Confused on HPII, BCD436HP and SDS100 in North Texas, GPS and CarPlay, Tach/R integration

[hiegtx]

I never tried the paint can method but I bought a apx 7000 and programmed it NAS and received everything that was simulcast, my newspaper paid for it. I definitely get your point! Nothing worked.

Everything went Phase 2 in my area and things were great but then they were encrypted. The fat lady sang. It was over.😄

A number of the larger suburbs in my area have gone 100% encrypted, including fire and EMS. Fortunately, so far, my primary city of interest, Dallas, is mostly in the clear, Some tactical & investigative talkgroups are encrypted, which is to be expected. But, so far, normal dispatch for PD, Fire, & EMS are in the clear.

 

[trentbob]

A number of the larger suburbs in my area have gone 100% encrypted, including fire and EMS. Fortunately, so far, my primary city of interest, Dallas, is mostly in the clear, Some tactical & investigative talkgroups are encrypted, which is to be expected. But, so far, normal dispatch for PD, Fire, & EMS are in the clear.

You are very lucky, I'm still not over losing the local situational awareness in my neighborhood I've had since pre-puberty.

I hope your situation stays the way it is, the original poster here needs to know that, his situation could change anytime.

 

[AK9R]

Apple CarPlay is not really a factor here. CarPlay is an app on your phone that communicates with an app in your car's infotainment system to somewhat seamlessly use other apps on your phone through the car's infotainment display. I'm not aware of any scanners that run iOS, so I doubt that any radio scanner would appear in CarPlay.

If your car's infotainment system has Bluetooth and if it will pair with an external device, such as a radio scanner, then you can listen to the scanner through the car's speakers. I emphasized if it will pair because many amateur radios with Bluetooth will not successfully pair with car infotainment systems. And, if your scanner does pair with the car for audio, you'll still have to manipulate the scanner through its front panel.

In the Android Auto world, only certain apps which have been written to work with Android Auto can be used in AA. I assume that CarPlay is the same way. Next time I'm in my vehicle, I'll have to see if any of the scanner apps I can load on my phone will work with AA.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I can't speak firsthand for Apple CarPlay but can confirm that the Scanner Radio app runs fine on Android Auto...

 

[tateconcepts]

Apple CarPlay is not really a factor here. CarPlay is an app on your phone that communicates with an app in your car's infotainment system to somewhat seamlessly use other apps on your phone through the car's infotainment display. I'm not aware of any scanners that run iOS, so I doubt that any radio scanner would appear in CarPlay.

If your car's infotainment system has Bluetooth and if it will pair with an external device, such as a radio scanner, then you can listen to the scanner through the car's speakers. I emphasized if it will pair because many amateur radios with Bluetooth will not successfully pair with car infotainment systems. And, if your scanner does pair with the car for audio, you'll still have to manipulate the scanner through its front panel.

In the Android Auto world, only certain apps which have been written to work with Android Auto can be used in AA. I assume that CarPlay is the same way. Next time I'm in my vehicle, I'll have to see if any of the scanner apps I can load on my phone will work with AA.

Thanks for the suggestions AK9R, I know I can use an adapter. It would be really cool if Uniden could use their GPS in their own RD units. Those work great and have lots of wires already but take the R4W, for instance. It has everything from Wifi, to GPS, to bluetooth, even has laser jammers one can buy (I don't but you can), just saw this the other day for it and R7 with new updates. The best part is that I can push buttons on the unit and what not, but it has app in CarPlay that I can use which allows me to use it with maps and other things. It would be best to have my radio scanner go silent when my Ka band lights up on my radar, instead of the podcast going on Spotify.

 

[tateconcepts]

I can't speak firsthand for Apple CarPlay but can confirm that the Scanner Radio app runs fine on Android Auto...

This is a nice suggestion. If I can get it to connect to a live scanner near me while moving or get it to scan wherever I am, that would be cool.

 

[tateconcepts]

Update:

Tested HPII with fully updated firmware and database against BCD436HP with a decade old firmware but full database updates.

Sitting beside each other, crickets on the HPII for Denton Regional LSM (Except Denton City and UNT) but with the 436HP, I hear everything I expect. I know we have lots of SDS fans, but the only thing wowing me about that model TBH is the micro USB port. I had to look in a decade old radio cabinet to locate the programming cable.

If I get a chance, I will compare the original firmware without bug fixes and full DB updates to SDS NIB. I know there are a few videos of comparisons but does anyone know if they were tested without updates to firmware? Could it be possible that older models were manipulated in advance to ensure demand for the new models? Has anyone dumped the firmware or looked at what is in them?

