What uniden scanner would be best to buy

[Gftbvv]

Hello my name is Alex and I am from st. Charles MO i have always wanted to be an EMT and have always loved listening to my scanner app. I have been wanoting to upgrade to a real scanner but have no clue which to buy. We have a p25 trunking system for our fire ems i also think it’s a simulcast system but not confident about that. Ive been looking for a while on getting my first scanner but have no clue what I’m really looking for. I’ve reached out to people but no one gets back to me about this. Can anyone help me on which scanner to buy. I’ll paste the channels i want to listen to. Thank you!!

St Charles County Department of Dispatch and Alarm (SCDDA)​

SCCDA 15 - VFIRE 21 154.280 Standard Fire Mutual Aid (at present, this is what out-of-County units respond in on).
SCCDA 16 - 7FIRE84D 773.856250 Simplex Fire Ground

DEC	HEX	Mode	Alpha Tag	Description	Tag
27034	699a	D	SCC FE Dispatch	Tone Outs/Pages (Non call related traffic w/ dispatch)	Fire Dispatch
27035	699b	D	SCC FE Ops	Fire/EMS: Dispatch (Routine Minor calls)	Fire Dispatch
27036	699c	D	SCC FE-Tac 60	Secondary Scene 60 (Paired with 61)	Fire-Tac
27037	699d	D	SCC FE Tac 61	Fire/EMS: Primary 61 (Major Call)	Fire-Tac

 

[BenScan]

A Uniden SDS 100 (handheld) or SDS 200 (mobile/base) are the only scanners I would currently recommend.

 

[Gftbvv]

A Uniden SDS 100 (handheld) or SDS 200 (mobile/base) are the only scanners I would currently recommend.

So not a uniden BCD436?

 

[GM]

I will second the statement above: only purchase a Uniden SDS100 or 200 model. Anything else, and you will be disappointed as the other older scanners suffer from simulcast distortion and overload near cell towers. The older scanners WILL have trouble decoding 100% of the radio transmissions, so just go with the best and purchase an SDS100/200 scanner. If you have any further questions, you can send me a Private Message on this site, or e-mail me directly at: madgreg81@yahoo.com

 

[Gftbvv]

I will second the statement above: only purchase a Uniden SDS100 or 200 model. Anything else, and you will be disappointed as the other older scanners suffer from simulcast distortion and overload near cell towers. The older scanners WILL have trouble decoding 100% of the radio transmissions, so just go with the best and purchase an SDS100/200 scanner. If you have any further questions, you can send me a Private Message on this site, or e-mail me directly at: madgreg81@yahoo.com

the sds100 will work for scanning my county’s fire ems (the frequencies I listed) correct? I just want to Ask this before I spend the money and can’t return it. Thank you so much for helping tho!!

 

[GM]

I would not recommend the BCD436HP because of potential simulcast distortion issues. I had one in the past, and it did not work 100% of the time. Many transmissions got skipped over (didn't decode) because of simulcast distortion. I have not had any issues with the SDS100 or 200 series of radios. I just sold off my older scanners that were manufactured previous to the SDS series of radios (2018) since they do not handle simulcast distortion well. And looking at the database for St Charles County, you should be fine with scanning them since they are listed as D in the mode column. That indicates P25 Phase 1 and the SDS100 will also decode P25 Phase 2 if/when a switch-over is made in the future.

 

[Gftbvv]

I would not recommend the BCD436HP because of potential simulcast distortion issues. I had one in the past, and it did not work 100% of the time. Many transmissions got skipped over (didn't decode) because of simulcast distortion. I have not had any issues with the SDS100 or 200 series of radios. I just sold off my older scanners that were manufactured previous to the SDS series of radios (2018) since they do not handle simulcast distortion well. And looking at the database for St Charles County, you should be fine with scanning them since they are listed as D in the mode column. That indicates P25 Phase 1 and the SDS100 will decode P25 Phase 2 if/when a switch-over is made in the future.

Thank you so much I appreciate it a lot!!

