1 Week with the G5 (7/8 & UHF)

[mmartinfan]

After seeing a G5 unit for the 1st time last month, I knew I had to have one after seeing how it worked and how well it worked as a scanner.

I picked one up about 10 days ago and got it Monday of last week (11-20) I already had a code plug wrote out for it on the Unication software. I live in Columbus Ohio so the MARCS system with its Tier partners is slowly taking over. Which makes programming pretty easy. I have the following towers in Columbus area programmed

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Backend stuff


Columbus MARCS Sites:
City of Columbus MARCS Towers
Franklin County MARCS Sites w/Discovery and Darby sites:
Marysville MARCS
Pickaway County MARCS
Lancaster MARCS
Licking County MARCS
and a couple distance MARCS towers

Also towers from the COIRS system
Dublin Simulcast
Delaware Simulcast

pretty simple set up. (See photo 1)

Setting up the knob positions and zones was pretty simple but highly time consuming. But not nearly as time consuming as setting up the talkgroups. I am currently up to 400 talkgroups from all the counties in central Ohio.

I set it up as multiple zones with different knob positions within the zone. I ended up with 10 zones each with 7 or 8 knob positions (see photo 2 & 3)

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How it works as a scanner:

I have pretty extensive use of Uniden scanners I've owned several over the years. My current 436 and 536 are nice. But they miss lots of transmission due to not always receiving data from the towers. I live and work within site of multiple towers and I still have trouble receiving data. I have used different antenna in different location within my office and also seem to get one tower one time and a different tower the next. It has frustrated me to no end. Hence why I tossed down the $$$$ and have a G5.

The G5 is not for the faint of heart its kinda slow in changing zones and slow in changing knob positions to get to different area I want to listen to. Rumor has it they OS is some sort of Linux system. Anyway once it has "affiliated" on a system and that seems to happen pretty quickly it stays on it. I've not lost any signal once its up and running on that tower.

Issue with using it as a scanner are a few. Lots of people dont like how it does not lock on a channel, thats kinda an issue but if you set up your zones and knob spots you can work around it. You can set the unit up to record and play back audio on channels which is nice since the Uniden also has those features.

Does it scan from one zone to another or from one knob spot to another, NOPE. This is the biggest issue with the unit I have really found. I can only hope this would/could be resolved in future OS updates (hint, hint)

64 Talkgroups in a knob position, well that should be plenty, otherwise wow your listening to lots of stuff.

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The unit its self.

The battery last pretty much all day, I listen to several dispatch agencies so its in use a lot. I get easily 10+ hours out of a battery with life to spare. Its nice it uses a micro USB to charge and program. Those are cheap and plentiful so if you lose one just grab another.

The size and weight is so freaking nice, I can toss it in my cup holder in my Frontier P/U and listen to it all day. (See photo 4)

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Overall:

Yes is all I can say. This has replaced my 536 Uniden. I would buy another one, I don't need a G5 I can get by with a G4 so that is a way to save a little bit of $$ on them.

So if your pretty good with programming a scanner from the ground up, and understand Hex and Dec decoding and where to look to get the right info for it, then pick one up. You wont be disappointed.

 

[troymail]

Nice review - yup, these little pagers can't be beat for simulcast reception but lack alot of features found in scanners (they aren't scanners). Programming is a bit tedious and I'd love to see some major improvements to the PPS to make that programming easier but I suspect that isn't likely. I recently upgraded from a G4 to a G5 (got a great offer I couldn't refuse).

Love the signature block....

 

[LEH]

I got my G5 a week ago today and here are a few of my impressions.

I love the size, a bit smaller than my old BCD-396 so it travels nicely and as mmartinfan said, it fits nicely into a cup holder. The micro USB plug is nice for on the go charging though with the advent of the USB-C connection with its higher current load it might be a nice enhancement for later models.

Programming is certainly a bit tedious, it would be nice to be able to copy and paste a row in the various tables and make the unique changes needed. Once you get the hang of it though it is pretty straight forward.

The only problem I have encountered (and I posted this in the programming thread) is I have two P25 Phase I systems that are not being received. I am not sure why.

I have not tested the battery life out fully just yet, but I'll give it a work out this weekend. I did get the drop in charger included in my purchase. I find it a bit cheap, I occasionally need to rock the G5 in the cup to get a good connection, but it gets the job done and even has an extra USB out so you can charge a Bluetooth headset.

I got the G5B (380-430 UHF and 700/800). Living within 10 miles of three major military bases and 35 of three more (and being retired military) there are some interesting transmissions.

The G5 is serving its purpose as a scanner for me quite well. I have several scanners most recently the Uniden 496 and Whistler TRX-1. I use the G5 for the locale I am currently in or for listening to an ongoing major event in a nearby locale. Though I would occasionally like to have a specific channel lockdown, on many fire events they use their fire-ground and dispatch channels. Access to both is a nice feature.

There have been several comments about the stock antenna. I bought one of the Motorola NAR 6595 antennae and I don't see an appreciable difference in reception with either the Motorola or the stock antenna.

Is the G5 a scanner, no, IT IS NOT. If you want a secondary receiver for a specific system then this is a good option.

 

[troymail]

There have been several comments about the stock antenna. I bought one of the Motorola NAR 6595 antennae and I don't see an appreciable difference in reception with either the Motorola or the stock antenna.

FWIW - I too have tried the Motorola 7/800 (4") antenna and didn't seem all that much difference over the stock antenna. However, the RS800 antenna (with an adapter) shows a huge improvement just like it does on my scanners. In fact, for the NC VIPER (non-simulcast) sites in my area, reception is difficult without the RS800 - particularly inside my house.

Having said that - for those who program multiple sites of systems for drives (particularly regional or statewide systems), "less" (antenna) is more. These little radios have a habit of "hanging onto" sites as you move where you'd probably rather that it switch to the closest site (unless being "forced"). For these "roaming" situations, you may be better off using the stock antenna. Even that little thing tends to hold longer than you might like (at least from my experience).