Questions about HP-2?

[baayers]

The Opus and Ambient Weather chargers are identical. The only difference between the two is the name on the cover. I actually had the MaHa and find the Opus / Ambient does a better job. If I set my charger to 1000mAh it takes about 2 1/2 hours to fully charge the Amazon batteries.

 

[KE0GXN]

Cool. Will be investing in one soon. Thanks for info!

 

[baayers]

Cool. Will be investing in one soon. Thanks for info!

Never a problem. It's always better to ask questions them to find out the hard way something won't work. I really hope you enjoy your new scanner. I got my first one about 21 years ago and have been amazed with every new scanner how far technology has come along.

 

[KE0GXN]

Never a problem. It's always better to ask questions them to find out the hard way something won't work. I really hope you enjoy your new scanner. I got my first one about 21 years ago and have been amazed with every new scanner how far technology has come along.

I got my first one about 24 years ago. Back when you had to buy the RS Police Call Guide every year to know which frequencies to enter. Lost touch with the hobby soon after 800mhz trunked started coming out and the price of scanners sky rocketed.

My last one I purchased was a RS-2097. I want to say back in the early 2000s, soon after I quit keeping up with the newer models and then agencies in my area started going digital, so I gave up on the hobby altogether.

Kind of excited on seeing what this HP-2 can do!

 

[stingray327]

I have had good performance using a Spectrum magnet mount antenna. It's black curly type cellphone looking antenna which is maybe no longer than 5 inches. You can get it either in BNC or SMC connectors. It picks up signals good especially for the size of this little antenna.

 

[KE0GXN]

I have had good performance using a Spectrum magnet mount antenna. It's black curly type cellphone looking antenna which is maybe no longer than 5 inches. You can get it either in BNC or SMC connectors. It picks up signals good especially for the size of this little antenna.

I ended up going with a wide-band Pro-Comm mobile mag mount. I have multiple bands in my area. Got my pizza pan set aside for in home scanning too

 

[stingray327]

I ended up going with a wide-band Pro-Comm mobile mag mount. I have multiple bands in my area. Got my pizza pan set aside for in home scanning too

That tiny spectrum antenna only cost $19.00 and does not attract attention to car.

 

[KE0GXN]

While I am still waiting for this thing.....

I would be interested hear how you battery charging aficionados cycle your batteries? Do you just run on AA power alone and continually swap and charge, using the USB to only interface with your PC for Sentinel, etc.?

If not and you do use a USB wall adaptor, does the HP just draw on the USB cable/plug power and the batteries are just a back-up and or remain inserted for recording ability when needed?

Sorry if it seems like I am asking stupid questions when it comes to this battery thing. But, almost all of my previous scanners were mobile units, therefore I never fiddled with batteries. I tried one hand-held unit way back in the day and if I remember correctly I used it via a wall adaptor and rarely even ever put alkaline batteries in it. I never liked the reception on the hand-held. I am sure a lot had to do with me just being an average listener and never getting into the fine tuning aspects of it, but I got rid of it and never bought a hand-held again.

And now I got this thing coming and I have absolutely ZERO knowledge on this battery stuff :0

 

[baayers]

While I am still waiting for this thing.....

I would be interested hear how you battery charging aficionados cycle your batteries? Do you just run on AA power alone and continually swap and charge, using the USB to only interface with your PC for Sentinel, etc.?

If not and you do use a USB wall adaptor, does the HP just draw on the USB cable/plug power and the batteries are just a back-up and or remain inserted for recording ability when needed?

Sorry if it seems like I am asking stupid questions when it comes to this battery thing. But, almost all of my previous scanners were mobile units, therefore I never fiddled with batteries. I tried one hand-held unit way back in the day and if I remember correctly I used it via a wall adaptor and rarely even ever put alkaline batteries in it. I never liked the reception on the hand-held. I am sure a lot had to do with me just being an average listener and never getting into the fine tuning aspects of it, but I got rid of it and never bought a hand-held again.

And now I got this thing coming and I have absolutely ZERO knowledge on this battery stuff :0

I use mine on AC power next to my bed and on batteries when I am either in a Nother room or out and about. If you select know when you are asked about charging the batteries it will just pull power from the AC adapter. Since the scanner has a memory card which contains all of the programming and also allows for recording you still need to keep batteries in the radio. This is so in the event of a power failure you don't end up corrupting your SD card. The main reason I choose to use a smart charger is because the scanner uses a time-based method which can lead to over or under charging your batteries and prevents you from getting the best performance. If I am at home I generally alternate between two sets but have extra sets for those times that I am traveling out of town.

I am not sure if you have seen this manual yet but if not you might find it very helpful. Most people find this one a lot easier than the one that comes standard.

Easier to Read HomePatrol-1/HP-2 Digitall Scanner and Sentinel Manual

 

[KE0GXN]

I use mine on AC power next to my bed and on batteries when I am either in a Nother room or out and about. If you select know when you are asked about charging the batteries it will just pull power from the AC adapter. Since the scanner has a memory card which contains all of the programming and also allows for recording you still need to keep batteries in the radio. This is so in the event of a power failure you don't end up corrupting your SD card. The main reason I choose to use a smart charger is because the scanner uses a time-based method which can lead to over or under charging your batteries and prevents you from getting the best performance. If I am at home I generally alternate between two sets but have extra sets for those times that I am traveling out of town.

I am not sure if you have seen this manual yet but if not you might find it very helpful. Most people find this one a lot easier than the one that comes standard.

