Is a second generation of homepatrol set to be released?

[Danny37]

When looking at the exterior design of the homepatrol-1, you can't help but notice its major design flaws with the volume rocker and power button being on the side rather than the front. This makes it not very mobile friendly as it is nearly impossible to mount it in a car. Is there any news on a new design for second generation homepatrol to make it mobile friendly?

 

[GTR8000]

When is Uniden going to (fill in the blank)? Why hasn't Uniden made a scanner that (fill in the blank)? and so on

 

[LIScanner101]

When is Uniden going to (fill in the blank)? Why hasn't Uniden made a scanner that (fill in the blank)? and so on

#2 seems a little moot at this point what with GRE now out of the way.

I agree with the rest.

 

[GTR8000]

#2 seems a little moot at this point what with GRE now out of the way.

I agree with the rest.

Regardless, it's still good business practice to keep your ideas to yourself. GRE may be down and out at this point in time, but that doesn't mean there aren't other companies out there looking at various markets and seeing what a company like Uniden is coming up with. There very well could be a feature Uniden has thought up for inclusion in a future model that a software company might try to replicate with SDR. Why should they spill their secrets to the world simply because GRE appears to be down for the count? No matter what we believe about GRE's demise, or what conclusion logic might lead to...Uniden still needs to protect their intellectual property and ideas.

 

[LIScanner101]

Good points but SDR won't replace real scanners. Not convenient using a laptop, iPad or Kindle for scanning while driving. That is a different market the SDR stuff.

 

[Danny37]

Despite the that fact that uniden built this scanner to be a base/portable aka "homepatrol", I feel as though they didn't think through the exterior design, I mean seriously no way to lower or higher the volume on the screen, power button in the side rather than on the front. I hope when they do make a second generation of this scanner they make it more mobile friendly.

Thanks chauffeur, wasn't what I was looking for but some interesting reading.

 

[Jay911]

When looking at the exterior design of the homepatrol-1, you can't help but notice its major design flaws with the volume rocker and power button being on the side rather than the front. This makes it not very mobile friendly as it is nearly impossible to mount it in a car. Is there any news on a new design for second generation homepatrol to make it mobile friendly?

Your question has already been answered, but I'm a little caught off guard by the declaration that it's "nearly impossible to mount it in a car".

I've had my HP1 mounted in my car for years using this kit:

Windshield Mounting Kit for HomePatrol

Not only does it mount perfectly in my car, but I have taken that with me on various trips and put it in rental cars or other vehicles.

Volume and power on the top (not the side) are irrelevant, as you power it up, set the volume, and leave it alone for the rest of the trip. And as for lowering or raising the volume on the screen, tap either volume control once, and then use the plus or minus signs on-screen to do the rest. (The reverse works for editing the range - you can start by tapping the range legend, then use the "volume" rocker to make the range wider or narrower.)

 

[GTR8000]

Good points but SDR won't replace real scanners. Not convenient using a laptop, iPad or Kindle for scanning while driving. That is a different market the SDR stuff.

I'm not really sure why we're debating the finer points of what is Uniden's long-established policy. But, as a final point, don't be too quick to dismiss SDR as a replacement for "real scanners". As computing technology gets smaller and smaller, it's certainly plausible that we could see "SDR in a box" in the near future. So as I stated previously, just because Uniden doesn't currently have a traditional competitor when it comes to scanning receivers doesn't mean they should let their guard down.

On that note...this thread is straying off-topic, so let's end it here. The OP asked if/when Uniden might release a new version of the HP-1, and the link I provided gives the answer from Uniden's Product Manager himself regarding future products. Anything else is sheer speculation and wishful thinking.

 

[Danny37]

Your question has already been answered, but I'm a little caught off guard by the declaration that it's "nearly impossible to mount it in a car".

I've had my HP1 mounted in my car for years using this kit:

Windshield Mounting Kit for HomePatrol

Not only does it mount perfectly in my car, but I have taken that with me on various trips and put it in rental cars or other vehicles.

Volume and power on the top (not the side) are irrelevant, as you power it up, set the volume, and leave it alone for the rest of the trip.

I don't mean a temporary mount or cradle, I mean perminate mounts that mount into the console.

 

[Danny37]

I'm not really sure why we're debating the finer points of what is Uniden's long-established policy. But, as a final point, don't be too quick to dismiss SDR as a replacement for "real scanners". As computing technology gets smaller and smaller, it's certainly plausible that we could see "SDR in a box" in the near future. So as I stated previously, just because Uniden doesn't currently have a traditional competitor when it comes to scanning receivers doesn't mean they should let their guard down.

On that note...this thread is straying off-topic, so let's end it here. The OP asked if/when Uniden might release a new version of the HP-1, and the link I provided gives the answer from Uniden's Product Manager himself regarding future products. Anything else is sheer speculation and wishful thinking.

I pretty much made this in hopes that people can chime in on the design aspects and improvements on a second generation of the hp-1, if there is one to be set out in the future.

