SDS100/SDS200: SDS 100 inbound

[WeBeCinYa]

Ordered a 100 from Amazon earlier. Had a gift card so got it for $600. I’m pretty optimistic and looking forward to using it. The area I live in now is mostly analog but I travel a lot and frequent areas that have P2 simulcast distortion. My 436 honesty handles it very well but I was ready for an upgrade.

If all goes well with the 100 I’ll be letting go of my 436 and possibly one of my 536’s.

If anyone had a small battery/cover they could let go of I’m a buyer! The smaller set up will be ideal as I’m always around power either at home or in my truck.


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[letarotor]

Ordered a 100 from Amazon earlier. Had a gift card so got it for $600. I’m pretty optimistic and looking forward to using it. The area I live in now is mostly analog but I travel a lot and frequent areas that have P2 simulcast distortion. My 436 honesty handles it very well but I was ready for an upgrade.

If all goes well with the 100 I’ll be letting go of my 436 and possibly one of my 536’s.

If anyone had a small battery/cover they could let go of I’m a buyer! The smaller set up will be ideal as I’m always around power either at home or in my truck.


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Got mine today and have been setting it up! It sounds great and I'd share a video here but I can't upload the high-resolution video I film in on RadioReference.

Congratulations!

Here's a Google Photos link where you can see a short video clip if you're interested

https://photos.app.goo.gl/E2brPdm1vC34b4NPA

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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[WeBeCinYa]

Got mine today and have been setting it up! It sounds great and I'd share a video here but I can't upload the high-resolution video I film in on RadioReference.

Congratulations!

Here's a Google Photos link where you can see a short video clip if you're interested

https://photos.app.goo.gl/E2brPdm1vC34b4NPA

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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That’s a 200, I ordered a 100. Sounds like you got the first one lol as they have been fussing in that other thread about who got one when.

Congrats on the 200!


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[letarotor]

That’s a 200, I ordered a 100. Sounds like you got the first one lol as they have been fussing in that other thread about who got one when.

Congrats on the 200!


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Haha I'm so 200 minded at the moment I guess I didn't even notice you typed 100 I was lucky enough to get the 100 also last year so now I am set! Good luck on your new 100 and I know you will enjoy it

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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[hiegtx]

Haha I'm so 200 minded at the moment I guess I didn't even notice you typed 100 I was lucky enough to get the 100 also last year so now I am set! Good luck on your new 100 and I know you will enjoy it

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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Brian, if I recall, you're in one of the problematic simulcast areas, right? I'm curious as to whether your SDS200 does much better, or about the same as your SDS100. Are you still seeing issues with Layer 2 on FWRRS?

My 200 should be delivered Monday, but right now, I have no simulcast issues at home due to location.

 

[letarotor]

Brian, if I recall, you're in one of the problematic simulcast areas, right? I'm curious as to whether your SDS200 does much better, or about the same as your SDS100. Are you still seeing issues with Layer 2 on FWRRS?

My 200 should be delivered Monday, but right now, I have no simulcast issues at home due to location.

@hiegtx, the 200 is performing perfect and I am noticing only a few, not very bad , and very brief reception issues when compared to my 100.

I know that reception did improve somewhat as the radio technicians were doing work on the radio system over the last week or two. But even earlier this afternoon, before the 200 had arrived, I was having a real hard time monitoring layer 2 traffic today on my 100.

I definitely think is related to the area I'm in. But now I'm going to check and see if the 100 will keep up with the 200 and what I've seen so far. And in the video I posted, I'm showing the the D error in the bottom right of the screen. You can see that it is sitting at 0 most of the time and I think it only goes up to 3 or 5 one time. I am sure that this new 200 is capturing the signal better even though my RSSI is still around -100 dbm. I moved the 200 over to where the 100 usually sits on my coffee table tonight and I have not heard a single broken transmission or problem whatsoever. So I'm very happy and I'm glad you asked!

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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[hiegtx]

Thanks for the update, Brian. Once my 200 comes in, I'll connect both of them to the same antenna (4 port multi-coupler) to get a 'side by side' comparison at my location. I'm about two miles northeast of Dallas Executive Airport (aka Redbird).

 

[letarotor]

Thanks for the update, Brian. Once my 200 comes in, I'll connect both of them to the same antenna (4 port multi-coupler) to get a 'side by side' comparison at my location. I'm about two miles northeast of Dallas Executive Airport (aka Redbird).

I bought another 4-port multicoupler myself before Christmas I'm getting help putting up another mast and a new antenna but that will probably be a month or so before it's all said and done. And I've got a mast in the backyard filled up and running to another multicoupler and other radios in the radio room. I'm putting my 200 and a few more radio up in the living room area so I don't have to keep going back and forth to the radio room when I hear something.

