will the sds100 that is recommended record all of the time? i reported this but i think you can answer this question and thank you!!
For the TRX & WS1080 scanners, you can flag the talkgroups that you want to be recorded when programming the scanner, and then that will work everytime you turn the scanner on. That would let you set it to record PD only, but not fire, for example. You could also have other items set to record, and some not. Once the talkgroups, and/or conventional channels, are programmed to be recorded, you do not need to do anything else when turning the scanner on.
For the Uniden SDS series scanners (as well as the x36HP series), you would need to manually start recording when you turn the scanner on. That will record everything the scanner hears. But, if you turn the scanner off, when restarting you would need to turn recording back on again.
I do like the way the Whistler scanners, and the EZ-Scan software that comes with them, handle playback of recordings. The Unidens are not as 'user friendly' for playback on the scanner.
On the Uniden scanners, you would need to use a third party audio program for playback on your PC. On the scanner itself, Uniden breaks the recordings down to a set of file folders, each containing 100 audio clips. So, after you listen to one "folder", then you'd need to go back to the scanner menu then move to the next folder. For the Whistler scanners, you see all the recordings, and you can go through them sequentially. If you use a card readr connected to your PC, then you can play them back through the same software (EZ-Scan) that you use to program the scanner. That software also lets you sort the recordings. So, you could sort it so that you can listen to all the recordings for a specific talkgroup, like the PD Dispatch, then listen all the recordings for a different talkgroup, or a specific conventional channel.