SDS100 at Hamvention

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wa8pyr

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Nice radio!

While visiting the Scanner Master booth and making new friends (the SDS100), I had a chance to play a little bit.

From what I was told, probably a late June release.

MSRP supposed to be between $550 and $600 so I'm guessing would put street price around $500, comparable to the 436 on first release.

Very light radio. I can’t really judge true weight as the beta versions tormenting me (“take me home, take me home”) were fitted with plug-in battery packs basically the same as the BC235 had. The final version will have a drop-in battery much like a cellular or cordless phone, probably LiOn. However, since LiOn batteries are pretty light I’d guess the weight won’t change much.

The “feel” of the radio in the hand is excellent, much better than the 436. It’s a bit narrower, but also a bit deeper, so fits easily into the hand. Keys on the keypad also very nice, nice action and feel. Display very easy to read unlike the 436.

Reception was virtually flawless monitoring the Greene County simulcast site in the heart of Xenia. I only heard a couple of digital burbles, and those could have been the transmitting unit going digital for a second as much as anything else.
 

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Swipesy

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Tom, in the picture you posted what is the screen telling us with the Clark County and Green County Sheriff? Is it saying Green County sheriff was on Clark tower?

John
 

Swipesy

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Thanks Jason. I do like that color display. Us old guys need all the help we can get seeing scanner screens and color really helps. Very nice.
 

n8dhw

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Tom, in the picture you posted what is the screen telling us with the Clark County and Green County Sheriff? Is it saying Green County sheriff was on Clark tower?

John



It’s showing Clark County Sheriff using the Greene County Site.


Dave N8DHW


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Swipesy

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Does the SDS100 allow the user to identify the sites as Greene County Tower as can be done with Whistler software? Also, can the order of how this info is shown be changed so that Clark County and Sheriff Dispatch follow in order?
 

jonwienke

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You can edit site names however you like in Sentinel already, even with the x36 series. Most of them already have pretty sensible names.

The display is already in the correct order, system, department, then talkgroup. The small print items are the favorite list name, site name, and talkgroup ID.
 

wa8pyr

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Tom, in the picture you posted what is the screen telling us with the Clark County and Green County Sheriff? Is it saying Green County sheriff was on Clark tower?

Clark County Sheriff on the Greene County simulcast site. From the top down the display shows:

Line 1: System ("Ohio MARCS-IP etc etc")
Line 2: Department ("Clark County (12)")
Line 3: Site Name in tiny letters ("Greene County")
Line 4: Talkgroup Description ("Sheriff Dispatch")

Does the SDS100 allow the user to identify the sites as Greene County Tower as can be done with Whistler software? Also, can the order of how this info is shown be changed so that Clark County and Sheriff Dispatch follow in order?

You can go with what's downloaded straight from the RR database, or use a variety of software programs (Sentinel, Butel, etc) and customize to suit your own preferences.

Look at the Easier to Read Manual for the BCD436HP. The SDS100 is basically the same in functionality.

Easier to Read BCD436/536HP Digital Scanner Manual
 
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INDY72

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Correct, I already do this on my 436 using ProScan as I only use Sentinel to update FW til they fix it for NXDN. I have every Site for SAFE-T labled with its Zone/Site Number, and Name, then the County (Department), and User. Only real difference is the multi color display in that factor on the SDS100.
 

Swipesy

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Thanks Tom for the information. While I have been an exclusive GRE/Whistler user since the release of the 500 I have programmed Uniden's for others. I will have to refresh myself on customization. I very much like the color screen.

John
 

jonwienke

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Clark County Sheriff on the Greene County simulcast site. From the top down the display shows:

Line 1: System ("Ohio MARCS-IP etc etc")
Line 2: Department ("Clark County (12)")
Line 3: Site Name in tiny letters ("Greene County")
Line 4: Talkgroup Description ("Sheriff Dispatch")

You missed one section (bold indicates large print):

Line 1: System name
Line 2: Favorite List name, or "Full database" if scanning from the database
Line 3: Department name
Line 4: Site name
Line 5: Talkgroup description
Line 6: Talkgroup ID
 

UPMan

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Line 7a: Service Tag Line 7b: (Empty)
Line 8: 10 icons

But, note that Line 2, 4, 6, and 7a/b and each icon position in 8 can be customized to show something different that what that photo shows.
1/3/5 can only be customized to different colors.

