Disappointed With CC on 396T compared to PSR500

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benzrider2000

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A co-worker friend of mine went out today to do some Close Call testing with my BCD396T and his PSR-500. He got hits like crazy and I didn't pick up even one on the 396.

Now I'm thinking about buying a PSR-500 just for the Signal Stalker II functionality. I love my 396 and how easy it is to program with software and all the features, but I'm sooo disappointed with the Close Call functionality...

They should rename Close Call to "If they're sitting in the passenger seat of your car"....

The PSR-500 Signal Stalker picks up hits from MUCH farther distances...

I would definitely appreciate any feedback or recommendations on why I should or shouldn't buy the PSR... I guess it would be nice to have two really good scanners...
 

LordJ

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Before you go assuming the radio isn't functioning like another one, you should be sure it's not your fault. ie. Attenuator on or off? Data Skip on or off? Same/Different Antenna? Broadcast screen? Are some bands turned off or on? Though I have never side by side compared the Uniden CC to a Gre model, I am very pleased with it's performance. I get hits anywhere from 300 to 500 Metres away. Not looking for a reply, just giving you some suggestions...
 

kellykeeton

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yea i dont understand your post... buy a GRE if you like it so much. I have never had issues with the CC, it works every time I need it, it is not as sensitive in a RF mess and that is by design, I dont want to hear the 3million junk around me just the security guard with a 5w radio that I can see, the product is-not to detect things miles away. so to say "it will pick up from MUCH FARTHER" its sort of a boo comment, its close call not somewhere call.

why ask us if you have 500$ to blow on a radio if you want to up the size of your antenna tower just buy it so you have one of each, then your better then your friend.

Make sure your screen is set correctly for the band you want to pick things up in, as that will greatly affect performance. again things in the post ^^ all are factors, all down to are you wearing clothing that will absorb RF more then your friend.
 
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benzrider2000

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UPMAN, the other thread posted was before I side by side test.

Attenuator off
Dataskip off
Cts off
All bands on
All broadcast screens off
same antennas
 

UPMan

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I completely missed that the other thread was yours, too. Was just pointing out the inherent differences between the two methods. We had considered making a standalone unit that did nothing but Close Call, but by the time you've built the circuit you might as well make it a scanner (which as basically the BC95XLT). Maybe a low-end GRE with their version of the feature would scratch your sweeper jones.
 

benzrider2000

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UPMan, don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY 396T WAYYY more than the GRE, especially with the memory management and the nice granular way of organization. The CC does work well when you are very close, like a previous post said they'd rather see the security guard talking on the radio when the CC hits. That's very cool... So I think the CC would be awesome if you were walking up to some kind of emergency scene and you wanted to be discreet but still listen, then the 396T would be awesome for that... But if you wanted a little more range of CC, then I think the GRE would be a good ADDITION to the arsenal...
 

UPMan

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I have nothing bad to say about GRE (well, saying I like mine better isn't saying bad things about them). They have some good features and their implementation of Signal Sweeper does work better for some people than Close Call...and for some Close Call works better than Signal Sweeper. One of those instances where there is truly no wrong answer to "Which one is better?"
 

wbwarnerb

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Hi,

I'm the guy who had the PSR with the original poster, during this test today... so basically we did everything you suggested here. Throughout the tests below, he toggled data skip, attenuation and so forth.

Test 1
I had the rubber duck my psr came with - he was using the 396 with an external antenna, plus he was using a JIM0-75 (pre-amp)... keep in mind we are in a car... so performance for me should be much worse. During this time, I got about 5-8 hits in about 20 min. He got none. He tried adjusting the gain on the Jim (lower, to higher) with results he was familiar with. Again, no hits on his system, and continued hits on my PSR. I can tell you that I was getting hits well over a mile - as we were driving around lankershim blvd in LA, and I was getting the mobile handhelds of security at Universal Studios.

Test 2
This time he removes the JIM-75 preamp and goes straight to the external antenna. No change.

Test 3
He puts on my rubber duck, and I actually hook up to his outside antenna... this is where it gets interesting. The PSR SS is slower now. It's taking a bit more time to analyze all the signals... it gets now about 5x more hits. His Uniden... none.

Test 4
He tries a Diamond antenna and I move back to the rubber duck - no change. I get the hits, he doesn't.

