BCD160DN Priority Scan

Summary: How Priority Scan works on the BCD160DN, its four modes and settings.

What It Does

At the priority check interval, the scanner interrupts scanning of the banks to check your priority channels for activity. The more priority channels you have, the longer each interruption. The scanner can handle up to 100 priority channels at a time (if you have more, only the first 100 are scanned).

The banks that hold priority channels must be enabled and unlocked, or the scanner shows Priority Scan No Channel and sounds an error tone (press any key to go back to scanning). Priority Scan works in Scan and Scan Hold modes.

Setting a Priority Channel

Hold on a channel, then Menu, Priority Scan, Set Priority; or set Set Priority on the channel itself when you programme it.

The Modes

• Off – Priority is off.
• On – the scanner checks priority channels (the manual says every 2 seconds); the PRI icon shows.
• Plus On – the scanner scans only the priority channels in enabled banks; PRI blinks.
• DND (Do Not Disturb) – the scanner won’t check priority channels while it’s receiving.

Press FUNC + pri./No to cycle: DND, On, Plus, Off, and back to DND. Press it before the FUNC key times out (3 seconds); FUNC also locks if you hold it for 3 seconds.

The Priority Scan Menu

• Set Priority – Off, On, Plus On, DND.
• Set Interval – how often priority channels are checked, 1 to 10 seconds.
• MaxCHs/Pri-Scan – the maximum number of priority channels checked in one interruption, 1-100. If you have more, they’re checked in groups. With a maximum of 20 and 100 priority channels, a full priority check takes five intervals.