Lines 2/4/6:
(empty)
CTCSS/DCS/NAC
FL Name
Frequency
Number Tag
RFSS ID
Service Type
Site ID
Site Name
System Type
System/Network ID
TGID
Unit ID
Unit ID Name
Volume & Squelch
WACN

Line 7 a/b:
(Empty)
Battery Voltage
CTCSS/DCS/NAC
Digital Error Count
FL Name
Frequency
Latitude
LCN
Longitude
Noise
Number Tag
RFSS ID
RSSI
RSSI Graph
Service Type
Site ID
Site Name
System Type
System/Network ID
TDMA Slot
TGID
Unit ID
Unit ID Name
USB1 Vbus Voltage
USB2 Vbus Voltage
Volume & Squelch
WACN

Line 8 Icons:
(Empty)
Broadcast Screen
Close Call
GPS
IF Exchange
Modulation
P-Channel
Priority Scan
REC
Repeater Find
Volume Offset
WX Priority
 

w8prr

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I also took a look at it with Scanner Master. I hope the production unit does indeed have a drop in battery, the guy from Scanner Master thought that it would. I also hope that said battery can be charged outside off the radio. I would hate to be restricted to in radio charging, I never do that now, and always carry extra batteries. On a side note, the last firmware update of my 436 was great, really helped several issues that they didn't even advertise. Yes, I'm sure I will still be in the front of the line for a new SDS100.
 

UPMan

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i sure hope this NEW scanner turns out to be a GREAT new scanner and not a flop like all the others on the market today.

The scanners we have out today are the most advanced and most successful scanners on the market. The SDS100 will be even better.


I hope the production unit does indeed have a drop in battery, the guy from Scanner Master thought that it would. I also hope that said battery can be charged outside off the radio.

Will have a drop-in battery and also will have an external charger available around August.
 

KB7MIB

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I'm currently using a PSR500, and I'm not familiar with Unidens way of programming, so please bear with me here. I have couple of questions regarding the way I want to program, if I were to buy a Uniden :)

I mix talkgroups and conventional frequencies in the same scanlist in my 500, since my city PD, and other agencies, do just that in their own radios, and I try to program my scanner in a similar way.
For example, Peoria PD's A-deck 1 through 11 are TG's, A-12 through 15 are conventional, and A-16 is a TG. B-deck and C-deck are similar, except for an extra TG in the x-13 spot. Leaving out the encrypted TG's, that is the order I want to program my scanner so it steps through the channels sequentially when I do so manually.
(Yes, I am a bit OCD, why do you ask? lol)

Can trunked talkgroups and conventional frequencies be mixed together in the same favorite list in Uniden scanners? (I think that is the Uniden equivalent of a scanlist. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.)

Secondly, my city PD can be heard on multiple sites. (On the Regional Wireless Cooperative, Simulcast G and the White Tank Mtns IR High site full time, and the Towers Mtn IR High site and Quintero low site when a radio affiliates to them.)

Can multiple sites be programmed together in Uniden scanners in this manner?

Simulcast G covers most of the cities west of Phoenix. This includes 7 of the 8 cities with their own PD's, a tribal PD at a casino, 3 Phoenix PD precincts, the regional FD dispatch center, interoperability TG's, and various others. I'd probably assign each city PD alphabetically to their own FL's mixing TG's and conventional channels as necessary, then FD to its own FL again with a mix of TG's and conventional channels, then an interoperability FL, etc. (County and state agencies, as well as Luke AFB, are on their own completely separate systems.)

Thank you for bearing with me and my questions.

John
Peoria, AZ
 

jonwienke

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I'm currently using a PSR500, and I'm not familiar with Unidens way of programming, so please bear with me here. I have couple of questions regarding the way I want to program, if I were to buy a Uniden :)

Can trunked talkgroups and conventional frequencies be mixed together in the same favorite list in Uniden scanners? (I think that is the Uniden equivalent of a scanlist. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.)

Yes. But talkgroups are always part of a trunked system, and conventional frequencies are always part of a conventional system. You can't add conventional frequencies to a trunked system, or talkgroups to a conventional system. You can have as many systems of any type in a favorite list as you want, as long as the total size of the favorite list does not exceed 1MB.

Can multiple sites be programmed together in Uniden scanners in this manner?

