Fieldcraft Scanners

[wigwamitus]

Where do we talk about scanners ? In the Ham thread(s) ??

I'm looking for one ... and I'm unprepared to buy one ... with the reading I've done, I wonder if I will live long enough to be ABLE to pick one ... on top of shooting, on top of Amateur radio, scanning seems like yet a whole 'nuther hobby !!!

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I thought I wanted one of these two:

https://uniden.com/products/sds100-true-i-q-x2122-digital-handheld-scanner

https://www.amazon.com/Whistler-TRX-1-Handheld-Digital-Scanner/dp/B01H3XYNUO/11014

But while most of the reviews like both of them ... a few of the reviews, which seem to be written by experienced "scanners" say they both sucque.


Uniden review:

Reading some of these interviews I saw a lot of fanboy BS, so I wanted to share my review. I bought this scanner in June with high hopes, and returned it within two weeks, so let me tell you why. First off, I've been involved in scanning for about 40 years, and have owned pretty much every digital scanner made, and many analog scanners, along with the Unication G4, just for background. I had the SDS100 programmed quickly using my well-vetted 436 program, and immediately noticed that the scanner failed to go from control channel to voice channel about half the time on the simulcast that carries Phoenix PD. The 436 and Unication G4 sitting right next to it has no issues. At home, in Glendale Arizona, it couldn't pick up Glendale PD (same as 436 and other scanners). The range at which it could lock onto a control channel whether stationary or driving was pretty bad. It was lucky to properly pick up the simulcast it was sitting within, much less pick up any simulcast farther away. UHF performance was so-so, with odd noises making it through that I have never heard after monitoring the same system for years (AZ DPS). Airband and VHF were so-so, with no improvement over any other scanner. For reference, my Unication G4 can lock onto simulcast systems from much, MUCH farther away. I met with a Uniden beta tester, and other new owners, and was able to confirm the same results with their SDS100 scanners put up against the 436 and Unication, and even older units like the PSR-500. Again, I want to emphasize that I didn't just "get a bad one", I saw the same behavior with three other SDS100 scanners owned by other people in the Phoenix area, including the Uniden Beta tester.

Bottom line on 700 MHz reception is that it's weak, and prone to having problems with interference. VHF and UHF are OK, but no better than previous models. Reception on the MCSO 800 MHz system completely sucked and was a lost cause, and I verified this with other owners, in person, against known equipment. You will hear people tell you that firmware will eventually fix everything, but that's nonsense. A bad receiver with cheap components is just that, a bad receiver with cheap components...firmware can't and won't ever fix that. Yes it has all the bells and whistles, pretty colors, waterproof (as if the average scanner user really needs that feature), tons of options and menu settings, etc. Unfortunately it fails as a radio receiver, and that's what I care about most, not the window dressing.

The amount of heat generated by this unit is simply absurd. There is no way that the processor on this unit has anywhere near the power of a new high-end cell phone, and the screen is nowhere near the resolution of a new high-end cell phone screen, yet the heat given off, in a much larger device than a cell phone, is ridiculous. It's simply inexcusable, as there is no reason this should be the case. I got the original small battery and only got a few hours of use, before needing to charge it again for many hours. The charge time vs. usage time was ridiculously bad. Of course now Uniden has released a GIGANTIC battery for this unit that is WAY out of proportion size-wise and looks absolutely ridiculous. That was their "solution". I can just imagine charging that huge beast for a full day before getting 5-6 hours use out of it. No thanks.

Fanboys (like most of the reviewers here) will tell you this thing is the best thing since sliced bread, and how firmware has fixed all of the early issues, but it hasn't, as recently verified by testing the SDS100s belonging to people I know.

If you care about non-simulcast, get something else. If you care about simulcast, get a Unication G4 or G5, just understand the programming limitations before buying.

Oh, and unlike others, I have video documentation of my testing. Just look for "SDS100 Phoenix Review" on Google or Youtube, and my youtube channel has multiple videos illustrating the problems. No my videos are NOT monetized, they were made purely to inform others of what I observed. There is no music, no talking, no funny graphics, just head to head testing. See for yourself. Yes I worked with the Uniden tech guy on Radio Reference trying different things, and no it didn't help. Again, I've tested multiple units in the last month and firmware did NOT fix the issues, so if you are a Uniden person getting ready to reply by going down that road, save your breath.

