I read some of the negative reviews on Amazon for the SDS100. Seems they have bugs which need to be worked out first - especially handling the 800Mhz system which Houston uses.
Word of Caution:
Don't put much faith in Amazon reviews. Many of the purchasers are still wet behind the ears, without the skill set to correctly set up one of the newer scanners. Had they sought help on this website, their problems may have been solvable. Also, the way Amazon handles reviews, they tend to lump
all of the reviews of
Uniden scanners under
every Uniden scanner. That's why you may see a review stating that a BCD325P2 or BCD436HP
cannot receive digital signals, which is, of course, incorrect. In fact, that "reviewer" was commenting on, say the purchase of a BCT15X, or 125AT, neither of which is a digital scanner. I have requested, several times, that Amazon identify the model being reviewed, to eliminate confusion. They could easily do that for "verified purchasers", in that those people are clicking on the 'review' option embedded in their order or delivery confirmations. Amazon, at times, will also consolidate "answered questions" for multiple models into one, muddying the waters as to which comment applies to what scanner.
For illustration, I entered BCD325P2 into the search field on Amazon. That takes you to a page with multiple scanner models, not just the 325P2. Click on the 325P2, to bring up the page where you can see the details. Scroll down to where you see the 325P2 at the head of a column. Next to it are three other scanners. This is typical of Amazon, to 'compare' the model you are looking at to several other items. But in this case, it is comparing the 325P2 against three other Uniden scanners: BC125AT, BC75XLT, and BCT15X. The 125AT and 75XLT are small, handheld, scanners, often taken to NASCAR races. The 125 is, based on comments here on RadioReference, a good scanner for aircraft and railfans. Neither of these two are digital, nor or they capable of monitoring a trunked system. The third comparison item, 15X, is a trunking capable scanner, but analog only. So none of the three is a fair comparison to the 325P2. That's like saying that your basic, bare bones, compact car does not stack up well to a Lexus or Cadillac.
Simulcast distortion can indeed be hard to deal with. But without knowing your exact location, as well as which site your city's talkgroups are carried on, all I can do is tell you of a possible issue, not an absolute warning of storm clouds ahead. Simulcast can be very tricky. In some cases, moving a scanner only a few feet in a different direction eliminates the problem. Or, as in my case here in the DFW area, I'm far enough away from the problem sittes that I do not have a problem at home. Often, simulcast can be solved by using a directional antenna, aimed at a specific site, so that you receive that one tower strongly while the other sites are much more faint to your scanner. I've seen comments where a member has solved his or her problem by placing the scanner beside a metal object, like a file cabinet or a cookie sheet. The metal blocks signals from different directions, leaving only one tower with a good signal strength getting to the scanner.
All of this is why I suggested that you inquire over on the
HoustonScan Yahoo group. (I subscribe to that group, among others, including the one local to me, DFWScan.) Someone on that group would be most likely to advise which is the best site for you to use, as well as whether simulcast is a significant issue or not in your area. I have a 325P2, among other scanners, and it works well for me. Whether it's a good choice for you or not is affected by conditions in your specific area.