BCD325P2/BCD996P2: Advice Needed and Pro-Voice Question

[Aviation_Scanner]

I am looking at buying a BCD325P2 and had some questions:

1. First off, I am located in Houston, TX, Harris County & I primarily listen to ATC with a smattering of Emergency Services and railroads on the side. Is this the right scanner choice for me?

2. Would it be worth it to get the Pro-Voice upgrade? I am new to trunking scanners and not sure whether EDACS is a type of trunking system or if it is just a digital channel system?

I would purchase the NXDN upgrade, as one of the dispatch centers and area emergency services uses the NXDN system. I'll have to check and see if any agencies uses DMR and purchase the DMR upgrade at a later time.

 

[tvengr]

2. Would it be worth it to get the Pro-Voice upgrade?

EDACS systems are at end of life. They are being replaced by other types of systems, mainly P25. The BCD325P2 will receive analog EDACS systems without an upgrade. If an EDACS system has digital talkgroups, they will be ProVoice and will require the upgrade. There are not many EDACS systems left. I don't see any in Harris or any of the surrounding counties. The ProVoice upgrade would be a waste of money.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

Is it correct that the BCD324P2 is not a good choice for listening to simulcast? Given my financial situation I cannot afford a $500+ scanner and I am willing to live with the limitations.

 

[Nasby]

Is it correct that the BCD324P2 is not a good choice for listening to simulcast? Given my financial situation I cannot afford a $500+ scanner and I am willing to live with the limitations.

It’s totally depends on location. It could work or not. The only guarantee for a scanner to handle simulcast are the SDSs.

 

[trp2525]

...Given my financial situation I cannot afford a $500+ scanner and I am willing to live with the limitations.

Since the beginning of the year I have noticed that there has been a significant price increase on the BCD325P2 (as well as most other models). There also appears to be what I have termed "price fixing" from most of the major scanner dealers/vendors online.

Right now, the actual selling price for the BCD325P2 (which BTW was introduced 9 years ago in 2015) is $449.99 from Uniden.com, Bearcat Warehouse, Scanner Master, Webtron-x, GigaParts and Zip Scanners. Is that just a coincidence that 6 different dealers (including Uniden itself) are all selling a 9-year-old scanner model for the same exact price down to the penny?

I have found 2 exceptions to that "fixed" $449.99 price. One would be Ham Radio Outlet that has the BCD325P2 on sale for $399.95 until January 31st with FREE shipping included. The other would be a 3rd party seller on Amazon (JBTools) that has it for $374.98. YMMV with 3rd party sellers on Amazon as someone here on RR reported he recently had his BCD325P2 order (from a 3rd party seller) cancelled because it was "undeliverable" even though he regularly gets packages from Amazon.

Do yourself a favor and do some research first. The $50 to $75 that you would save by buying at either HRO or Amazon could be put towards the $50 NXDN upgrade that you want to purchase from my.uniden.com. Hopefully this information will help you with your limited financial situation.

 

[bearcatrp]

Be careful buying from Amazon. I ordered one for $325. Then they cancelled station unable to deliver to my address. BS since I got an Amazon delivery the day before. Am thinking the seller saw scanner prices going up and didn’t want to sell it at that low cost. I ordered from HRO the next day and shipped the same day. Jump on it before the price goes up.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

Be careful buying from Amazon. I ordered one for $325. Then they cancelled station unable to deliver to my address. BS since I got an Amazon delivery the day before. Am thinking the seller saw scanner prices going up and didn’t want to sell it at that low cost. I ordered from HRO the next day and shipped the same day. Jump on it before the price goes up.

I would if I could, but I can't afford it at the moment.

 

[n1oty]

Be careful buying from Amazon. I ordered one for $325. Then they cancelled station unable to deliver to my address. BS since I got an Amazon delivery the day before. Am thinking the seller saw scanner prices going up and didn’t want to sell it at that low cost. I ordered from HRO the next day and shipped the same day. Jump on it before the price goes up.

