BCD160DN/BCD260DN: Is this a new Uniden model? BCD260DN

[buddrousa]

Update the BCD160DN connected to the same antenna at the same time with my TRX-1 in the car today went to Carroll County DMR T3 System. Both Scanners only scanning the T3 System the 160 scanning the 3 Frequencies locked on ANY CONVERSATION just like the TRX-1 on a busy System it is not going to TRACK or Display TG's or UID's but it will receive ALL TALKGROUPS not ENCRYPTED.
To make this clear the T3 system was scanned as 3 CONVENTIONIAL FREQUENCIES.

 

[sonm10]

Update the BCD160DN connected to the same antenna at the same time with my TRX-1 in the car today went to Carroll County DMR T3 System. Both Scanners only scanning the T3 System the 160 scanning the 3 Frequencies locked on ANY CONVERSATION just like the TRX-1 on a busy System it is not going to TRACK or Display TG's or UID's but it will receive ALL TALKGROUPS not ENCRYPTED.
To make this clear the T3 system was scanned as 3 CONVENTIONIAL FREQUENCIES.

But to requote @Ubbe post, how does it handle data channels such as TIII control channels or Cap+ rest channels?

 

[buddrousa]

I programmed all 3 Channels INCLUDING the DATA Channel the BCD160DN NEVER LOCKED UP ON THE DATA STREAM IT PASSED RIGHT OVER THE DATA CHANNEL and only was passing VOICE all FREQUENCIES.

 

[Ubbe]

it is not going to TRACK or Display TG's or UID's but it will receive ALL TALKGROUPS not ENCRYPTED.

Excellent confirmation! But it will show the TG id number? But no UID?

Hopefully the firmware have been written to first check the other slot on a control channel frequency for calls before it skips it, but time will tell and there are always an upgrade that could take care of any anomalies.

/Ubbe

 

[buddrousa]

No the BCD160DN and BCD260DN neither one shows ANY TG or UID information. The only information displayed is TONES COLOR CODES RANS.

 

[W4ELL]

I have found the 160 to easily be a more than worthy replacement for my 125. Makes a great little search scanner... even has a P25 indicator as an FYI (without actual P25 decode, of course)

Non-scientific takes:
Reception on both Mil/Civ Airbands, RR, and CB seem very similar to the 125 using the same antennas.
DMR voice easily sounds as good as my 325P2... Haven't heard any NXDN to report on yet.

Will be in NYC next week... should be a challenging test for it.

 

[nosoup4u]

I just got my 160 today. I think they need to change the squelch-backlight option. There is no delay when the squelch closes, so it sometimes blinks rapidly which is annoying. The backlight seems a bit dimmer than my BC125AT, but not a big deal. DMR sounds pretty good, I haven't tried NXDN yet. I would probably consider this a supercharged BC125AT.

 

[buddrousa]

You get that is a whistler gre patton

 

[Ubbe]

The only information displayed is TONES COLOR CODES RANS.

The price difference to a scanner with full TG management are then probably too small to valid a purchase for such a limited use. No P25, no CloseCall, no trunk, no identification of what TG or users that are in a conversation.

It is basically a crippled $120 BC125AT and a $180 BCT15x with the closecall taken out and then add only a voice decode of the digital datastream of DMR and NXDN and costs $250 for the portable and $350 for the mobile. Whistler doesn't pay any licence or fees to use their DMR and NXDN decoders so Uniden also does not need to when just doing decode of voice data.

/Ubbe

 

[buddrousa]

Ubbe this scanner was made for a certain market not a certain market demanding new options.
The only Market for the x60's that is not Railroad or Aircraft is IF and it is a BIG IF
1 A user only needs NON TRUNKED DMR NXDN ANALOG
2 The user wants a good Rail or Air Scanner.
3 If you want more than what the x60's offer the SPEND $450 plus $110 for a total $560 for a difference of $210 which is a big difference if you do not have that kind of money.
You siad Whistler TRX-2 $630 that is almost $300 more than the BCD260DN

 

[Ubbe]

Ubbe this scanner was made for a certain market not a certain market demanding new options.

Yes, but for the added cost you get all the whistlers and bells, trunked, P25, recording to SD card, TG management, closecall/spectrumsweep, database handling, location controlled scanning. If you remove all that functionality and only keep the digital audio stream decoder it should be $100 less than the current price point for these BCDN scanners looking at the developing costs.

