Future TDMA for BCD396/996XT Upman?

[scanningisfun]

I saw a post that Upman said a hardware upgrade would be needed for the BCD396/996XT scanners. My question would be if Uniden would have a program for people to send their radios in and pay a price for a hardware upgrade when TDMA is finalized. If they don't that wouldn't be fair because I just bought the 396XT.

 

[GTR8000]

Don't hold your breath. We're not talking about a simple "plug in a new chip" hardware upgrade, it would be a significant change. No one said there would be a "hardware upgrade" for existing units. The point was that the entire line would require a hardware redesign, i.e. new units would be engineered and sold.

And please, enough with the "It's not fair!!!" cries around here. You bought the scanner knowing full well what the capabilities were at the time of purchase. It's a three year old model that was engineered and introduced before the Phase II TDMA standard was even written. The only scanner currently on the market that supports TDMA in any form is the GRE PSR-800, which was designed recently and was designed specifically with TDMA in mind.

 

[wise871]

Also note that no scanner manufacture that I know of has ever had a “return your radio” for hardware upgrade program. Same goes for phones, TV, computers, etc. There is always going to be a newer model of something being released. It’s up the consumer to do the research before purchasing.

 

[SCPD]

If you want it so badly .. just buy the PSR800. Problem solved.

I agree with the above posters ... you knew what you were getting when you bought the scanner you did.

 

[al95]

Also note that no scanner manufacture that I know of has ever had a “return your radio” for hardware upgrade program. Same goes for phones, TV, computers, etc. There is always going to be a newer model of something being released. It’s up the consumer to do the research before purchasing.

For computers you can do your own hardware upgrades. I have done it to my 7 year computer i'm using right now. If there is problem they send you a box to send in your computer when under warranty and not open at all, not like other things you need to pay your own shipping. We are not talking abouta $200 scanner it will sell around $500.00

 

[SCPD]

I saw a post that Upman said a hardware upgrade would be needed for the BCD396/996XT scanners. My question would be if Uniden would have a program for people to send their radios in and pay a price for a hardware upgrade when TDMA is finalized. If they don't that wouldn't be fair because I just bought the 396XT.

APCO 25 Phase 2 cannot be supported by existing hardware (even through firmware updates).

in otherwords redoing probly all hardware because tdma or phase 2 is requiring the 2 channels tuned at 1 simultaious time... you have to be able to tune to data for control and to the actual voice freq at simultanious times.... so new reciever boards on top of new firmware programming on top of possibly a new dsp and all new cpu code and possibly a mainboard upgrade.... bassically all new parts in an old scanner... would be cheaper to buy a new scanner

 

[mrkelso]

If you want it so badly .. just buy the PSR800. Problem solved.

I agree with the above posters ... you knew what you were getting when you bought the scanner you did.

Best purchase i ever made. PSR-800

 

[OCO]

The change requires a new RF hardware design, not just firmware.

APCO 25 Phase 2 cannot be supported by existing hardware (even through firmware updates).

There is nothing in either of these statements from UPMan that suggests that Uniden is going to take your scanner back and unsolder/replace components or replace boards to upgrade it.

For computers you can do your own hardware upgrades. I have done it to my 7 year computer i'm using right now. If there is problem they send you a box to send in your computer when under warranty and not open at all, not like other things you need to pay your own shipping. We are not talking about a $200 scanner it will sell around $500.00

Comparison to a scanner is not valid. Your computer has slots/sockets/plugs for several of its components, but even then, it is limited in what you can upgrade - A P2 motherboard won't take a quad core processor. And the PC manufacturer isn't going to swap motherboards for you to fix that issue. Maybe you should sell what you've got now and just wait for a scanner guaranteed by the manufacturer to receive P25 Phase II TDMA is released.

 

[Highpockets]

I understand where your coming from, but, I think it's more frustration then unfair and I have used the word unfair also (Maybe not a good choice). You buy these scanners and after using it a while you find things that aren't working correctly or things that may improve the unit or things that were in older units and all of a sudden are taken out of the newer units, so you mention it here hoping Uniden will come out with a fix or additions, when they don't frustration sets in.

I wonder how these new HP-1 users are going to feel when P25 phase 2 gets rolling after spending $535.00 with pre-release upgrade and $585.00 with upgrade after the release when they find out they will need a new scanner to listen to their town, county etc when they change to phase 2. Most of these new users thought all they had to do was punch in their zip code and off they went because the scanner was meant for getting new users into the hobby.

I guess we all have to wait and see what is in the future when it comes to fixes, upgrades and new units. Phase 2 could make more users frustrated, just as the XT users are now.

 

[Jay911]

I wonder how these new HP-1 users are going to feel when P25 phase 2 gets rolling after spending $535.00 with pre-release upgrade and $585.00 with upgrade after the release when they find out they will need a new scanner to listen to their town, county etc when they change to phase 2.

Many people will not get to that stage because their agencies are not using P25.

Those of us who will have to get to that stage, will just buy whatever the compatible scanner is.

