So I've decided to put some refund money to good use and get a digital scanner.
My choices have boiled down to the BCD396XT and PSR-500. Leaning more to the 396XT even though I am a big fan of the GRE scanners of the past (2004, 2006, 43). From the research I have done it seems to me that Uniden's DMA approach is more flexible than GRE's OOUI, the Uniden also does better with multi-site trunk systems, from what I read.
My main scanning interest will be the Hunt, Hopkins, and Rains Counties Area, generally all across the spectrum, trips into the DFW area occasionally, the occasional air show now and then . I visit Mississippi once or twice a year and would listen to the scanner on I-20 across North Louisiana ( Shreveport and Bossier Trunks and the LSP multi site trunk system) and in Central Mississippi which is I believe converting to a state wide P25 system.
The only sticking point I have at this point is the P25 decoding. I live in Campbell in Hunt County. Greenville is now a single frequency P25 system I believe and Texas DPS is a multi frequency but non-trunked P25 system if I understand it correctly, and I think Mississippi will be a simulcast system, if I remember correctly. I have read several posts on the Radio Reference Forums and in other reviews as well that the 396XT has trouble with multi-path (?) on P25 Simulcast systems.
My questions for the BCD396XT users, especially those that have or had a PSR-500.
Does the 396XT work satisfactorily on P25 systems in NE Texas (DPS and Greenville).
Is the 396XT's performance on P25 Simulcast on par with the PSR-500.
Is it possible the issue with multi-path is addressable with firmware upgrades.
The feature set of the Uniden appears better to me, but all the features in the world will not make a difference if I cannot hear the important agencies in my area.
Thanks for any light you can shine on this decision.
My choices have boiled down to the BCD396XT and PSR-500. Leaning more to the 396XT even though I am a big fan of the GRE scanners of the past (2004, 2006, 43). From the research I have done it seems to me that Uniden's DMA approach is more flexible than GRE's OOUI, the Uniden also does better with multi-site trunk systems, from what I read.
My main scanning interest will be the Hunt, Hopkins, and Rains Counties Area, generally all across the spectrum, trips into the DFW area occasionally, the occasional air show now and then . I visit Mississippi once or twice a year and would listen to the scanner on I-20 across North Louisiana ( Shreveport and Bossier Trunks and the LSP multi site trunk system) and in Central Mississippi which is I believe converting to a state wide P25 system.
The only sticking point I have at this point is the P25 decoding. I live in Campbell in Hunt County. Greenville is now a single frequency P25 system I believe and Texas DPS is a multi frequency but non-trunked P25 system if I understand it correctly, and I think Mississippi will be a simulcast system, if I remember correctly. I have read several posts on the Radio Reference Forums and in other reviews as well that the 396XT has trouble with multi-path (?) on P25 Simulcast systems.
My questions for the BCD396XT users, especially those that have or had a PSR-500.
Does the 396XT work satisfactorily on P25 systems in NE Texas (DPS and Greenville).
Is the 396XT's performance on P25 Simulcast on par with the PSR-500.
Is it possible the issue with multi-path is addressable with firmware upgrades.
The feature set of the Uniden appears better to me, but all the features in the world will not make a difference if I cannot hear the important agencies in my area.
Thanks for any light you can shine on this decision.