Hello all

[Sunshineandmonkeys]

Hey all, FINALLLLYYYYY getting out of the land of Zion --AND-- getting myself a newer scanner.

I'm relocating to portland from Salt lake at the end of the month and wanted to say hello. I've been a self described "radio nerd" since high school and have had a great deal of fun with it as well as used the skills I've learned along the way to do some good stuff. Anyhoo, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me pointers or recommendations on a scanner.

Who/what would you recommend as "best"?

I'm thinking I just want to monitor UCAN or the BOEC system in Portland. I just want to do some simple stuff like see what TGs are active on a system or site, see radio IDs, grab close call type stuff and muck about with software (IE unittrunker or LTRdecode)

Are there any you'd recommend staying away from?

I've looked at a few models and am currently thinking of a GRECOM PSR500 OR a Uniden BCD396......or a total splurge on one of the home patrol portables....

Thanks in advance and see ya soon!

 

[Gezelle007]

Thanks in advance and see ya soon!

Welcome,

Good choices for scanners however, we're getting closer and closer to Phase 2 in the metro area, so it might be a good idea to be as future proof as possible.

 

[DickH]

Hey all, FINALLLLYYYYY getting out of the land of Zion --AND-- getting myself a newer scanner.

I'm relocating to portland from Salt lake at the end of the month and wanted to say hello. I've been a self described "radio nerd" since high school and have had a great deal of fun with it as well as used the skills I've learned along the way to do some good stuff. Anyhoo, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give me pointers or recommendations on a scanner.

Who/what would you recommend as "best"?

I'm thinking I just want to monitor UCAN or the BOEC system in Portland. I just want to do some simple stuff like see what TGs are active on a system or site, see radio IDs, grab close call type stuff and muck about with software (IE unittrunker or LTRdecode)

Are there any you'd recommend staying away from?

I've looked at a few models and am currently thinking of a GRECOM PSR500 OR a Uniden BCD396......or a total splurge on one of the home patrol portables....

Thanks in advance and see ya soon!

GRE was bought by Whistler and they have improved the best models - WS1080, portable and WS1095, base. They will display Radio IDs, etc.

 

[sparklehorse]

I really like my Uniden BCD536HP. It may be one of the most maligned pieces of radio gear ever made, but I think many of the issues that plagued it early on have either been resolved, or work-arounds have been discovered. The Siren App, which I REALLY enjoy, is out now and mostly works. The issue of defective headphone jacks was handled by Uniden early on. The SD card issue, which affects some units but not others, seems to be solved by replacing the supplied card with a new one. The ever dimming backlight, which again seems to only affect some units, seems to be avoided by not using the backlight on its brightest setting. The dying clock battery, again a hit or miss problem, can be worked around more easily by updating the radio's firmware. My unit, which I've used daily for six months now, has had none of these problems. It's worked perfectly, and it's a really great scanner. It looks great, has nice fit and finish, scans fast, has the ability to easily hold on a system, or a group (now called a 'department'). It has great decode on Phase I systems, much better than any of my other radios. It's Phase II capable, so future proof for when BOEC switches over. It's as sensitive as any of my scanners, with the exception of the 15 year old BC780XLT. But like my other radios it also suffers from desense from nearby FM and TV broadcast transmitters, but I've been able to solve that problem with a series of notch filters. The Home Patrol feature works, but I never use it in that mode. I find Home Patrol mode to be too clunky, too hard to get the radio to scan only what I want and nothing more. But with the free Sentinel software I've been able to program the radio exactly to my liking. I'm sure the Home Patrol feature will be handy for travelling though. If you have never programmed a DMA scanner before you can expect a healthy learning curve. But there's lots of help to be found online, including the Mark's Easier to read manuals, as well as a ton of info here on RR.

Lest you think me a Uniden apologist, let me say I feel Uniden REALLY botched the roll out of this radio. It's just unthinkable, especially the year long delay in the release of the highly touted Siren App. But now that the dust has settled it's clear that it truly is a remarkable radio, a big leap forward in technology and features. And I have to give them credit for that.

Hope that helps.

Gordon

 

[JATO757]

Can't comment on the scanner since I'm still using a BC-245XLT, but it works great for PPB and Portland Fire so until those systems go P25 I'll stick with it.

Just wanted to say welcome to Portland and congratulations on escaping the Zion curtain. I moved up here from SLC about 8 years ago and have never looked back. You're going to love it here.


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