Went off the deep end today

[Xray]

I have been contemplating a digital scanner purchase for a while now. I live in the SE Michigan area, and theres a local shop with these Unidens in stock.
Been reading up on reviews of the HP1 and the 396XT. Couldn't decide which one to get, so I got them both ! They were $499.99 each, the guy gave me $20 off each for buying both, so that about equals or beats anything I could have found new on the net, plus this guy says hes available to help if I have any questions about programming ect ... He said he wrote Freescan, so he seems to have a pretty good grasp of these radios.
Been tinkering around with the HP1, seems like a pretty slick package. I go to alot of airshows in the summer, so between my Alinco DJX2000 and now Bearcat 396, I should be all set.
Not sure if the HP1 will be of much use at the shows, since it can't be programmed as such.
Besides military comms, of which there aren't a whole lot of around here, my interests are local law enforcement, federal tac channels, and thats about it.
I remember the days of listening in on DEA surveillance ops in the clear, I'm guessing those days are largely over.

I'm a scanner nut from way back, first radios was a Pro-34 in the mid 1980's, I guess it was.
Pro 2006 did me well for years, but the advent of trunking, and then digital, left me baffled and uninterested, so I've been out of the loop for a while.
I've had a digital Pro 2096 sitting around for 2 years, used it maybe 2 or 3 hours in all that time, so I'm going to sell that one, since I obviously have no need for it now.
Talk groups, control stations ect are all new to me, so I've got some catching up to do.
So far I've got Freescan and Sentinel, a subscription here I'm sure will be the next move

 

[rwier]

Now those are two fine radios, kudos on your selection and bargain. If that'a a 396t, I have both myself (looks just like mine).

I'm confused by "Not sure if the HP1 will be of much use at the shows, since it can't be programmed as such."

What do you believe the 396t can monitor that the HP-1 can't? You should be using separate 3rd party software with both to get the maximum benefit from their features. Maybe a problem for the minor show participants, but airport freqs and main act freqs (Blue Angels, Thunderbirds, etc.) are available.

I might be wrong (my usual condition), but even though the HP has been out only a short while, I wouldn't be surprised if someone will report here that they have heard the Blue Angels, or the Thunderbirds, while using it.

Just try to get the concept that "The HP is just for dummies" out of your head and you will discover (and more so every day) that it is, in fact, quite feature rich. After a certain point in the learning curve you will probably use the 396 less than 10% of the time.

All that is just my personal opinion and is supported only by anecdotal memory, and not any scientific research or evidence, lol.

Good Luck,
Rob

 

[Xray]

I have no shortage of airshow feqs, I have been stockpiling them for decades.
Its not that the HP1 can't receive these, at the moment, there seems no good way to program it to receive specific freqs.
I understand the FAV list may hold out possibilities for this via, as you say, 3rd party software.
Literally just got this today, airshow season is a good few months away, so I got plenty of time to find out.
In theory, someone should be able to compose a FAV list of, say, 50 or so active Blue Angel freqs, post it to the database, and other users could import it to their units.
Then, of course, they will need to add the individual tower/approach/ramp/airboss ect freqs for the base they are monitoring.
Whether or not this is all possible as we speak, or may be with future updates and innovations, I do not know.

Not too worried about it in any case, as my 2 handhelds will be more than enough ,,, But for a little bit of a wow factor among the fellow scanists I always run into at shows, I'd like to bring it along if possible.

 

[Viper43]

Ummm, well, the author of FreeScan ALSO wrote PowerPatrol for the HP, seems if the guy you dealt with really wrote FreeScan he'ed have mentioned that too.... and if memory serves me right the author lives in Canada not Michigan. With PowerPatrol you can add your airshow frequencies to the HP. Assaf does a great job supporting his software too. Just have extra batteries for the HP at airshows as the display eats power!

 

[rwier]

I have no shortage of airshow feqs, I have been stockpiling them for decades.
..................................................

Well, this site might help someone else then. I was not having much luck searching the RR DB.

NASCANNER: 2011 Air Show Frequencies

Thanks,

Rob

 

[Xray]

Said he wrote it in conjunction with another guy, true or not I don't know.
Would be pretty lame if he was bs'ing, seemed like a pretty straight forward and helpful guy.
I got PP, haven't had a chance to mess with it.

 

[KE4ZNR]

Said he wrote it in conjunction with another guy, true or not I don't know.
Would be pretty lame if he was bs'ing, seemed like a pretty straight forward and helpful guy.
I got PP, haven't had a chance to mess with it.

Unless the guys name is Assaf then sorry my friend you were
told a fib.
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[RadioDaze]

If I were ATTENDING an airshow, I'd tend to bring a scanner that I could clip to my belt.

 

[cpuerror]

Maybe he created systems in FreeSCAN and thats what he meant. You should have asked him when the next version is coming out. But anyways thanks for choosing my software, hope you find it useful.

 

[Xray]

RadioDaze, I got 2 handhelds at the moment that I do just that with.
I usually watch the show from somewhere on the perimeter of the airfield, and sometimes I sit in or close by my truck ,,, In those situations, having the HP1 would be nice. If I have to make a trek to get to a good location, then no I wouldn't bring it along with me.

cpu, he specifically said he wrote the program with another guy.
He even said he contacted Uniden about improvements to Sentinel, was ignored, so went off on his own to develop his own program.
I'm disappointed that he would feel the need to tell a tall tale, very childish.
He seemed professional and knowledgeable in every other aspect, I guess some folks just can't resist boosting their egos in any way possible.
Not being a software writer/developer myself, I wasn't all that impressed by the claim anyhow, I had heard of the program only in passing reading up on some reviews before making my purchase, and it didn't influence my decision to buy in any way ,,, So I don't know what he hopes to gain by bs'ing.

Seems like your program has been received very well by the Uniden digital community, thanks for your efforts.