Are there any good scanners for Simulcast??

[WaveJam]

G4/G5 all the way. I’ve poured thousands into Uniden, Whistler, many antennas, home made antennas, etc. Its all about your location and in my location (dead center of two very close towers), the Unication blows the doors off of everything. It’s not a scanner so, make sure you understand it’s pros and cons. But for me scanning our local P25 system, it’s just phenomenal. I’ve been battling the simulcast thing for years so I was practically begging Unication to take my money. #ProblemSolved

 

[davidzimmerman]

i have the G5 VHF also got the TRX-2 the G5 BLOWS away the TRX-2 because here in Ohio the State Wide System is 700\800 System the TRX-2 don't seem to work like i'm in a dead zone BUT the G5 works 100%

 

[eorange]

G4/G5 is the only answer, for those who don't want to, or can't, program other commercial radios. Any Uniden/Whistler will be a crapshoot (that leans towards not working) and you'll have no way of knowing until you try it.

Antenna? I am convinced I could have my G4 upside down on the floor under my vehicle's seat and I would still get solid reception. Orientation just doesn't seem to affect this thing. I ride around with the stock antenna as it sits in my cupholder, way below the windshield, and it's perfect reception no matter where I go. I bought a Motorola 700/800 antenna for 10 bucks on eBay, and the already stellar reception opens up trunked systems distant cities (Parma, for those who live here, and I am in the extreme NE corner of Cuyahoga county).

Versatility? A valid point, but ask yourself - do you want crystal clear, distortion free P25 decode, or do you want features that don't have anything to do with actual RF reception?

 

[natedawg1604]

My solution? Purchase a Motorola XTS5000. Learn CPS. Hidden channel method. You will thank me later. Better radio, good price, and if you happen to need a wheel chock, you have one.

Amen and Amen! The audio is awesome, especially with a speaker mic.

 

[KR7CQ]

It depends on whether you want to monitor multiple digital and analog systems, or just one P25 system. And a mast and yagi will pick up more signal than the stubby antenna on the G5. The x36 will pick up stuff the G5 won't even detect. Note the G5 has a sensitivity of 6 microvolts, while the x36 scanners are less than .5 microvolts-->10dB better.

If you're in a strong coverage area, that won't matter. But if you're in a fringe area it's a big deal.

Wow, my experience couldn't be more different, though I know how mileage can vary between people and situations. I've tried both the 436 and 536 with every possible antenna, pointed every possible way, and I was using the yagi method to deal with simulcast more than a decade ago, so I'm pretty familiar with the tricks. The G4/5 picks up every simulcast in Maricopa County from a desk in my office, with no cut-outs I might add. I can't pick up half of those simulcasts with any antenna, at any height, pointed any direction, on the 536. There isn't any way you can point the yagi to receive more than one system well at a time, and even then there are some cut-outs.

By contrast I can set my G4 on a table or hold it in my hand and pick up all of the simulcasts without cut outs. The G4 can copy systems with no antenna attached that the 436 can't even begin to pick up with any duck antenna.

I don't care what any spec sheet says, the G4 is in a different universe from any digital scanner and I've owned, and I've owned them all except for the latest Whistlers.

 

[JD21960]

Are there?

deleted

 

[KR7CQ]

deleted

Too bad, I would have liked to have seen that post.

 

[JD21960]

Are there?

Ha, well, the title/question of the original post says it all. It made me spit my Cherry Coke zero out while laughing.

 

[WX4JCW]

I have tested the G4 on several systems, consistently i have found that i can receive simulcast systems with just the tiny antenna much farther than a 536 with a mobile antenna of any type I've tried, yes a Motorola Radio would be better, however the G4 requires no system key hacking no expensive RSS, and no inadvertent possibility of accidentally affiliating and getting your multi thousand dollar radio bricked.

example is Nashville, i can start picking the Simulcast tower at the KY/TN line on I-65 and get consistent decodes

 

[KR7CQ]

I have tested the G4 on several systems, consistently i have found that i can receive simulcast systems with just the tiny antenna much farther than a 536 with a mobile antenna of any type I've tried, yes a Motorola Radio would be better, however the G4 requires no system key hacking no expensive RSS, and no inadvertent possibility of accidentally affiliating and getting your multi thousand dollar radio bricked.

example is Nashville, i can start picking the Simulcast tower at the KY/TN line on I-65 and get consistent decodes

The G4 can pick up a simulcast at a greater range than any scanner with any antenna, at any height, pointed in any direction, at least for me, here in Phoenix, with our systems / simulcasts.