Will these problems occur in other geographic areas outside of Phoenix? I don't know. Some swear that they have had good luck with the SDS100, but I've seen too much first hand evidence to the contrary to ever recommend it.

And Whistler review

The Whistler TRX-1 is an OK scanner, hobbled by bad software and some questionable design decisions. The bottom line is that if you just want an easy-to-use, works-out-of-the-box scanner you probably should avoid this one. If you are experienced with tweaking scanner settings and computer software, need the advanced digital trunking features, and have some time and patience, this might be for you. Read reviews and especially the RadioReference.com Whistler forum, to help you decide if you want this scanner.

One of the commenters on the RadioReference.com Whistler forum asked why scanners seem locked into 1970s technology. I'd place the tech level at the mid-80s, e.g. DOS command lines, serial ports, and primitive software. Consider that for about the same $500 price we can buy a state-of-the-art phone/computer with fast processor, lots of memory, great screen, advanced battery, and reliable software, and the phone transmits as well as receives on similar frequencies.

Whistler, a company best known for cheap radar detectors, bought the GRE scanner business. But apparently they're having some struggles with modern technology, especially reliable, user-friendly software. I have a GRE-PSR500 and it's been great. But most of my county's police, fire, EMS, and other government recently moved to a P25 Type II system which the GRE-PSR500 doesn't track.

I'm retired now after 30+ years in software development, so I figured I could handle the quirks and tweaks of the TRX-1. Having written both good and bad software myself, I think I can tell the difference. But I was not prepared for what was involved. Here's the quick overview.

The good:
- Uses downloaded RadioReference database.
- Receives modern digital trunking systems - P25 Type I and II, LTR, DMR, NXDN, etc.
- Good sensitivity and sound quality.
- Records reception to SD card and plays it back.
- Can store multiple "virtual" scanners, i.e. different configurations

The bad:
- Buggy, unreliable, unsigned USB driver.
- Manual onboard programming of scanner is for masochists only.
- Undocumented Function-key combinations.
- Entering alphabetic characters via keypad uses bizarre, non-standard method.
- In-scanner battery charging is via a time setting and not via voltage/current monitoring.

The ugly:
- Tiny, low contrast, black and white display, with lots of cryptic symbols.
- Protective rubber case with aesthetics of a brick.
- Useless ugly plastic inserts to rubber case.

The merely annoying:
- EZ-Scan program does not scale to screen resolution above 1080.
- Have to remove protective rubber case to access batteries and SD card.
- Volume change is by up/down key press.

Let me give some further detail:

When you open the box and insert batteries, you can turn it on and use the pre-installed software and database. I suggest you only do this to be sure the scanner powers up. You can also manually change things using the tiny screen and minimal keypad. But manual onboard programming of the scanner is for masochists only, and you really need to use the EZ-Scan program. The on-board menus are inconsistent as are the key presses. Sometimes "back" takes you back one step, sometimes back to a menu to start over.

DO NOT connect the scanner to your computer until you have read the instructions for downloading and installing the latest software. Installing/updating in the wrong sequence will cause major problems. I also suggest you spend time on the RadioReference.com Whistler forum to see what others have found out the hard way.

Almost every USB device - MP3 player, printer, thumb drive, portable hard drive - is just plug-and-play. You connect it, the device is recognized, a driver is installed, and off you go. But not this device. For some reason you must hold down the "menu" key while inserting the USB cable. The USB driver is unsigned and requires a multi-step workaround to get it to install on Windows 10. I have not been able to get it working on my Windows 7 Pro 64 bit desktop. But that's just as well, since the EZ-Scan program does not scale to my 2560x1440 monitor and garbles the display image.

The USB driver emulates a serial port, so the scanner shows up in Device Manager under "Ports (COM & LPT)" as a serial device, e.g. COM1 or COM3. Really? In 2017 they are still using this ancient protocol instead of a modern USB interface? It also transfers data at a very slow speed.

