Alternative to G4/5
Although I realize that this forum article is for a review of the G5, one thing that usually isn’t discussed is an alternative to the G4/5 called OP-25. It’s much easier to install than it was just six months ago. I recently bought a reconditioned 11” Dell 11-3179 laptop for $265 (after using a 15% off coupon) and loaded Ubuntu 14.04 and OP-25 (both free software) on it and had it up and running in about 20 minutes. It also needs a RTL stick and antenna, both of which can be bought for less than $20 each. The laptop is small and thin enough to easily hide between my center console and passenger seat. As with most laptops, it has both Bluetooth and a 3.5 mm output jack for sound.
In a dual boot configuration, I can use it as a scanner when I want and reboot and use it as a normal Windows 10 laptop. OP-25 can decode both Phase 1 and Phase 2 systems simultaneously by simply adding “-2” to the startup options. It also has a built-in 2 second delay as well as soft keys for HOLD and LOCKOUT (the lockout is only for that session and will reset whenever the program is restarted. You can also have different trunk.tsv file configurations for different systems or monitoring options.
I have my laptop configured so that when I press the power button, it boots up and automatically starts the OP-25 program and begins scanning my favorite trunkgroups. I can then push the power switch again to turn it off, but I also have it configured to hibernate if I forget to turn it off and the battery drops below 75%. That way I never have to take it out from between my seats or open the laptop.
At one time I came very close to ordering a G4 myself, but I then read a long message in the Unication forum on what people wanted and decided I already had most of the desired features on my OP-25 system. I also didn’t like that Unication is planning on charging $150 for Phase 2 decoding firmware sometime next year when I already have that feature for free using OP-25. I also figured that if I get pulled over and a cop searches my car, he’ll just find a laptop without even considering that it’s actually a scanner.
Sorry to all the G4/G5 owners for getting off topic, but I believe anyone wanting to monitor a simulcast system should be made aware of all of their options. I admit that the G4/G5 is a very nice device and works extremely well on LSM systems and if sold for half of what does today then I would have bought one in a heartbeat rather than using OP-25.
