Is the Home Patrol Worth getting in my area?

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I live in claremore oklahoma and i am currently using the Uniden BCT-8 to broadcast my feed. But i am thinking about ordering the Home Patrol-1. Now i am wondering if there is any benefit in my area to getting/Using the Home Patrol-1. My immediate area is on the LTR network (Claremore Police) and im pretty sure the Rogers County Sherriffs Dept is also on this system. Now before anyone asks i dont do alot of traveling. When i do travel it would be to Kansas city, Mo to watch football and basketball games there other then that i pretty much stay local. I do travel to owasso, Tulsa areas which i believe are on the motorola system. With all that being said am i just waisting my money if i buy the HP-1 unit. And what benifits do i have compared to my BCT-8 given the circumstance above. Again please remember that i am new to the scanner world so some questions maybe dumb or pointless to you but non the less information i may need to help me better understand. Thanks again for any comments or assistance.

****Also i was wondering what the reception difference is on both scanners using stock antennas****
 
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Freqed

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I personally think you would be hard pressed to get the real value out of the HP-1 with the lack of traveling that much. A good used 996XT or even a 996T would be a better way to go. IMHO.
 
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I personally think you would be hard pressed to get the real value out of the HP-1 with the lack of traveling that much. A good used 996XT or even a 996T would be a better way to go. IMHO.

I thought as much. I already posted a ad in the claasifieds on here either trying to sell it or trade it for the BCD996XT as thats what i wanted to get enventually anyways. Thank you for the info.

****On a side note is there any place either locally (Claremore) surrounding areas or any place you can recommend in tulsa that has antennas at a decent price for scanners and such? sorry if the answer may seem obvious to you as i am new to all the scanner scene stuff*****
 

plaws

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I live in claremore oklahoma and i am currently using the Uniden BCT-8 to broadcast my feed. But i am thinking about ordering the Home Patrol-1.

Seems to me that a BCT-8 is a great radio for broadcasting a feed. An external antenna will probably help if you aren't getting a solid signal on your target system(s) already. What it seems you really want is a fancier scanner to play with while still providing the feed. :)

Like the other poster said, look for a used '996XT or '996T. I'm looking for a 2nd 996 myself and have been monitoring eBay (where I got my current '996XT).

The '996T, if you can do without a few features, is a great way to go.

The features in bold here are the difference between the '996T and '996XT:BCD996XT - The RadioReference Wiki

The 'XT also has more storage for systems and talkgroups/channels. Seems like they are going for about $100 cheaper on eBay.
 
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Seems to me that a BCT-8 is a great radio for broadcasting a feed. An external antenna will probably help if you aren't getting a solid signal on your target system(s) already. What it seems you really want is a fancier scanner to play with while still providing the feed. :).

That is partly it. I def like the color changing ability if i want. I like the alpha tagging feature ALOT. But yes i am looking to upgrading my antenna for my BCT-8. But i am new in this area and also i live in a apartment on the bottom floor. So not sure what antenna i could use for the meantime while the house im moving into is finished. I like the close call feature. Basically everything my current 2 scanners dont do i would like to have lol. i didnt really know what all those features did or what there purpose was as i had no guidance. Then after i purchased what i did i found this awesome informative site. Oh well.
 

Freqed

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Another radio to consider and some say has better P-25 Digital audio is the GRECOM PSR-600 tbey run close price wise to the 996T and are more like the 996XT. I have seen some listed on craigslist lately for about $375. or so.
 

mam1081

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Next to a scanner...
How much time do you spend programming scanners?
How much do you search for new freqs/talkgroups/etc?
You already mentioned you don't travel much.

I tried out the HomePatrol-1 (I travel a fair amount), and I decided it wasn't made for me. I enjoy finding new stuff and searching for nearby things (Close Call/Signal Stalker). The db for Oklahoma isn't set up all that great for the HomePatrol - takes WAY to long to scan through all the things (many freqs are duplicates in the scanlists set up for us) to hear much. The pre-programmed scanner is OK for travel, but only if you attach the GPS. The DVR feature and the display are the selling points of the HomePatrol to me.

