BC100XLT.1 UNIDEN/BEARCAT 100XLT SCANNER PREVIEW by Bob Parnass, AJ9S OK, so I couldn't resist - I bought another scanner. This time it's the brand new UNIDEN/Bearcat 100XLT porta- ble, and I'm here to give you a sneak preview. Physical The new 100XLT looks nothing like the 100XL or the ori- ginal Bearcat 100. Rather, it looks identical to the 200XLT that everyone's asking about - tall, thin, and entirely gray plastic. The keys on the keyboard are made of soft rubber, and most are well labeled. The "real" volume and squelch knobs on top are a welcome The "real" volume and squelch knobs on top are a welcome change from the side mounted, dust vulnerable knobs on the 70XLT. The difference between the 100XLT and 200XLT appears to be that the 100XLT has 100 channels and excludes the 800 MHz band. The 100 memory channels are divided into 10 channel banks. Of course, banks and channels may be selected or locked out. The banks are "hard partitioned", just like Bearcat scanners of old. By this I mean, Bank 1 includes channels 1-10, Bank 2 channels 11-20, etc. Regency is using "soft partitioned" banks in their HX1500 and TS2 models, but the peculiar Regency system prevents channels from being locked out during a bank scan. The LCD panel has all the usual indicators, and can be back lit with a green light when the proper button is from being locked out during a bank scan. The LCD panel has all the usual indicators, and can be back lit with a green light when the proper button is pressed. CONTINUED IN BC100XLT.2