With my Kenwood TH-F6a I would send a legal transmission on a Ham band and he could pick it up if i was sitting right next to him in the car. However if we were separated by about 400 ft. in our building, he gets nothing, even if I'm broadcasting at full power, while he has a diamond antenna... or a diamond antenna with a JIM-75 set up.

He has gotten hits. I dont think his scanner is defective. I think his complaint is mainly that it's not as sensitive for getting new frequencies in a 1 mile range of coverage or so. Where he might get 1 hit, I might get 20 or more uniques.

Again, you might get a hit from 500m or so, but how strong is the signal? what if you're hunting for weak signals?

This isn't really a 396 vs PSR. The 396 has wonderful features - it's just my friend is very interested in this proximity scanning technology, and he's not happy with what he has and making a point about it. It's valid, as it may help others who might be very interested in that technology and want to know which way to go on the scanner fence.

If i was looking for best memory management, I'd go 396. I went with the PSR for all the sensitivity tests I saw run on it, as I live out in the boondocks.

Before you go assuming the radio isn't functioning like another one, you should be sure it's not your fault. ie. Attenuator on or off? Data Skip on or off? Same/Different Antenna? Broadcast screen? Are some bands turned off or on? Though I have never side by side compared the Uniden CC to a Gre model, I am very pleased with it's performance. I get hits anywhere from 300 to 500 Metres away. Not looking for a reply, just giving you some suggestions...
 

wbwarnerb

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Just to be fair:
my PSR used in the test wasn't overloaded with "3 million hits" I got roughly 8 unique hits every 10-20 min. The 396 got none during that same period. We exchanged antennas... he tried turning on and off various functionalities of the scanner... he also had me use his antennas to see if they could be the problem. No matter what we did, the PSR out performed on close proximity hits. It didn't *always* work. Sometiems I couldn't get a hit off a local KFC, but the hits I did get were pretty good.

This wasn't the same effect of hitting "search" and searching a range of frequencies.

I would say my top range was about 1 mile out. Most of the stuff was probably much closer (fast food, a trash man about 3 blocks away, a taxi service on the same block, etc.) The one long hit I got was on Universal Studios. Most everything else was close.

hehe Kelly regarding your clothing comment I had to chuckle. Should we have exchanged clothing as well! Btw. he, with his own clothes on, did use my scanner and got hits. :) I'm certainly glad we didn't have to exchange our underwear in order to perform this Test!!

yea i dont understand your post... buy a GRE if you like it so much. I have never had issues with the CC, it works every time I need it, it is not as sensitive in a RF mess and that is by design, I dont want to hear the 3million junk around me just the security guard with a 5w radio that I can see, the product is-not to detect things miles away. so to say "it will pick up from MUCH FARTHER" its sort of a boo comment, its close call not somewhere call.

why ask us if you have 500$ to blow on a radio if you want to up the size of your antenna tower just buy it so you have one of each, then your better then your friend.

Make sure your screen is set correctly for the band you want to pick things up in, as that will greatly affect performance. again things in the post ^^ all are factors, all down to are you wearing clothing that will absorb RF more then your friend.
 
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LEH

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One of the things I do with my PSR-500 when I am in the car is run signal stalker. IMHO, it s**ks. Running with the RS 800 antenna, I am getting continual lock ons for nearly EVERY channel in the 793-796 MHz range. I filled the lock out limit (250) with them.

I've set both the 500 and my 396 to search for hits in that area and both hear nothing.

As to CC, I can (with a Diamond SM 518 [the number is right, the designator may not be] antenna) up to half a mile (strong signal from a high tower). The 500 skips right over them. Now I will admit that the 500 has captured control channels (for the nearby city and county systems) much further away than the 396 and the occasional capture of one of the trunked channels in use.

All in all, I seem to do better with the CC on the 396 than the stalker on the 500.

To each their own.
 

benzrider2000

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Kelly,

That was a GREAT idea! I went out yesterday and blew another $500 on that scanner and I'm glad I did. Now I am better than my friend! THANKS!

why ask us if you have 500$ to blow on a radio if you want to up the size of your antenna tower just buy it so you have one of each, then your better then your friend.
 

wbwarnerb

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Kelly,

That was a GREAT idea! I went out yesterday and blew another $500 on that scanner and I'm glad I did. Now I am better than my friend! THANKS!

HA! oh yeah?

Well I took Kelly's advice and bought non-RF interfering clothing! We'll see who has the last laugh.
 
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