The 996XT is pretty nice if you enjoy programming your own things/finding new ones. I think the close call feature and GPS capability of this scanner are excellent.

The GRE PRE600 is a better scanner for "searching" (as opposed to close call) to me. It requires fewer button presses to search and display things. It also doesn't need to be set to "analog only" to decode tone/dpl or "digital" to display NAC codes (as the 996XT does - 996T doesn't give NAC codes).

All three are good scanners - you will best enjoy the one that fits your style of listening/level of enthusiasm for programming, and general understanding of radio systems.
 
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How much time do you spend programming scanners?
How much do you search for new freqs/talkgroups/etc?
You already mentioned you don't travel much.

I tried out the HomePatrol-1 (I travel a fair amount), and I decided it wasn't made for me. I enjoy finding new stuff and searching for nearby things (Close Call/Signal Stalker). The db for Oklahoma isn't set up all that great for the HomePatrol - takes WAY to long to scan through all the things (many freqs are duplicates in the scanlists set up for us) to hear much. The pre-programmed scanner is OK for travel, but only if you attach the GPS. The DVR feature and the display are the selling points of the HomePatrol to me.

The 996XT is pretty nice if you enjoy programming your own things/finding new ones. I think the close call feature and GPS capability of this scanner are excellent.

The GRE PRE600 is a better scanner for "searching" (as opposed to close call) to me. It requires fewer button presses to search and display things. It also doesn't need to be set to "analog only" to decode tone/dpl or "digital" to display NAC codes (as the 996XT does - 996T doesn't give NAC codes).

All three are good scanners - you will best enjoy the one that fits your style of listening/level of enthusiasm for programming, and general understanding of radio systems.

I am new to the scanner scene. Some things i like to have the "Plug-n-Play Feature" like the hp-1 but i wanna search and find new things cause for me thats the fun part. And taking time to program a scanner doesnt bother me cause i feel the more i have to be involved with the scanner the more knowlegable and more exciting it is, to me that is. When traffic is slow on my scanner im always searching for new frequencies but realize i cant find much until i upgrade my antennas (which are stock for now). I am a huge electronics person and regret starting to get into the scanning scene so late ( Im 29 ) wish i would have gotten into it alot earlier. As for NAC codes and tone/PL im not 100% sure what that is or does as i am learning more and more everyday. But the 996XT just looks like my type of scanner. I placed a ad on here (RR) and someone offered to trade me there ICOM R-75 for my HP-1. I had to decline as i have no clue what that is or what purpose i would have for it.
 

supraman762

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I broadcast the Norman feed. I believe it's on the same network.

A bcd996xt works well for me. I went to RadioShack and bought a digital antenna that was tuned to pick up the 800 MHz band specifically.

That's my 2 cents worth
 

plaws

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I about to get a "after market" antenna this weekend.

Remember - if you're already receiving a solid signal on your existing antenna, an external antenna might overload your receiver.

Note, too, that RG58 (and even RG8X) coax is a bad idea for scanning past a few feet in length. Most of what you want to listen to is probably above 460 MHz and any run of thin coax is going to have a lot of loss on those bands especially 800 MHz. RG6 (like for sat dishes) works well and has lower loss despite the impedance mismatch (RG8/RG58 is 50-ohm and RG6/RG59 is 75-ohm).

Also, there is no such thing as a "digital" antenna. RF is RF.
 

Drkatzjr45

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I think the HomePatrol-1 is (or will be) a classic. Not only great for traveling, but you can also purchase the advanced program (Extreme Software Upgrade) option which allows you to analyze systems with keen detail. I found this video of a Uniden representative discussing this.

The only negative I have found is that the unit invariably has difficulty discerning the appropriate tower to monitor.

To circumvent this, when creating my Favorite List, I simply programmed the unit to permanently ignore all Oklahoma sites except Tulsa (where I live).

Other than this issue, I find Uniden's sound, contextual dexterity, and ease of use to be refreshing,
and the added advanced software will analyze anything within a system's purview keenly.


Link to video

Introducing the HomePatrol-1 Extreme Update - YouTube
 
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