BCD436HP/BCD536HP: NXDN?

[troymail]

Yes its pretty crappy. You have to pull out the micro sd card and insert it into your computer to program the card. The cable attached from the computer to the radio is horrible. you will end up corrupting your card.

I transfer to and from the card all the time using the cable without any problems. You just have to be careful anytime you're using USB, etc on a PC. This applies to anything that is making changes to an SD card. You can corrupt the card when removing it from the PC as well. Same thing applies.

I agree that the cable mode can be slow(er) so many times when I'm transferring recordings, I'll move the SD card from the radio to the PC.

 

[RRR]

I program mine directly from my computer to the SD card right inside the scanner with no problems....

Whats "crap" is these new "dumbed down" scanners with "objects" and such. I tried to do a zip code download, and my goodness, I got a whole bushel of stuff I had no interest at all in monitoring, but they were all mixed up in the different "law tac" and "law talk" and other such nonsense. I deleted it all and did it the new-old fashioned way, made up a codeplug in the EX scan SW and downloaded it into the scanner.

 

[troymail]

I agree on the zip code thing - but I assume the vendors are:

- following customer demand
- trying to open/grow the market more by providing simplified programming for novice users (that's actually good for all of us as long as the never take away our ability to create our own tailored / custom programming)

I generally (myself) find the zip code type programming of no use to me (except on very rare occasions) for the same reasons you cited but that doesn't mean others don't find the feature useful. There are many features on various products that I never use.

But now we're getting way off topic here....

 

[buddrousa]

I have no problems either.
1. You have to wait every time you connect the USB and the SCANNER to the PC.
2. BE PATIENT it takes 30 to 40 seconds after you click SEND/RECEIVE for it to start BUT IT WORKS.
3. You can buy a non SD CARD scanner and be at a disadvantage because of not upgradeable no DATABASE.

 

[garys]

ZIP Code scan is good for people who want to listen, but don't want to get into a lot of technical details programming. I have a friend who is 78 and lives in Tucson, AZ. He wants to listen to public safety, but doesn't want to spend hours programming in information. He bought a 436HP, entered his ZIP Code and was scanning within 15 minutes of opening the box.

The other benefit is when traveling. If I'm going somewhere for a day or two, I might not want to spend hours building Favorite Lists. Systems, Departments, so I'll just pop in the ZIP Code for where I am staying, tailor the Service Types, and listen.

It's not ideal, which is why I don't have a HP-1 or HP-2. Still, it's serviceable.

I like having the removable SD card. I have a 436 and two 536 scanners. One of those is in my truck and it's very nice to set up the card on my computer and then pop it into the scanner. Otherwise, I'd have to bring my laptop out to the truck every time I wanted to change the data on the card.

I agree on the zip code thing - but I assume the vendors are:

- following customer demand
- trying to open/grow the market more by providing simplified programming for novice users (that's actually good for all of us as long as the never take away our ability to create our own tailored / custom programming)

I generally (myself) find the zip code type programming of no use to me (except on very rare occasions) for the same reasons you cited but that doesn't mean others don't find the feature useful. There are many features on various products that I never use.

But now we're getting way off topic here....

 

[RRR]

Curious, why go through the trouble to take the SD card out, program it, and stick it back in the scanner? I just turn the scanner off, plug the usb cord into it and my laptop, dump it in, and then it is ready to go.....

 

[wbswetnam]

I've never had a problem programming via cable to the radio, either. When you plug the radio into the computer, you have to wait for 30 seconds or so. Go pour yourself a cup of coffee and come back, you're ready to go.

 

[W2GLD]

I'm hoping that if NXDN does appear (pleeeeeeease) then uniden dont forget to add 3.125khz steps too. Im increasingly finding users taking advantage of the 6.25khz bandwidth and 3.125khz steps to maximise channel use on their license.

First off, this doesn't make any sense and it violates their license. NXDN is either 6.25 kHz or 12.5 kHz depending on being ICOM or Kenwood model; with that said, a licensee is centered on a 6.25 kHz channel, which allows for 3.125 kHz above and below the center mark of that assigned frequency. If a user is using that assigned 6.25 kHz channel assignment and putting two separate NXDN systems on the 3.125 kHz centers, then their band edges are outside of their licensed channel and thus they are in violation of their licenses.

 

[JamesO]

Curious, why go through the trouble to take the SD card out, program it, and stick it back in the scanner? I just turn the scanner off, plug the usb cord into it and my laptop, dump it in, and then it is ready to go.....

I think garys made the comment about how he liked taking the SD card out of the radio to program the card because I assume he has a 536HP permanently mounted in a vehicle and did not want to sit in the truck in the cold and dark modifying the scanner programming.

 

[garys]

That, and I have two different personalities I use in the scanner. I have one for when I'm in my home state or a couple of contiguous states. The other is for trips that go a bit further out. Those are a bit more granular in detail. On a route I usually take, I stop for gas at a particular point. While I'm putting fuel in, I swap out the cards.

I do something similar when I travel with the 436. I'll pre program a card with a personality for my destination or destinations. For example, on a recent trip I started out in Dallas, then went to Austin, then went to southeast Alabama. I find it easier to program a card with that and not over write the card I use when I'm home.

