My wishlist for the next "flagship" model...

[lu81fitter]

I will not enter the debate about a myriad of options on the next flagship model. I just want a 996P2 with an SDR to do simulcast. I don't use all of the features I have on my P2 now. Just add the SDR (and maybe a bit more room for programming more sites/systems).

 

[RRR]

I predict the SDS series will be the last scanners to come out to the mass market, unless some other company that has a specific interest in scanners, comes out with something.

The SDS series completely changed scanners. They were built to do so much more than they do now, they can (hopefully they will) be modified to accept different modes, etc. What can really surpass that?

Though I still can't understand why the 100 has a remarkably bright display, while the 200's lack that so much.

Hey Jon! Can you mod a '200 for a brighter display?

 

[WILSON43]

Great wish list but the more you increase the pricing and technical expertise required to run the thing, the smaller the niche market becomes with many in that market already concerned about spending huge amounts of money for paperweights after encryption cosumes the land.

 

[Hit_Factor]

I predict the SDS series will be the last scanners to come out to the mass market, unless some other company that has a specific interest in scanners, comes out with something.

I'm inclined to agree with you. There is some talk about Unication producing a scanner, but their primary market is not consumers, it's Public Safety.

 

[kb7gjy]

I would still suggest something like plug in modules for RX. These RX modules could be optimized for certain bands (VHF low, VHF-hi, MilAir, UHF, 700/800, etc.) Maybe have additional Ant ports for each RX so you would have a matching antenna for that band or a simple bypass via a jumper to utilize a common ant.

Also FTO could use the additional RX so that while normal scanning is the going on a second RX could be set as priority for FTO.
I'm sure there are a few that currently use FTO, but I do not because I don't want to tie up a scanner to just act as a pager. In practice, this scanner would act as a "normal scanner while a secondary RX would monitor FTO. Once the proper tones in FTO are received, it would sound an alert tone and play the paged traffic.

MDC1200 and the other flavors decoding. Yes I know there would have to be royalties paid. I would guess that the royalties would be low being how old the tech is, but that is just a guess on my part.

Add built in GPS (Sorry John). On the mobile/Base model, it would add a small antenna "hump" around the size of a xm/sirius antenna (Smaller or no hump would be better), but also allow an external GPS antenna connection on the back. Dump the multi wire setup that is currently offered for GPS.

Remote Head capabilities. With newer vehicles, space available always seems to be a challenge. Remoting the head seems to be a constant wish of many I see here in a mobile environment.

I know personally, in a mobile setting I prefer remote head style, even in my charger. All my remote radio main units are in the truck behind a metal protective cover. I can keep my coax runs short. Power is right there so no long runs for power. Honestly please consider remote head possibilities. Use Cat5 cable between the head and the main unit. In my RV, again I have a dedicated space for the main radios to live while the heads are located in a convenient/safe area.

Lastly, dustproofing/waterproofing. So it could be in car, truck, dirty dump truck, boat, etc.

All for the low low price of 29.99. LOL

(Flame suit on)

 

[Ubbe]

Remote Head capabilities.

Everybody got a smart phone these days and you usually have it mounted in your vehicle with easy access and viewing of the display. Add a user friendly app and you do not need to find a place for a bulky remote head and you also will get automatic mute of the scanner when you are involved in a phone call. You will have no visible remote head when you leave your car. If you have vehicle internet you could listen to your scanner while being inside a shop or restaurant. Vehicle internet are also good for a car alarm with glass break and tilt sensors that immediatly alarms on your smart phone.

/Ubbe

 

[StoliRaz]

2 simple requests-

-Drop the goofy SMA antenna connection. The SMA might be better at keeping water intrusion out but if you're using a $600 scanner out in the pouring rain there's something wrong with you. Really annoyed with using adapters that constantly get stuck on the antenna/cable when swapping.
-No more proprietary battery packs! Use 6 AA batteries if you need to. Hell use 4 C batteries. I can't stand those battery packs.

That is all. Carry on.

 

[Ubbe]

Use 6 AA batteries if you need to. Hell use 4 C batteries.

AA batteries would only last for 3 hours. C batteries are probably too large in size. Use an external battery pack and power the scanner from the USB connector and you can then use any battery type you prefere.

/Ubbe

 

[StoliRaz]

AA batteries would only last for 3 hours. C batteries are probably too large in size. Use an external battery pack and power the scanner from the USB connector and you can then use any battery type you prefere.

/Ubbe

I don't know how you figure, the SDS battery is 3600 or 5400 depending on which you have. If you use (4) AA 2800mah batteries = 11,200mah total. In real world you wouldn't get the full 11k but it should last just as long as the small battery at the very least. A real world comparison would be awesome. My 436hp gets about 6 hrs on 3 of the 2800mah batteries, depends on a lot of variables.

I use an external Anker 16,000mah battery sometimes too, if I'm leaving it on a table for a while

 

[tweiss3]

I don't know how you figure, the SDS battery is 3600 or 5400 depending on which you have. If you use (4) AA 2800mah batteries = 11,200mah total. In real world you wouldn't get the full 11k but it should last just as long as the small battery at the very least. A real world comparison would be awesome. My 436hp gets about 6 hrs on 3 of the 2800mah batteries, depends on a lot of variables.

I use an external Anker 16,000mah battery sometimes too, if I'm leaving it on a table for a while

Your math is off a bit, 4AA in SERIES to is still only 2800mah (at 6v).

 

[StoliRaz]

Your math is off a bit, 4AA in SERIES to is still only 2800mah (at 6v).

I did math when I shouldn't have lol 🤷‍♂️

 

[jonwienke]

I don't know how you figure, the SDS battery is 3600 or 5400 depending on which you have. If you use (4) AA 2800mah batteries = 11,200mah total.

Wrong. The SDS100 battery is 5400mAH at 3.6 volts. NiMH AA batteries are 1.2 volts, so you need 3 in series to compare power apples to apples. You need 12 AAs to get 11,200mAH at 3.6V.

You need 6 AAs to duplicate the storage capacity of the Li-ion pack, and they would be both heavier and bulkier, so asking to go back to AAs is a really terrible idea. 18650 batteries would make a lot more sense. 3 of them would provide more power than the current pack, and would still be lighter and more compact than 6 AAs.

 

[KI6RVZ]

I would also hope that the Siren app/radio have cloud proxy connectivity so users don’t need to punch holes or apply forwarding on their routers.

 

[kc5igh]

I will not enter the debate about a myriad of options on the next flagship model. I just want a 996P2 with an SDR to do simulcast. I don't use all of the features I have on my P2 now. Just add the SDR (and maybe a bit more room for programming more sites/systems).

I'm pretty much in agreement with lu81fitter about the next "flagship" model, except for the possibility of addressing linear simulcast modulation by means of an alternate, less-power-hungry I/Q receiver than the SDS100's SDR approach. I know it's not a fair comparison and I'm not sure how Unication does it, but my G5 does an amazing job of handling simulcast systems without the SDS100's power-consumption and heat problems.

I've enjoyed playing with the SDS100's many, many features, but I'd happily settle for a simpler trunk-tracking scanner that can provide solid rf performance in a simulcast environment without the power/heat issues.

Thanks for listening . . .

-Johnnie (KC5IGH)