New scanner question

[W5KYP]

Hey guys!
I got out of the scanner hobby a few years ago and now wanting to get back to listening.

I know this question has to come up from time to time so sorry if I anger anyone

What is the VERY BEST scanner you can buy today?

I have a couple grand to play with, so no compromising, I’m looking for a fully featured, all possibilities/options included.

In a base model with programming software, not pre-programmed and not a hand held.

Thanks guys!
73!
W5KYP

 

[laidback]

It depends on you. What do you want to listen to. Where are you at, approx area. Do you have room for an outside antenna ? The most expensive and best scanner there is, is still limited by an antenna/coax.

 

[W5KYP]

I agree with you 100%

I have a 50’ Rohn 25 tower, and tons of LMR400 coax. I build most of my antennas.
What I’m trying to accomplish here is have the ability to monitor the local/state LEO’s and utilities as well as The following modes. NXDN/P25/EDACS/DSTAR/YSF and whatever else is available in my area of central Louisiana.

 

[laidback]

With a GREAT antenna setup like that I myself would buy a ,
Whistler TRX-2 Digital Base/Mobile Police Scanner

 

[W5KYP]

With a GREAT antenna setup like that I myself would buy a ,
Whistler TRX-2 Digital Base/Mobile Police Scanner

Gotcha!
thanks for the input,
I’m going to look into the Whistler TRX-2

 

[EastCoastSunrise]

There is also the Uniden SDS series of scanners. They can be a little pricey and/or hard to find but they are pretty much the best in the game. I would something like that as it can handle everything from simple analog all the way up to all kinds of digital formats and it is the only set of Uniden scanners I know of that can handle simulcast. But like others said the antenna I think will make the biggest difference.

 

[R0am3r]

Look into the SDS200 and consider the NXDN upgrade. The Whistler doesn't handle simulcast and won't trunk track NXDN or DMR (not listed as a requirement).

 

[laidback]

Upgrades, Unidens now days just want to SELL upgrades.

The Whistler TRX-2 is multi-system adaptive digital trunking scanners
with Motorola P25 Phase I, X2-TDMA, Phase II, DMR, and NXDN making it capable
of monitoring the following unencrypted channels/systems: Conventional
DMR (Entered as a DMR trunked system, Hytera XPT, MotoTRBO™ Capacity
Plus, MotoTRBO™ Connect Plus, and MotoTRBO™ Linked Cap Plus systems

 

[fxdscon]

Keep in mind that the free DMR and NXDN included with the Whistlers is free for a reason. The Whistler scanners do not include the necessary technology to accurately track DMR/NXDN trunked systems. They will only scan the voice channels, without the ability to decode and use the trunk tracking data from the control channel to follow conversations as they change frequencies. In small rural systems with not much traffic, or non-trunked DMR/NXDN systems, the Whistlers should be perfectly satisfactory in those situations.

The Uniden scanners use a paid upgrade for NXDN and DMR because they must pay licensing fees on each scanner they sell... to legally include the technology that enables decoding of data from the control channel to accurately follow conversations that change frequencies on those trunked systems. If you are in an area where large DMR/NXDN trunked systems are very busy with lots of users, talkgroups, and traffic, the Uniden's will make a world of difference.

 

[fredva]

Upgrades, Unidens now days just want to SELL upgrades.

The Whistler TRX-2 is multi-system adaptive digital trunking scanners
with Motorola P25 Phase I, X2-TDMA, Phase II, DMR, and NXDN making it capable
of monitoring the following unencrypted channels/systems: Conventional
DMR (Entered as a DMR trunked system, Hytera XPT, MotoTRBO™ Capacity
Plus, MotoTRBO™ Connect Plus, and MotoTRBO™ Linked Cap Plus systems

The lack of full explanation on what older generation scanners like the TRX series can or cannot do is what leads to buyer's regret that we see on the RadioReference forums. Trunk-tracking and simulcast capability are not mentioned in the description you apparently copied and pasted.

Now, in this case, the OP may not need to worry about simulcast. And unless the DMR or NXDN system is very busy, trunk-tracking is probably not be a big deal. A TRX-2 may be perfectly fine. But please don't just push Whistler's description to somebody who should know about potential challenges with their scanners.

 

[laidback]

Scanner Master and Industry News | Scanner Master

Stay up to date in the scanner radio world with industry breaking news and updates.

www.scannermaster.com

 

[fxdscon]

What is the VERY BEST scanner you can buy today?

-
If you have simulcast systems in your area, the Uniden SDS100 and SDS200 are the only 2 scanners currently on the market that have the technology to effectively deal with the problems of simulcast transmissions. There is a very informative article explaining those facts available here:

Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

 

[fredva]

Scanner Master and Industry News | Scanner Master

Stay up to date in the scanner radio world with industry breaking news and updates.

www.scannermaster.com

Yes. And real-world experience from users provides valuable info that isn't necessarily included in the manufacturer's press releases.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

The best scanners for simulcast P25 trunking are not necessarily the best scanners for conventional channels. In fact they are kind of poor at that.

