Phase II options

[topgun1986]

I am needing to pull the trigger and buy a Phase II mobile and base scanner. I miss listening to Starcom and my local P25 channels are slowly going silent. My base is in the Cape Girardeau area but I travel for work weekly between Cape, St. Louis and the Metro East. I primarily listen to public safety.

I am familiar with Radio Shack and Whistler products, so I believe the Whistler TRX-1 and TRX-2 models would be a good upgrade but I have heard great things about the leaning Uniden SDS100 and SDS200.

Just checking to see if any others have had good/bad experiences with one brand or the other recently, regarding the locations mentioned above.

 

[K9KLC]

To listen to Starcom 21 on either the St. Clair county or Madison county simulcast successfully, you'll need one of the SDS series Uniden scanners or a Unication voice pager.

Not sure where all you to in the metro east area but for those two counties those are the most common recommendations for the simulcast they use.

 

[Starcom21]

I was always a GRE/Whistler person until I got the SDS100 and 200.
I have the trx1 but only use it as a discriminator tap while mobile.

I 100% recommend the 100 or 200 just for the simulcast alone. And their architecture, while hard to understand at first, lays out a P25 system much better.

A Unication also receives well, but it has limitations to 1 site at a time, that you don't necessarily choose, only 64 talkgroups and really can't wildcard, or listen for new talkgroups. It can be programmed with many different systems, with a turn of a knob.

 

[K9KLC]

A Unication also receives well, but it has limitations to 1 site at a time, that you don't necessarily choose, only 64 talkgroups and really can't wildcard, or listen for new talkgroups. It can be programmed with many different systems, with a turn of a knob.

Agreed they have their limitations. I do however do wildcard on the Madison CO site and once in a great while on the St. Clair site but again as you stated it is "one site at a time". I've discovered several groups I ended up adding that I missed here at RR when I programmed it. (yes they were listed I just missed them). Frankly when I have one of my scanners going, I only listen to one site at a time. If I was listening to Bond CO and Clinton Co, they're not busy enough that I don't mind those two at the same time. Anyone that things they can effectively listen to Madison and St. Clair both at the same time on a single device is going to miss a lot.