Has it Really been 10 Years?

[UPMan]

7/25/2013 marked my 10th anniversary at Uniden America. Wow, time really flies.

Let's see. When I started at Uniden:

• This site (in the current form) did not exist. Instead, we hung out at www.trunkedradio.net.
• In my case, my hanging out was quite secret...being caught posting on behalf of a company without permission was typically punishable by immediate termination...that was certainly the case at the time at RadioShack, and could have been the same at Uniden. I was fortunate in that when I was "outed" on this site in around 2005, Al Silverberg, then President of Uniden America, had enough trust in me to give me free reign. I have had to defend "UPMan" several times as administrations have changed, but ultimately the benefit of his presence has been recognized (and now it is quite common for companies to encourage employees to engage with their customers on social media).
• Scanner firmware could not be updated once it was produced. The cost of reflashable memory was significant enough to make it uncompetitive.
• Uniden's Flagship models were the BC250D and BC785D...the BC296D and BC796D shipped shortly after I arrived; I really had nothing to do with their development. The first digital model I actually had much influence on was the PRO-96, which was released just as I left RadioShack.
• All scanners used "banked" memory...despite the inherent inefficiency and artificial construct as applied to trunked radio systems. When I first brought the idea of Dynamic Memory to the engineers (as a Uniden Employee), their first response was, "Ok, we'll make 20 banks." Thereafter ensued about 8 hours of whiteboard meeting in Tokyo...and the rest is history. Actually, while still at RadioShack I had presented the idea both to Uniden and GRE...I really wanted better use of memory! That is why, despite the innovation, we never filed for any patents on the methods...GRE was actually quite free to use the same general organization (as long as they respected copyrights), but Craig and others had already conceived of Object-Oriented Memory and were devoted to that path.
• High-end handhelds used proprietary (and expensive) battery packs, which the community hated. I nixed that in the next design (BC246T).
• Handheld scanners were bigger than most hands. Should have been called "hands held."
• My hair was similar in density to what it is today...but it is a bit lighter, now.
• I was driving a 2nd Generation Prius (1st Generation was never offered in the US). Now I drive a Camry Hybrid.
• Starbucks was (and still is) my 2nd office.
• I could read the paper without "readers."
• I could bring Phideaux to work on snow days and no one would complain (well, except Phideaux if I got stuck in a meeting for too long).
• It was common for someone to "light up" during meetings in Japan (at any company). Now, it is unheard of (and has been for years).
• Most people had a heck of a time figuring out how to program trunked scannners. Well, some things haven't changed.

 

[Rt169Radio]

Congrats! What are you doing to celebrate?

 

[UPMan]

Oh, the usual. Drink myself into a stupor and cry myself to sleep.

 

[Michael-SATX]

Congratulations Paul on 10 years ! I've been at Radio Shack 10 years (your Pro-96 was my 1st Digital)

Hmm, the RR comunnity could help you celebrate big if you show us Unidens new base scanner

So, please don't cry yourself to sleep, when you could stay up late and take pre-orders instead

Now go on and ask your management if this is not indeed a GREat way to celebrate success

 

[wireless]

First let me say Congrats on your anniversary and thanks for the help you give to others in the Forums.

Also, if I may ask a favor. A young man named Gabriel recently helped me out with a HP-1 I had in for repair. He really went above and beyond the call of duty to handle my case. Id like to see if possible his superiors could get word of my praise for this excellent representative of your company. My SRO was 1978205 (In case I messed up on his name, but I think I have it right!)

Thanks allot,
Ron P.

 

[oregontreehugger]

Congratulations!!

And hopefully that ten-year mark comes with more than a jelly-of-the-month club membership.

 

[garys]

Oh, the usual. Drink myself into a stupor and cry myself to sleep.

I'll drink to that. I'll host a single malt and light up a cigar to salute your decade of supporting a small, intense, and devoted market.

Of everything you listed in your post, I think the most innovative is corporate America finally starting to understand the two way nature of the Internet and social media.

Now, get back to work on whatever the next generation of scanners is. I'm getting itchy.

 

[scanningisfun]

First let me say Congrats on your anniversary and thanks for the help you give to others in the Forums.

Also, if I may ask a favor. A young man named Gabriel recently helped me out with a HP-1 I had in for repair. He really went above and beyond the call of duty to handle my case. Id like to see if possible his superiors could get word of my praise for this excellent representative of your company. My SRO was 1978205 (In case I messed up on his name, but I think I have it right!)

Thanks allot,
Ron P.

Gabriel dows a great job. I've spoken with him almost every time I've called Uniden, whether it be for scanner parts or repair.

Jacob

 

[KE4ZNR]

Folks: This is Customer Engagement at its finest.
Even though he can't always respond to every post/complaint/praise be
aware that UPMan reads all of the content posted in the Uniden Forum.
Thanks for your dedication to the hobby Paul!
Happy Monitoring to All
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[K8LEA]

Paul:

Congrats!

And thanks for your assistance with my repair issues (as in "where's that fool postcard?").