Easier to Read HomePatrol-1/HP-2 Digitall Scanner and Sentinel Manual

Sounds good. I am going to take your advice and everyone else's on here that have suggested avoiding in scanner charging. Glad I asked about it as you and many others on here have educated me on things I had no clue about when it came to battery charging in general. Much thanks!

Yeah, I actually printed it off and have it along with a printed version of the official HP -2 manual. Will be selecting "No" when asked to internally charge and instead go the route you go and many others do on here. I will be using a battery charger instead.

Thanks for al the great feedback!

 

[K2KOH]

Mhy HP2 is connected to an Austin Spectra antenna. It kicks butt here in Putnam County on low band, and does a damned fine job pretty much everyhwere, I have the gamut here...VHF, UHF, 700 and 800. I have taken Spectra antennas cross country and they're awesome. Expensive, yes. Worth it? Yes.

 

[KE0GXN]

You are not kidding, all the ones I found were $129-$139 (not including the mount), but man it has all the bands I need!

May have to start putting some hints out there for the wife come Christmas time

Thanks for posting that!

 

[KE0GXN]

It has arrived!

Got my HP-2 and mobile antenna today! Other items should arrive by Saturday, but I have enough to get started. Will be unboxing later tonight and getting Sentinel uploaded.

 

[KE0GXN]

Everything went well. Downloaded Sentinel to my PC with no problems, updated firmware and database.

I created a favorites list in Sentinel and when I was finished, I couldn't understand the manual well enough to export it to my HP-2. After much reading and clicking around, I ultimately used the write to HP process. Whether that was the right or wrong way to import the list to the scanner, it worked, my fav list was in my scanner. I ejected the HP using my device manager, turned the scanner off, unplugged the USB and when I turned it back on to scan my fav list, it prompted me to go through the entire set-up process again. As if I had just un-boxed it, wanting my name/info, setting the clock, etc.

Did I do something wrong, that caused me to have go through the whole set-up process again?

Otherwise it is scanning awesome! Even with the stock antenna I was picking up a trunked system several miles away. Connected my Pro Comm mobile mag grounded to a pizza pan and its receiving even better. Going to experiment with my old RS mag antenna tomorrow and see how it does.

 

[baayers]

Never a problem. Welcome back to the scanning world.

 

[KE0GXN]

Thanks. Figured out my issue. I did not create a profile in Sentinel prior to writing my fav list to the scanner.

 

[KE0GXN]

Has anyone tried using this with 2 scanners at once? I looked at the Aukey that was linked in the other post on Amazon but the review that mentioned the hum made me decide not to. A lot of the time that hum ends up meaning noise to interfere with reception. I don't charge in my scanner so it would be strictly for listening when I am at home

Thought I would update you on the Aukeys I purchased...

They work great! Tested the wall charger and the car charger as soon as they arrived. Both worked flawlessly. The car charger came nicely packaged with a very informative instruction manual. If you register the product on their site (I did) they extend the warranty to 24 months. Free shipping if you decide to return it and you get put on a list to receive free products to test for them.

Absolutely no humming what so ever in my car or with the wall charger. Even went so far to use headphones in both applications. No interference with reception at all.

My only gripe is the wall charger did not come with an instruction manual or product registration instructions.. I ended registering the wall charger too, with out any issues as well. So I should be covered for both.

Obviously it is early, but so far they worked as advertised with no problems/issues.

 

[KE0GXN]

Speaking of registering products. I registered my HP-2 at myuniden.....

Is it just me or is their site worthless? Not very informative...at least in my opinion.

 

[K3RBP]

KE0GXN, how about an update on your HP-2 adventures? What do you like/not like about it? How's the charging thing working out? Have you used it mibole yet? Did you connect a GPS?

I got one on the way, will be using it mobile, crossing a number of states, so I'm reading all the threads that I can find, to get me going in the right direction. Have downloaded Sentinel, and went to creat a FL, but I will have to do some more reading, as don't quite know what I'm doing.

In any event, thanks for starting this thread, and thanks to the ones who posted to it, as their advice has been very helpful.

 

[hiegtx]

KE0GXN, how about an update on your HP-2 adventures? What do you like/not like about it? How's the charging thing working out? Have you used it mibole yet? Did you connect a GPS?

I got one on the way, will be using it mobile, crossing a number of states, so I'm reading all the threads that I can find, to get me going in the right direction. Have downloaded Sentinel, and went to creat a FL, but I will have to do some more reading, as don't quite know what I'm doing.

In any event, thanks for starting this thread, and thanks to the ones who posted to it, as their advice has been very helpful.

For more information on Sentinel and your HP-2, see Easier to Read HomePatrol-1/HP-2 Digitall Scanner and Sentinel Manual
For planning your Favorites lists, see this section of the Sentinel Easier to Read Manual for the BCDx36HP scanners, including the worksheets linked there. BCDX36HP Sentinel Software Manual
The HP-2 does not have Priority channels, the quick key features, or alert light colors of the BCD436HP/-536HP scanners, but other than those and a few smaller differences, the Favorites list creation is the same for both series of scanners, and those worksheets may be a good planning guide.

You can build your Favorites list(s) by entering systems, frequencies, talkgroups, etc, manually, or simply append them from the database to the Favorite list you're creating, then edit or modify it your own tastes, as well as delete sections not of interest to you. If you are going to be using the scanner traveling, then appending systems from the database would also retain the location information from the main Radio Reference database, making the use of a GPS much more effective.