Uniden Yahoo Groups

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beischel

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I suspect the Uniden Yahoo Groups are run by Uniden and being censored. All posts seem to have to be approved by a moderator before posting and if you make negative comments about the deficiencies of the Uniden product, they will not allow your post to become public. Can anyone verify that?

Refreshing to have the Radio Reference forums where honest and frank discussions can take place.
 

MarkEagleUSA

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They are not run by Uniden, though Paul Opitz (UPMan) does occasionally post there.

I believe all new members are moderated for a short time in an effort to eliminate spammers.
 

ka3jjz

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Yeah, some are, some not. Beischel, did you check the home page for the group(s) in question to see if that's the case?

73 Mike
 

UPMan

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The only public Yahoo! group run by Uniden is unidenflash, which we specifically set up to gather information for our engineers (so is very heavily moderated in order to keep the comments useful to engineering). We also have some private groups used for beta tester and other discussions.

The only scanner group for a Uniden scanner I know of that has no moderation is the BCT15 group (and it gets its occasional bout of spam).
 

n2mdk

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BC246 doesn't either and a lot of time it's more SPAM than posts about the radio.
 

UPMan

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Since that Yahoo! group doesn't even match the model name, I never monitor it (not even subscribed). The ones I monitor are:

BCD396T
BCD996T
BCT15
BC246T
BR330T
SC230

and a few others for older models.

I am aware that there are other groups with either misspelled or otherwise "nonstandard" variations of the scanner model (i.e. some with hyphens or missing parts), but don't subscribe to or support them.
 

Airdorn

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Mar 9, 2008
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481
Location
Cordova, TN
In order to take advantage of Uniden's participation there, you have to join-up with Yahoo, which is a lot like joining the Borg. Yahoo is a nightmare.

Its too bad Uniden uses it at all, and doesn't just move all its communications via internet to the users to this site exclusively.
 

ka3jjz

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I wrote a procedure for getting rid of the spam junk Yahoo sets you up with when you join. If you or anyone else is interested, I can post a copy - maybe I should change it to a wiki article so everyone can read it.

73 Mike
 

n2mdk

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Very simple way to avoid any problems, get a Yahoo Email address, join the groups using that address, set the membership to no email or special notices and simply read the postings from the group websites.
Just remember to periodically check into the Yahoo email address to keep it active.
 

rankin39

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Sep 12, 2004
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Location
Western Leavenworth Co., KS
I suspect the Uniden Yahoo Groups are run by Uniden and being censored. All posts seem to have to be approved by a moderator before posting and if you make negative comments about the deficiencies of the Uniden product, they will not allow your post to become public. Can anyone verify that?

I've been a member of both the 396 and 996 groups for some time and have sent many posts. Many were critical of the scanners' r.f. sections (pointing out that the old 780 was a much better radio). All but maybe one of these posts appeared without any problems, so I don't think that the group was really "censored". That said, there is simply no question but that some individuals on the list either take it upon themselves or are rewarded for hyping the product and bullying those who are critical. Read through the archives of the lists and you'll see who they are. I called them "shills" because they perform the role that shills play in traditional con games. Some of these fellows are guys who run web sites that "review" freebie radios that are sent to them for "testing". Needless to say, (surprise, surprise), such reviews aren't very critical. Other such individuals may simply be folks who believe that the manufacturers can do no wrong and always have the hobbyists' best interest at heart. Naive at best.

In the discussion my posts provoked it emerged that the guy who "owns" the Uniden lists also owns a bunch of other lists for other scanner manufacturers. He says it's because he loves scanning so much. Maybe he's right. I don't know whether any money or scanners (for "beta testing", of course) change hands as part of all this or not. I don't suppose it really matters. And you can't find out who he really is anyway. We probably shouldn't be too hard on Uniden though, since "product placement" on internet lists is part of the advertising strategy of virtually any manufacturer. I guess it's important not to let yourself be intimidated by the moderators and to be a little skeptical of what you read on the various lists.

Bob, WoNXN
 

beischel

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May 19, 2007
Messages
292
Location
Pierce Township, Ohio
O.K., well all my posts there have been on moderation. Obviously I am not a spammer and sometimes when I have been too critical of the poor performance of my 996, they are not posted. The posting are not mean spirited or anything, but after recently getting the GREs 500 and 600 and compared to the 996 I have had for a year, the GREs are running rings around the 996. I have posted the findings on the Yahoo BCD996T group and some posts are allowed through, others aren't.

I may give the 996 to my nephew since his father is a Cincinnati firefighter. Maybe it will work better at his house since he is far from the towers and the 996 will not be as prone to front-end overload or adjacent channel interference.
 
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