 

[tateconcepts]

Anyone heard any more on this topic since?

FCC grants approval for new Uniden WiFi/Bluetooth module..... scanner related maybe?

The FCC reports site recently posted approval for a new Uniden WiFi / Bluetooth combo module. Model WBMO - FCC ID AMWUA2404. Those have long been highly requested features for inclusion in Uniden scanners. These were once Uniden's thoughts on those features being included in scanners... from a...

forums.radioreference.com

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I know we have lots of SDS fans, but the only thing wowing me about that model TBH is the micro USB port.

Which serves no purpose other than being an external power supply which doesn't charge the battery

 

[tateconcepts]

I hear you there @Whiskey3JMC and in reality not special but certainly welcome. I mean look at these, who still uses mini in the mid 2020's?

The Differences Between Mini USB, Micro USB, and USB-C Explained

USB cables, cords, and ports are ubiquitous nowadays. You are probably familiar with a variety of USB functions as USB connectors are required to charge most phones. They are also frequently used in other applications like USB flash drives. What you might not have known is that there are many...

www.memorysuppliers.com

Almost everything is USB-C, everything else micro. It was not fun looking for that cable.

 

[dave3825]

The waterfall is on the SDS100,

It's not necessary, nor a requirement, but yes, it's useful! You get your $20 out of it. With it, I discovered the local transit service was using DMR, since it wasn't listed....

I bought the waterfall for my 200 and used it like 3 times. Owned it since it came out. While a visual marker on a spectrum is nice, I have found many things using the basic custom searches in the scanner. Tried it years ago but conventional discovery with compare to DB should also work.

 

[KevinC]

Anyone heard any more on this topic since?

FCC grants approval for new Uniden WiFi/Bluetooth module..... scanner related maybe?

The FCC reports site recently posted approval for a new Uniden WiFi / Bluetooth combo module. Model WBMO - FCC ID AMWUA2404. Those have long been highly requested features for inclusion in Uniden scanners. These were once Uniden's thoughts on those features being included in scanners... from a...

forums.radioreference.com

Other than it's for a radar detector, no.

 

[tateconcepts]

Other than it's for a radar detector, no.

Thanks, @KevinC I recall you mentioning that about the chip manufacturers acquisition. It might be for that, but I'm not as certain. Uniden has had GPS on radar detectors for some time now. Several have GPS, Bluetooth and Wifi and don't get interference with the internal LO within.

I'm going to let this thread go and reach out to a few contacts in the neighborhood. IMHO it would be nice for some that prefer more modern ways of introducing others to scanning. This is mobile friendly and there are times where one may prefer to simplify and standardize control via modern car interfaces in the majority of autos today. There is also value to have any monitoring of channels dropped for other audio priorities that are not built in their radios, some that are their own technologies.

 

[KevinC]

Thanks, @KevinC I recall you mentioning that about the chip manufacturers acquisition. It might be for that, but I'm not as certain. Uniden has had GPS on radar detectors for some time now. Several have GPS, Bluetooth and Wifi and don't get interference with the internal LO within.

I'm going to let this thread go and reach out to a few contacts in the neighborhood. IMHO it would be nice for some that prefer more modern ways of introducing others to scanning. This is mobile friendly and there are times where one may prefer to simplify and standardize control via modern car interfaces in the majority of autos today. There is also value to have any monitoring of channels dropped for other audio priorities that are not built in their radios, some that are their own technologies.

Well, the owners manual in the link says it’s for a radar detector. So I based my reply on that.

 

[fxdscon]

Also, when will they finally make one with Bluetooth? It’s 2025!

Uniden attempted integrating both Bluetooth and WiFi into scanners a while back, this post is from the late Uniden Product Manager "UpMan":

We put a lot of thought and experimentation into incorporating Bluetooth, actually. In addition to increasing the size and cost of the scanner, it would have introduced a very high level of RF noise into the scanner. That last reason is also why the Wi-Fi dongle on the 536 is a dongle, and not integrated. In general, transmitters in close proximity to wide-band receivers are a poor combination.

And yes, those features have been standard issue in cell phones, smart watches, radar detectors etc. for many years, but those products are not wide band receivers.

 

[KevinC]

Uniden attempted integrating both Bluetooth and WiFi into scanners a while back, this post is from the late Uniden Product Manager "UpMan":



And yes, those features have been standard issue in cell phones, smart watches, radar detectors etc. for many years, but those products are not wide band receivers.

In all fairness my IC-R30 is a wide-band receiver and has BT. I use it everyday with no issues.