Where to go from here: The next purchase

[DFD1994]

Hello All, I appreciate you taking the time here to read my post and hopefully offer up some assistance in this decision I am looking to make here in the near future.

I am currently the owner of a Uniden HomePatrol-1 (Yes I know it ruined scanning for some of you, made it available to the masses blah blah blah, I just needed a car unit and this baby fit the bill.) as well as a RadioShack Pro-94. While the HP1 is and will more than likely remain for awhile my car and desk unit, the Pro-94 used to be my go to handheld unit, easy for when I traveled or for when I was actually on the scene doing photography but it is now showing its age, and I want to get a newer little more sleek unit, something with a PC interface that wont chew up batteries like the HP1 (which is a terrible unit to carry with you.)

I currently reside in Dallas, TX where to my great pleasure the FD and PD are still able to be picked up on everything I own, including a cheap little Baofeng UV-5R I picked up a while ago, but (and this is a big but) I go on trips that often take me to locations such as Waco where there is a MotoP25 system in place, and all of our surrounding DFW cities are trunked, but trunking is not a huge deal for me to deal with. I also work in Cedar Hill, TX where the locals use a NXDN NEXEDGE system, which I thought was unmonitorable but some ff's I know swear they get it on their personal scanners. I am still green enough to admit that even with an understanding of radio comms the Nexedge stuff is lost on me so I do not know if there is anything out there that could or if monitoring Nexedge freqs is ever achievable.

BOTTOM LINE:
What is the best bang for my buck in a PC interfaceable, easy to program and scan handheld unit??

 

[IdleMonitor]

I have a 396T uniden portable and it does the trick for me both in the car and at home on the base antenna. Works great with arc396 and a few others. Very easy to program on the fly with the software.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 Using Tapatalk 4

 

[DFD1994]

I really do like the Uniden designs, I think that may be the ticket, I'm just still unclear on P25 and Nexedge, had anyone had time to get to know the BRE PSR-800 or would it be worth waiting for the new Uniden BCD436HP

 

[hiegtx]

I really do like the Uniden designs, I think that may be the ticket, I'm just still unclear on P25 and Nexedge, had anyone had time to get to know the BRE PSR-800 or would it be worth waiting for the new Uniden BCD436HP

The GRE PSR-800 is basically an orphan. GRE shut down production fall of 2012, and for all intents & purposes, no longer exists. There is currently no support, other than limited outside third parties, for parts and service.

The main attraction of the PSR-800 is that is is the only P25 Phase II capable scanner on the market at this time. Some users report that it handles their other (non-Phase II) systems better than a corresponding Uniden scanner,. However, I'm in Dallas, and for the systems I listen to, which is just about all of them at various times, depending on where I am, I have no trouble with my HP-1 or BCD396XTs.

The new Uniden's, due out in January, will have the on-board database of the HP-1, and use Favorites lists, like the HP, but add the quick key functionality, as well as search, of the XT series scanners. While we don't have any operating Phase II systems at this time in the DFW metro area, that will soon change. The current Irving EDACS system is being replaced by a Phase II system in the next year or so. Carrollton plans to upgrade their system, shared with Addison & Farmers Branch, to Phase II. Coppell is reported to be considering a move from the Lewisville system to the Carrollton TRS when that occurs. Also, Grand Prairie, Arlington, and Mansfield are going to combine their three independent systems into a new Phase II system. We'll likely see more dominoes fall into place.

There are no (zero) scanners that can monitor NEXEDGE as-is, right out of the box. However, you can use a scanner, along with a pc and software, to monitor it. See this Wiki page for more on the software. The ability to monitor DMR formats such as NXDN/NEXEDGE and MotoTRBO was one of the things some members were hoping would be in the new Uniden models. It is not, at least in the initial announcement. Whether there are licensing issues to be able to decode these formats, hardware costs versus rate of return for the extra expenditure, or other factors, I would not know. Whistler Group, the radar detector company, has purchased the intellectual property of the now defunct GRE. At some point, they may develop and release all new scanners. That's going to be a ways off. Initially, they'll basically restart production on the basis of the previous GRE line.

 

[bee]

I don't know of anyone that the HP, has ruined scanning for. Maybe, for some wierd people!

 

[DFD1994]

I just know some of the older guys think it has made things too easy, allowed too many individuals to get involved with scanning when they don't really understand it. I am not of that belief but I have seen those posts floating around here

 

[N1JGE]

I just know some of the older guys think it has made things too easy, allowed too many individuals to get involved with scanning when they don't really understand it. I am not of that belief but I have seen those posts floating around here

This makes no sense.

 

[DFD1994]

I'm just stating my disclaimer because when I first bought my HP1 there was a decent amount of upset individuals floating around here, obviously they have come to the party.

 

[N8IAA]

I also work in Cedar Hill, TX where the locals use a NXDN NEXEDGE system, which I thought was unmonitorable but some ff's I know swear they get it on their personal scanners. I am still green enough to admit that even with an understanding of radio comms the Nexedge stuff is lost on me so I do not know if there is anything out there that could or if monitoring Nexedge freqs is ever achievable.

BOTTOM LINE:
What is the best bang for my buck in a PC interfaceable, easy to program and scan handheld unit??

If they get it on their scanners, have them show you what they are using:wink:
I have a HP-1, and a PSR-800. I use both daily, but not in the car. My 'go to' scanner is my 396XT.
I've been scanning for 42+ years, and at first, didn't like fact that one would need to pay $100 extra for features that should have been included. Traded for the HP and truly like the scanner. It has its own place in the shack. Can't see putting out 500-600 dollars for the newest Unidens. If I lived in an area loaded with Phase II, I'd probably get one to go with my 800.
Your area has a lot of LTR systems and some Phase I. Stick with the 396XT. It will work well for you.
HTH,
Larry

 

[hiegtx]

If they get it on their scanners, have them show you what they are using:wink:
I have a HP-1, and a PSR-800. I use both daily, but not in the car. My 'go to' scanner is my 396XT.
I've been scanning for 42+ years, and at first, didn't like fact that one would need to pay $100 extra for features that should have been included. Traded for the HP and truly like the scanner. It has its own place in the shack. Can't see putting out 500-600 dollars for the newest Unidens. If I lived in an area loaded with Phase II, I'd probably get one to go with my 800.
Your area has a lot of LTR systems and some Phase I. Stick with the 396XT. It will work well for you.
HTH,
Larry

As I noted above, we do have a lot of "Phase II" systems scheduled to come online in the next 12-18 months here in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metro area. Phase I is fine today, but this time next year, several major systems will have made the transition, or be close to it. For Dallas (city), the 396XT will be fine for several more years. Dallas has not progressed very far towards constructing a new system to replace the current Uhf conventional used by PD & FD. In order to monitor the upcoming Phase II systems, which will include your Cedar Hill neighbors in Grand Prairie, you would need either a PSR-800, or one of the new Uniden scanners due out next month. I don't think we really know for sure when Whistler will have their remake of the old GRE scanners available, and exactly which models will come out first.

 

[KC8ESL]

For the ff's who swear they get it on their scanners, is it possibly they're listening to a simulcast on their old conventional channel?

The city I grew up in went to the statewide p25 system about 6 months ago but they still simulcast (and it sounds like it was never narrowbanded....) on their old conventional freqs(pd, fd, tacs).