Need Help Deciding: BC125AT or SDS100

[KC1THE]

Hello, this is my first post here. I appreciate everyone's expertise on the forums (I have been reading a lot lately) and would appreciate some help in deciding on which scanner to purchase for my area. I am a recently licensed tech but not an active ham as of yet.

I am in the Central Massachusetts area (Leominster) and it appears most of the channels I listen to (predominantly Police/Fire/Repeaters/some Rail) are conventional analog FM or FMN:

Worcester County, Massachusetts (MA) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Worcester County, Massachusetts (MA)

www.radioreference.com

I was thinking of purchasing a BC125AT, however, I would also like to listen to Massachusetts State Police but they are on a P25 Trunked System - and there are some other services on P25 I may like to explore - so this may help me make my decision: Right now, either the BC125AT or SDS100*. I am open to other suggestions as well.

I understand the BC125AT just does conventional and not trunked systems. I am also a visual person and feel maybe the SDS100 would give me more in terms of screen information/feedback on what I am listneing to - even though most of my listening (probably 80-95%) will be done on analog/conventional frequencies as those are dominant in my area currently.

I am currently using a Baofeng UV-5R and Chirp as a poor-man's scanner to program my local conventional agencies, but it is lacking in the lower VHF frequencies so I am missing out on some activities and of course, no banks. I am amazed though that it picks up fire and police from towns 30-40+ miles from my location with clarity.

I also have Yaesu FT-60 programmed similarly with RT Systems software and as my main HT and go-to radio once I feel comfortable transmitting.

And, I have an old Regency HX-1500 scanner that still runs ok, but does not pick up anything. Not sure why. It worked well back in the 90's when I moved to this area.

I am aware of the Unication G5 pager for listening to conventional and trunked systems and like that it is rugged and a great piece of hardware (a characteristic I like and perhaps something akin to the feel of the Yaesu FT-60?) but it might be more than I can chew at the moment in terms of programming and it probably might not be as fun to use or as flexible as a dedicated scanner like the SDS100.

Any thoughts on a scanner purchase would be appreciated and thanks for reading!

* Note: I missed out on the Cyber Monday price of $549.99 recently but did email Uniden Friday if they will be making a similar offer before Christmas and they informed me the SDS100 will be on sale tomorrow - December 12th for $584.10 for those who might be interested.

 

[dave3825]

would appreciate some help in deciding on which scanner to purchase for my area.

I was thinking of purchasing a BC125AT, however, I would also like to listen to Massachusetts State Police but they are on a P25 Trunked System - and there are some other services on P25 I may like to explore - so this may help me make my decision: Right now, either the BC125AT or SDS100*. I am open to other suggestions as well.

(predominantly Police/Fire/Repeaters/some Rail)

SDS100 would be my choice (for portability) or SDS200 (base and mobile) as it offers the most. P25 conventional and trunked, DMR, NXDN Provoice conventional and trunked (with paid upgrade)(cheapest directly from Uniden) .

Think about future and long haul. What's listed in the db today is what's there today. Agencies you listen to could switch to digital at any time and some rail is already using NXDN.

No guarantee that agencies that switch to digital will be in the clear and not encrypted.

You mention handheld scanners. If you want really cheap options for home use, there is also the sdr route.

 

[Ace9133uwu]

I’ll put my two cents in. I would recommend the BC125AT for dedicated VHF monitoring. Rail, fire, and the like. The SDS100 doesn’t exactly do well on VHF, especially rail. But it is the perfect P25 scanner, hands down. I wouldn’t worry about the NXDN upgrade for the SDS100 for rail, ‘cause the majority of rail NXDN usage is few and far between- rail yard operation, some railroad police and some class 2 regionals.

Honestly though, not to dissuade you from buying the SDS100, I’d pull the trigger on that and continue using your Baofeng for conventional monitoring. I have a couple UV5R’s as backup for rail if I happen to forget my daily carry.

 

[jgorman21]

Based On my experience with the 125, 100, G5, and many others I’ll say this. The 125 is a great little receiver for analog conventional stuff. The G5 is outstanding on simulcast trunked systems. It is not a ”scanner” and has some limitations that some folks don’t care for. It’s a great “receiver!” The SDS 100 works “ok” on simulcast - that’s what it’s made for. There is a “learning curve” with the SDS 100 and many manipulations to get it to “hear” things other than simulcast. Just my experience and opinion. Many people on here feel that it’s the best ever and that’s great! I’ve had mine for two years and have been underwhelmed with its performance! It is “slick” and very pretty in appearance.

Good luck and have fun!

 

[4436time]

You might consider presenting this in your area forum since there may be others who already have an idea for how the SDS100 performs on these systems. Otherwise, I would likely opt for the SDS100 and then spring for a good used BC125 if it doesn't live up to expectations. I've messed with a few conv scanners and the two SDS200's in front of me seem to work just as well. However, everything is hooked to attic antennas using decent cable. So YMMV.

 

[KC1THE]

You might consider presenting this in your area forum since there may be others who already have an idea for how the SDS100 performs on these systems. ...

Thanks for this.. ...good idea.

Thank you all for the advice so far.

 

[ladn]

The 125 is a great little radio and a good value. Like you mentioned, it doesn't do any digital or anything above 512 MHz.
The SDS 100 is rather pricey and has a fairly steep learning curve. I think a Uniden 325P2 would be a better choice. It's the same form factor at the 125 and does P25 out of the box and will do DMR or NXDN with an (extra cost) software upgrade.

ProScan software is strongly recommended for programming.

 

[JvdK]

Perhaps you can wait a few weeks more till Uniden releases their new handheld scanner BCD160 DN. First testers say that the sensitivity of this new scanner is at least comparable with the 125AT. However with this new model you can also receive the digital DMR and NXDN modes (non trunking)!

 

[W1KNE]

As the one member commenting here who lives about 50 miles from there, and travels through there regularly, I want to make a couple of comments. First off, Mass State Police up there is still an analog Motorola Type II system. The Commonwealth won't be upgrading it for another couple of years. Secondly, you didn't mention if you want to travel to Worcester, but if you do, Worcester IS P25 Phase II with several TDMA (Phase II) talkgroups. So there you'd want a SDS 100. The difference between the two scanners are very very wide. Like what's better for going in the back woods a Jeep or a Camry? Depends, is the road level and flat, or is it 4WD and steep?

The SDS 100 works “ok” on simulcast - that’s what it’s made for.

The SDS works far better than "OK" on them. It works phenomenal. This is from travelling with it heavily to simulcast systems across the country.

 

[AK9R]

Conversation continues here: Scanner Purchase Decision: BC125AT or SDS100