Well I've owned many unidens over my years but I'm out.

[maus92]

I just read that one guy is fed up with Uniden and is switching over to a G4 or G5 radio? What is so special about those radios? Don't those radios transmit? How can you monitor, for example, your local police department, on a radio that transmits? Wouldn't you interfere with their broadcast if you keyed up on them by accident or God forbid on purpose? I'm currently using Uniden Scanners, 436 & 536 and now the SDS100.
I'm located in the Los Angeles, Ca area. I monitor my local Police departments, Monrovia, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, LA Co Sheriff and fire departments. I am able to hear the city of Los Angeles Fire Department loud and clear and the LAPD as well. I'm about 28-30 miles from Downtown L.A. Maybe the systems being utilized around me are plain old simulcast, or operate on repeaters, but my SDS100 works great. I think we have to cut Uniden a break here.

So getting back to my main reason for being here....why do scanner enthusiasts switch over to Unication Radios? Are they that much better than a typical scanner?

Unication G4 / G5 are essentially paging receivers (they do not transmit) that can monitor P25 systems. The G5 is dual band, and can monitor conventional waveforms. They can be configured as scanning receivers, but they are pretty limited in that capability. Still a great piece of kit.

 

[maus92]

And avionics cost 10x or more what similar non-aviation-rated devices cost.

Not in my plane. My Garmin transceiver for example was about $1,000 - far less than a Moto radio - granted it's not P25 However, if you are talking about an TSO'd approach GPS, that starts at $6K and can go way up from there. But it ALWAYS works properly (assuming the DoD isn't practicing GPS "degrading.") And by the way, the chassis gets warm when it's powered up

 

[jonwienke]

Hmmm, comparing avionics GPS nav device prices to typical consumer GPS devices, I'd say if anything a 10x price differential is conservative.

https://www.google.com/search?q=air...z0JncAhVjZN8KHQf0Bq4QsxgIKA&biw=1920&bih=1013

The actual avionics devices start at $1,995, and several are over $10,000.

 

[seth21w]

I was having missed comms, i did create log files for upman. 3 firmware updates later still skipping over comms. I bought g4 and had both for a few days, it was clear that the g4 has one job and that is lock on to one system and hit as many comms as possible. I knew the scanner was not defective as other p25 trunking simulcast systems worked well (motorola). Harris is apparently very tricky for uniden.

 

[seth21w]

Curious what system you monitor. Harris system can be difficult, even for Unication radios.

But for your "shirt pocket" operation, it sounds like the G4 is a better fit for you, even though it lacks the flexibility of the SDS100. Tradeoffs, like everything else in life.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=6907

 

[seth21w]

I just read that one guy is fed up with Uniden and is switching over to a G4 or G5 radio? What is so special about those radios? Don't those radios transmit? How can you monitor, for example, your local police department, on a radio that transmits? Wouldn't you interfere with their broadcast if you keyed up on them by accident or God forbid on purpose? I'm currently using Uniden Scanners, 436 & 536 and now the SDS100.
I'm located in the Los Angeles, Ca area. I monitor my local Police departments, Monrovia, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, LA Co Sheriff and fire departments. I am able to hear the city of Los Angeles Fire Department loud and clear and the LAPD as well. I'm about 28-30 miles from Downtown L.A. Maybe the systems being utilized around me are plain old simulcast, or operate on repeaters, but my SDS100 works great. I think we have to cut Uniden a break here.

So getting back to my main reason for being here....why do scanner enthusiasts switch over to Unication Radios? Are they that much better than a typical scanner?

They are that much better than even subscriber unit on the system according to some owners, with just the stock stub antenna it recieves everywhere riding around between towers, laying flat, down 3 stories in a brick building with big rf background. Not once has it even hiccuped once anywhere, and i can ride 20 miles outside of the circle of 6 simulcast towers and its still clear. The sds100 i was riding with the antenna rs800 pointing out the window to get signal.

 

[jonwienke]

However, if you are talking about an TSO'd approach GPS, that starts at $6K and can go way up from there. But it ALWAYS works properly (assuming the DoD isn't practicing GPS "degrading.") And by the way, the chassis gets warm when it's powered up

That is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about; that's what gets the obsessively rigorous testing, and what has the price tag to match. I don't consider electronic devices that are not FAA-certified/approved components of the aircraft to be "avionics". You can take a $100 Garmin GPS on a plane and use it to navigate, but I suspect most serious pilots would frown on doing that given its consumer-level testing regimen for both firmware bugs and overall mechanical/electrical reliability.