 

[robertmac]

I think it would be impossible to make the HomePatrol to everyones satisfaction. I don't want to mount it anywhere permanent. I take mine everywhere and this saves me having to buy 2 or 3. Never had an issue with the on/off, volume buttons. Have after market antenna that corrects my concern with the placement of the original. Where there is a will to make it work, there is generally a way to make it work. Myself, I'm not really fussy about all these touch screens as all they are is a collector of finger prints, smudge marks, etc.. But that is the way most electronics are headed these days.

 

[Danny37]

I think it would be impossible to make the HomePatrol to everyones satisfaction. I don't want to mount it anywhere permanent. I take mine everywhere and this saves me having to buy 2 or 3. Never had an issue with the on/off, volume buttons. Have after market antenna that corrects my concern with the placement of the original. Where there is a will to make it work, there is generally a way to make it work. Myself, I'm not really fussy about all these touch screens as all they are is a collector of finger prints, smudge marks, etc.. But that is the way most electronics are headed these days.

Can I ask what aftermarket antenna do you have? The stock one is not so great.

 

[Jay911]

In the car, with my HP mounted permanently on the windshield mount, I use a Spectrum Force magmount with SMA connector.. SpectrumForce Wideband Antenna with Mag Mount and SMA - despite the small size, the magnet has held the antenna on the roof up to ~100 MPH.

At home or carrying the radio around (which I do very little of, as I consider it more of a base/mobile), I use the Diamond SRH-789 which has an SMA connector, a 0 to ~100° angle (you can bend the antenna to any position you wish in about a 200 degree arc) and a telescoping whip you can extend or retract to "tune" the antenna to your desired band. Scanner Master doesn't have this one, but Universal Radio does: Diamond RH789 SRH789 Antenna

 

[Danny37]

In the car, with my HP mounted permanently on the windshield mount, I use a Spectrum Force magmount with SMA connector.. SpectrumForce Wideband Antenna with Mag Mount and SMA - despite the small size, the magnet has held the antenna on the roof up to ~100 MPH.

At home or carrying the radio around (which I do very little of, as I consider it more of a base/mobile), I use the Diamond SRH-789 which has an SMA connector, a 0 to ~100° angle (you can bend the antenna to any position you wish in about a 200 degree arc) and a telescoping whip you can extend or retract to "tune" the antenna to your desired band. Scanner Master doesn't have this one, but Universal Radio does: Diamond RH789 SRH789 Antenna

Thanks jay,

So just so I understand this correctly, the diamond antenna can be bent? you wouldn't have to buy a right angle sma connector?

 

[Jay911]

That's correct, it has a "hinge" in it.

 

[Danny37]

That's correct, it has a "hinge" in it.

Sorry I hope I'm not annoying you but as far as setting it up as a base, do you recommend the mag mount or the diamond? Performance wise, which performs better in your opinion?

 

[Jay911]

Not annoying at all. For a base station operation, I'd use the magmount. My cheap-but-workable solution in my "shack" has one of the magmounts on a piece of tin for a ground plane, on a bookshelf, and I pull in signals from 30-50 miles away. Another radio on the Diamond antenna in roughly the same location gets reception from 15-25 miles on average.

 

[Danny37]

Not annoying at all. For a base station operation, I'd use the magmount. My cheap-but-workable solution in my "shack" has one of the magmounts on a piece of tin for a ground plane, on a bookshelf, and I pull in signals from 30-50 miles away. Another radio on the Diamond antenna in roughly the same location gets reception from 15-25 miles on average.

Thanks jay your awesome, I'm actually going to buy two of these antenna because of how they don't hurt the wallet much. I really appreciate the advise!

 

[NWI_Scanner_Guy]

About the only thing I'd like to see changed in a next generation Home Patrol would be to move the microSD card slot somewhere where it is more easily accessible. Not that I remove the card from my HP-1 all that often, but when I do, it's a pain in the butt to have to remove two batteries in order to get to it.

Other than that, I think the HP-1 is great just as it is.

 

[LIScanner101]

I don't own one but I have handled them several times and used them, so I do have an opinion about them I'd like to share:

I think this scanner was really aimed more at the casual user who was "on the fence" about buying a scanner, will just use it in their house on a coffee table in the den, and has no interest (or lacks the skills) to program their own scanner the way scanner buffs are accustomed to.

With that said, I would say it's pretty darn close to being perfect for its target audience.

Now, for scanner buffs that want to either walk around with it, or install it in their car, that's really a whole different target audience. This scanner doesn't lend itself to being installed in-dash like a traditional DIN-sized electronic device. Jay911 - that's a pretty neat setup you have! However, that's not considered a permanent install, that's more like how one would use a GPS. Not a bad setup at all, just not permanent in the classic sense of the definition. Unfortunately, mounted on your dash like that, it also screams "BREAK INTO MY CAR AND STEAL ME!" unless, of course, you take it down after using it on each trip.

I DO like the touch screen approach. Perhaps the next DIN-sized scanner should have one...???