You could probably use a $50 Raspberry Pi3+ to decode DMR and NXDN as well as P25 audio data streams and put in a BCT15x to mute the audio from the scanner when the digital formats are decoded and instead output the decoded audio from the Pi to pretty much equal what Uniden have done.

Lets see how popular these scanners will be. I guess that most railroad entusiasts are using much better professional radios as they only need simple conventional digital decoding. That frequency band are extremely interference prone from other transmitter like those powerful NOAA stations, so professional radios are probably the way to go and usually costs less on Ebay than Unidens scanners.

/Ubbe

 

[buddrousa]

A few things not going to happen hotrod.
I help several people in my area with scanners and programming. Most for no charge. I even order them program them deliver for no extra charge.
1 I am not going to put a laptop and a usb stick in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
2 I am not going to put a $630 TRX in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
3 I am not going to put a $500 Uniden plus $50 NXDN Key in a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
4 I WILL PUT IN A $250 160 in a 65 year old womans house to hear NXDN POlice.

 

[03msc]

A few things not going to happen hotrod.
I help several people in my area with scanners and programming. Most for no charge. I even order them program them deliver for no extra charge.
1 I am not going to put a laptop and a usb stick in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
2 I am not going to put a $630 TRX in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
3 I am not going to put a $500 Uniden plus $50 NXDN Key in a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
4 I WILL PUT IN A $250 160 in a 65 year old womans house to hear NXDN POlice.

Yep, makes sense.

Some people run around with blinders on and don’t realize how little sense their viewpoint actually makes.

 

[KT4HX]

A few things not going to happen hotrod.
I help several people in my area with scanners and programming. Most for no charge. I even order them program them deliver for no extra charge.
1 I am not going to put a laptop and a usb stick in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
2 I am not going to put a $630 TRX in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
3 I am not going to put a $500 Uniden plus $50 NXDN Key in a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
4 I WILL PUT IN A $250 160 in a 65 year old womans house to hear NXDN POlice.

That is the key point here. These models are truly not for everyone, nor should they be looked at in that manner. They are more of a niche filling model that will meet the more narrowly focused needs of some - not all. This is truly a case of to each their own. Uniden is not making these models as a replacement or a supplement for their higher end models, rather meet specific needs/wants within a lower price point.

 

[Omega-TI]

A few things not going to happen hotrod.
I help several people in my area with scanners and programming. Most for no charge. I even order them program them deliver for no extra charge.
1 I am not going to put a laptop and a usb stick in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
2 I am not going to put a $630 TRX in the living room of a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
3 I am not going to put a $500 Uniden plus $50 NXDN Key in a 65 year old womans house to listen to NXDN Police.
4 I WILL PUT IN A $250 160 in a 65 year old womans house to hear NXDN POlice.

I'm like you, I don't believe in rashly encouraging someone to spend more money than necessary to buy something they will have little to no use for. I've helped quite a few seniors myself, many of them on really tight fixed incomes get what they NEED for their limited wants. The last lady in my retirement condo wanted something "cheap and easy to use" and only wanted to listen to three things, the local police, the local fire and the local ambulance service. I was able to find her a used BC75XLT for only $45.00 in pristine condition from a friend of mine who recently upgraded. I plugged in the frequencies so she only has to turn it on and off. She's happy.

 

[W8WCA]

Will be interested to see how this does on Mil Air (As it covers a bit that the 125 does not cover)
I am looking at getting a new Mil Air Hand Held.

 

[W8WCA]

Here's the Band Defaults for the 260. The 160 doesn't include the 1240 to 1300 band.


View attachment 150060

Wanting to confirm: Can You change say 380 to 400 from NFM to AM?

 

[fxdscon]

Wanting to confirm: Can You change say 380 to 400 from NFM to AM?

The software shows that it can be changed for both the 160 and the 260...

 

[fxdscon]

Looks like Amazon is now showing the BCD 160DN for $249.99. Sold and shipped by Amazon. It says prime shipping but the estimated delivery date is still over a week away….. March 25 - 27.

https://a.co/d/6tCx0jv

 

[palmerjrusa]

Looks like Amazon is now showing the BCD 160DN for $249.99. Sold and shipped by Amazon. It says prime shipping but the estimated delivery date is still over a week away….. March 25 - 27.

https://a.co/d/6tCx0jv

Saw that, added to my cart and considering...

Did notice that HRO has no sign of the BCD160DN on its website.