This past Sunday, 3 of us did a side-by-side comparison of my GRE PSR-500, a Uniden BCD436HP, and a Uniden SDS-100 on Simulcast G of the Regional Wireless Cooperative. We were in a pizza shop at 67th Ave and Cactus Rd.
My 500 heard nothing at all.
The 436 heard about 2/3 to 3/4 of what the SDS-100 heard.
The 100 seemed to hear every transmission. No LSM issues at all.
We didn't have any Whistler models to compare. My GRE is pre-Whistler, of course.
You basically have 2 choices. Buy an SDS-100 now, or at least in the next couple of months, or wait and see how Whistler's new models do with the LSM issues, although they aren't scheduled to be released until sometime during the last 3 months of the year, according to their announcement.
A 3rd option is to buy a Unication G4 pager (700/800 MHz only) or G5 pager (700/800 MHz, plus either VHF or UHF). They handle LSM just fine. However, as pagers and not scanners, they do have limitations. You can only listen to one system at a time, and they do not have the capability to hold, or sit, on any one channel. They're always scanning. And of course they don't have the wide frequency coverage of a typical scanner.
A 4th option, is to buy a 700 MHz or 800 MHz Yagi antenna, and play around with it to figure out which direction to point it in to get the best decode from one of the simulcast system transmitter sites. However, this would only work for listening at home, and if you have a need to listen to multiple simulcast systems (G, and A and/or B) at the same time, or the Maricopa County, AZWINS, and/or some other system other than the RWC at the same time, you may be out of luck.
As for transmitter sites, the simulcast systems have multiple transmitter sites. Simulcast G, which covers the West Valley, (since you stated that you live in Glendale) has sites at the main Glendale PD station, the main Peoria PD station, the Peoria PD sub-station at fire station 197, somewhere at Lake Pleasant, and somewhere in Avondale, IIRC. Simulcasts A and B are co-located at sites throughout Phoenix, including Adobe Mtn., North Mtn., and South Mtn, but with other low level sites as well. Then there's the stand alone intellirepeater high sites, which also include North Mtn., South Mtn., and others. (Glendale PD can be heard on both Simulcasts G and B, but none of the IR high sites. Phoenix PD's Black Mtn, Maryvale and Cactus Park precincts can be heard on both Simulcasts A and G, but only the Black Mtn precinct can also be heard on the Thompson Peak IR High site. Peoria PD can be heard on both Simulcasts G and B, as well as on the White Tank Mtn's IR High site full time, and the Towers Mtn IR High site part of the time when a radio affiliates with it. The K-deck EMS talkgroups used by the Phoenix FD's regional dispatch center, which includes Glendale, Peoria and many other departments, can be heard on Simulcasts G and B, but only the K-2 talkgroup can be heard on the White Tank Mtn's and Thompson Peak IR High sites.)
If you go to the database and click on the various sites, that will bring up a new page that includes a map with the transmitter sites.
John
Peoria, AZ
