Hello, I would like to first introduce myself as a newcomer to scanners, as its taken a while for me to save enough money for a good scanner. I also recently acquired a job at Radio Shack which of course grants me a discount on most items (partly just to get myself a scanner ;-) ). After months of research and sifting through manuals, forums, reviews, and videos, I finally decided to give the Uniden Home Patrol a try. My reasoning is first, I need a handheld unit, and since I will be mostly accessing the radio reference database, this scanner should be ideal because it is pretty straightforward. I didnt schoose it soley on its user interface because a s relatively young and tech savvy person, I don't mind learning a new complicated device
however, i'm beginning to think that I have made a wrong choice and would like some input before my 30-day return policy expires. the scanner's interface is actually a lot more cumbersome than I anticipated, and the UI seems to have been developed without much thought. favorites list creation is more tedious than necessary, the delay or hold times are too long and cannot be edited globally, and basic features that other scanners have must be purchased as a $100 upgrade.
My main problems with the scanner is reception is crisp (when it works) but is extremely choppy at decoding, kind of like listening to a low quality video on YouTube that has to stop to buffer every couple seconds. I also miss a lot of conversations due to the beginning or end being cut off at random. I could get an antenna, but of course I also have to get a SMA to BNC adapter witch is another element of annoyance.
Whats the scan speed on the Home Patrol anyway? it says a maximum of 100 channels per sec, but it often fluctuates to much less than that.
Should I purchase the pro-106? is the performance, audio, and scan speed better than the Home Patrol? is it worth programming it with the software or manually with a subscription to radio reference? will I miss less conversations with this? I don't mind the extra work involved, and like a more configurable scanner with better performance, and the home patrol gives off the vibe that it is an uncompleted concept.
Lastly where does the Uniden bcd996xt fall into this category, especially against the pro-106?
Thank you all in advance...
however, i'm beginning to think that I have made a wrong choice and would like some input before my 30-day return policy expires. the scanner's interface is actually a lot more cumbersome than I anticipated, and the UI seems to have been developed without much thought. favorites list creation is more tedious than necessary, the delay or hold times are too long and cannot be edited globally, and basic features that other scanners have must be purchased as a $100 upgrade.
My main problems with the scanner is reception is crisp (when it works) but is extremely choppy at decoding, kind of like listening to a low quality video on YouTube that has to stop to buffer every couple seconds. I also miss a lot of conversations due to the beginning or end being cut off at random. I could get an antenna, but of course I also have to get a SMA to BNC adapter witch is another element of annoyance.
Whats the scan speed on the Home Patrol anyway? it says a maximum of 100 channels per sec, but it often fluctuates to much less than that.
Should I purchase the pro-106? is the performance, audio, and scan speed better than the Home Patrol? is it worth programming it with the software or manually with a subscription to radio reference? will I miss less conversations with this? I don't mind the extra work involved, and like a more configurable scanner with better performance, and the home patrol gives off the vibe that it is an uncompleted concept.
Lastly where does the Uniden bcd996xt fall into this category, especially against the pro-106?
Thank you all in advance...