b52hbuff said:
You had a very nice review of the Pro-97. I'm a big fan of Uniden and the dynamic memory too. Most of my monitoring is 'on scene' so I'm not too concerned with variation between Pro-xx & Uniden radios.
but I am curious...
How do you compare 396 w. 330 for MilAir?
...and how do you compare 330 w/Pro-97?
I think (from my experiences so far) that the BR330T receives equally as well, if not better due to the lack of overloading, as the Pro-97. Of course, I don't use the stock antennas on either. I use band specific antennas for monitoring (duckie/portable antennas). The Pro-97 seemed to be greatly affected by interference (as does the 2055). Also if I connected the 97 to my Scantenna, it was near useless. The BR330T and Pro-97 seem to have about equal battery life (even thought the 97 uses 4 batteries) In my opinion, the BR330T is the better scanner, however, this is just my opinion and hundreds will argue the opposite. I just like the dynamic memory, and other features offered by the 330. The BR330T costs about $100 more usually, but you are getting much more of a scanner. Some features the 330 has over the 97 are:
- BR330T = 2500 channels, Pro-97 = 1000 channels total.
- Dynamic Memory vs. 10 Banks.
- Fire Tone Out (I don't use this, but could see where it would be useful in larger cities).
- Race Track Operation (if needed).
- 10 custom search ranges vs 1 on the 97.
- Search with Control Channel Only (great for finding new trunking systems).
- 13 Service Searches including AM and FM radio.
- Search (and close call) Auto Store.
- BR330T has SEARCH with SCAN. Meaning you can search custom or Service Searches and scan your programmed memory at the same time!!! This is a great feature.
- BR330T can have any # of Priority Channels (although too many kind of defeats the purpose of "priority") whereas the 97 is limited to just 1.
- Priority Plus scanning allows you to only scan your priority channels!
- You can search for both CTCSS/DCS at the same time on the 330T (97 you have to do one or the other, not both at the same time)
- You can also lockout unwanted CTCSS/DCS tones (very useful to me)!
- Up to 5 seconds delay time on the 330T, Pro-97 is 2 seconds (this can be applied on programming, searches, etc.
- You can make the scanner pause on the "system" on every scan cycle up to 255 seconds (not the you need that long) but if you are mainly interested in a certain agency, you could have the scanner scan that system 10 seconds and the rest set at 0. It would "hold" on that system for 10 extra seconds before checking the other systems.
- Close Call and scan programmed channels at the same time.
- Individual Channel Alerts (choose any of 9 alerts per channel with individual sound levels)
- Smaller size!!!
- 330 uses 3 batteries vs. the 97's 4.
- You get all your accessories (AC Adapter, PC Cable) with the 330.
- Last but not least! You can actually ask Uniden's Product Manager (aka UPMan, Paul Opitz) questions on these forums about the scanner and they are answered!!!!!!!!!!
I am sure there are more I could post...... One thing I do like on the 97 is the analog squelch. The Pro-97's backlight was also brighter but the 330's is adequate. The Pro-97 is a good scanner, I can't deny that. However, the BR330T feels more rugged whereas the Pro-97 feels really cheap. I never used the Pro-97 other than on a desk, because the beltclip looked and felt like it could break at any time. It sounds like I am bashing the 97, but I'm not. The 97 is a good scanner, I just prefer the Uniden BR330T over the Pro-97 because of the above.
The BR330T vs the BCD396T: The 330 seems to be a bit more sensitive than the BCD396T, but I have no actual proof of this. Connecting the BR330T to my base antenna (Scantenna) it works very well on MilAir (what little there is around here). I could hear some NORAD freqs and some C-130's headed into Little Rock AFB. Also what I suspect is some refueling freqs.
The HF receive ain't all that bad either. It's no table top unit, but it does well for it's size.
Of course, these are my experiences in my area. Yours may differ?
matt
