Dumbest scanner features

[Nasby]

Just wondering about opinions on some of the dumbest "features" offered on scanners over the years. For me it was the scan speed button on some of the older models. Who would ever select a slow scanning speed???

 

[Portable14]

I don't have a vote for the dumbest feature, But I have a vote that it was a dumb idea for uniden to make it so you can't use the "Fire Tone-Out" function in regular scan mode, and another vote for the fact that you can't set priority channels in TRS on the 396 like you could on the 250D/Etc.

 

[Airdorn]

That Highway ALERT feature on the BCT8 is just plain obnoxious and useless.

 

[N9JIG]

Just wondering about opinions on some of the dumbest "features" offered on scanners over the years. For me it was the scan speed button on some of the older models. Who would ever select a slow scanning speed???

I agree that I can't say I have ever selected a slow scan speed on any scanner that has this "feature". That said, I recall reading once that this had been included in early scanners since they tended to miss weak signals more often in a faster scan speed. Whether this was just a tall tale or not I don't know but it works for me!

 

[ridgescan]

little teensyweensy on/volume knob on my BC785D that I have a ellofa time trying to grasp--hadda bust out the crazy glue yesterday 'cause it finally cracked..you all know where this one's headed

 

[bpckty1]

Blue screen, black letters, unable to see the display at night, especially while driving.

 

[cpuerror]

Blue screen, black letters, unable to see the display at night, especially while driving.

I second that. The blue light may be trendy but renders the screen very difficult to read.

 

[btritch]

Squelch and Volume on the same knob on the pro 97, makes it hard to adjust one without the other! TWO buttons RULE!!

 

[n2mdk]

I'll see your dual function pot with vol. and sql. and raise you one triple function knob with push button function like on the 330 and 396 for vol. sql. and scroll.

 

[lugoffman]

Squelch and Volume on the same knob on the pro 97, makes it hard to adjust one without the other! TWO buttons RULE!!

amen on that !!!!

 

[scanbc780]

Upside down screen option on the 996............

 

[hoser147]

On some of the older post crystal models that just said PD/FD/EMS or Wx on the screen...Hoser

 

[Mark01]

The SmartScanner feature on th BC245XLT gets my vote,although I had this scanner when it came out I never used this feature.

Supposedly what this feature would do was allow a user to connect their radio to a PC or modem and dial into Uniden's 1-900 server database server. Once there, you specify your ZIP code which gives the server an idea of your geographic location. With this information the server searches the database and retrieves frequencies which are likely to be of the most interest to you and download them automatically into the BC245XLT's memory

My understanding is this feature had a lot of problems from the start and was poorly implemented with lost connections, and excessive download times at $0.99/min . Uniden scrapped this feature altogether.

 

[Zaratsu]

SMA connectors


BNC is nice and tough and built for regular detach/reatach. (unless the OEM is using soft cheapo metal and the nubs wear off) beats cross-threading

 

[Airdorn]

Upside-down option on 996 is useful if you're having to shoehorn it into a mobile installation.

 

[frankh]

Well not a feature, more of an attribute, the non latching function key on the Uniden bc396 brings out a little of the Tourettes guy in all of us. As does the backwards squelch on all Unidens compared to everyone else.

 

[gmclam]

PRO-9x dumbest features

Just wondering about opinions on some of the dumbest "features" offered on scanners over the years. For me it was the scan speed button on some of the older models. Who would ever select a slow scanning speed???

I added a CPU to (crystal controlled) scanners that did not have them and wrote the firmware. The first thing I learned was that faster scanning = lower sensitivity on these type of units. So I'd be the first person to select SLOW scanning. It was put there for a reason.

Dumbest things:
1. I agree with the PRO-97 squelch/volume controls.
2. The PRIority feature on the PRO-9x scanners which is not a true priority function.
3. The PAUSE button on PRO-93 and later (PRO-92 had a STEP button, much more useful).
4. An individual button for Wx which is one of the promiment buttons on PRO-9x scanners. They can't even figure out where it should go. The L_OUT button should be more prominent than the Wx button.

 

[kennyloatman]

I'll see your dual function pot with vol. and sql. and raise you one triple function knob with push button function like on the 330 and 396 for vol. sql. and scroll.

You know you can lock the keys on the 396, Then the knob just becomes a volume control without having to push it down. Just a FYI in case you didn't know.

 

[bpsmicro]

My favorite is the Pro-92 and the fact that it's default when powered up was *not* to scan but to sit there on the first unlocked channel. Most of use set Channel 0 to a noise maker with the alpha tag set to "Press SCAN", so we'd remember to start the scanner actually scanning.
Even though I got rid of the 92 years ago, to this very day that irritates me no end as *the* stupidest scanner "feature" ever.

Second place for me are the scanners that have SAME decoding in WX mode, but to use it means you can't actually use your scanner as a scanner, but just a very expensive weather radio. The Fire Tone-Out feature mentioned by Portable14 is a continuation of that foolishness. I mean, *so close*, and yet so far...

Brad.

 

[trunker0205]

I would have to say the -10db attenuator that is global and not channel specific.