Half Dead BCD996P2

[SatHunter]

With the P25 scanners from Uniden all being over $625 in Canada I took a chance & purchased an open box BCD996P2 from Amazon warehouse deals for $370. The description on their website said it was a fully functional unit with slight cosmetic damage on the bottom of the unit. The Uniden was delivered within 24 hours which was impressive. What wasn’t impressive was the radio they sent me. The unit was flopping around in an oversized box was only a mounting bracket & power adapter. No manual & more importantly no antenna. With about a 2 minute inspection I observed that the scanner was either dropped or thrown across the room. The volume & squelch control were bent to the right. When I turned the 996 on there was no audio & no backlight. I performed a factory reset about a dozen times. I’d call it a dead duck. It became very obvious that whoever repackaged this radio never tested it before it was put up for sale as a “Warehouse Deal”. I immediately contacted customer support to complain & get set up for an authorization for a return. I only had it for about an hour before I boxed it up & sent it back with no regrets. It was a learning experience & I’d never buy open box again. Shame on Amazon for selling junk like this.
What I’d really like is a factory fresh SDS200 but you are looking at about $1200 anywhere in Canada & there are only about 2 or 3 retailers that sell them. Hard to justify the price for me with all of the police services being encrypted here.

 

[Enforcer52]

Suggest you look into some SDRs ($38-200 US) and SDRTrunk (free), cheaper and will handle simulcast like the SDS series.

 

[dmfalk]

You get your money's worth out of the SDS series, IMO, and get it from a reputable dealer. Amazon sellers tend to be......hit and miss. Mostly miss.

 

[dmfalk]

Suggest you look into some SDRs ($38-200 US) and SDRTrunk (free), cheaper and will handle simulcast like the SDS series.

Cheaper, but it makes the learning curve of the SDS series serm easy-peasy by comparison.

 

[BinaryMode]

Cheaper, but it makes the learning curve of the SDS series serm easy-peasy by comparison.

SDRTrunk is the easiest. Where is OP25 of DSD-FME et al not so. I know, I tired them all.

 

[Chris0516]

OP, I steer clear of 'open box' anything. No 'open box', 'refurbished', or 'used'.

Cheaper, but it makes the learning curve of the SDS series serm easy-peasy by comparison.

I learned that, before. I was given my SDS100. SDRs' even made my 325p2 seem easy.

 

[SatHunter]

I truly enjoyed reading all of the replies here. I just found out Amazon doesn’t offer warranty on open boxed items. I won’t get fooled again! I have an assortment of RTL SDR devices & find them to make very efficient radio devices when paired with a capable PC. The only problem I’ve come across is that some services walk over one another when they are transmitting at the same time on SDR Trunk especially during times throughout the day when there is heavy traffic. I’d still buy a SDS200 or even a SDS100 if the prices got a little better but it looks like that’s never going to happen

 

[Hdc30474]

With the P25 scanners from Uniden all being over $625 in Canada I took a chance & purchased an open box BCD996P2 from Amazon warehouse deals for $370. The description on their website said it was a fully functional unit with slight cosmetic damage on the bottom of the unit. The Uniden was delivered within 24 hours which was impressive. What wasn’t impressive was the radio they sent me. The unit was flopping around in an oversized box was only a mounting bracket & power adapter. No manual & more importantly no antenna. With about a 2 minute inspection I observed that the scanner was either dropped or thrown across the room. The volume & squelch control were bent to the right. When I turned the 996 on there was no audio & no backlight. I performed a factory reset about a dozen times. I’d call it a dead duck. It became very obvious that whoever repackaged this radio never tested it before it was put up for sale as a “Warehouse Deal”. I immediately contacted customer support to complain & get set up for an authorization for a return. I only had it for about an hour before I boxed it up & sent it back with no regrets. It was a learning experience & I’d never buy open box again. Shame on Amazon for selling junk like this.
What I’d really like is a factory fresh SDS200 but you are looking at about $1200 anywhere in Canada & there are only about 2 or 3 retailers that sell them. Hard to justify the price for me with all of the police services being encrypted here.

I know a couple people that told me they had good luck with Amazon Warehouse items. I had to return two items I tried. Never again!

 

[dmfalk]

About 10 years ago, I was looking into getting a scanner that handled trunking and P25 only. Other digital systems weren't included or as upgrades. It would've cost me $900-1200, and that's in US dollars. I then got a HomePatrol 2, used on eBay, from a radio dealer in Medford, Oregon, for $430. I still have it, and it still works. Since then, I bought an SDS100, with upgrades, GPS, extra batteries and antennas, also on eBay, used, for $700. It's also working great, too. Worth it? YES!! Even new, the SDS units are actually cheaper than older, similar trunking scanners, although the initial sticker price might not seem so..... unless you've been shopping around for a while, then you realise it's actually not that bad a deal, for what you get. You're complaining about $1200 Canadian, which is about $800 US. I'm not sure about Canadian radio dealers, or if any of the American radio dealers ship to Canada, but some offer the SDS units for around $600-$650 (US) on special sales from time to time. Might be worth checking out....

Buying used can be hit-and-miss, but I have been fortunate about those I've dealt with, but I'd never buy through Amazon, if I can help it. The quality assurances are not as robust as with eBay, and you know you're actually dealing with the actual dealer, instead of hiding behind Amazon. Plus, there are good payment options available through eBay and PayPal, amongst others. Makes the hit a little less painful....

 

[RMason]

. The only problem I’ve come across is that some services walk over one another when they are transmitting at the same time on SDR Trunk especially during times throughout the day when there is heavy traffic.

Many use Trunking Recorder to record audio from SDRTrunk. Setup is relatively straightforward.

Trunking Recorder - Recording audio from trunked radio systems monitored by Unitrunker, SDRTrunk, ProScan, and DSDPlus

Recording audio from trunked radio systems monitored by Unitrunker, SDRTrunk, ProScan, and DSDPlus

www.scannerbox.us

“Trunking Recorder is a Windows application for recording/importing audio from trunked radio systems monitored by Unitrunker, SDRTrunk or ProScan. Trunking Recorder will save all the recorded calls and allows searching and playback through a web browser. Trunking Recorder will also queue up recorded calls so you never miss any activity when multiple talkgroups are active at the same time”

You may also try muting the right audio channel in SDRTrunk so that you only hear one transmission when multiple talkgroups are active.

 

[BinaryMode]

The only problem I’ve come across is that some services walk over one another when they are transmitting at the same time on SDR Trunk especially during times throughout the day when there is heavy traffic.

Yes, that will happen and I'll tell you (or show you in a video) why that is. What SDRTrunk is doing is decoding ALL talkgroups. Even the one you seemingly added. What you need to do (this is what I personally did) is lock out all other talk groups so that the only talk groups you want to hear will break the squelch so to speak. It's super easy, really. You see, there are a total possible talkgroups for system of 65,535. (same with ports for an IP address actually... It's all math) What you do is add the talk group/s you're interested. Lets just say talkgroup 500. Now you omit all the others around it. So from 1 to 499, and from 501 to 65535. Now only 500 will break the squelch. See screenshot.

Also, don't forget to add a priority to each talkgroup. This may be your issue.