I managed to order at that $325 price on Amazon, received it fine and have been using it for the past week. I guess my timing was impeccable.

 

[bearcatrp]

You got lucky. Congrats

 

[hiegtx]

Is it correct that the BCD324P2 is not a good choice for listening to simulcast? Given my financial situation I cannot afford a $500+ scanner and I am willing to live with the limitations.

As already noted in the Texas forum, most of the public safety agencies in the Houston area are on TxWARN, and and many of them are using simulcast sites. The 325P2 is not a good choice for simulcast systems in general, but simulcast issues are extremely location driven. For more on simulcast, see this page in the Wiki. About mid-way down in that page are a few suggestions on things you might try.

One, of course, is a directional antenna, such as a yagi, pointed at one specific sub-site of the simulcast site. Concentrating on the one tower, you might reduce the signal from other sub-sites to the point that the scanner will work, The downside is that you are concentrating your reception to agencies that use that site, on that specific tower. You might lose other agencies of interest that are not on that specific site.

Note that when dealing with simulcast, less antenna can be better than using an antenna that provides a stronger signal, In some cases, using a paperclip as an antenna might work. Simulcast problems can be so location specific that, in some cases, you may find a spot in your house where the scanner works fairly well, That can be specific enough that a move of only a foot or two in one direction or another can make the difference between fairly decent reception, versus no clear reception at all.

Of course, most of the possible countermeasures are only going to be effective when scanning at a specific location. If you are out and about in your vehicle, there is very little that you can do. With careful placement of the scanner, and with a certain antenna, I can get reasonably reception on the Dallas sites on NTIRN using my 325P2. But it is almost useless on this system when I'm out in my SUV. That's one of the biggest reasons I purchased the SDS100.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

So, after looking over all the comments in this thread & doing the math based on new retail prices, by the time I purchase the 325P2 & the DMR/NXDN upgrades, I will have spent nearly enough to get an SDS100 ($599.99).
Just need to add $50 or so.
Of course I know you can get them used too, will just have to wait and see, as it is going to take me a while to save.

 

[bearcatrp]

You still save around $100 or so. Use that money for a good antenna.

 

[trp2525]

So, after looking over all the comments in this thread & doing the math based on new retail prices, by the time I purchase the 325P2 & the DMR/NXDN upgrades, I will have spent nearly enough to get an SDS100 ($599.99).
Just need to add $50 or so.
Of course I know you can get them used too, will just have to wait and see, as it is going to take me a while to save.

If you decide to go with a brand-new SDS100 (which also gets you a 1-year parts/labor warranty from Uniden which you will not get if you go with a used one), budget for approximately $815 total delivered cost for what you are looking for:

$649.99 for SDS100
$53.62 for 8.25% sales tax on $649.99 in Houston, TX (may or may not be charged depending on the dealer/vendor you select)
$50.00 for NXDN upgrade at my.uniden.com
$60.00 for DMR upgrade at my.uniden.com

I would suggest that you keep a very close eye on the Main Trading Company website as they sometimes offer the SDS100 at a discount price for a few days or a weekend. Sign up for their email list and you will get notified of their sales/specials. They offer FREE shipping on orders over $100 and they only charge sales tax on orders shipped to Texas (which obviously will not benefit you in Houston, TX).

 

[hiegtx]

$50.00 for NXDN upgrade at my.uniden.com
$60.00 for DMR upgrade at my.uniden.com

As the OP is in Texas, Uniden charges sales tax, even on the upgrade keys.I paid tax on all the upgrade keys.

 

[trp2525]

If the OP (or anyone else) is looking to purchase an SDS100, Factory Outlet Store currently has a Brand New Open Box SDS100 for $599.98 with FREE shipping and 30-day returns posted on their website. They have also posted a 2PM (EST) cutoff time for same day order processing.