Uniden SDS100
- Thread starter don333
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I am curious to know too. I have been debating on ordering one. I will probably order one later this summer. I love my G4 but there are limitations with it (hold, lockout, wildcard while scanning other talkgroups, radio ids, etc.)
I was listening to a large incident in Queen Anne's last night and had so much trouble receiving the Anne Arundel FiRST Site on my BCD436HP but was getting full bars on my G4 receiving the Queen Anne site! If the SDS100 receives like the G4 then I will definitely be ordering one.
I was listening to a large incident in Queen Anne's last night and had so much trouble receiving the Anne Arundel FiRST Site on my BCD436HP but was getting full bars on my G4 receiving the Queen Anne site! If the SDS100 receives like the G4 then I will definitely be ordering one.
I purchased one on June 1st, delivery is due for Monday the 11th
Mine is also supposed to arrive on Monday. I've already sold off my 436, 785D and 396T to finance it. Depending on how it sounds, I might sell either the HP-2 or my 996P2 (I'd sell the PSR-800 / WS-1080 if there was a market for it, but nobody seems to want one.) I am curious about how it will handle AACo's present system, The PSR-800 is absolutely terrible in its handling of simulcast distortion (both P1 digital and analog) at my location.
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I purchased one today and it is in my hands right now. Thank God for local dealers! Thanks Jeff
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
Currently experimenting with the SDS100, but preliminary results are showing improved performance on the AACo SmartZone simulcast system. Scratchiness / "rushing" on FD analog transmissions have been reduced, and audio seems more crisp. But the major improvement is in the P25P1 voice on the APD TGs. Clear and little or no garbling, which is a drastic improvement over UT2 / SDRs, the PSR-800, and a marked improvement over the 996P2. Haven't compared it to my 536 (my old 436 wasn't stellar on this system,) but I expect an improvement as well. I will be testing vs. the HP2 in the next few days.
Performance on the FiRST system is stellar so far, but I only listen to QA Fire atm, so I need more time.
These results are from my home in Annapolis - haven't gone mobile with it yet.
It's a keeper.
Performance on the FiRST system is stellar so far, but I only listen to QA Fire atm, so I need more time.
These results are from my home in Annapolis - haven't gone mobile with it yet.
It's a keeper.
Mr_Boh
Member
Kind of surprised it's noticibly better than SDRs. I assume you're using the built in P25 decoder in UT2?
Yup. The SDRs (NooElec SmarSDR) don't like simulcast apparently. I've posted on UT's google group about what settings I can adjust, but mostly people just say use a Yagi (which I do on one of the SDRs - currently using two.) Anyway, the RSSI and decode quality vary widely when receiving P25P1 transmissions, resulting in quite a bit of garbling. Probably could use a bit more of tweaking.
Mr_Boh
Member
I have seen that OP25 maybe or one of the other ones properly handle CQPSK well. Just haven't played with it. I use UT2 as well and it's got good performance. Just the USB SDRs don't seem to have the sensitivity.
Good to hear about the SDS100 though. I just can't wait for a mobile version.
Good to hear about the SDS100 though. I just can't wait for a mobile version.
I got my 100 late last night (7pm), got up early today and did the programming. For the last 8 hours it has been great. Picks up a lot better then my 436 or 536. Before this I had lots of problems hearing the Wilkens and Woodlawn areas. They come in great now loud and clear.
I had trouble in that area too with the 436 and the Hp-2 - and even the G5. Glad it's working for you (I'm assmuing you mean Baltimore County's system.)
I don't think Anne Arundel P25 CAI uses CQPSK, although I could easily be wrong. I haven't fired up OP25, but I want to use it eventually.
boatbod
Member
If you want to hear op25 running on a simulcast site with P25 Phase 2 you can listen to one of my feeds from Talbot Co.
Talbot County Law Enforcement Dispatch
Talbot County Fire and EMS
Both are hosted on the same physical hardware (Intel NUC7) and have one dedicated Nooelec dongle for each feed. There are two instances of op25 and darkice running in parallel. Of the two, the LEO feed is more active but voice quality is the same from either.
Took the SDS100 on the road today down to Easton. I just bought a new Jeep, so I had to move my HP-2 installation to the new vehicle. After I mounted the antenna, I decided to run a side-by-side comparison at the airport. Needless to say, I decided not to mount the HP-2 in the vehicle - it was deaf half of the time, while the SDS100 was finding transmissions to follow (on First, probably the Talbot site.) I'm using the RS800 antenna on the SDS100. The covert antenna that I installed has similar performance to the RS800, so I'm likely to remove it as well. Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a chance to take the G5 and the SDS100 out for a spin.
