HomePatrol II vs. SDS100?

[KB2GOM]

Every work day morning, I run a commuter assistance network on 2 meter ham radio in the Capital District of New York State from my base to the east of Troy, NY. I use a Uniden BCD396T to monitor police, fire and ems. I am hearing a lot of fire and ems but virtually no police. I also use a BC125AT to monitor New York State Police, and that works just fine.

I am considering either a HomePatrol 2 (for its apparently effortless programming) or an SDS100 (for its apparently excellent performance).

Has anyone here owned both and would be willing to compare ease of programming and use and also compare performance?

 

[Ncfirewire]

1 There would be no difference between programing the 2
2 the sds is far superior in monitoring p25 digital simulcast
3 I do not think analog is great on the sds

 

[jonwienke]

The programming for both is very similar; they both use versions of Sentinel. The SDS has more settings in its version. The HomePatrol's simulcast performance is horrible--it chokes on the tiniest bit of it. But the SDS is specifically designed for simulcast, and it does a great job of it.

 

[marksmith]

Own more than one of each. I would completely agree with what the previous poster mentioned.

The sds100 is a far superior radio, but it is complete overkill if most of what you monitor is not trunked systems, and especially if you monitor VHF band. So it depends on what you are monitoring. The 125AT will do a better job on NYSP than the SDS100. However, the SDS100 can receive p25 simulcast stuff no other radios can.

 

[jonwienke]

I would get the SDS100, and use it to complement your other scanners--let each do what it does best.

 

[rk911]

before you spend even $1 you'd best check to see if the police agencies you want to monitor are on analog, digital, conventional, trunked or encrypted.

 

[KB2GOM]

before you spend even $1 you'd best check to see if the police agencies you want to monitor are on analog, digital, conventional, trunked or encrypted.

I searched for Troy, NY, police frequencies, and found this: Troy Trunking System, Troy, New York - Scanner Frequencies

I am not at all sure what this means -- except that the frequencies are in the 800 mHz range and that the system is APCO 25 Phase 1.

Far beyond that, I have no cotton-pickin' idea how I might program that information into my BCD396T . . . or any other scanner.

Does the Radio Reference data indicate whether there is encryption or not? I don't see any indication, but maybe I am not reading it correctly.

 

[cpfinlay]

I searched for Troy, NY, police frequencies, and found this: Troy Trunking System, Troy, New York - Scanner Frequencies

I am not at all sure what this means -- except that the frequencies are in the 800 mHz range and that the system is APCO 25 Phase 1.

Far beyond that, I have no cotton-pickin' idea how I might program that information into my BCD396T . . . or any other scanner.

Does the Radio Reference data indicate whether there is encryption or not? I don't see any indication, but maybe I am not reading it correctly.

Looks like they are in the middle of migrating from an old EDACS system (link) to a P25 Phase 1 system (link). I do not see any indication they are encrypted. I would get the SDS100 as it is a more capable scanner and super easy to program for both systems.

 

[rk911]

Looks like they are in the middle of migrating from an old EDACS system (link) to a P25 Phase 1 system (link). I do not see any indication they are encrypted. I would get the SDS100 as it is a more capable scanner and super easy to program for both systems.

agree but i'd be aware of a potential move to a Phase II system. a 396 will become a brick if that ever happens but for now am x96 radio will do. if in recall correctly there was no uniden programming software for the x96 radios. i used ARC96 from Butel. programming by hand is not the way to go.

 

[KB2GOM]

Looks like they are in the middle of migrating from an old EDACS system (link) to a P25 Phase 1 system (link). I do not see any indication they are encrypted. I would get the SDS100 as it is a more capable scanner and super easy to program for both systems.

I've seen videos of how the HomePatrol is programmed by selecting zip code, range, and then simply touch-screen selecting the systems you want to listen to -- does the SDS100 work in a similar way?

 

[mc48]

I had an HP1 and that was a good scanner but the touch screen went bad and my county was transitioning to a P25/P2 system so I went for a HP2, Big mistake. The HP2 is worthless on a P25 Phase 2 system, I have it and my SDS100 in the same room at the moment, both programmed identically and half the time the HP2 is scanning away and the SDS100 has people talking on the system, and when the HP2 does stop it's garbled about 40% of the time. (Both have Remtronix antennas) Personally I would get the SDS100 and have more than you may need and no regrets, because if you get the HP2 you might end up with buyers remorse.
Yes the SDS has zip code programming and range to start with, but I suggest you download the Sentinel programmer now and play around with it to see how easy it is to use. Here is the link BCDx36HPSentinel < UnidenMan4 < TWiki

 

[cpfinlay]

I've seen videos of how the HomePatrol is programmed by selecting zip code, range, and then simply touch-screen selecting the systems you want to listen to -- does the SDS100 work in a similar way?

Short answer is YES!

Long answer is you will want to keep your scanner's database updated weekly; especially since they are performing a migration. You will need to use Uniden's free Sentinel software to do that and it really simple to create favorite lists and download them to the scanner that way.

 

[hexagon_keyhole]

Short answer is YES!

Long answer is you will want to keep your scanner's database updated weekly; especially since they are performing a migration. You will need to use Uniden's free Sentinel software to do that and it really simple to create favorite lists and download them to the scanner that way.

Extended answer: Yes, also!

Play with Sentinel now to get a feel for the programming. Save the Zip code function for when you are traveling, or if you forget to use Sentinel to program the area you are visiting

 

[fxdscon]

I've seen videos of how the HomePatrol is programmed by selecting zip code, range, and then simply touch-screen selecting the systems you want to listen to -- does the SDS100 work in a similar way?

Yes, there are also many videos for the SDS100 on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=program+sds100

.

 

[KB2GOM]

Extended answer: Yes, also!

Play with Sentinel now to get a feel for the programming. Save the Zip code function for when you are traveling, or if you forget to use Sentinel to program the area you are visiting

I downloaded and have been playing with Sentinel. Seems pretty neat. I wish I had something as powerful (database based) for conventional frequencies for my BC125AT.