One serious deficit in the SDS200 package . . ..

[Patch42]

I just keep a cheat sheet text file in my smart phone... always with me where ever I go.

I've only got two hands. How do I hold the scanner, the phone, and flip through things on the phone all at once?

 

[KB4MSZ]

Take lessons from this guy?

 

[Patch42]

Take lessons from this guy?

That's the ticket!

 

[Scannernitwit]

Hello everyone.
A few days ago, I posted regarding my decision to purchase the SDS 100.
Reflecting on cost and complexity, this has been a very difficult decision to make..

MStep’s comment about Radio Reference (RR), YouTube and enthusiasts, is spot on. Prior to any major purchase I spend time on forums and YouTube trying to learn as much as I can about a product and I am grateful for the expertise available. Fortunately for me, I have received some good advice from members.
I agree with Ratboy; after reading through the Uniden manual I can see where the manual could scare a consumer away. I have read the “Easier to Read” SDS 100 manual (thank you Mark) and my first thought is yikes, no way! I spent an hour just trying to figure out the various initials I saw in the manual and often on RR and I am still clueless.

APCO 25 Phase 1 and Phase 2, X2-TDMA Motorola EDACS, LTR l, P25, Talk Groups , DMR, MotoTRBO … Huh?
Vendors want to sell me NXDN, I don’t even know what that is!

My decision is made; I will purchase the SDS 100 scanner because I believe it is important to know what is going on around me.
But, does it really have to be this complex?

I’ll likely will have many questions and I appreciate the help I have already received from RR members, thanks.
Take care,

Kevin

 

[djeplett]

But, does it really have to be this complex?

Unfortunately, yes. There are so many different digital modes out there and so many different systems now from conventional to trunked that it has to be complex.
I agree with KB2GOM in that the manual is severely lacking for this reason. But luckily you have this forum as you mentioned. Read all you can and when you get stumped just ask.

 

[KB2GOM]

Unfortunately, yes. There are so many different digital modes out there and so many different systems now from conventional to trunked that it has to be complex.
I agree with KB2GOM in that the manual is severely lacking for this reason. But luckily you have this forum as you mentioned. Read all you can and when you get stumped just ask.

Just wanted to second the notion of "when you get stumped just ask." I've found the folks at RR to be generous of their time and knowledge.

The SDS200 continues to impress me. The first thing that struck me from the moment I turned it on was the quality of the audio . . . much better than any of my handheld scanners.

The second thing that impressed me is that you can do really powerful things to control what you want to monitor with just a few buttons pushes. It occurred to me that operating a scanner like the SDS200 (or 100) is really a database access problem . . . and the controls of the SDS200 make it easy to "slice and dice" that database in different ways -- geographically and by service type.

Further -- and this is really key -- you can easily back out of those changes if you don't like them. By contrast, I have a 396T that is a "dangerous" scanner because it is really easy to invoke things that you don't know how to turn off again.

Finally, the SDS200 has soft keys that make it easy to "hold" a channel, department or system, which is really useful for catching follow-up transmissions.

But to loop back to the initial point -- "if you get stumped just ask" is darn good advice.