Yes. Sites are a subcomponent of a trunked system. A trunked system can be programmed with any number of sites, as long as the favorite list size does not exceed 1MB. The scanner uses its location (obtained either by connecting a GPS to the scanner, or manually entering a ZIP code) to determine which sites are nearby and within scanning range. This means you can program the largest statewide or multistate systems in their entirety without overloading the scanner, as long as the location data programmed for each site is correct. The scanner will only scan nearby sites.

If you use GPS, the scanner will automatically turn systems, sites and channels on and off as you travel, so you are always scanning local stuff. On long trips, you can scan the full database directly (which has basically everything in the USA and Canada), and the scanner will automatically monitor local traffic anywhere you travel (as long as it is in the USA or Canada).
 

KB7MIB

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Yes. But talkgroups are always part of a trunked system, and conventional frequencies are always part of a conventional system. You can't add conventional frequencies to a trunked system, or talkgroups to a conventional system. You can have as many systems of any type in a favorite list as you want, as long as the total size of the favorite list does not exceed 1MB.

So I can put TG's and conventional channels in the same FL, but as seperate systems, not mixed in in sequential channel order as would be found in an agency radio, and as I can currently do with my 500?

Yes. Sites are a subcomponent of a trunked system. A trunked system can be programmed with any number of sites, as long as the favorite list size does not exceed 1MB. The scanner uses its location (obtained either by connecting a GPS to the scanner, or manually entering a ZIP code) to determine which sites are nearby and within scanning range. This means you can program the largest statewide or multistate systems in their entirety without overloading the scanner, as long as the location data programmed for each site is correct. The scanner will only scan nearby sites.

If you use GPS, the scanner will automatically turn systems, sites and channels on and off as you travel, so you are always scanning local stuff. On long trips, you can scan the full database directly (which has basically everything in the USA and Canada), and the scanner will automatically monitor local traffic anywhere you travel (as long as it is in the USA or Canada).

Even if I were to have you install a GPS in a handheld scanner, I would probably want to still manually be able to select/deselect each FL as I approached and crossed jurisdictional boundries. That way I can do so as and when I choose to do so, rather then possibly lose an agency behind me that is working something of interest that I still want to listen to, or if I become aware of an agency well ahead of me that is working something of interest, I may want to select that agency earlier than the GPS would.
Or in the case of the highway patrol (mostly UHF conventional for patrol, but some CI channels are also carried on a statewide trunked system) their district boundaries aren't necessarily ZIP code based, but by sections of urban freeway (4 districts in metro Phoenix, 2 of which frequently patch, plus the Capitol district) or generally by county line outside the metro Phoenix area (which may conveniently mark ZIP code boundaries as well). I would want to listen to the district that I was in, as well as a district or two ahead for situational awareness. Additionally, there are channels that aren't district based, but are wide area or statewide.
AzDOT has a response unit that assists the highway patrol with restrictions and closures as needed for incidents on the metro freeways. Their two TG's on the statewide trunked system are divided East and West but they don't use ZIP code boundaries. And both TG's are carried on all 4 sites around metro Phoenix, all with overlapping coverage of the metro area.

So GPS/ZIP code based scanning may not always work for me.

John
Peoria, AZ
 

UPMan

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GPS does not affect the FL's quick key status, so you can still turn on/off manually using QK. But, you'd need to set the FL to not be location controlled (else the location data would still avoid/unavoid the things in that FL).

We don't do zip code the way GRE/Whistler does. We take the centerpoint of that zip code and make that your location +/- 10 miles (i.e. RANGE is set to 10 miles). Zip code boundaries (and county divisions) are completely irrelevant to Location Based Scanning. It is all about the specific system locations and ranges in relation to your scanner's specific location/range setting.See How it Works: Location, Location, Location If you want to continue to hear systems until you are 10 miles outside their boundaries (or start to hear them when you are 10 miles away), you'd simply set RANGE to 10 in the scanner.
 

KB7MIB

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Ok, thank you, Paul.

I've not used location based scanning with either GRE/Whistler or Uniden. The newest scanner I have is the PSR-500, so I'm not familiar with either manufacturer's method of implementing it.

Another issue for me is the lack of a computer, so I'd be limited to tedious hand programming to get any new scanner from either manufacturer programmed "just right" for me, or letting the internal database do it for me, which would leave out unconfirmed TG's and conventional frequencies not in the database that I would then have to either hand program in, or do without until I was able to use a computer.

John
Peoria, AZ
 
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