BC780hlt vs the new 996

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hawkeye10

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I have a BC780 HLT that works perfectly and have been very very happy with it over the years.
Here is Columbia SC they use the Palmetto 800 trunk system and the PD is digital, I guess from reading the forums it is due to rebanding.
My 780 picks up the trunking systems that are analog with no problem at all.

So I am considering selling my 780 and buying a new 996.

What would be the pros and cons of giving up my 780 and getting the 996 ?

Thanks
 

lep

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That's easy. The "pros" are you will be able to hear the digital, the "cons" are not without you won't.
 

gewecke

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I tend to agree. The 780 whups the 996xt when it comes to mil-air! :twisted:

73,
n9zas
 

hawkeye10

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mil-air ?

When you say mil-air does that mean the 780 receives a military aircraft frequency that the 996 does not ?

and if thats true then any other freq's the 996 does not get vs the 780 ?

Thanks for the opinions guys
 

gewecke

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When you say mil-air does that mean the 780 receives a military aircraft frequency that the 996 does not ?

and if thats true then any other freq's the 996 does not get vs the 780 ?

Thanks for the opinions guys

It has pretty much the same coverage, but seems to scan faster and have much better sensitivity than the 996xt I returned.

73,
n9zas
 

LordJ

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First, can't believe nobody mentioned the obvious... It's probably a 780 xlt...
I have both the radios you mention, and I find the 996 better on vhf...
 

gewecke

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First, can't believe nobody mentioned the obvious... It's probably a 780 xlt...
I have both the radios you mention, and I find the 996 better on vhf...

True, bc780xlt but mil-air is UHF not vhf. 225-400mhz. am and fm.
....Might be older but still a hotter front end in the receiver! :)

73,
n9zas
 

t_shuffle

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The 780 is still a solid radio. If not for Sacramento County rebanding, I never would have went and bought my HP-1. I've got a pair of 780s sitting here that I have no plans of letting go of.
 

davedaver1

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To the OP - if you still have non-digital and non-rebanded stuff to listen to, hang onto the 780 if you can. The more radios the better! I have a 780, 785 and a 996XT and didn't consider for a minute to get rid of the oldies. I use them all!
 

KE4ZNR

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To the OP - if you still have non-digital and non-rebanded stuff to listen to, hang onto the 780 if you can. The more radios the better! I have a 780, 785 and a 996XT and didn't consider for a minute to get rid of the oldies. I use them all!

Dave has the right idea. If you can afford holding onto the 780xlt while still getting a 996XT: DO IT :)
I had a 780xlt and there are times when I wish I still did. I loved that little sucker.
From 2004/2005:
2087914664_b989a5b573_o.jpg


I traded it for a Yaesu VX-5R. Although I love the portability of the 5R I still miss the 780.
Oh well, might pick up another one sometime in the future.
Anyone remember Andy's Excel Programming software for it?
What fun it was to mess what that software. :)
Happy Monitoring
Marshall KE4ZNR
 

hawkeye10

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To the OP - if you still have non-digital and non-rebanded stuff to listen to, hang onto the 780 if you can. The more radios the better! I have a 780, 785 and a 996XT and didn't consider for a minute to get rid of the oldies. I use them all!

This makes perfect sense to me. I do have a bunch of freq's that are still analog so keeping the 780 makes sense.

Thanks for the discussion.
 
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