BCT15X Keys, Controls & the FUNCTION Button

Summary: How the BCT15X’s keys work, including the tap, double-tap and press-and-hold actions and the FUNCTION button that gives every key a second job.

The Keypad Layout

The front panel has a four-by-four keypad plus four controls. Each key has a main label and a “second operation” that’s reached with FUNCTION.

• Row 1: Police / PRIORITY (also “1”), then 2, then 3. On the number keys the second operation is Search 1, Search 2, Search 3.
• Row 2: Highway Patrol / Alert (the bear-paw key, also “4”), then 5 (Level offset), then 6 (Display mode).
• Row 3: GPS / Weather (also “7”), then 8 (Reverse frequency), then 9 (Modulation).
• Row 4: MENU, then the decimal point / NO, then 0, then E / YES (Enter).

Alongside the keypad are the SQUELCH knob, the VOLUME knob (also the power switch), the SCAN/SEARCH key, the HOLD/RESUME key, the LOCKOUT key and the SCROLL / FUNCTION knob.

Ways of Pressing a Key

• Tap – press and release immediately.
• Double tap – press twice within about a second.
• Press & hold – hold for at least two seconds.
• FUNCTION + tap / double tap / press & hold – press and release FUNCTION first, then do the action on the next key.

Using FUNCTION

FUNCTION is the SCROLL / FUNCTION knob – press it in. When you tap it, the scanner remembers the FUNCTION state for the next three seconds and shows an F icon at the top of the screen. If you press and hold FUNCTION, the scanner latches it on until you tap FUNCTION again; the display shows Function Key Holding and the F icon flashes. Latching is useful when you want to make several FUNCTION key presses in a row.

Rotating the SCROLL / FUNCTION knob normally steps through channels or menu items. In most modes, FUNCTION plus a turn of the knob steps through systems instead (or through custom search ranges while in Custom Search).

Menu Navigation

• MENU opens the menu; tap it again to go back one level.
• Turn the SCROLL knob to move the highlight, and tap E / YES (or press the knob) to select or confirm.
• NO cancels an option setting.
• LOCKOUT leaves the menu completely and returns to whatever mode you were in.
• When typing names, turn the knob to choose a character and press 6 to move the cursor right.

Common Controls in Every Mode

• Rotate SQUELCH to set the squelch level.
• Rotate VOLUME to set the volume; turn it fully counter-clockwise past the click to power off.
• Tap SQUELCH to temporarily mute alert tones, and press and hold to mute them permanently. Tap again to restore.
• Tap VOLUME to cycle the backlight level.
• FUNCTION + VOLUME selects your state for State-by-State scanning and BearTracker.

What Each Key Does Depends on the Mode

The same key can do different things in Scan, Search, Hold, Close Call, Priority, GPS, Tone-Out and Band Scope modes. Each mode’s own article in this section lists the keys that behave differently, and BCT15X Scan Mode, Search Mode & Hold Mode covers the everyday ones. If your keypad seems to have stopped doing what you expect, check that Key Safe mode isn’t switched on – see BCT15X Settings Menu, Key Safe Mode & Wired Cloning.