Even though I managed to get the unsigned driver installed in Windows 10, the connection is unreliable. Too many times the scanner screen shows a "waiting for USB" message and seems to be locked up. Pressing keys does nothing - even the power off key is unresponsive. You have to remove the batteries, and the screen goes blank. But when you put the batteries back in, you're right back at the same message, still locked up. It looks like you've bricked the scanner. Apparently this has happened and continues to happen enough that Whistler provides a "fix-it" program on their web site to reload the scanner CPU software, which is apparently getting hosed by the buggy USB interface. Really? They can take the time to write a patching program, but can't take the time to fix the bug?

I found that the best way to avoid the USB driver hell is to remove the SD card from the scanner and connect it directly to my laptop. The EZ-Scan program can then read/write the SD card as drive G: using native USB at a reasonable speed. However repeated removal/insertion may lead to reduced life of the SD card, so you need to have a backup. I tried to use the EZ-Scan program to format a Samsung 16gb class 10 card as backup. The program said it formatted and copied all the data files over, but the scanner refused to boot from it. Comparing to the original SD card showed that some folders and files were missing, and I still haven't got it to work. Another example of bad software.

Although you can charge NIMH batteries in the scanner, you should not do this in order to reduce the possibility of damage to the radio. The charging option uses a charging hours setting rather than voltage/current monitoring, and given the other buggy software, I would not trust it. Use some eneloop batteries and a good standalone external charger.

Between needing to swap batteries and pulling the SD card, you'll come to hate and avoid the rubber protective case. It looks like a brick, but it's not as ugly as the useless plastic inserts, particularly the puke green one. It's too bad Whistler could not spend the money to do the software right instead of wasting it on junk.

They also saved a few cents by removing the volume knob and requiring use of the up/down arrows on the keypad. The old GRE-PSR scanners had a more convenient way with concentric volume and squelch knobs.

I really want to like this scanner, but I'm disappointed and now just tolerating it. I've managed to work around the problems and get it set up to my liking. But I'm wary of the software, so I won't be changing much until Whistler provides a fix for the USB problems.

So what about the Unication G4 ???

https://www.scannermasterblog.com/when-the-best-scanner-isnt-a-scanner-unication-receivers/

So, I think I need to start simple and small and spend a little and learn a lot and then spend a some more and learn a lot more, etc. Rather than trying to buy the one scanner I need for the rest of my life. And sounds like the technology changes pretty fast on these sucquers.

So what do I need ? Well, I'm in rural area and I'd like to be able to pick up on whatever is going on around me ... I'd like to switch to radio away from cell phone as around here cell phone service // and texting is quite spotty ... but on the scanning front ... neighbors and fire service at the top of the list ...

 

[Alpine 338]

Technology does change faster than most wish for when spending money on something that might be obsolete a few years down the road.

Most emergency services have gone to digital, whether narrowband digital or digital trunking repeater (DTR) systems. However, there are some agencies that still are, and will continue to operate on analog systems for increased and reliable coverage, even though it may be a backup or secondary system.

I would contact your local (County) communication, disaster response, or emergency services manager, and see what they are using, and what they have planned for the future. From there, you can wisely choose the equipment you need.

 

[wigwamitus]

I found this on policescanners.net

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The Kansas Highway Patrol, KDOT and other state agencies uses a statewide digital Motorola trunking system called KSICS (Kansas Statewide Interoperable Communications System).

For more information about Kansas State radio systems please see the RadioReference.com link.
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But that's for the state, not the county.

 

[Alpine 338]

I cannot speak for your area, but here in Colorado, the State has a DTR system that they share with many County services, along with some Federal Govt agencies.

There's a good chance that your County is integrated with a State system, or at least partially. Again, I would contact your County first. Most are willing to provide the information you need. Or at least talk with your local Fire Chief, they are usually very versed in what is going on, as they have to integrate often with County and Federal services.

 

[wigwamitus]

All of our fire depts are "volunteer" but I know several of the members. So, yes I can check with them.