I'd be interested in knowing what results you get and I'll let you know on my end as well. I'm over here in the Northwest part of Tarrant County and I'm hoping that they'll be doing some radio tower improvements especially since Azle will be coming onto the Fort Worth system supposedly later this year (according to their Facebook page). I think Fort Worth will have to do something just to ensure better coverage out this direction.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

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[noaim]

I have the 100 and it’s one amazing scanner plus the gps cable is simplified compared to the 436


I am going to get the 200 as well

I don’t think you will regret getting the 100


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[rs16]

Ordered a 100 from Amazon earlier. Had a gift card so got it for $600. I’m pretty optimistic and looking forward to using it. The area I live in now is mostly analog but I travel a lot and frequent areas that have P2 simulcast distortion. My 436 honesty handles it very well but I was ready for an upgrade.

If all goes well with the 100 I’ll be letting go of my 436 and possibly one of my 536’s.

If anyone had a small battery/cover they could let go of I’m a buyer! The smaller set up will be ideal as I’m always around power either at home or in my truck.


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I'm interested in your impressions of the SDS100. My area is mostly analog, except for local police. Little or no simulcast. I'm interested in what you think about both analog and digital reception. No simulcast in my area and I don't travel, but am considering the unit.

 

[n2pqq]

don't be to quick to get rid of your 436/536
wait and compare it to your sds100
you may decide to keep them for analog.

 

[trentbob]

don't be to quick to get rid of your 436/536
wait and compare it to your sds100
you may decide to keep them for analog.

Sage advice... I've done extensive testing. My SDS 100 works okay on simulcast systems but I also listen to analog VHF, UHF, Marine, Aviation Etc.. unfortunately, the scan is so slow with the SDS I miss a lot of analog Transmissions compared to the x36s and other earlier units. The SDS is a nice radio, especially after this new update with the filters but not so much on analog reception secondary to the very slow scan rate. Many missed Transmissions in comparison. If it was a turboscan like the old days then it would be great on both digital simulcast and analog but this radio is as slow as molasses.

 

[WeBeCinYa]

Just got my SDS 100 unboxed and programmed. I am BLOWN away by how well it sounds on analog. All the negative comments really had my expectations low but it sounds really good on my local police/fire VHF channels. Sitting beside the BC1125AT, and 536HP it sounds great.

Very limited on digital so far, did hear some transmissions on NC VIPER but my 536 definitely has better reception with the external antenna.

Now just going to play with the colors and all the screen data gadgets. Looking forward to traveling this week to check out an area where I got a little simulcast issues on 436.

Small battery/door is inbound and should arrive by end of week. Need a screen protector, any recommendations?

 

[rs16]

Thanks for the info. WeBeCinYa. I've been on the fence about the SDS 100 since there's so much analog in my area. Your info is nudging me in the 100 direction.

 

[noaim]

Thanks for the info. WeBeCinYa. I've been on the fence about the SDS 100 since there's so much analog in my area. Your info is nudging me in the 100 direction.

There has been complaints but I have had little issues with the sds100 it’s an incredible radio


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[WeBeCinYa]

After using my 100 for a week or two, I don’t know what the hysterics were over the small battery life. Been using my small one exclusively and get plenty of life out of it.


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[WeBeCinYa]

BLOWN away today with the SDS100. A system close to 40 miles from my home that I love to listen to comes in well in my office with stock RS ducky antenna. I couldn't ever monitor this system with the 436 or 536. Once I have my Remtronix 810 installed I hope to get even better reception. The filters being "off" work to really help too. Very encouraging as this is what I have wanted to monitor for so long. Now, if the SDS200 can get it's act together, this will be a perfect combo.

 

[buddrousa]

Just a small amount have said to have a problem most have had no problems and only have had good things to say.
Mine has none of the problems that have been posted. You know some people have very good hearing and can hear a gnat pass gas at 100 yards not sure if that is the case with the SDS200.

 

[WeBeCinYa]

Just a small amount have said to have a problem most have had no problems and only have had good things to say.
Mine has none of the problems that have been posted. You know some people have very good hearing and can hear a gnat pass gas at 100 yards not sure if that is the case with the SDS200.

Well, seems more than just the hum. Frankly I can wait for them to iron that and the other imperfections out. I want to pay $700 and be just as pleased with a 200 like I am with 100. This is still the beta test period for the 200.

 

[maus92]

Just a small amount have said to have a problem most have had no problems and only have had good things to say.
Mine has none of the problems that have been posted. You know some people have very good hearing and can hear a gnat pass gas at 100 yards not sure if that is the case with the SDS200.

The "noise" issue is real, unfortunately - if your radio has the defect. People with normal hearing will detect it; if you have some form of hearing loss, you may not. It is not crippling in my use case because ambient noise in my listening environment almost always covers it. But some that use the radio in a quiet room WILL be affected, as well as those who use an external speaker (the internal spkr fires downward, which helps to mitigate the issue somewhat) or stream using the rear ext spkr jack to feed the audio. Note that streaming audio via the LAN port is unaffected by the "noise."