BCD396XT or HP1

[Flaps74]

I am really on the fence with buying a new scanner. I am am either looking at the BCD396XT or the HomePatrol-1 but still have some questions

1. What is the "big" difference between the two? I have not been able to find any major difference. It appears that they do the same thing. Although it would appear that the HP is preprogrammed.
2. Can frequencies be manually entered into the homepatrol unit?

[Rt169Radio]

1. The main big difference between the two is that the HP1 can automatically switch to different frequencies for any city/town/county your driving in if used with a GPS, the 396XT can't do that. The second difference is that the HP1 automatically downloads the RR database, the 396XT can't do that.

2. I don't think you can, but maybe if your using the extreme update you could.

Basicly if you want something simple to use the HP1 would be the choice, if you want something complex and more options the BCD396XT would be good.

[phask]

Originally Posted by Rt169Radio

1. The main big difference between the two is that the HP1 can automatically switch to different frequencies for any city/town/county your driving in if used with a GPS, the 396XT can't do that. The second difference is that the HP1 automatically downloads the RR database, the 396XT can't do that.

2. I don't think you can, but maybe if your using the extreme update you could.

Basicly if you want something simple to use the HP1 would be the choice, if you want something complex and more options the BCD396XT would be good.

#2 - with the extreme upgrade freq. can be entered directly into a favorite. With or without they may be entered into a favorite in Sentinel .

[fxdscon]

Originally Posted by Flaps74

I am really on the fence with buying a new scanner. I am am either looking at the BCD396XT or the HomePatrol-1 but still have some questions

1. What is the "big" difference between the two? I have not been able to find any major difference. It appears that they do the same thing. Although it would appear that the HP is preprogrammed.
2. Can frequencies be manually entered into the homepatrol unit?

Some of the advantages that the Home Patrol has over the BCD396XT do require the extreme upgrade, but check these links for some of the differences, the first link is from a similar thread here just a short while ago:


Home patrol vs. 396xt

HomePatrolExtreme < HomePatrol < TWiki

.

[UPMan]

Actually:

1. Both models can automatically turn on/off systems based on GPS input. However, the HomePatrol-1 comes with the entire USA and Canada already programmed in, using the data at RadioReference (and updated weekly). It also allows for recording, replay, and a sweet color display.

[SquierStrat]

Paul, how long you can guarantee a customer that the database will continue to get updated weekly? (no contract lasts forever..)

[UPMan]

I cannot possibly know. Years and years (unless something unforseeable occurs).

[Chauffeur6]

Originally Posted by UPMan

It also allows for recording, replay, and a sweet color display.

A sweet color touchscreen display.

Another nice thing about the HP-1 is that you can see the full description of a frequency/talkgroup on the display, rather than being limited to 16 character alpha tags.

You can essentially program an HP-1 much in the same way you could any other Uniden scanner, using the (free) Sentinel software. If you wanted to ignore the entire RR database and just work off favorites lists, you can easily do that. What's nice about the HP-1 is that you get free weekly updates of the entire RR database, and it doesn't require you to have a premium subscription to RR in order to keep up to date.

[maalox]

i still miss the priority feature .other wise i like my hp1 better over my 996xt..

[TedRHayes]

There is never a simple answer. I own an HP-1, BCD396XT, GRE PSR-800, and more. All have there good and bad points. It really depends on how you intend to use it and what you want/need in a radio/scanner.

The biggest feature from the 396XT I miss in the HP-1 is Close-Call.

I find the audio in the HP-1 to be superior (I've had multiple problems with the speaker in the 396XT).

The larger screen and more descriptive text options in the HP-1 are better for my old eyes.

The HP-1 far outstrips any scanner for mobile scanning while travelling with a GPS. I've traveled many thousand miles across the country with the HP-1 and it has always been a great (accept for the period when the GPS port broke and required a Uniden repair).

While you can use the 396XT (and other Uniden scanners) with Location Based scanning (including real-time GPS update), it requires a great deal of effort to set up initially and keep updated. The HP-1 Location Based scanning requires very little effort to setup, and the weekly updates are great.

The HP-1 weekly updates do rely on the accuracy of the data in the RRDB, so it's important to support RadioReference and the many volunteer administrators. You are nor restricted to the data from the RRDB, the HP-1 allows you to create custom user Favorites Lists which can be set up in just about anyway you desire, with data from any source.

So I'd recommend the HP-1.

Ted

[W9NES]

I own both the Uniden 396XT and the Uniden Home Patrol HP-1. Both are GREAT scanners.!!!!!