 

[seth21w]

The OP never said the SDS100 didn't work, he said it got too hot to carry in a shirt pocket. Which seems a rather frivolous reason to dump an entire line of scanners, but it's his money.

You didnt read my post very will jon! It was missing comms and wouldnt stay locked on the system i had programmed, the only system i had programmed in!

 

[Fast1eddie]

Well, I don't know about y'all. but until I manually master the process of programming my 436 (Almost as frustrating as the Chink radios), I will not be moving into a SDS anytime soon. In fact, the only reason why I have not decided to sell it off is the GPS locating scanning feature and it does P25 very well.

Not up on Uniden's lower tier models.

 

[jonwienke]

You didnt read my post very will jon! It was missing comms and wouldnt stay locked on the system i had programmed, the only system i had programmed in!

You mentioned that in other threads, but not in your original post.

 

[Markb]

I just read that one guy is fed up with Uniden and is switching over to a G4 or G5 radio? What is so special about those radios? Don't those radios transmit? How can you monitor, for example, your local police department, on a radio that transmits? Wouldn't you interfere with their broadcast if you keyed up on them by accident or God forbid on purpose? I'm currently using Uniden Scanners, 436 & 536 and now the SDS100.
I'm located in the Los Angeles, Ca area. I monitor my local Police departments, Monrovia, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, LA Co Sheriff and fire departments. I am able to hear the city of Los Angeles Fire Department loud and clear and the LAPD as well. I'm about 28-30 miles from Downtown L.A. Maybe the systems being utilized around me are plain old simulcast, or operate on repeaters, but my SDS100 works great. I think we have to cut Uniden a break here.

So getting back to my main reason for being here....why do scanner enthusiasts switch over to Unication Radios? Are they that much better than a typical scanner?

Unication G series radios are paging receivers. They cannot transmit. They have a smaller form factor and have been in public use much longer than the SDS100 and therefore have been tweaked to near perfection, if you talk to a Unication owner. They are not purpose-built scanners and do not operate as such. They will not hold on a talkgroup and are single or dual band only.

 

[maus92]

That is exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about; that's what gets the obsessively rigorous testing, and what has the price tag to match. I don't consider electronic devices that are not FAA-certified/approved components of the aircraft to be "avionics". You can take a $100 Garmin GPS on a plane and use it to navigate, but I suspect most serious pilots would frown on doing that given its consumer-level testing regimen for both firmware bugs and overall mechanical/electrical reliability.

That's why if you're smart, you build your own airplane so you can operate under EAB rules. Garmin makes a line of avionics that are essentially the same internal (and sometimes external) design as their "certified" products for the big boys. My transponder for example costs about 1/2 of its essentially "identical twin" in the certified world. Same chassis, same components, built to the same manufacturing tolerances, but do not have the added costs associated with the FAA certification process. Garmin must state that they meet the same performance standards they require of certified equipment, thus they are functionally equivalent. Thus your contention "I don't consider electronic devices that are not FAA-certified/approved components of the aircraft to be "avionics" would be an under informed statement.

 

[Blunt630]

"I needed a radio to keep in my shirt pocket."

Not sure how that's even comfortable with any scanner or radio to be honest...

 

[jonwienke]

Notice I specified "certified/approved" rather than just "certified". EAB rules are still promulgated and enforced by the FAA, so while your discount avionics bypass the full FAA certification process and the associated costs, they still must comply with FAA rules, which are more stringent than what's applied to typical consumer electronics (e.g. "Garmin must state that they meet the same performance standards they require of certified equipment").

