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Uniden scanner radios, commonly used as radio receivers for collecting audio fed into the Rangecast system, contain firmware from the manufacturer. With some models of radio, older firmware is not compatible with Rangecast, and should be updated.
The Uniden scanner model BCD-536 originally did not include support for accessing certain functions in an automated (unattended) mode of operation, including critical functions such as reprogramming the radio or ensuring certain settings are in the desired state. While these functions could be controlled from software on a PC, their use required someone to manually press an accept button on the scanner, which is obviously not viable for use with Rangecast (since scanners are often located at unattended locations selected for having good radio reception conditions.) Despite these critical limitations, Rangecast still allowed the use of BCD-536 radios, but with the caveat that they could not be remotely programmed.
In 2018, Uniden added support for automated access to these functions on the BCD-536. In light of this change, Rangecast updated its own software to add these features. It is important that all BCD-536 radios in the field have their firmware updated to a current version. When this is completed systemwide, Rangecast will change how it operates BCD-536 radios to unlock this additional functionality (and after that time, BCD-536 radios with older firmware cannot be used.)
To update firmware on the Uniden BCD-536 radio:
[FAQ-1245] Updating firmware on Uniden 536A firmware update for the Uniden 536 issued in 2018 includes support for new features essential for Rangecast programming of this scanner model. This describes the steps necessary for updating the firmware.
This error code may be used in the future to draw attention to outdated firmware on other models of scanner, but at present we only set requirements about the firmware version on a single model of scanner (the Uniden BCD-536).
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