On the road again today, but this time with the G5 clipped to the visor, and the SDS100 in the cupholder between the two front seats. The G5 had its stock antenna; the SDS had the RS800 antenna (its stock antenna is basically ****.) The "test" knob position I set up for the G5 has all sites in Zone 3 (basically the Eastern Shore,) and 4 TGs: Kent, QA, Talbot and Caroline fire dispatch channels. The Favorites List I loaded in the SDS has all the fire TGs for Anne Arundel, and all the Eastern Shore counties (and all their systems,) A bit of background on how the G5 operates vs. the SDS100: The Unication radio will lock the first available site it finds, and stays with it until the radio moves out of range. Then it will search for the next available site in range, and locks it, and so on. The SDS100 acts like a typical scanner, and will search all the sites in the Favorites list that are not avoided (locked out,) or out of range. If a desired TG (not avoided / locked out) is active on a site that is being scanned, the radio will play that audio. What this all means is the the G5 almost always found a signal first. If I had set up the Favorites List mimicking the structure of the G5 knob position, I'm pretty sure they would have found the traffic simultaneously. What was apparent though, is that the G5 and the SDS100 found the same traffic (actually the SDS "found" more because it had many more TGs enabled.) The decoding by both radios delivered essentially the same DAQ in my opinion. The SDS100 was not deaf on many transmission like the PSR-800/WS1080, the 436, or my HP-2. It's worth the money if you listen to FiRST or AACo (does well with the digital audio on the police side - much less warbling.) The SDS also does a good job on the PG 700 system, but interestingly, I didn't notice a huge improvement on Montgomery's SmartZone w/ P25 audio system. I'll have to go back an test it again.
Head to head test, SDS100 vs 436 connected to the same antenna monitoring the Washington County simulcast system:
http://forums.radioreference.com/un...-vs-436-simulcast-recordings.html#post2948053
http://forums.radioreference.com/un...-vs-436-simulcast-recordings.html#post2948053
troymail
Silent Key
So - this was interesting (sort of) --
In Maryland for the weekend - rental car....
Plugged in the 2 port USB cig light plug that I've had and used for years - outputs 2.1A and has successfully been used to simultaneously run and charge the SDS100 in my truck at home.
I had both the SDS and my Samsung S5 plugged into the unit which was plugged into a cig lighter outlet in the Corolla I'm driving....
I get a few miles down Coastal Hwy and notice I'm smelling obvious burning electrical wiring.... Luckily, I reached down and checked and every aspect of the plug, cables, etc. is HOT as hell.... Needless to say, I unplugged everything....
I've never had that happen before with any other radios.
I'm glad I caught it before I started seeing smoke.....
In Maryland for the weekend - rental car....
Plugged in the 2 port USB cig light plug that I've had and used for years - outputs 2.1A and has successfully been used to simultaneously run and charge the SDS100 in my truck at home.
I had both the SDS and my Samsung S5 plugged into the unit which was plugged into a cig lighter outlet in the Corolla I'm driving....
I get a few miles down Coastal Hwy and notice I'm smelling obvious burning electrical wiring.... Luckily, I reached down and checked and every aspect of the plug, cables, etc. is HOT as hell.... Needless to say, I unplugged everything....
I've never had that happen before with any other radios.
I'm glad I caught it before I started seeing smoke.....
The Samsung S5 can draw 1200ma, and I'm sure the SDS at least as much depending on the state of the battery (and assuming the radio is on.) You would *think* the Toyota's cig outlet supplies enough amperage to run a 2.1a 5V adapter, but then again, the adapter could be junk.
If my SDS100 is not fully charged when I plug it into the USB port 3 (charging only) of my Jeep, the radio can get warmer than usual. A 20AWG USB cable *seems* to help with charging and heat build up, still running tests. I do know that the SDS100 and UConnect do not play well together when used on the serial USB ports (1 & 2, USB A and USB C.) Whatever negotiations go on between the two, I have lost 1) all USB ports, or 2) the Jeep's GPS and the USB ports. I mitigate the issue by using the charge-only port,at the expense of nasty cable tangles.. I would be nice if Uniden could implement some audio protocols via the USB port so I can eliminate the analog audio cable in my Jeep.
troymail
Silent Key
As far as Anne Arundel and other old analog systems on the SDS100.... initially, leaving the airport driving on I97 in Millersville, the system sounded absolutely horrible.... lots of static. Later, on 50 in Annapolis it sounded a little better with alot less static. Noticed similar things with the Wicomico system. Some of it could be that I've been listening to nearly 100% digital in the Carolinas for the last year (except for a few trips up this way) but that doesn't account for the heavy static on some transmissions in areas I wouldn't expect it.
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