The 436 is a little better with simulcast systems than the 325, but nowhere near as good as the SDS100. For non-simulcast and analog, the 325 will do an excellent job. If you want to use it in just your local area, the nationwide database is not of much use to you. You will not have any SD card issues with the 325. The 325 may not have all of the bells and whistles of the 436, but it is a workhorse of a scanner. It can also do DMR and NXDN with paid upgrades. You can carry spare charged batteries or a USB battery pack with you. You can program it with FreeSCAN. I see that you are a premium subscriber. You can download the programming from the Radio Reference database or do it manually with the software. I use Butel ARC-XT for programming my 325.