Soliciting SDS100 opinions

[comspec]

First off, I recognize that I am asking a question only I can answer but, thought I would solicit opinions. I have a BCD436. its OK I guess. There are some P25 simulcast systems near me and some conventional P25, but there is still a lot of analog around. Maybe I am missing some simulcast transmissions, maybe not, but I am definitely missing analog stuff. A lot of signals that should be easy to hear (can easily hear them on my Ham portable) come in as static or not at all.

Of course we want a scanner to be a jack of all trades (or at least I do) but it seems everyone focuses on the P25 simulcast with this radio. What little I am hearing is that the SDS100 is marginally better on these but only the same or perhaps a little worse on analog signals. It seems the more we ask these radios to do, the worse they get at everything. I swear my radio got worse when I added the DMR option. If I was buying for the first time this would be a no brainer, but can anyone who only occasionally listen to LSM or similar systems justify the $700 to "upgrade" to this radio? Would my enjoyment of plain old analog improve? Be the same? Worse? Becuse other than the I/Q tuner there really is no change from the BCD436. Oh I know it is water resistant and have a cool color screen and all that, but as far as monitoring capability, it really seems just to be a fancier 436.

For those who have taken the plunge, thank you for being the pathfinders, but if you were me would you blow $700? Oh don't get me wrong, I want this radio and will probably splurge sooner of later. I just want to make sure I am not fooling myself as to what to expect from it. Not looking to be talked into or out of it and ultimately I will make the decision, but if anyone want to share their opinion it would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[bravo14]

If you have P25 trunking try to use the NAC option see if helps.

 

[jonwienke]

NAC has nothing to do with simulcast reception.

The SDS100 is about the same as the 436 for receiving analog traffic. The SDS100 is somewhat better on average than the 436 for non-simulcast digital. Where you'll find the biggest difference is simulcast. In some cases, the SDS100 will be slightly better than the 436, but in other cases, it will have no trouble receiving signals that the 436 won't touch.

If there are no simulcast systems in your area, the 436 is a perfectly good option. But if there are, the SDS100 is a much better choice.

 

[FoeHammer]

Im probably looking for around October before I can afford one ,..My last radio ,.the BCD396T , I swore was the last one I would buy ,..but there is now a ton of dmr around me ,.& Im across the river from Detroit , where I get a strong control channels , but broken monitoring of the Detroit lsm system ,.. I'm wondering if going from my 396 to the sds is going to be a massive difference & solve that issue , I also monitor milair , marine etc , It's a fair amount of cash , Id be scared to drop the darn thing ,..

 

[WX4JCW]

I love mine


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

 

[TGP]

Mine Arrived today and was up and running in less than 10 min.
Then did the firmware updates and registered it.

All I can say WOW!

Very Pleased with how it's handling the St Clair Co. Simulcast system.

Went ahead and ordered another.

Uniden hit a Home Run with this radio.
Thanks
Tom

 

[marksmith]

Nobody can tell you whether you blowing $700 is the right decision for you.

I also have a 536 and 436. I consider the sds100 to be superior to both of those radios when simulcast distortion is the issue. It literally solves that issue.

If you listen to lots of trunking systems that include Motorola Type II Analog, that sounds better on the 436 or 536. About the same on non-simulcast systems, but there is no comparison on simulcast systems.

Anything purely digital will sound better on the SDS100.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[WX4JCW]

Mine is working greatly, wished they hadn’t dropped the ball on the GPS Cable but I’ll live


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Jason WX4JCW
XPR7550 - SDS100

 

[AA6IO]

I have had the SDS100 for about 3 weeks. I agree that most digital sounds better on 100 than on 436, although that varies. I have been able to clearly hear decode P25 traffic, notably a Harris P25 system, with the 100 that no other scanner (436, 536, TRX-1/2, HP1/2, etc) has been able to decode. Analog overall is similar to the 436HP, in some cases, maybe actually more sensitive. If you read different threads, you will see that I have commented on some image problems with the 100 here in RF dense Los Angeles, but I expect that with SDR technology. I do love the color and detailed display.
Overall, I have hardly used any other scanner in a couple of weeks since getting the SDS-100. I really do love the layout and do enjoy using the scanner. Nothing is perfect, but the SDS-100 is a nice radio, and Uniden keeps working on FW updates and seems committed to making the SDS-100 experience enjoyable.

 

[Dark_Hunter]

Mine is working greatly, wished they hadn’t dropped the ball on the GPS Cable but I’ll live


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Jason WX4JCW
XPR7550 - SDS100

That's a sexy radio you got there.

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[WX4JCW]

That's a sexy radio you got there.

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

It is very sexy


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Jason WX4JCW
XPR7550 - SDS100

 

[maus92]

I like my SDS100 so much, that I sold most of my older radios. Works extremely well on Motorola P25P2 simulcast systems, and on older Motorola SmartZone simulcast systems that have some TGs encoded with P25 audio. I also had success monitoring two Harris P25P2 systems, however I think the DAQ of the Harris systems did not match the Motorola P25P2 system I follow. I only listen to simulcast systems, so i really cannot evaluate its performance on other system types, but well worth it for me.

 

[Hulca]

Just got the SDS 100 last week.
I also have the 436 and HP2.

The SDS100 performs much better than the 436 and HP2.

I monitor the MA State Police and local public safety channels.

So far, after 1 weekend, very happy.




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[jharr465]

Love the SDS100 So Far

I have been scanning since the late 60s and have owned just about every type of scanner manufactured since then. I love this SDS100! I listen to sites anywhere from 2 miles to 60 miles away. I have two mounted antennas - one discone in the attic for all bands and one small discone outside on the roof for 700-800mhz. In Florida it is very flat, so I get good distance. I scan a military system trunking in the 380-400mhz range that is Motorola P25 and the reception is excellent - even for sites up to 50 miles away. I also listen to three counties' public service that are trunked, some of it EDACS Provoice. The scanner performs excellently - as good or better than my BCD436HP or BCD536HP using the same antennas. Several of the agencies I monitor are analog in the 460 mhz band and one is DMR. The SDS100 gives me great clear audio in all those cases. I love the new display. I'm 72 and my eyes are not as good as they used to be. This display gives me tons of info that I can actually read! So my opinion of the scanner from an all-around listener is an A plus! This is not a technical review, others can do that. This is just an opinion from someone who uses their scanners a lot and has some experience to make a comparison.

 

[SCPD]

On P25 it works good if you are on 700/800mhz
FM broadcast band sounds "off frequency" and scratchy.
Lowband 30-50mhz exhibits a large number of carriers that have no modulation "birdies".
Close call works good like it always has.
Thank god for not having to buy batteries.
Display is fully customizable.
Belt clip needs a redesign so it doesn't accidentally fall off.
Volume is decent except for airband which is pretty low just like the bcd-436hp.(even with +3 on)
Scans kind of slow but if you use Priority DND it does a good job and lots of traffic.
VHF high band is mediocre to me its worse than the BCD-436HP. (10 mile range is max)
Search is not preprogrammed but is customizable if you know your band limits.

 

[jbella]

Depends how bad you want to hear the missing transmissions.

Ive had mine a week but haven't done much traveling around the area yet. In a side by side last night on a P25 simul system the 436 was R9 but deaf on the 100. I need to see if it was an OE (operator error) but they're both programmed off Sentinel. That's worrying, but no need to panic yet.