BCD436HP/536HP Understanding the Memory, Sentinel & Database Updates

Summary: How the BCD436HP and BCD536HP organise their memory, what Sentinel does for them, and how to update the firmware and the RadioReference database.

The Structure

Everything lives on the microSD card, following the RadioReference database structure:

Favorites List > System > Site (trunked only) and Department > Channel

• Favorites List – systems you choose to monitor together. Up to 256 lists can be saved in the scanner and Sentinel, associated with any or all profiles. You can monitor several lists and/or the database at once, and export lists to a file to share them. Deleting a profile doesn’t delete its lists; deleting a list removes it from every profile.
• System – holds all of the sites, departments and channels.
• Site – inside a trunked system. Holds the trunking frequencies and any band plan information. Each trunked system needs at least one.
• Department – inside a system. Holds channels: frequencies for conventional systems, IDs (talkgroups) for trunked systems. Think of departments as channel groups if you know Uniden’s DMA scanners.
• Channel – a conventional frequency or a trunked ID.

The easiest way to build a list is to scan from the full database and save what you like. You can also add whole systems (not single sites), departments and channels from the database, or create new systems, departments, sites and channels on the scanner or in Sentinel. Storing a frequency with no destination chosen puts it in a Quick Save list, system and department.

Sentinel

Sentinel is Uniden’s PC software for this family.

• Manage Profiles – a profile is a snapshot of the scanner’s set-up (configuration, Favorites Lists, avoids and system settings). Keep several, for example one per place you visit.
• Manage Favorites Lists – create lists, associate them with profiles, and create or edit systems, including information the weekly database downloads don’t supply. Only the lists associated with the profile are written to the scanner.
• Manage Databases – Uniden updates the database every week; you decide how often to update your scanner. Sentinel checks the website for the newest database, saves it and writes it to the scanner.
• Share Favorites Lists – Uniden points owners to the HomePatrol community website and the HomePatrol wiki, where people share lists for railroad, marine radio, civil and military air and other services.

Installing Sentinel

1. Connect the scanner to your PC with the USB cable and turn it on.
2. Select Mass Storage on the scanner. USB Mass Storage is displayed.
3. The microSD card appears on the PC as another drive.
4. Open the drive and double-click setup.exe in the Setup folder.
5. When installation finishes, disconnect the USB cable.

Sentinel notifies you when a newer version exists.

Updating the Firmware

Connect the scanner, select Mass Storage, then in Sentinel choose Update and Update Firmware and follow the prompts. It takes a few minutes. Uniden publishes what’s in each update on its support wiki pages for the BCD436HP and BCD536HP.

Updating the Database

1. Connect the scanner with the USB cable and select Mass Storage.
2. In Sentinel, choose Update then Update Master HPDB.
3. Choose Scanner then Write to Scanner.

Menu, Manage Full Database, Information shows the database version in the scanner.

If You’re Not in North America

The database is US and Canada only. Outside North America you’ll rely on your own Favorites Lists – see BCD436HP/536HP Loading Frequencies From Squawker PC & Squawker Online. Sentinel remains the tool for trunked systems and database updates.