It's not very difficult.

 

[OCO]

Face it, the only reason that you can still receive any LE traffic today is that there hasn't been enough money available to convert the entire infrastructure all at once. There's not many police around that really want you listening in on their transmissions, regardless of the "feel good" quotes you may hear from a few. The day is approaching when you'll be left listening to cab drivers and the weather..

 

[wise871]

For computers you can do your own hardware upgrades. I have done it to my 7 year computer i'm using right now. If there is problem they send you a box to send in your computer when under warranty and not open at all, not like other things you need to pay your own shipping. We are not talking abouta $200 scanner it will sell around $500.00

I knew someone was going to bring up computers as an example. Old_CJDC_ops said it best. You’re trying to compare apples to oranges. The PC is designed to be hardware upgraded to a certain point and scanners are not at this time. Not since the 796 with optional digital board hasn’t really been a hardware upgradable scanner. The circuits on a scanner are small and assembly line produced. Chances are you can’t just send in your scanner to have a chip removed and replaced with a newer one. Even when you send in your scanner for repair there is only so much they can do and if it’s beyond there capability and under warranty, they just send you a replacement unit.

 

[Highpockets]

Many people will not get to that stage because their agencies are not using P25.

Those of us who will have to get to that stage, will just buy whatever the compatible scanner is.

It's not very difficult.

Their agencies may soon, who knows.

It's not difficult if you can afford it, you may be one that has the money on hand. How many do?

 

[XTS3000]

If you look at the technical specs on the DSP IC used in the XT scanners, I see no reason that TDMA 2 can't be added with new firmware. We're dealing with a commercial DSP, not an ASIC. Had Uniden designed an ASIC for P-25, then we would not have to use workarounds to prevent the infamous "motor boating" and other issues related Unidens' decoding P-25.

Take a look at Motorola and AES-256. Motorola claims the Astro Saber/XTS3000 can not do AES-256, even when AES-256 modules are all over the place for the Astro line. Motorola want's you to upgrade to their Astro25 radios to get AES-256, even when their old legacy Astros will do AES-256 just fine. Adding AES-256 to an Astro Saber would cost less then $800 - buying the module directly from Moto. Yet they ding you $3000+ for an Astro25 radio if you need AES-256, refusing to acknowledge the old school Astro's will also do AES.

Uniden claims the 396T can't do multi-site trunking. If so, how come you can trick the 396T into doing multi-site trunking? "Tricking" the 396T to do multi-site trunking takes up more memory, but doing it properly would save on memory. The 996T has multi-site trunking and almost identical memory specs as the 396T.

Just because a manufacturer says it can't be done, don't believe everything they say. The manufactures may just want to push their future product line. Uniden is most likely already working on the new digital scanners right now that will support TDMA 2.

 

[Dann]

GRE Is Working On A Mobile Version Of The 800,I Was Told It Should Be Out By The End Of The Year.

 

[mike_s104]

Uniden is most likely already working on the new digital scanners right now that will support TDMA 2.

They need to hurry up. I know at least two sales they lost (one is myself) and I'm sure there are more.

 

[OCO]

HP:
And if Uniden had said "yes, it will do multisite trunking, just put each CC in as a separate system" in its documentation, we would have screamed bloody murder. I try to keep in mind that little quirks we put up with to make a scanner do what we want (like the old IF image kluge to eavesdrop on the cell freqs) cannot pass the engineering and performance requirements that the engineers have to pass.

I'm not blind to the mfr's desire to sell new equipment, I was around (not involved in) the implementation of a verrry large Motorola TRS and it took my breath away to see the $$$$ flow - I'll take your word for the inflexibility, too.. Did they ever actually sell the the AES-256 card for the Astro Saber/XTS3000? Not a good excuse, but if not, possibly there were re-certification needs or possibly performance issues that you wouldn't see outside of a lab...

 

[scanningisfun]

Don't hold your breath. We're not talking about a simple "plug in a new chip" hardware upgrade, it would be a significant change. No one said there would be a "hardware upgrade" for existing units. The point was that the entire line would require a hardware redesign, i.e. new units would be engineered and sold.

And please, enough with the "It's not fair!!!" cries around here. You bought the scanner knowing full well what the capabilities were at the time of purchase. It's a three year old model that was engineered and introduced before the Phase II TDMA standard was even written. The only scanner currently on the market that supports TDMA in any form is the GRE PSR-800, which was designed recently and was designed specifically with TDMA in mind.

If the scanner had the same cosmetics they could in theory replace the hardware inside. I don't care if it costs $200

 

[chas228]

Escort had a hardware and firmware upgrade program for their $500 9500i owners to current 9500ix specs for around $100 IIRC. I imagine the market share for $500 radar detectors and $500 scanners is pretty close to the same. Of course Escort is also light years ahead of Uniden in customer relations and product management too.

The concept, though rare, is NOT totally unprecedented.

 

[UPMan]

I'll have to keep that in mind...