Six months, give or take, as a Uniden user. 296 is junk. BCD396XT is just what I wanted, although the belt clip is some kind of joke. Love it! (Withdrawal symptoms while it was in TX for service .) (Actually, the 296 is a fine scanner, but it just doesn't like the local PD's new APCO setup. It's fine with three other groups using the same frequencies, etc. No idea....)

I need an inexpensive APCO25 for the car now.... The 396 works well, but I've never been a fan of "grab & run".

First Unidens, actually, after 50+ years in Ham Radio and no end of Regency and other scanners. About 20 years ago, give or take, the hi-band (2M) radios in the car and most handhelds got capable of scanning pretty well, too, and....

Loopy story: Regency used to make a thing called a "Transcan". 8-channel scanner boxed with a six-channel transmitter. All crystals, of course. I always wanted one, but they were expensive....

Back about 1980, I found a "desktop" version (they made both mobile and desktop, and the latter would work on 12VDC, too) at a hamfest for $20-ish. Couldn't resist. Didn't tell the wife that it wanted $50 worth of crystals for our area, either .... Got it home and found out why it was $20. Somebody'd blown the 12V circuitry, screwdrivered the transmitter, and the receiver sensitivity was right up there with my 396's "Close Call" (as in zilch)....

Getting the 12V part fixed never happened - no need. The transmitter needed a dummy load and a Bird, but took about five minutes to fix. Stupid receiver just didn't cut it. I ordered the manuals and just let it perk. Couple weeks later, a hard look at the receiver board showed a transistor with one lead sticking off into space. This wasn't unusual in those days - using a general purpose transistor as a diode, perhaps, was often cheaper than buying a bunch of diodes and modifying the board stuffing hardware & software. But there was a solder pad near the un-connected leg. Couldn't resist....

No idea how that leg got disconnected from the board, but that was it - somewhere in the early RF stages.... Enough signal got through that QC probably decided that it was working and shipped it. Or the screwdriver-wielding owner bumped the lead. Worked....

Regency used to use a bunch of "push on" connectors to connect (dozens of) jumpers on and between boards. They eventually get dirty enough to quit working. So did the radio about the time the wife forgave me for buying the crystals .... It's here someplace....

Punch line: I won the aforementioned Bird at the same Hamfest. Then I had to explain why it needed a (then) $40 "slug" in order to be used. They didn't include the slug because they had no idea what we'd want it for.... (Note to the guys who have no idea what a "Bird" is: It's a very good quality wattmeter and SWR device. However, separate frequency and power rated "slugs" are inserted to customize them for the service and purposes. IOW, 2M or Hi-Band at 5 watts is a different slug than one for 50 watts, or for, for example, CB use. Hams used to buy these for group use in some cases. Lots of money for serious accuracy v.s. under $50 at Radio shack for "general purpose"....) The wife was not amused about the $40 slug, or the $50 worth of crystals. At the time, our budget barely covered driving 40 miles or so to the hamfest....

So, Paul, if you've not already grabbed that barrel of spirits, this should put you in "napping" mood!

Again, Congratulations.

Regards,

 

[cash082]

Congrats UpMan! Hopefully you go and celebrate!
Thanks for all you do!

 

[NWI_Scanner_Guy]

Congratulations on.....



As others have already said, thanks for all you do at Uniden and also for the time you put in here on RR helping others out and dispensing what top secret Uniden information you can (hint hint LOL!!). Can't wait to see what you and the rest of your team have in store for us.

 

[fxdscon]

 

[Jake68111]

View attachment 42319

Hey fxdscon......

I've been wondering how to get "screenshots" similar to the one you posted......

You wouldn't by any chance want to give out a "10th Anniversary" secret, would you? LOL

 

[fxdscon]

Hey fxdscon......

I've been wondering how to get "screenshots" similar to the one you posted......

You wouldn't by any chance want to give out a "10th Anniversary" secret, would you? LOL

Sure...

You'll need this neat little program here (scroll down to the "Command Reference" section --> CAP):

HPe-rc : HomePatrol (Extreme) Remote Control

You will also need to have the Extreme Upgrade, along with the Uniden serial drivers for the serial data communication.

.

 

[AC2OY]

Wow congratulations and thank you!!!!!

 

[Jimru]

Two thumbs UP for UPMan!!

Congrats at your 10th Anni and may you have many more productive and innovative years at Uniden, bringing us great products.

Thanks for all you do here on RR as well, it's well above and beyond the "call of duty"!

 

[bear780ks]

Hey Paul 10 years Wow that's Cool Hey Lets Go another 10 maybe 20 See how the Scanning is in 2033 We'll be flying our cars being chased Sky Cops.!

 

[Highpockets]

Folks: This is Customer Engagement at its finest.
Even though he can't always respond to every post/complaint/praise be
aware that UPMan reads all of the content posted in the Uniden Forum.
Thanks for your dedication to the hobby Paul!
Happy Monitoring to All
Marshall KE4ZNR

You two related?

 

[a29zuk]

Congratulations. Even though you haven't helped me personally, thank you for all you have done for everyone on this website.... and...oh...I didn't need those reading specs either back then.

Jim