Any side by side reviews of TRX-2 vs 536Hp?

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k4gps

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Getting ready to drop a dime or two on a new desktop scanner. I have never owned a Whistler, always Uniden or Radio Shack. Guess now the market is all Whistler/GRE and Uniden. Prices are about the same does anyone know of a good review out there that compares both units?
 

trp2525

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Getting ready to drop a dime or two on a new desktop scanner. I have never owned a Whistler, always Uniden or Radio Shack. Guess now the market is all Whistler/GRE and Uniden. Prices are about the same does anyone know of a good review out there that compares both units?

Bob Grove (owner of the former Grove Enterprises) did a review of the Whistler TRX-2 base/mobile in the current January 2018 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine (see pages 16-17). In that same issue Larry Van Horn (former Grove Enterprises customer support tech) did a comprehensive review of the Whistler TRX-1 handheld (see pages 10-15).

In the November 2017 issue of The Spectrum Monitor they have their TSM's Annual Scanner Buyer's Guide written by Larry Van Horn (see pages 16-22). There is some useful information there if you are in the market for a new scanner.

If you are not already a subscriber to The Spectrum Monitor you can purchase individual issues for $3 each or subscribe to the magazine here: https://www.thespectrummonitor.com/
 

k4gps

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OK good information I will look into those issues later. I’ll do so,e searching on the 536HP since it’s been out for awhile there has got to be some reviews.

Considering both of these are higher end scanners I am sure both are good, question is if one is better than another? 2nd thing is what features does one have vs the other that may benifit me or not.

As I grow older displays and keypads are a concern, WiFi is a huge plus but not quite looking like I can do what I want with that connection, I would need a PC anyway so WiFi is taking a step down.
 

trp2525

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In addition to the references that I made above to The Spectrum Monitor, you might also want to have a look at Scanner Recommendations at Mark's Scanners. It lists all of the currently available scanner models including the TRX-2 and BCD536HP and it details the Pros and Cons of the various models: Scanner Recommendations
 

Ubbe

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My personal view is that TRX-2 has some things going for it but the BCD536HP are superior in all other ways. Even when including the extra cost for getting DMR the TRX-2 needs to drop its price by $100 to be more competitive and in line with the quality it delivers.

The TRX-2 have:
NXDN.
An extreamly well designed audio logging system.
If you for some reason do not use external speakers the TRX-2 have a nice internal speaker audio.
The way it monitors voice channels in trunked systems makes it better in weak signal situations and captures all radio-radio calls and don't need to discover or calculate LCN numbers to be able to monitor DMR.

In all other aspects the BCD536HP are better.
Better sensitivity.
Much better keypad and display information.
A professional look and feel.
Better user interface.
Do-Not-Disturb in priority and closecall.
Search and scan.
Several search limits.
Configurable step size and modulation modes for frequency bandplans.
Instant scan after returning from the menu system.
Can use cellphone or Pad to control and listen in a car or around the house/garden.
Uses plain text file for configuration and logging which makes it easy to see what's going on and to develop software for it.
Squelch system seems to work better between different modes and frequency bands and not as unbalanced as in TRX-2.
The USB connection to computer works great and are high speed.
Many third party softwares available that programs, logs and does remote control.

The TRX-2 is slow in the audio unmute and mute function and whistler compensate that with a delay circuit that delays the audio until the speaker audio have opened up, and also makes it possible to reduce squelch tails. This backfires in the audio recordings as the audio are taken from the wrong place and each analog recording starts with a squelch tail.
The SD card is hidden behind the front panel and should have been placed as a micro SD between usb and earphone jack. The scanner that has the worse USB access and really needs the SD card to be accessed frequently to be put in a seperate card reader has the most awkward access to it.
The TRX-2 keypad is a joke. The buttons are too closely spaced and needs to be pushed beyond the click and further down to engage, which is difficult as the mechanical resistance are extreamly hard.
The display only show what scanlists you have engaged and do not show how the scanning progress and what order the systems are scanned or how long it stays on them which makes it impossible to know if there is a problem.

/Ubbe
 

jonwienke

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Here's the short version:

Whistler supports NXDN, Uniden currently does not (though it could be added in the future). If you need to monitor NXDN right now, Whistler is currently the only option.

Whistler and Uniden both support DMR, but Uniden charges $60 extra to enable DMR. Whistler includes DMR in the scanner price.

Uniden supports location-based scanning with GPS, which means you can travel anywhere in the USA or Canada (or anywhere else, if you program a Favorite List with location data) and always hear local traffic as you go without manually toggling things on and off. Whistler does not integrate GPS with their scanners; you always have to manually set your location.

The Uniden 536 has Wi-Fi, which allows you to stream audio and remote control the scanner with a computer, iPhone, or Android. This means you can physically locate the scanner close to where the coax enters the building, and still access it anywhere within Wi-Fi range.

ProScan is by far the best software option for computer remote access; it can be set up as a client to monitor and control the scanner, and also as a server to stream the scanner audio to multiple internet clients. The phone apps work, but are limited to connections on the same LAN, and are prone to audio buffering issues. They are more useful for remote control than listening IMO.

Neither Whistler or Uniden handle simulcast perfectly.

Uniden is somewhat better at handling interference from adjacent channels.
 

werinshades

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I own both, picked up the TRX-2 because the NXDN bug hit me. In short, both have their pluses and minuses however if Uniden added NXDN and "trunked it properly", I would sell off the TRX-2 and get another 536. TRX-2 doesn't "trunk" MotoTRBO and NXDN and "super scans" them instead of "control channel/data channel" trunking. It all depends on your needs, but Uniden is a much more solid unit in my opinion. Better layout, easier to navigate systems so if you don't need NXDN right away and can wait to see Uniden's future plans, pick up a 536.
 

