BCD396XT vs. PSR-500 which one to buy!

[policefreak]

Alas, that is the question. They both go for about the same prices. My issue is performance. Specifically sensitivity. I live approx 17 miles from Center City Philadelphia and about the same from most of the major TRS systems in the metropolitan area. I can get some of the analog ones on my Pro-164 and the Control Channels for Philad. and the surrounding digital counties, but not on my BCD396T. I have heard that the PSR-500 is very sensitive and so is the BCD396XT. I absolutely need something that will give me those distant CCs and something that performs better on digital audio. So are both of those better than the original BCD396T? If so, which out of those two newer models would you say is the best?

 

[mikebennett]

I sold my BCT396 and bought a 500 just for the NAC decoding capability.

The sensitivity was pretty much the same to me, however the P25 decoding was better on the 500. From what I've read that has apparently improved with the 396XT.

Now that the 396XT is out I'm planning on selling the 500 and going to it. The only reason being is that I prefer the 99 quick key memory allocation as opposed to 20 on the 500. The 500 ultimately has more memory capability however you only listen to 20 groups at a time.

The 500 will become overloaded if you are close to high power transmitters, particularly VHF-Hi, but I've noticed some problems with the 396 with this as well.

The deal breaker for me is the memory allocation.

 

[trixwagen]

Mr. Obvious says: The 500's performance should be identical to your Pro-106.

I'd go with the BCD396XT.

 

[policefreak]

OOops!!!

Mr. Obvious says: The 500's performance should be identical to your Pro-106.

I'd go with the BCD396XT.

I'm sorry I messed up!! I don't have a Pro-106, I actually have the RS Pro-164. That was a typo Thats why I couldn't test the digital with that radio and why I'm looking at the PSR-500. My mistake! I just edited my original post too. So I'm deciding between the BCD396XT or the PSR-500 and currently have the BCD396T and the RS Pro-164.

 

[W2SJW]

My experience in your neck of the woods heavily using both the 500 when I had it, and the recent weeks of work in West Berlin & Marlton with my XT, leave me able to 100% recommend the XT to you.

The 500 does have the ability to be front-end overloaded easily, especially on VHF. My experience last year with the 500 at a hotel outside of BWI (on the 4th. floor), and having every 800 MHz. system in the Baltimore area be swamped-out by a local transmitter (that sounded like the interference that you get from GSM cell-phones) kind of soured me to it.

I even had noise on the NJSP system that GRE couldn't quantify the cause of. They replaced the RF deck in the unir for free, and I sold it to a close friend that has had 0% problems with it at his house! :lol:

Let me put it to you this way - the XT receives the NJSP & Somerset County TRS's in my place here with no antenna attached...

 

[KE4ZNR]

*SIGH* As I have mentioned many times before this is not a question that WE can answer for YOU. YOU have to decide what radio is best for you. Look over the features and options of each radio and decided which radio you want based off what you see. What anyone else says is going to be biased one way or another. Kind of like asking 10 people which is better Coke & Pepsi?. 5 people are going to say Coke, 5 people are going to say Pepsi.
Or if you absolutely must rely on other people making your decision for you then ask those in your local area which radio works best in the local surroundings. The radios that work best here in Central NC might not work as good in your local environment.

Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[davidbond21]

You've been soliciting people's opinions on this in a number of threads now, and in one of them, I believe you stated you already have a Pro-106. If this is true, then you practically already have a PSR-500, except for the casing and a few minor details that don't effect how it works. These two scanners are made by the same company, and they're pretty much the same thing, brand-loyalty and aesthetics aside.

I would say you should get the Uniden so you can actually compare which one works better for your situation. I've heard some say the GRE made scanners(106/500) have better digital decoding, but many people with both scanners will say they can't notice any difference where they are. You should make a similar comparison for yourself to determine what provides the best digital voice, as they are both superb scanners. If you favor one of the scanners over the other, then you can always sale the unfavored one here and use that money to buy the one you now wish you had gotten.

Apparently the 106/500's are very sensitive and prone to overloading because of it, but this doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to pull in distant stations. Some member on here has a signature line stating that for every dollar spent on an antenna, it is equivalent to spending 100 dollars on equipment. Something to think about if either scanner you get doesn't meet your expectations for distance.

 

[thewenk]

I want to invest the money in the best way possible. So I'm posting this question and opening it up. I'm also posting this question in the GRE forum the other way around. I'll probably make my decision by Saturday. I need something with the BEST digital performance and something that is the best at decoding distant control channels. Thanks folks!

Since you posted this same question in your local NJ forum, I'd say that's the best place to get your answer for reasons previously stated. On the system I monitor they are both equal in decoding. To me, it is really a matter of personal preferences for features, form factor, etc.

Dave

 

[Russell]

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[jnewell]

I want to invest my money in a sound investment and not be disappointed. So I'm opening this up to your suggestions and just fyi I also posted this question the other way around in the Uniden Forum. I will make my decision by Saturday. I need something with the BESt digital performance and something that is best at decoding distant control channels. Thanks in advance.

There really isn't a whole lot of difference between the two as receivers, IMO. I think the biggest difference in everyday use is how you access/select what you want to scan. There are advantages and disadvantages to both systems.

 

[al95]

I think they have already answered your question. Its a matter where you live rf reception in your area.

Both of this scanners do digital ,nac, and much more. You can compare the scanners in the wiki section. It all depends which you like the best. I own both the BCD396T and the PRO-106. Where I live the Pro-106 is the best. But if I go to Houston,Tx the BCD396T does a better job then my Pro-106. If I go Laredo,TX the Pro-106 works better then the BCD396t. Someone in another post told me it was due to rf reception or something like that.

 

[Highpockets]

I want to invest my money in a sound investment and not be disappointed. So I'm opening this up to your suggestions and just fyi I also posted this question the other way around in the Uniden Forum. I will make my decision by Saturday. I need something with the BESt digital performance and something that is best at decoding distant control channels. Thanks in advance.

When I bought my last scanner I also looked at how often each company put out updates and fixes, their turn around on repair, tech support and how easy it would be to apply the updates and fixes. I also read the forums on what the features were and picked the one that met most of my needs, at the time NAC decoding was important in my area so I went with a GRE, I'm very happy with it! The new Uniden looks nice also. Good luck with your purchase.