Choices and decisions

[bwilborn]

Hi guys. I'm going to be buying a digital scanner here in the next few weeks and I'm torn between whether to get the 396 or the 500.

They both look like good scanners and since the price is comparable, that really isn't a factor. What I'm really interested in is your guys' opinions about your units. I live in Greeley and commute down to the DTC every day. Right now I've got an old SC150 that I mainly use to listen to Boulder and Gilpin county. Since I know that CSP is on the state trunked system, Greeley and most of Weld county are on 800 digital systems, and most of the other places inbetween home and work are on digital systems, it's pretty much a no brainer to upgrade.

So, I'd like to hear your opinions on what you think of either set that you have. If you have both, I'd like to hear if you notice any shortcomings reception-wise with either. I'm not really interested in the debate over the dynamic memory vs. OOP stuff, because either interface's learning curve would be about equal for me, coming from a simple "insert frequency and go" type system.

Since I got a *very* nice end of year bonus, if the comments don't really sway me one direction or the other, I'm tempted to pick up one of each and try them both. My concern is whether I would be able to turn around the "loser" unit and sell it for close to what I pay for it. I would really only end up keeping one unit, but I figure if I try them both out for about 2-3 months, I'll be able to choose between one or the other. I can't really see taking too big of a loss in sale price on a scanner that won't have any cosmetic issues, and only really be gently used at worst.

I've seen comments about places selling eval units, is there any place you can recommend that might be able to help out in this situation?

Antennas...something else I'd like to get opinions on. Are the stock units working well for you guys, or do you have any recommendations on upgrades? When I'm using my scanner in the truck, I have it connected to one of those glass mounted antennas from Radio Hack (double-sided stick tape type), but if I'm using it outside of the vehicle, will the stock antenna hold it's own?

I'm not sure if I should cross-post in the GRE or Uniden forums to get a more broad-based opinion, because I'm really interested in what you local guys have to say before going to others that are in regions that may not really be conducive to how the systems respond to monitoring here.

Any help and guidance would be much appreciated. Cheers and Merry Christmas!

-- B

 

[NorthCOVideo]

Sry to drop in on your post, but also interested in this I do not yet have a digital and need one as I also live in weld county, Fort Lupton to be exact. I like the PSR-500 but are hard to find used at the moment and the BCD396T I've herd are a bit hard to program and such, but that I would think would fall on your technical abilities, but these are a bit easier to find used and the Pro-96 is totally out of the question, because it does not pick up 700Mhz and thats what Fort Lupton is on. I'm running in to the same issue as you, I commute to Greely 3-4 days a week to go to class at Aims and would like to listen into everything as about 75% o the state is on digital or is going to it like longmont, like you Boulder is about the only thing I can listen to. I'm sure this will be great information for anyone looking into this.

Thanks
Nathan

 

[kc0kp]

Another no brainer

Since the 500 is at present the only game in town for 700 Mhz reception, that is the way to go. Adams county is pretty much all 700 now and any future growth on the state DTRS will be on 700 as 800 on the front range if full.
So for some present monitoring and all future growth, 700 Mhz capability in a must.

 

[stevecubfan]

Adams county is still using 800 however not sure if or when they will drop 800.

 

[BOWLERPBA]

I have both the Pro-96 and got one of the 500's when they first hit the street. I have been very impressed with the 500. They only "modification" that I did with my 500 was to buy one of the Rat Shack's 800 'rat tail' antenna and finds it works great for both VHF and 700/800. I got my 500 through Glenn at Scanners Unlimited and would suggest that you get yours from him also. I just wished that I would get a bonus like yours, but I guess that is what happens when you work for city gov. Good luck in you purchase.

 

[firescannerbob]

Since the 500 is at present the only game in town for 700 Mhz reception, that is the way to go. Adams county is pretty much all 700 now and any future growth on the state DTRS will be on 700 as 800 on the front range if full.
So for some present monitoring and all future growth, 700 Mhz capability in a must.

Not so. The 396/996 also tracks 700mhz systems. Additionally, not "all future growth" will be on 700mhz (although some will). Many new towers have come on line recently that were not 700mhz.

 

[kc0kp]

800 build out

Not so. The 396/996 also tracks 700mhz systems. Additionally, not "all future growth" will be on 700mhz (although some will). Many new towers have come on line recently that were not 700mhz.

I wasnt aware the 396/996 did a good job on 700. Sorry for the misinformation.
The towers that have come online recently are not growth but build out of the existing system. The frequencies for the unbuilt towers were already allocated and in some cases even licensed.
But if a tower needs to be built to handle increases in traffic in the Denver area, it will be on 700 as there are no frequencies on 800 available.
And my next scanner will still be a 500.

 

[jeffreyinberthoud]

Wow intresting timming I would have told you without hessitation the 396 Ive had mine a year today !! Love everything about it with an aftermarket antenna and the ARC software very easy to program !!!!!!!!! ..................................BUT...............................

