Scanner advice

KI5EDJ

WRDB542
Joined
Mar 28, 2021
Messages
47
Location
Oklahoma City
Don't give up on the SDS-100 yet. I got mine gently used. It gets carried 2-3 times a week and the battery is swapped every time I carry it. I can't open the battery latch with my hands, so I use a Nite-Ize DoohicKey or QuicKey to pop it open. They're small flat multi tools that can be carried in a keyring. It takes just a bit of pressure.
If you have the extra money, add a TRX-1 to your collection of scanners. The battery door on that won't break. :) For real, though, it can handle some simulcast systems. It and the SDS-100 together can cover just about everything.
 

GROL

Member
Joined
Aug 29, 2017
Messages
573
For those saying the SDS series is THE only scanner out there that does simulcast is a bit off. The Uniden 352P2 does it all with no issues, including P25 Phase 1&2, plus the other digital modes the X36/SDS series covers. It programs easy and has some of the features of the more expensive ones. Currently listening to Va Beach Fire/EMS and not missing a thing. I do a lot of Fire/EMS photography so missing things is a big no-no for me. Something else to keep in mind, food for thought if you will. Hope that helps as well!
My BCD325P2 definately cannot handle simulcast on the small 4 site P25 Rowan County NC system or the Charlotte NC UASI system. I have tried every trick and hint for mitigating the simulcast distortion, but the thing that solved it was an SDS100. Monitoring with SDRTrunk also works with both systems but it isn't portable. My BCD996P2 and BCD436HP are pretty much the same as the BCD325P2 on these systems. Simulcast P25 uses QPSK modulation. FM demodulators in conventional digital scanners can demodulate phase modulation, but they cannot properly decode simultaneous signals from multiple sites which causes the simulcast distortion commonly encountered. The details are more involved than that simple explanation and covered well in this wiki article. Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
 
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KT4HX

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
693
Location
Spotsylvania County, Va
For those saying the SDS series is THE only scanner out there that does simulcast is a bit off. The Uniden 352P2 does it all with no issues, including P25 Phase 1&2, plus the other digital modes the X36/SDS series covers. It programs easy and has some of the features of the more expensive ones. Currently listening to Va Beach Fire/EMS and not missing a thing. I do a lot of Fire/EMS photography so missing things is a big no-no for me. Something else to keep in mind, food for thought if you will. Hope that helps as well!
I don't think most are saying it is the only one that does simulcast, only that its the only one specifically designed to handle the intricacies of simulcast. Other P2 scanners (i.e. 352P2) can certainly receive simulcast systems, but depending upon the area covered, number of sites, terrain, etc., simulcast can present special problems that can be very challenging to overcome with other P2 scanners.Therefore the advice to perhaps only program in the closest site to avoid being bombarded by multiple signals arriving at slightly different times and causing the scanner to miss transmissions.
 

fredva

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Feed Provider
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
2,225
Location
Virginia/West Virginia
Therefore the advice to perhaps only program in the closest site to avoid being bombarded by multiple signals arriving at slightly different times and causing the scanner to miss transmissions.
On large systems that have multiple sites, programming a specific site has helped a few people. There were in a situation where the transmitters that make up one site were in a better position than transmitters for another site. And it doesn't hurt to try. But since each site has multiple transmitters, it is often impossible to use programming to avoid simulcast distortion. Scanner programming only sees sites, not individual transmitters. For example, Spotysylvania's public safety system only has one site but 11 transmitters. I wish there was a way that I could program my WS-1080 so it could receive only one of those transmitters and ignore the out-of-sync signals from other transmitters, but there isn't.
 

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