1. Integrated database similar to the x36 line but allowing NULL values for settings like delay, AGC, etc. Default values can be selected from the scanner menu. If the database value for a channel is NULL, the scanner default is used, otherwise the channel setting in the database setting is used. It is beyond stupid that you cannot easily change global default settings for things like channel delay and AGC.
2. Fix AGC. AGC should NOT be "subtle", it should be blatantly obvious whether it is on or off. Give the user some parameters to control attack and decay times, and the gain curve. It's obvious that Uniden didn't involve anyone with any audio engineering expertise when they designed their AGC; if they don't want to rectify that, they should at least allow users who have such expertise to be able to set up a functional AGC on their own.
3. Integrated GPS, especially for handheld/portable models. Integrated GPS costs less than $20 retail (e.g. the price difference between theTYT MD-390 with vs. without GPS). For base/mobile models, have an external GPS antenna for situations where the built-in GPS antenna doesn't work.
4. Multi-receiver architecture and audio buffering. Build the receiver on a separate circuit board that plugs into the scanner mainboard like a RAM module in a PC. Have at least 2 receiver modules in the scanner, with the option of adding more if the user so desires. Scanning is distributed among all available receivers. Each time a receiver is ready to scan a new channel, it chooses the one that has the greatest time since previous scan. If more than one receiver is receiving a transmission, the first transmission received is played to the speaker, and all other transmissions are buffered to RAM. Buffered transmissions are played on a first-in-first-out basis. If the user chooses to replay transmissions, scanning continues, and any transmissions received during replay are added to the buffer and played in the order received.
Receiver modules should be user-installable just like PC RAM modules, so that if a receiver goes bad, it can easily be replaced. If the user wishes to upgrade their scanner, they can simply order additional modules, pop off a cover, snap them in place, and replace the cover. A handheld model should be able to accept 2-4 receivers, and a base/mobile should be able to accept at least 8.
5. Search / Close Call database lookup. If the scanner gets a hit on a frequency, and there is a match in the database within the scanner's Range setting, the Search / Close Call hit should be identified as the match. If there are multiple matches, the user should be presented with the list of matches, sorted by distance between the user's location and the location of the database entry in ascending order.
6. Map display. At a minimum, this should be a square or circle with a dot in the center representing the scanner location, and additional dots representing towers broadcasting transmissions currently being received. So if you're receiving a transmission from XYZ system Site 1, you'll see a dot labeled "Site 1" where the site is located, and circles or rectangles representing the coverage areas for the Site and Department on the map display. The map display is in addition to the current System/Department/Channel display. This will better inform the user where traffic is coming from, and why he may be having reception issues, and make it easier to see if there are location data errors in the database, such as sites in the wrong place, or Radius values that are too large or too small.
2. Fix AGC. AGC should NOT be "subtle", it should be blatantly obvious whether it is on or off. Give the user some parameters to control attack and decay times, and the gain curve. It's obvious that Uniden didn't involve anyone with any audio engineering expertise when they designed their AGC; if they don't want to rectify that, they should at least allow users who have such expertise to be able to set up a functional AGC on their own.
3. Integrated GPS, especially for handheld/portable models. Integrated GPS costs less than $20 retail (e.g. the price difference between theTYT MD-390 with vs. without GPS). For base/mobile models, have an external GPS antenna for situations where the built-in GPS antenna doesn't work.
4. Multi-receiver architecture and audio buffering. Build the receiver on a separate circuit board that plugs into the scanner mainboard like a RAM module in a PC. Have at least 2 receiver modules in the scanner, with the option of adding more if the user so desires. Scanning is distributed among all available receivers. Each time a receiver is ready to scan a new channel, it chooses the one that has the greatest time since previous scan. If more than one receiver is receiving a transmission, the first transmission received is played to the speaker, and all other transmissions are buffered to RAM. Buffered transmissions are played on a first-in-first-out basis. If the user chooses to replay transmissions, scanning continues, and any transmissions received during replay are added to the buffer and played in the order received.
Receiver modules should be user-installable just like PC RAM modules, so that if a receiver goes bad, it can easily be replaced. If the user wishes to upgrade their scanner, they can simply order additional modules, pop off a cover, snap them in place, and replace the cover. A handheld model should be able to accept 2-4 receivers, and a base/mobile should be able to accept at least 8.
5. Search / Close Call database lookup. If the scanner gets a hit on a frequency, and there is a match in the database within the scanner's Range setting, the Search / Close Call hit should be identified as the match. If there are multiple matches, the user should be presented with the list of matches, sorted by distance between the user's location and the location of the database entry in ascending order.
6. Map display. At a minimum, this should be a square or circle with a dot in the center representing the scanner location, and additional dots representing towers broadcasting transmissions currently being received. So if you're receiving a transmission from XYZ system Site 1, you'll see a dot labeled "Site 1" where the site is located, and circles or rectangles representing the coverage areas for the Site and Department on the map display. The map display is in addition to the current System/Department/Channel display. This will better inform the user where traffic is coming from, and why he may be having reception issues, and make it easier to see if there are location data errors in the database, such as sites in the wrong place, or Radius values that are too large or too small.