 

[WX4JCW]

The unications are great but when traveling they are a huge PITA to keep constantly programming


Sent from my iPhone 8 using Tapatalk Pro
Jason WX4JCW
XPR7550 - SDS100

 

[belvdr]

I just read that one guy is fed up with Uniden and is switching over to a G4 or G5 radio? What is so special about those radios? Don't those radios transmit? How can you monitor, for example, your local police department, on a radio that transmits? Wouldn't you interfere with their broadcast if you keyed up on them by accident or God forbid on purpose? I'm currently using Uniden Scanners, 436 & 536 and now the SDS100.
I'm located in the Los Angeles, Ca area. I monitor my local Police departments, Monrovia, Arcadia, Sierra Madre, LA Co Sheriff and fire departments. I am able to hear the city of Los Angeles Fire Department loud and clear and the LAPD as well. I'm about 28-30 miles from Downtown L.A. Maybe the systems being utilized around me are plain old simulcast, or operate on repeaters, but my SDS100 works great. I think we have to cut Uniden a break here.

So getting back to my main reason for being here....why do scanner enthusiasts switch over to Unication Radios? Are they that much better than a typical scanner?

Who needs to cut Uniden a break? I don't see multiple people on that train. A few people have had issues with the SDS100 in their location. Firmware isn't solving the issue, so I'm not sure their going to let Uniden go with a pass, just like they would do to any other manufacturer.

The G4 / G5 units are pagers. They do not have the ability to scan more than one system and do not have transmit capability.

I hear they handle simulcast really well.

EDIT: Sorry for replying when others already did. I didn't realize there was a second page. Oops!

 

[iMONITOR]

What everyone needs to realize that there is no 'one does all' solution for everyone, everywhere. What works well for one, might not work well for others. What radio works best with a particular system or a particular location, might not work as good for another.

In the midst of all the Unication hype and the announcement of the Uniden SDS100, I purchased a Uniden BCD436HP, and two BCD536HP's. Why? Because for me, where I'm located, and for the systems I monitored (MPSCS P25 in Macomb County with a 9-site simulcast system) they all work perfect! They offered the most bang for the buck.

I cringe when I read people advising others only a Unication, or a SDS100 will work for simulcasts system. More often than not the people offering this advice live in a different state, monitoring a different system, under totally different circumstances. Some people are advising other than anything other than a Unication or SDS100 simply will not work with a simulcast system. This is not the case. They are giving out misinformation base only on their personal experience rather than fact.

I would highly recommend finding actual users of the scanners they're considering for use in their area that are successfully monitoring the same systems so that the information their getting is factual rather than speculation. Why spend more than necessary to achieve your goal, or sacrifice true scanner features you want/need for a receiver that does not have them?

 

[325xia]

What everyone needs to realize that there is no 'one does all' solution for everyone, everywhere. What works well for one, might not work well for others. What radio works best with a particular system or a particular location, might not work as good for another.

In the midst of all the Unication hype and the announcement of the Uniden SDS100, I purchased a Uniden BCD436HP, and two BCD536HP's. Why? Because for me, where I'm located, and for the systems I monitored (MPSCS P25 in Macomb County with a 9-site simulcast system) they all work perfect! They offered the most bang for the buck.

I cringe when I read people advising others only a Unication, or a SDS100 will work for simulcasts system. More often than not the people offering this advice live in a different state, monitoring a different system, under totally different circumstances. Some people are advising other than anything other than a Unication or SDS100 simply will not work with a simulcast system. This is not the case. They are giving out misinformation base only on their personal experience rather than fact.

I would highly recommend finding actual users of the scanners they're considering for use in their area that are successfully monitoring the same systems so that the information their getting is factual rather than speculation. Why spend more than necessary to achieve your goal, or sacrifice true scanner features you want/need for a receiver that does not have them?

This is probably the best advice I've read in the past Month concerning Uniden Scanner Models, For me, thus far, my 436 performs better than my SDS 100. But, I get all kinds of negative comments when I stated this in previous posts. Maybe later after Firmware Updates it will perform better than my 436. That's what I'm hoping for. And the reason I have not returned it or sold. I have faith in Uniden.

 

[RoninJoliet]

Can you program the "Unication" by hand or is it strictly software...….Also does it have a built in battery or can you use standard rechargables….TY

 

[WX4JCW]

Personally for me the SDS100 fits for me, I’ve used it over the road from Columbus to Seattle and back and it performs flawlessly, I’ve owned a G4 and it works awesome, each radio has positives and negatives, most of the negative responses are people’s opinions


Sent from my iPhone 8 using Tapatalk Pro
Jason WX4JCW
XPR7550 - SDS100