I was unplugging mine from my mobile extention speaker this evemning and heard a cracking sound ........................................

jack is broken and get this now the internal speaker wont work the jack appears to be part of the pc board inside !!!!!!!!!!!!!aaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuggggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!

looked on line guess this has been an issue for a few not all but a few
so Im thinking its time for a scanner to go to texass for the hollidays bummer

 

[NorthCOVideo]

In most small electronics like that the jack is going to be part of the pc board and if you're not good at fixing small things like that about you're only choice is sending to the make to have it fixed if possible. What you could be running into is the jack is come off the board and needs to e resoldered or theres is some other underlying problem.

 

[bwilborn]

So far, from what I gather then is that both units are comparable for their reception performance, and it just comes down to the bells and whistles aspect.

I don't see anything that is really super whammerdyne about the feature set of either of them...at least nothing I couldn't live without.

I still would appreciate input on reception performance of these units. My purchase date is still a couple weeks off.

 

[RodStrong]

I initially was not gonna post on this topic because I think this issue is kind of like Ford vs. Chevy. There are diehard fans on both sides and diehard egos as well that will shred anyone who does not agree with them. If you promote one or criticize the other, someone is likely to lop your head off for opening your mouth (or keyboard), and the next thing you know, you are in the middle of a pissing contest.

But, I'll throw in my two cents. Take it or leave it.

I have a PSR-500, and I'm happy as a pig in you know what with it. I bought it for and exclusively monitor Colorado's DTR system on it, and nothing else, so I can generally only comment regarding that. I threw in a couple of analog freqs. initially, and it worked good, but they are locked out and my main bag is DTR. The 500 seems to do quite well for me with DTR on the western slope. I have not however used a RS or Uniden digital capable scanner, so I can't tell you the 500 is better or worse than the others with DTR. I can tell you I am completely satisfied with the 500's handling of my current scanning needs/desires. No firmware updates needed, no screwing around. Turned it on and was up and running in moments.

I also have a tranceiver on the DTR network, and the 500 receives as good or better than the real thing. This is based on hours of side by side use of the scanner and the radio, on the move and stationary in everything from rock solid to marginal back country areas.

I am not gonna suggest the Unidens or RS's are not worthy of your attention though. I just feel like I picked a winner with the 500 (at least for my needs).

Good luck.

 

[bwilborn]

I initially was not gonna post on this topic because I think this issue is kind of like Ford vs. Chevy. There are diehard fans on both sides and diehard egos as well that will shred anyone who does not agree with them. If you promote one or criticize the other, someone is likely to lop your head off for opening your mouth (or keyboard), and the next thing you know, you are in the middle of a pissing contest.

Yeah, I totally understand. Somehow I think that it's going to be an even match between both units and I'll just have to bite the bullet and pick one. I'm pretty much just trying to suss out if there are any reception shortcomings with either unit. Doesn't look like it so far.

Dammit, I guess I may just have to do a coin toss.

 

[firescannerbob]

700mhz a necessity for Denver area but not other areas

I wasnt aware the 396/996 did a good job on 700. Sorry for the misinformation.
The towers that have come online recently are not growth but build out of the existing system. The frequencies for the unbuilt towers were already allocated and in some cases even licensed.
But if a tower needs to be built to handle increases in traffic in the Denver area, it will be on 700 as there are no frequencies on 800 available.
And my next scanner will still be a 500.

While that may be true of the Denver area, it sure isn't for the rest of the state. Since the OP will be scanning the Denver area, he'll surely need a 700mhz capable scanner, but I didn't want users from other parts of the state who read this thread to think they'd HAVE to buy a 700mhz radio.

 

[jimmnn]

Have a 396T and PSR-500 sitting here if you'd like to give them a trial side by side in your area before you buy just PM me and santa will deliver!

Jim<

 

[stevecubfan]

Sry to drop in on your post, but also interested in this I do not yet have a digital and need one as I also live in weld county, Fort Lupton to be exact. I like the PSR-500 but are hard to find used at the moment and the BCD396T I've herd are a bit hard to program and such, but that I would think would fall on your technical abilities, but these are a bit easier to find used and the Pro-96 is totally out of the question, because it does not pick up 700Mhz and thats what Fort Lupton is on. I'm running in to the same issue as you, I commute to Greely 3-4 days a week to go to class at Aims and would like to listen into everything as about 75% o the state is on digital or is going to it like longmont, like you Boulder is about the only thing I can listen to. I'm sure this will be great information for anyone looking into this.

Thanks
Nathan

as with Adams county Fort Lupton is still on 800.

 

[NorthCOVideo]

The database shows them being on a 700Mhz Frequency,
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=329

Still even then I would still like the 396 or 500, because of the fact that they have 700.

 

[bwilborn]

Well guys, I bit the bullet and got the 396. The fact that the set is smaller, the front of the unit seems less cluttered, and the fact that it has been out for a while were my tilting points. As much as the 500 has been getting rave reviews, I've never been one to invest in Gen 1 hardware. Years of being in the computer industry has taught me that getting a hardware platform that's been through a couple revisions is usually a good bet.

I'm not knocking the 500 in any way...perhaps I'll end up with one of those too sometime in 2008. Only time will tell.

Thanks for the help guys!

-- B

 

[NorthCOVideo]

Ya that is what I may end up going with since they have been out for a while and some are selling theirs to get their hands on a 500. I guess another plus to the 396 is the amount of channels, or that could be a bad thing for some.