BC785/BC796 Remote Head
- Thread starter jmm346
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LOL what a joke.jmm346 said:
oregontreehugger
Member
Maybe that's what Uniden has in store for our surprise on May 19th.
Ahh... doubt it. :lol:
Although I wouldn't complain if the next Uniden mobile included a remote head, or at least had the option a little cheaper than $475.
Here's to wishful thinking.
Ahh... doubt it. :lol:
Although I wouldn't complain if the next Uniden mobile included a remote head, or at least had the option a little cheaper than $475.
Here's to wishful thinking.
K5MAR
Member
Now that would be nice! The next Uniden mobile, with 700MHz, the rebanded 800MHz, dynamic banking, and remote head option (at no higher cost than charged for remote head ham rigs). Something like GRE's V-folders would be nice, too.
UPMan, you listening?
Mark S.
UPMan, you listening?
Mark S.
jmm346
Member
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- 106
My thinking too. The kit essentially uses a set of jumper cables to move the front panel to another box and winds up being the cost of another radio?!?! I know I'm oversimplifying because there's some circuitry involved but a whole radio's worth of circuitry? Maybe there's an Intel CPU in the box.
I could see $200, maybe $300 on the high side, but almost $500 makes it tough to even consider; 1 796D radio + 1 remote head OR 2 digital mobiles for less money (2096's)?
This remote head is something that's really a competitive advantage for the BC796D. Personally I think the 2096 has a slight upper hand over the BC796 right now and the remote head is something that could tilt the scales its way but not at the current price.
Thanks to scannermaster for driving this, but at the right price, I'm sure many more could be sold (and I'm not talking about $99 each). Ditto for the BC780 versions; $450 for a remote head for a scanner that's not even worth that much? Not sure many people would want to invest $450 on a non-digital scanner accessory.
Anyway, enough of my two cents.
I hate to be the one to say it but scannermaster charge WAYYYY to much for the accessories they sell for these radios. Sure there super cool add on's but those prices are crazy. Take the 780 power pack for instance. Very cool add on but $99.95 + $40 for the batteries :shock: You can't tell me that there was that much development time or parts cost invloved in it. I also saw some time back that someone else made a remote head for his 780 for next to nothing.
gr8amp
Member
jmm346 said:
I am not disagreeing that the price is high(maybe a little too high), but don't be fooled, the kit is not "essentially a set of jumper cables." The point of the design is to avoid the problems encountered with simply extending the front panel connectors. You would be surprised at the amount of time and cost involved in the development of such a product, especially one designed to be easily installed by the end user with only a screwdriver. Especially by a small company. No, theres not an Intel CPU in the box, but there are a few 8-bit risc microcontollers and quite a bit of other support circuitry. It's fairly complex.
Could I justify the cost, and actually buy one? No way! But at least the option is there. The only way this will become affordable is if Uniden integrates it into the initial design.
Personally, I was tired of waiting, and developed my own. It's fairly inexpensive to build, but to get the device polished for sale would significantly drive costs higher. It's just the way it works, unfortunately.
kingpin
Trailer Park Supervisor
WOW. That thing is clean! You wanna share how you did it?
jmm346
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- Nov 9, 2004
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- 106
gr8amp said:
Like I said, I know there is ciruitry involved and the unit is more than just jumper cables. But to an end user, the remote head is essentially a set of jumper cables. Whatever it takes to make the remote head work, it changes nothing about the scanner's functionality. In the end, the user still winds up with one scanner while paying for the equivalent of two scanners.
I'm not against the unit itself and again, I applaud the work by scannermaster, I'm sure its a great undertaking from the technical side. In no way did I mean to downplay the work involved. But at $500, for me anyway, it may as well cost $1,500. I'm sure there are some examples, but accessories for electronic products usually don't cost as much as the main unit.
gr8amp
Member
kingpin said:
Two boards have been developed, one is placed inside the scanner and the other is the remote head board itself. The remote head board handles data sent from the receiver, drives the display, handles button inputs, provides a menu system, as well as generates other signals required to control the receiver (power on/off, volume, squelch, etc.). The board inside the receiver interprets these signals and provides control to the appropriate points within the receiver. The connection between the remote and receiver is 8 wire twisted pair. When the remote head is disconnected, the receiver operates as if nothing has been added or modified.
To fully explain the details of the device is something well beyond the scope of a forum post. I have been working on this project in my spare time (very little spare time) over the past couple of years, starting with the BC895 and making modifications and improvements as new uniden models were developed. It's pretty difficult to keep up with uniden :lol: The design has evolved quite a bit over the years, and it has become fairly complex. At some point I intend to provide a somewhat "universal" kit for a number of the more popular uniden receivers, with full documentation, pcb's, components, etc. for as reasonable of a price as I can manage. But there are a number of PCB revisions to be made, and some small firmware improvements required before I feel it is ready for distribution. There are a number of beta testers currently helping me "polish" the design, but it's entirely on a free-time basis so dont expect anything soon.
gr8amp
Member
jmm346 said:
Understood, and I agree. From where I am standing it looks like Scannermaster caters to the "high-end" scanner user, not your average hobby radio enthusiast, with some of their accessories. I am sure they have sold these full-package receivers to many municipalities and/or large organizations, where the cost wasn't really an issue. Also, being the only player in the game really allows them to set the price wherever they want. After all...where else are you going to get one? It's unfortunate though, because I think a lower cost (perhaps with a reduced number of features and functions) version would be a real hit.
Now that I like. The bad part about scannermasters is that you can not do that. The other strange thing about theirs is that the kit that comes with the 796D is only $40 more then the one with the 780 :? Somewhere they are not justifying the prices very well. I would pay up to $100 for something like what you built (if my 780 wasn't going to be junk to me after the rebanding).gr8amp said:
K4APR
Member
I atually bought the new remote kit at Dayton this weekend. Call me crazy. But I really wanted it and had waited a long time. They had told me a couple weeks ago that it would NOT be ready for Dayton, but when I went by their booth they had it. I could'nt resist. In my truck, I have a All Remote Heads setup, so the only real way to do it was to remote my 785D as well.
Anyways, works great and I love it.
Anyways, works great and I love it.
Hey big spender post some pics when you get the mod done.KE4NYV said:
K4APR
Member
I just put everything in today, so I'll take some pictures tomorrow and post them.
freq_junkie
Member
Recently purchased BC796D
I know this is an old thread but I thought it better to post in here that start a new one.
I recently picked up a used BC796D and am interested in converting it to a remote head unit. I know ScannerMaster.com had the kit but the price was extremely high and they are sold out. Does anyone know of any plans floating around the internet for converting this unit to use a remote head or some schematics for the BC796D that I can download and get a better idea of what is involved?
Thanks in advance
I know this is an old thread but I thought it better to post in here that start a new one.
I recently picked up a used BC796D and am interested in converting it to a remote head unit. I know ScannerMaster.com had the kit but the price was extremely high and they are sold out. Does anyone know of any plans floating around the internet for converting this unit to use a remote head or some schematics for the BC796D that I can download and get a better idea of what is involved?
Thanks in advance
I have a used one that I will let go for $100. I used it until it started to make the display screen do weird things like change font size and characters. It is complete with everything SM sends with the unit. I believe it has something to do with it being in the car, I never had any issues with it in the house.
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