It's one of the better features of the x36HP scanners. The downside is that once in a while a card will fail. I plan for that by having two cards programmed. If I'm traveling with a laptop, I can also reload a card or edit the data as needed.

I think garys made the comment about how he liked taking the SD card out of the radio to program the card because I assume he has a 536HP permanently mounted in a vehicle and did not want to sit in the truck in the cold and dark modifying the scanner programming.

 

[racingfan360]

First off, this doesn't make any sense and it violates their license. NXDN is either 6.25 kHz or 12.5 kHz depending on being ICOM or Kenwood model; with that said, a licensee is centered on a 6.25 kHz channel, which allows for 3.125 kHz above and below the center mark of that assigned frequency. If a user is using that assigned 6.25 kHz channel assignment and putting two separate NXDN systems on the 3.125 kHz centers, then their band edges are outside of their licensed channel and thus they are in violation of their licenses.

Well, maybe it doesn't make much sense to you personally, but it makes lots of sense to several [European] radio providers who do this quite often and perfectly legally within their 12.5khz bandwidth license allocations. They put one 6.25khz bandwidth channel -3.125khz offset from the center frequency and a second +3.125khz from the center. That's x2 6.25khz bandwidth channels side by side, 12.5khz bandwidth total. Nothing illegal about that. In fact any NXDN Kenwood can be programed with 2.5, 3.125, 5, 6.25, or 7.5 kHz PLL channel steps and/or offsets. So technically Uniden need to add 2.5khz AND 3.125khz tuning steps......just as Whistler have done for their TRX-1 and -2 models.

 

[tjmarcum]

So here I am in early November 2017 reading this and still no NXDN from uniden. I can get dmr for my 436hp for about $60.00 and pro voice for about $50.00 but no NXDN. Smh.

I can get a whistler trx-1 or -2 with NXDN capability though.

 

[Ubbe]

.....They put one 6.25khz bandwidth channel -3.125khz offset from the center frequency and a second +3.125khz from the center. That's x2 6.25khz bandwidth channels side by side, 12.5khz bandwidth total....So technically Uniden need to add 2.5khz AND 3.125khz tuning steps......just as Whistler have done for their TRX-1 and -2 models.

The smallest filter in Unidens and Whistlers are 6-7KHz wide and adding smaller steps doesn't help. They need a hardware change of added filters.

/Ubbe

 

[racingfan360]

The smallest filter in Unidens and Whistlers are 6-7KHz wide and adding smaller steps doesn't help. They need a hardware change of added filters.

Adding smaller steps helps tune to the precise frequency in use and therefore a better decode. It helps with sensitivity: years of DSD+ decoding using tapped scanner will tell you that.

The narrower filters would help with selectivity, and while they would definitely help with precise decoding to match that of a NXDN radio, they place more reliance on the correct step size: years of using a NXDN transceiver will tell you that.

Steps without the filters would allow you decode 3.125khz offset freqs better albeit that you'd still get decodes on adjacent channels. Adding tighter filters without smaller steps wouldn't allow you to decode such channels.

 

[Ubbe]

I doubt any european FCC authority will assign two 6,25KHz channel next to each other if they are not geographicly isolated from each other. That's true also for 12,5Khz and 25KHz channels. If they do they make a big mistake. The two frequencies will interfere and create multiple frequency cross modulation all over the frequency band.

There is one permit for each geographicle site and frequency and there can never be anyone that have a single 12,5KHz permit that are allowed to use two transmitters within that 12,5KHz permit. You are not free to do whatever you like with your permitted frequency, not change modulation type, not run multiple transmitters inside the channel range and so on.

If the filters and discriminator are designed for a wider bandwidth you have no sensitivity loss or demodulation error when you are offset in frequency but within the discriminators maximum +/- demodulation frequency.

/Ubbe

 

[racingfan360]

I doubt any european FCC authority will assign two 6,25KHz channel next to each other if they are not geographicly isolated from each other

In principle that's correct, but in practice where it falls down in the UK is for Short Term Hire or UK simple Licenses which are non-geographic specific and often used for large events. These are relatively cheap licenses but with only a few frequencies available. It's where Very Narrow NXDN is most often found. With so few frequencies to chose from, it's not uncommon to have several users packed into just a few khz of bandwidth. NXDN Very Narrow and 3.125khz offsets are very effective in this scenario.

 

[Ubbe]

That's only low power simplex use, not basestations with a license permit. Even with simple Licence you have to follow the agreement and not experiment with using offset frequencies withing the allowed channel.

/Ubbe

 

[racingfan360]

This is getting way off topic for a discussion on the features Uniden need to add.

I respect your views and info Ubbe, but your details on UK licenses simply aren't correct: there is nothing to stop anyone running NXDN Very Narrow with +/-3.125khz offsets on a UK Simple or STH frequency within the 12.5khz bandwidth allocation, and there are a number of STH frequencies available for simplex and/or half duplex use. In fact, this is the most common usage of NXDN in the UK.


Icom are just about to launch the ICR30 and AOR the AR-DV10: both have NXDN decoding, as well as a host of other modes. Uniden are about to get left even further behind.

 

[mully95]

Dumb question here.

Do the 436/536 scanners even have the circuity to decode NXDN?

I mean if they don't there will not be a upgrade available.

 

[jonwienke]

Its not circuitry that is lacking, it is the software to convert the digital data into voice. A firmware update is all that is needed.