DeDawg

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Do not expect much of anything from the Uniden WiFi dongle. Could never get it to work, and most that do find it unreliable.

Uniden seems to have forgotten about it and left the softwarewith no updates for well over a year.
 

mule1075

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Do not expect much of anything from the Uniden WiFi dongle. Could never get it to work, and most that do find it unreliable.

Uniden seems to have forgotten about it and left the softwarewith no updates for well over a year.
Hmm? Chugging right along as it has been for 6 months or so. Must be user error that makes people think it is unreliable.Is it perfect no but hardly unreliable.
c2f798f891f1fc4fce56443a93964936.jpg
 

racingfan360

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I own both 436 and TRX-1 which share the guts and performance of their 536 and TRX-2 cousins respectively. I'd agree with pretty much everything stated above, especially the lists drawn out by Ubbe and jonwienke and werinshades. I'd also add:

- DMR Simplex on the Uniden is very unreliable. By contrast, it works really well on the TRX.
- I find the recording, and in particular the ability to analyze the recordings offline to be highly superior on the TRX vs the Uniden
- Successfully programming the TRX is often a lottery: I haven't had a single glitch on the Uniden.

Overall, I can really only use the TRX to *scan* known/programmed channels: it's really fiddly and difficult to use it to *search* for new frequencies/channels. The Uniden is miles in front here. So I search with my Uniden and scan with my TRX. But if you need NXDN, the TRX is your scanner. If Uniden ever get their act in gear and finally add NXDN, I'd likely park my TRX for a while.
 

jonwienke

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Do not expect much of anything from the Uniden WiFi dongle. Could never get it to work, and most that do find it unreliable.

Not me. The Siren app has some buffering issues, but connecting via Wi-Fi with ProScan is rock-solid reliable. If using infrastructure mode, do you have your router set to reserve an IP address for the scanner? If you don't, the scanner's IP address will change periodically, and bork the connection. If your router doesn't support that function, your router is the problem, not Uniden.
 

pinballwiz86

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Not me. The Siren app has some buffering issues, but connecting via Wi-Fi with ProScan is rock-solid reliable. If using infrastructure mode, do you have your router set to reserve an IP address for the scanner? If you don't, the scanner's IP address will change periodically, and bork the connection. If your router doesn't support that function, your router is the problem, not Uniden.

ProScan wi-fi streaming is the way to go! You can even listen to your BCD536HP when you're out at Wal-Mart while it sits on your desk back at home!
 

W5RGP

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Here's the short version:

The Uniden 536 has Wi-Fi, which allows you to stream audio and remote control the scanner with a computer, iPhone, or Android. This means you can physically locate the scanner close to where the coax enters the building, and still access it anywhere within Wi-Fi range.

would be better described as an option that has never worked as advertised
there has never been an update to either the iphone or android app since first release several years ago.
 

k4gps

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NXDN does not seem to be important at least at this time. Locally there is a little activity in. City just out of my range and a small system in a closer town but only a few businesses. Would it be a issue if moved? maybe...but i doubt much LEO activity would switch to that overnight and that is my main interest.

Thanks for the input everyone... yes the display and keypad was a concern for me also after seeing the photos on line. I think with my aging eyes that would be an issue.
 

AA6IO

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Have both the 536HP (x 3) and one TRX-2. With the exception of NXDN availability, much prefer the 536HP here in Los Angeles area for all the reasons mentioned by others. My Wi-Fi works fine, and ProScan (not available for Whistler) is best program out there for remote listening.
 

Ubbe

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It might be bad quality of the Uniden WiFi dongle. If I don't use it for a day it will stop working. It has signal and IP adress but I have no contact with the scanner from the LAN.
I can reconnect to the WiFi net and even reset and make a new infrastructure connection and still have no connection to the scanner.
Only thing that helps are to unplug the dongle and reinsert and select to do a new connection.
I have changed my WiFi router to a different make and model and still have the exact same problem.

/Ubbe
 

jonwienke

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I've never had the problem you describe. Are you using Siren app to connect to the scanner when the failure occurs, or ProScan? Have you reserved an IP address for the scanner in your router (or whatever device on your network handles DCHP) so the scanner always has the same IP address? Does power cycling the scanner resolve the problem? Does power cycling the router resolve the problem?
 

trp2525

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NXDN does not seem to be important at least at this time...

If NXDN is not important to you, you might want to consider the Whistler WS1098 base/mobile scanner to save some money (approximately $135). It is very similar to the TRX-2 but it does not have NXDN capability. It does receive phase II and includes DMR/MotoTRBO capability at no additional cost.

Zip Scanners currently has the Whistler WS1098 (brand new) for $364.99 with FREE shipping included and no sales tax: https://www.zipscanners.com/whistler-ws1098-phase-2-digital-police-scanner-radios.html

For direct comparison purposes Zip Scanners is selling both the TRX-2 and the BCD536HP for the same $499.99 price and that includes FREE shipping and no sales tax. (Keep in mind that it will cost an additional $60 to purchase the DMR/MotoTRBO upgrade from Uniden for the BCD536HP.)

TRX-2: https://www.zipscanners.com/trx-2-police-scanner.html
BCD536HP: https://www.zipscanners.com/uniden-bcd536hp-base-mobile-digital-police-scanner-radio.html
 
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