 

[eorange]

I don't care what any spec sheet says, the G4 is in a different universe from any digital scanner and I've owned

Totally agree. Specs do not tell the whole story. People have varying successes with the x36s, but I have never heard of anyone having anything other than 100% success when using a Unication. What does that tell you?

I'm amazed that the Unication antenna which is 1/3 the size of my pinky finger can pull in so much, so clear, and so error-free. But this is what you get when hardware is designed at the outset to achieve a specific goal. Unication nailed it.

 

[WX4JCW]

Orlando Orange County is LSM hell
Not with the Unication G4
https://youtu.be/RikFtFjd06I


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

 

[KA1RBI]

I'm amazed that the Unication antenna which is 1/3 the size of my pinky finger can pull in so much, so clear, and so error-free.

haha, isn't it interesting how the Unication (unlike ordinary scanners) does *not* need high gain Yagi directional antennas, nor do we hear crazy tales from Unication users (unlike owners of ordinary scanners) about needing other specialty antennas (my favorite one is https://forums.radioreference.com/n...recommended-handheld-antenna.html#post1825749).

And how many times now have we heard the story where an LSM signal is coming in at full strength, yet with very poor copy? And by full strength I mean all S-meter bars lit up (and I mean lit up legitimately, not lit up due to spurious noise/intermod caused by crap RF front end circuits)...

Max

 

[WX4JCW]

haha, isn't it interesting how the Unication (unlike ordinary scanners) does *not* need high gain Yagi directional antennas, nor do we hear crazy tales from Unication users (unlike owners of ordinary scanners) about needing other specialty antennas (my favorite one is https://forums.radioreference.com/n...recommended-handheld-antenna.html#post1825749).



And how many times now have we heard the story where an LSM signal is coming in at full strength, yet with very poor copy? And by full strength I mean all S-meter bars lit up (and I mean lit up legitimately, not lit up due to spurious noise/intermod caused by crap RF front end circuits)...



Max

And yet they never listen


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

 

[KR7CQ]

The ridiculous looking (yet effective) antenna on the Unication supports a long-held suspicion of mine, developed over my years of playing with different duck antennas on handheld scanners. Which duck antenna you use makes little difference really. Duck antennas suck. I always used to say you might as well use a paper clip or hanger wire....so a big LOL at the post linked a few up. Even on the G4 my full size Moto whip antenna only makes a small difference, which can be important on the fringe as I pointed out with my video in the "better Unication antenna" thread, but truth be told, that tiny stub is just fine most of the time which gives me a chuckle. I refuse to spend nearly $30 for the "Radio Shack 800 MHz scanner antenna" when I know from experience that it MIGHT make one signal bar of difference in some circumstances on 700 MHz, while degrading VHF performance over the stock BCD436HP antenna which also happens to fit more snuggly with its SMA connector. The Unication and its silly looking stub antenna blows any scanner / antenna combination away on simulcast.

 

[jcardani]

Heck using my body as an antenna for OP25 blows away scanners on LSM.

 

[eorange]

Plus the Unication antenna is glow in the dark! Take it into a dark room and look at the writing on the end.

Maybe tritium is the magic performance ingredient.

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[WX4JCW]

Plus the Unication antenna is glow in the dark! Take it into a dark room and look at the writing on the end.

Maybe tritium is the magic performance ingredient.

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Now I gotta go look


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

 

[WX4JCW]

The ridiculous looking (yet effective) antenna on the Unication supports a long-held suspicion of mine, developed over my years of playing with different duck antennas on handheld scanners. Which duck antenna you use makes little difference really. Duck antennas suck. I always used to say you might as well use a paper clip or hanger wire....so a big LOL at the post linked a few up. Even on the G4 my full size Moto whip antenna only makes a small difference, which can be important on the fringe as I pointed out with my video in the "better Unication antenna" thread, but truth be told, that tiny stub is just fine most of the time which gives me a chuckle. I refuse to spend nearly $30 for the "Radio Shack 800 MHz scanner antenna" when I know from experience that it MIGHT make one signal bar of difference in some circumstances on 700 MHz, while degrading VHF performance over the stock BCD436HP antenna which also happens to fit more snuggly with its SMA connector. The Unication and its silly looking stub antenna blows any scanner / antenna combination away on simulcast.

Silly looking or not it’s not huge and can fit in my pocket


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

 

[KR7CQ]

Silly looking or not it’s not huge and can fit in my pocket


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Jason WX4JCW
Unication G4, BCD536HP

Yup, it's a handy little creature.