bank (function 5) to listen to all ID's or just
stored ones. I assume that trunk ID's can be locked out on the
PRO96, but I don't know how many.
The backlight and display on both radios was pretty good, definitely improved
over previous models from both companies. Both scanners allow for continuous
backlight display (which is nice). Hint for developers: A "light on
activity" would be nice! (Like the BC245). The
BC296 has an orange background and LED, the Pro96 is green, I'd give a slight
edge to the BC296 in readability.
The Pro96 has a few features that make it nice for traveling. It
will display some trunked system tech info, like the Tower ID and System ID
number which is kind of cool. It also has the "Virtual
Folders" deal where you can pre-save multiple radio configurations.
Basically you're saving the entire radio (frequencies, ID's, tags, etc) as a
profile in a folder. You can switch between folders with a few menus
commands and about 30 seconds internal programming time. Neat
feature if you travel a lot, otherwise you could do the same thing with the
BC296 and a computer.
Price
On paper, the Pro 96 starts off being $20 cheaper then the BC296. (Radio
Shack list price $500 vs. $520 for BC296 at www.usascan.com).
However, items that come with the BC296 must be purchased separately for the
Pro96. Prices as of 11/25/04.
Pro 96
BC296
List
price
$500
$520
batteries (4 AA) $10 (rechargeable)
included
9v transformer $10
included
PC cable (#20-289) $15
included
software (Win96) $30
included
sales tax
$30 (if purchased locally) n/a (out of state)
—----------------------------------------------
$595
$520
So, the price gap changes quite a bit once all the accessories have been added
in. The BC296 comes with a PC interface cable and a basic PC
application that allows programming of frequencies, trunk ID's and text names,
along with some basic activity logging functions. Nothing fancy, but
enough to get you started, better programs are available on Net. Radio
Shack does not market any software of it's own, a 30 day trial of Win96 can be
downloaded from http://www.starrsoft.com/software/win96/,
after trial period it's $30. PC interface is definitely the
way to go, especially if you're programming in text ID's.
With either radio, I would strongly suggest purchasing a tuned 800mhz antenna,
like the Radio Shack #20-283 ($16). Gives a slight, but necessary
improvement over the stock antenna.
Performance
Side by side, I didn't notice a much of a difference between either radio.
Listening to the Mpls system, in Minneapolis, from a location that should have
had a good signal I still noticed dropouts and missed conversations.
I'd consider both radios to be equally mediocre in performance, especially
considering their cost. Both radios require very strong signals - full
bars. Dropping even a single bar down will mean a loss of the signal and
an interrupted conversation. On the BC296, if the audio decoding is
lost, you generally hear silence or some distorted voice. I noticed that
the Pro96 had a tendency to drop to raw P25 digital signal (sounds like static),
which was a bit annoying.
I found both radios need to be operated with squelch all the way open to get any
reliable audio decoding. Which means if you want to mix in
conventional frequencies, be sure to also enter the PL/DCS tone (and lock the
bank on the Pro96). Which brings up a nice feature of the Pro96 -
instant PL/DCS decoding. The BC296 must slowly search until it finds
the correct one.
Conclusion
First off, if you absolutely don't need to have a digital scanner now - I'd wait
a while. Both units are highly overpriced. As more models (and
hopefully more vendors) become available the prices are sure to fall.
I would seriously hope that future units will have improved reception and more
reliable decoding - one that doesn't require a 100% perfect signal to hear
anything! I'd also hope that future units will have better
memory/more dynamic trunk ID storage and management. If I can store
512mb of data on a jump drive, why can't I save more then 150 trunk ID's per
bank?!? The newest Bearcat portable (unfortunately not a
TT3) uses regular batteries, finally dumping a major drawback for Uniden models.
If you need a radio now, which one? Both radios have their slight
pluses & minuses. If you're used to Radio Shack, you may be more
comfortable navigating the Pro96, if you're a Uniden person, you're going to
adapt quicker to the BC296 menu style. The ability to use
regular batteries or your own rechargeable is a nice plug for Radio Shack.
Getting everything in one package is a nice plug for Uniden.
I'm moderately happy with my BC296, and I know folks that are moderately
happy with their Pro96's.
Copyright & Use Notice: Information contained on this website
is protected by copyright law. Copying this information to your own
website is STEALING! And charging $20 for it in book form is just
downright pathetic. This information is presented for personal use only
and may not be reposted, reprinted, or retransmitted without permission from the
Website author. Small sections of text may be reposed under FAIR USE laws
if appropriate attribution is given. In other words, please
respect the amount of work it takes to gather, organize, analyze, and post all
this stuff! Don't pass it off as your own work please.
Back to 800mhz Digital Home