 

[popnokick]

You listed DSTAR and YSF (Yaesu System Fusion) in the modes you want on your scanner. Those are Amateur Radio protocols, are not used in public safety communications, and therefore not available in scanners intended for public safety, aircraft, and other scanning.

 

[rk911]

sorry, but IMO, "the very best" is very subjective. it all depends on to what you want to listen. if your targets are full-time digitally encrypted then you're completely out of luck. OTOH, if you're wanting to just listen to aircraft, railroads or a county that's still on analog then a used radio shack scanner will do. IMO the Uniden 536 and SDS200 are two radios which have the most features and will decode almost anything.

 

[trentbob]

So to answer your question original poster, a couple of thousand dollars? It's a no-brainer. Whistler products were great state-of-the-art radios when GRE made them and they were also rebranded as Radio Shack scanners. The trx2 is the PSR 900 which was produced but never got introduced to the public until Whistler bought GRE when it went out of business, it was the 1095, Whistler smartly added a keyboard. What has been said here is true about the upgrades, there's a reason you pay for upgrades with Uniden, they are licensed, they work.

Also Whistler was never able to make a simulcast capable radio, the trx-2 will not perform well or at all on tdma Phase II simulcast systems, this is a well-known fact of life that's indisputable even though people still do dispute it, could be location incidences LOL. I always loved the TRX series back when everything was type II smartzone. Nice display, compact and better audio. That was a long time ago, everything has moved over or is in the process of moving over to Phase II simulcast in the years to come.

As far as the performance of the SDS radios. Opinions will differ but you will find from experienced users who know how to operate the radio properly and have the familiarity with properly setting the filters that they actually do work very well on non simulcast systems and conventional objects. With a budget of a couple of thousand dollars you could get a SDS 100 + 200 and one of the less expensive conventional only radios if you don't want to bother taking the time to properly learn how to use the SDS radios on conventional objects.

Always be careful of vendors and manufacturers descriptions and recommendations, they are, after all, in the business of selling radios, especially older, less popular models, you really can't blame them.

Good luck, you have a good problem to have... Bob.

 

[W5KYP]

Yes. And real-world experience from users provides valuable info that isn't necessarily included in the manufacturer's press releases.

Yep! I totally agree with you on that!

 

[W5KYP]

You listed DSTAR and YSF (Yaesu System Fusion) in the modes you want on your scanner. Those are Amateur Radio protocols, are not used in public safety communications, and therefore not available in scanners intended for public safety, aircraft, and other scanning.

Yep. Amateur bands, local repeaters in and around the area. I am active on HF but very seldom do I get on UHF/VHF and have nothing to monitor the repeaters.

With all the different modes out there now, was hoping there was a scanner that does it all!

 

[W5KYP]

Th

So to answer your question original poster, a couple of thousand dollars? It's a no-brainer. Whistler products were great state-of-the-art radios when GRE made them and they were also rebranded as Radio Shack scanners. The trx2 is the PSR 900 which was produced but never got introduced to the public until Whistler bought GRE when it went out of business, it was the 1095, Whistler smartly added a keyboard. What has been said here is true about the upgrades, there's a reason you pay for upgrades with Uniden, they are licensed, they work.

Also Whistler was never able to make a simulcast capable radio, the trx-2 will not perform well or at all on tdma Phase II simulcast systems, this is a well-known fact of life that's indisputable even though people still do dispute it, could be location incidences LOL. I always loved the TRX series back when everything was type II smartzone. Nice display, compact and better audio. That was a long time ago, everything has moved over or is in the process of moving over to Phase II simulcast in the years to come.

As far as the performance of the SDS radios. Opinions will differ but you will find from experienced users who know how to operate the radio properly and have the familiarity with properly setting the filters that they actually do work very well on non simulcast systems and conventional objects. With a budget of a couple of thousand dollars you could get a SDS 100 + 200 and one of the less expensive conventional only radios if you don't want to bother taking the time to properly learn how to use the SDS radios on conventional objects.

Always be careful of vendors and manufacturers descriptions and recommendations, they are, after all, in the business of selling radios, especially older, less popular models, you really can't blame them.

Good luck, you have a good problem to have... Bob.

Thanks for the info Bob.
I’ve been a ham about 15 years. I do know and understand roofing and bandwidth filtering. My KX3 has the best filtering in a radio that I’ve ever used. Especially down in the CW area, I can filer out and pull in the weakest CW signals!

As I once told a fellow, you can have the best of the best in equipment. If you don’t know your rig, you might as well turn it off. The manual is there for a reason.

73!
W5KYP