TELECOMPUTING-^? - Bombjack.org

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REVIEWED BV: TED SflLflMQME
Bearcat has been producing standard setting scanners
for many years now. Reliability, technical
sophistication, and user satisfaction have been the
bedrock of their success. Evidence of this commitment
to excellence is amply demonstrated in their newest
venture, the CoapuScan/CP 2100.
Consisting of a receiver with built in speaker,
cables, antenna, power pack, operator's manual, and
software, the 2100 works with a disk equipped
Conmodore 64. The scanner monitors the airwaves, the
64 manipulates the data.
This teamup provides hobbyists with a 2QD channel
capability arrayable in ten user selectable banks.
Seven different bands can be accessed: aircraft, 70
cm or 2 meter amateur, UHF, UHF-T, and low or high
VHF.
The CompuScan diskware, being of a friendly menu
driven persuasion, permits creation of three priority
channels, the inclusion of a memo pad feature for
each frequency, and manual or automatic search
routines which can be initiated at either the high or
low end of a range.
Furthermore, auto search and store, search/scan
frequency occurrence counts, automatic channel
lockout, and selectable scan delay are feasible with
the Scanneri program provided.
Another computer/scanner merger benefit is the
ability to send signals to a tape recorder, alarm, or
small electric appliance. Multiple antennas and other
hardware can be attached, those indicated above are
just some of the more common ones.
Encased in an attractive snow beige plastic and
aluminum housing with two dials, (on/off volume and
auto/manual squelch control), the CompuScan unit is
rack mountable. The one reviewed had no power on
light (an annoying omission), though this should have
no effect on careful users. (Dis)connecting items to
powered units is never a good policy, even if not
specifically banned in the operator's manual.
Setup is so simple, that following the manual
actually makes it more difficult. Though good line
drawings are provided, the remainder of the
installation instructions are less lucid. Luckily
there's not much that can go wrong if a little common
sense is applied.
Fortunately the balance of the manual, (tutorial,
commands summary, and electronic interface data) is
well illustrated, organized, and presented.
The R5-232 cable plugs into the 64's rightmost port
from the underside of the 2100. Located here is an
interface for an external stereo hookup, though the
integrated speaker works fine once the internal loop
is closed. (Insertion of the provided accessory plug
is needed to accomplish this.) The telescoping
antenna is attached by a snap and twist coax cable
connector, while the power supply fits into a male
plug adjacent to the dip switches. By the way, these
switches are used to set the proper baud, parity, and
carriage return/line feed parameters.
Dnce all the connections have been made and the disk
booted, the airwaves beckon. (One more word of
caution, the antenna should be located as far from
the 64 as possible to eliminate potential
interference.)
A brief glossary of terms should suffice for any
uninitiated, but curious readers. A locked out
channel will be overlooked during scanning sessions.
This is used mostly to eliminate known, but unwanted
frequencies. Delay keeps the scanner tuned for turn
seconds after a signal has been lost. This is helpful
where response transmissions are expected. Count
simply refers to the number of times a signal is
found during a scan cycle. All of these options can
be switched on or off as needed.
One nice feature, the Priority option, makes
ConpuScan monitor up to three selected channels while
carrying out other scan or search tasks.
Approximately every two seconds a priority check is
performed. If a designated station is found, the
other routine is interrupted. With this, important
but infrequent broadcasts can be received while
others are actively pulled in.
Believe it or not, there is a difference between scan
and search. The scan mode sweeps through selected
banks sampling every channel that hasn't been lacked
out, while the search mode acts as a fine tuner
across a user defined range of frequencies. For
those interested in exotica, a list of Scanneri
program files and CP 2100 specifications is included
in the manual.
Other than the poorly written setup instructions, the
2100 has no readily apparent faults. At $499.00 list
price, it shouldn't. Of course price isn't a direct
reflection of value or usefulness. Here it serves to
limit the number of probable owners. Many may want,
far fewer will buy. That's sad too, because it is a
fine piece of hardware. Interested parties should
contact
Electra Co.
300 East County Line Road
Cumberland, Indiana 46229