Radio Reccomendations
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Unication G5 in VHF/7-800.
iMONITOR
Silent Key
Handheld, or mobile/base?
JethrowJohnson
I love P25
Assuming you're in Albany & intend on monitoring system linked below then you'll need a scanner to properly deal with potential simulcast distortion effects.
Handheld; Uniden SDS100
Base: Uniden SDS200
Handheld; Uniden SDS100
Base: Uniden SDS200
Albany/Schenectady Counties Trunking System, Regional, New York
Albany/Schenectady Counties Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
Unication G5 is hands down the best “receiver” for this areas simulcast systems IMHO! But it is not really a “scanner.” But, you can make it (pretty much) behave like one! I have an SDS 100... People love them. None of them are cheap! I’m still trying to wrap my head around the SDS 100 myself. The 100 does a “satisfactory” job on local simulcast systems. Not so good on regular analog and digital conventional frequencies. Just one opinion. As I said, many folks love them!
Good luck!
Good luck!
I would also recommend either the Unication G5 or Uniden SDS100 or 200 for P25P2 Simulcast systems. They are all excellent units, but with major differences so that whether Uniden or Unication is best for you depends on how you plan to use the radio. There are many posts in many forums about this, but for example, the Unication can only monitor one site/system at a time, while the SDS can scan multiples sites/systems while also scanning conventional channels along with analog trunked systems. The Unication can only be programmed via computer while the SDS can be programmed "on the fly" and holds the entire national database in memory. The Unication is perfect for carrying on the beltclip and is very forgiving if dropped, while the SDS100 is bulky with a battery door clip that can break if the unit is dropped on a hard surface. I have found the reception of P25 simulcast systems I have monitored to be pretty much equal with the Uniden and Unication.
Finally, don't be misled by posts stating that the Uniden 436HP or Uniden 325P2 work fine on simulcast systems. If you happen to be in a good location these scanners can do a pretty good job at receiving simulcast systems. As an example, the nearest system tower on our county P25 system is on top of a hill less than a mile away in clear view from my front yard, and my 436HP receives the system flawlessly. However, in other areas I've visited the same scanner either could not even lock onto the control channel or received at most 50% of transmissions while the SDS100 worked perfectly.
Finally, don't be misled by posts stating that the Uniden 436HP or Uniden 325P2 work fine on simulcast systems. If you happen to be in a good location these scanners can do a pretty good job at receiving simulcast systems. As an example, the nearest system tower on our county P25 system is on top of a hill less than a mile away in clear view from my front yard, and my 436HP receives the system flawlessly. However, in other areas I've visited the same scanner either could not even lock onto the control channel or received at most 50% of transmissions while the SDS100 worked perfectly.
Appreciate all of your input. No preference currently, however, are you able to use any with a wall adapter instead of batteries? I've been reading a wide range of thoughts, more so with the SDS100 than the SDS200. As it has been mentioned, many like the SDS100, but then I've seen a common issue of internal hardware or not receiving, while a G5 could be right next to it.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!
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Plug in a SDS200 and love life. Not sure about the guys *****ing about the analog, as I have noissues listening to it.
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The Unications charge and program via a USB micro cable, although there is an optional drop in base charging stand and finally an optional base drop in charging stand with speaker. The SDS100 charges and programs via a USB mini cable. Both the Uniden and Unication come with the cables and wall chargers but you can use any quality cable and usb charger to charge and power them. The batteries are proprietary but as backup I have used good external cellphone batteries to keep them charged during power outages. Both units run and charge while attached to external power.
My biggest issue with analog is intermod, the SDS seems to have more issues with it than any other scanner I've used. This can be really annoying when you're running band searches, you can get a lot of false hits.
If you live in an area with no nearby FM or TV stations and no nearby transmitters in the public safety bands the SDS200 is not too bad and at least it does not have the poor speaker audio that is an issue with the SDS100. The SDS200 performance is inferior to a BCD536HP for everything but P25 LSM.
The SDS scanners are very expensive but poorly designed with the only real feature to consider buying is the ability to receive local P25 simulcast systems.
I'm getting hits from the 27,000, Rail is 160, airport, 130 stuff all analog. No issues hearing it. My 996 may be a tad better, but sucks ass for similcast. Most of my stuff is 700 stuff, and great.
Thanks, you post is helpful to me. I am still using a 996XT as my base scanner with external antenna, as our county is just transitioning to P25P2 from conventional analog. I got the SDS100 a while back for my time in NJ where the switch to P25P2 in our county there is just about complete and where we will soon relocate. I held off on getting an SDS200 out of concern that it might not perform as well on analog as the older Unidens. I will be fine using the SDS100 and G5 for the NJICS and be happy with the 996XT for marine, aviation, and the few remaining analog public safety agencies
The SDS100 and 200 have identical RF circuits so both have the same issues. I would say almost any other scanner is better for marine, aviation and analog. My SDS100 is just about useless on the aviation band if anywhere near an FM transmitter and poor signal to noise AM air reception everywhere. I am in a very high RF area near TV, FM and public safety towers and, with the SDS100 side by side with my 436 sides with identical antennas, the 436 gets solid reception on signals the 100 can't hear at all or cut out. My 536 is the only scanner I have found that does not get overloaded on an outside antenna with just a TV/FM reject filter ahead of it. The SDS scanners are basically just a SDR chip with all the known desense and selectivity issues.
JethrowJohnson
I love P25
According to the database it looks like almost all of them use the Albany/Schenectady Counties network which is a P25 Phase II system. In my opinion, I think the SDS scanners would be a good option based on what I know/understand about them, but keep in mind I don't have any experience of my own with those particular models either.
For a portable, the Unication is a great option in terms of RF performance. Of course it has limited Talkgroup capacity, like any commercial radio. But it works great for what it does.
Unless you need to monitor a P25 Trunked system, I find the BCD436 and 536 give excellent results for everything else under all circumstances. I find the SDS100 is OK for monitoring my local P25 trunked system but it gives intermittent to almost no reception of the adjacent county Trunked systems due to the desense issues and is basically useless for other monitoring. The Unication was not available when I purchased the SDS100 or that would have been my solution. I have recommended the Unication units to first responders that want reliable reception of area P25 systems and all are very happy with it. The only downside of the Unication is it will cover 700/800 plus either UHF or VHF but not both so that is a problem if all 3 bands are used in your area. The Unication will also do analog plus P25 conventional and DMR is also an option but it does not have the versatility or all the features of a typical scanner. So, if I ever upgrade to a Unication I would keep my 436 and 536 for everything else.
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