 

[tvengr]

St Charles County on the SLATER system uses a 6-tower simulcast site. The site actually consists of 6 subsites all transmitting on the same frequency at the same time. The signals arrive at your scanner at slightly different times which degrades the ability of the scanner to properly decode the control channel. The simulcast distortion results in missed transmissions, dropouts, and garbled audio. The only scanners specifically designed to receive simulcast sites are the Uniden SDS100 handheld and SDS200 base/mobile. They are the only scanners which will reliably receive my local Baltimore County MD simulcast system. Any other scanner may or may not work depending upon your location at the time. If you are close to one of the towers, it can override the out of phase interference from the other towers. You will be disappointed with anything other than a SDS100 or SDS200 scanner. The Unication G4 and G5 pagers are also excellent for simulcast systems but can receive only one system and one site at a time and are limited to 64 talkgroups per knob position. They are also very limited in frequency coverage.

 

[RaleighGuy]

Hello my name is Alex and I am from st. Charles MO i have always wanted to be an EMT and have always loved listening to my scanner app. I have been wanoting to upgrade to a real scanner but have no clue which to buy.

A Uniden SDS 100 (handheld) or SDS 200 (mobile/base) are the only scanners I would currently recommend.

At this point you might want to wait and see what the new model might have under the hood.

BCD260DN

The BCD260DN Uniden Scanner sets the standard for performance, features, and innovation. Exclusive features like Band Scope Rapid System/ Channel Number Tagging, Narrowband Reception, and a complete suite of search features help you detect those elusive signals faster than ever. Uniden Digital...

uniden.com

 

[Opossum214]

Besides an SDS scanner a Unication G4 or 5 is another option. I own an SDS100 and two G4s, both have their pros and cons. I will say that for the Unication is a superior when it comes to reception but, it can only monitor one system at a time and it handles the simulcast better than the SDS.

 

[Omanzz]

the sds100 will work for scanning my county’s fire ems (the frequencies I listed) correct? I just want to Ask this before I spend the money and can’t return it. Thank you so much for helping tho!!

Bearcatwarehouse.com
30 day return policy

 

[Omega-TI]

Besides an SDS scanner a Unication G4 or 5 is another option. I own an SDS100 and two G4s, both have their pros and cons. I will say that for the Unication is a superior when it comes to reception but, it can only monitor one system at a time and it handles the simulcast better than the SDS.

For the price shown, (I'm assuming you can get them under the MSRP), one system at a time and the limited bands, I would go with the SDS series as more bang for the buck.

 

[bravo14]

At this point you might want to wait and see what the new model might have under the hood.

BCD260DN

The BCD260DN Uniden Scanner sets the standard for performance, features, and innovation. Exclusive features like Band Scope Rapid System/ Channel Number Tagging, Narrowband Reception, and a complete suite of search features help you detect those elusive signals faster than ever. Uniden Digital...

uniden.com

Appears doesn't do trunking or p25.

Introducing the New Uniden Bearcat BCD160DN & BCD260DN – Train Aficionado

www.trainaficionado.com

 

[RaleighGuy]

Appears doesn't do trunking or p25.

Introducing the New Uniden Bearcat BCD160DN & BCD260DN – Train Aficionado

www.trainaficionado.com

That is true, but my original comment was posted before the specs were announced

 

[bearcatrp]

As posted above, get a SDS 100/200 to future proof your investment. Anything else won’t be as good.

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Can the sds100 handle simulcast better than the unication g4? I like that it does more than one system at a time.

 

[JimD56]

Can the sds100 handle simulcast better than the unication g4? I like that it does more than one system at a time.

I had a G4 and tested it side by side with my SDS100 and SDS200. SDS100/200 with a Remtronix 800mhz Antenna. (About 8 inches high) and the G4 with its stock stubby antenna.
Results were slightly better on the SDS200 and the same on the G4 and SDS100. I'm in a 3 county metropolitan area of 5.5 million people and surrounded by 5 Different Simulcast Systems so I sold the G4 with its limitation in scanning different systems at once.