Respectivly, I ask--what can the Home Patrol do that the 396 cannot do? Excluding the touch screne.
Off the top of my head, these are the things the HP has that the 396XT does not:
- "Instant replay" of audio up to 240 seconds (4 minutes) old
- Optional recording of audio activity (different from the above; the above instant replay feature is erased as it gets older, the recordings will stay until they are deleted)
- Not limited to 16 characters for alpha tags
- Can select what to listen to based on service tags
- Entire North American database stored on the scanner's microSD card (and updated weekly by Uniden via the RadioReference database)
- Mute button
- Much easier to hold on a system, group, or individual channel than on a x96XT
- Multiple "favorites lists" in addition to the main database, and can select any or all of the favorites lists plus the main database to listen to or not
- Favorites lists and recordings are limited only by the size of the microSD card used (comes with a 2GB card but I have personally confirmed up to 32GB cards work fine)
- Auto shutoff feature
- Easier to manage avoids (lockouts)
- "Discovery Mode" lets you let the scanner run on either a chunk of conventional bandwidth or on a trunk system, recording and logging both audio and frequency/CTCSS/DCS/NAC/talkgroup data for later review
- "Analyze Mode" lets you perform multiple analysis tasks on a given trunk system, including:
- LCN finder for EDACS and/or LTR systems
- Activity Log for any trunk system the radio can decode (P25, Motorola, EDACS, LTR), giving a Unitrunker or PRO96COM-like log file for later review
- Current Activity screen indicating current use of the system frequencies
- LCN Monitor screen indicating which LCNs are actually in use on a site
- Talk Group Converter allowing you to convert AFS to decimal (or hex, etc) on the fly
- Band Scope showing what frequencies are in use in the nearby area in a graphical format
- RF Power Plot indicating the strength of a signal over time (helps identify the best direction to point your antenna, for example)
- Raw Output allowing for a data output over the USB connection similar to a "discriminator tap"
- Better use of GPS connectivity
How long does it take to power on and start scanning? 3 seconds for the 396xt---yes, I do have 1--396xt.
It would be comparable to that depending on what databases you're loading at startup. I listen to the main database and 4 separate favorites lists so mine takes a few more seconds to load all that data.
Not per se, but the Band Scope shows you if there is a strong signal nearby, and you can then tune in to that frequency by tapping on the screen.
I think you mean "Fire Tone Out", and the answer is no.
I have both a HomePatrol and a 396XT. The 396XT is used mainly for truly portable operation, particularly when I'm at the race track. The HomePatrol is, in my case, used more like a mobile/base radio. One of my HPs is expressly used in my car, the other in my home "shack". With the one in my car, I can run Trunk Analyze Mode on a trunk system while I'm out on the road, and not have to worry about pulling out my laptop, cables, and either my 396XT or my PSR500 in order to do trunk system analysis. I just take the microSD card out of the HP when I get home, plug it in to the computer, and copy off the analysis logs for review at my leisure (not to mention recordings of everything the radio's received all through my road trip).
