Scanner Frustration - Why is it SOO Difficult

[StoliRaz]

I would recommend upgrading to a better radio. Even a used older model analog-only Uniden, Radioshack or GRE would probably be less frustrating to use than what you're using now. Uniden models seem to have more programming software options available from my experience.

If you want to dabble in digital you could try a cheap SDR. RTL-SDR models are about 30 bucks and using free software you can pick up P25 and trunking systems (I believe you'll need 2 SDRs running side by side for trunking? I've never tried it). I'm not sure if the software will run on W7 though. I picked up a retired Dell micro computer with Windows 11 installed for $55 a couple years ago. There's ways to do it on the cheap

 

[AB4BF]

I would recommend a Uniden 325P2 handheld scanner to begin with. Phase 2 P25 is available out of the box - and - you can add DMR, NXDN and Pro-Voice with purchased licenses from Uniden (My Uniden). Usually, a 325 scanner is less expensive than say a 996P2, SDS 100/200, or any of the other Phase 2's out there. Also, if it doesn't work out for you there is a big demand for the 325 scanner and you could possibly get your money back out of it.
If your location has the big "E", all bets are off...

 

[WRQW589]

A UV5(whatever) will scan about 3-4 channels or frequencies per second. A good, dedicated scanner will scan about 50/second. A UVwhatever will get hung up more often, and it's harder to lock out noisy but insignificant channels or frequencies. A dedicated scanner is made to simplify channel lock-outs and frequency lock-outs. A dedicated scanner will usually have better sensitivity across a broad spectrum. And will have a lot of bells and whistles built in specifically for scanning. The UV5r or whatever will be more optimized for transmitting/listening on specific channels.

Even listening to a simple service like GMRS (22 output channels), the Baofeng takes about four seconds to get through the scan range, and gets hung up on noise. Squelch is a digital setting -- I have to go into a menu to raise the squelch to avoid stopping on noise. And then locking out noisy channels.... no idea; I think you have to do that from within CHIRP. With a proper scanner I can get through the entire GMRS range twice in one second. If I need to adjust squelch it's a knob, easy to turn. And if I want to lock out a channel that's noisy or getting traffic I don't care to hear, it's a button press. The UV5r will also hang up on any transmission, even if it doesn't have tones, and you're locked down to listening only at PL/CTCSS/DCS tone channels, it will still hang up quietly. A decent scanner will move on as quickly as it determines the tone isn't what you have selected.

A good scanner will provide Phase 2 P25 trunking capabilities. Well, there are also good scanners that don't; you have to select that if you want it, and pay for it. But for sure you'll never get it working with a simple Baofeng 2-way radio. Baofeng UV5/9/ whatever radios are two-way radios that have rudimentary scanning, and cost under $50. Good scanners cost $250-$600 and don't even transmit. They put all their eggs into the listening basket. And they're very good at it.

 

[ratboy]

I get calls from people all the time who buy the wrong scanner or one of the super cheap radios and can't hear what they bought it for. Some of them actually were receiving the buzz of digital, but had no idea what it was.

A friend of mine called recently and thought the local P25 police could be monitored on a Baofeng type radio. I tried to explain it to him, but it was like telling my cat to "Look!" at something. A blank stare is about all I get. When he heard the real story, my friend was totally shocked. He wasn't prepared for the cost of an SDS100 at all. He spent a day listening to my PSR500 and the bad audio got him pretty angry. What he wants is a radio that doesn't exist, a 2meter HT with full P25 Ph2 digital capabilities and fast scanning. Uhhh.sorry Bill.

 

[a727469]

Very good advice from all above. Fortunately I have non-digital for local pd and fire but statewide p25 phase one for state so I can use different radios..unless you have time and patience avoid SDR. RTL-SDR ..fun but not good for starting out.
I have a Baofeng. Uv5 and a dm1701 for dmr and the uv5 is also fun for limited local use for $25 I do not feel bad if it drops or stops!..it is scanning 4 frequencies so is fine for my use especially in the car…having said all that I agree with the poster above and recommend a bcd325 to anyone locally who asks. Yes the batteries run down quickly but I get 5-6 hours and use multiple sets of rechargables and it is relatively easy to program and very simple to change banks/favorites, just hit one button unlike my sds200 requiring 2…I helped 2 people locally to set up and they had it pretty well mastered in an hour. By the way, off topic our local pd was dmr until about 6 months ago and went back to analog for clarity. The chief ordered the return to analog and now they do not have to repeat everything 3 times! Now maybe the dmr system was not properly adjusted, but still interesting.

 

[WX9RLT]

We all get frustrated at some point in time, in this hobby.

Kick back, take a breather.
And post on the forum here.
Many very knowledgeable people on here.

Welcome to the forums

 

[ratboy]

I got my second SDS 200 cheap because it frustrated a friend of mine to the point he wanted to kick it out the window. When he offered it to me for $400, with the DMR upgrade, I grabbed it up quick. Is the SDS200 the most frustrating scanner I've ever had? Nope, that prize belongs to my Home Patrol, which went deaf and had to be reset all the time. Uniden found nothing wrong with it, of course. I finally sent it on it's way to a new home, where strangely, it seems to work just fine.

 

[a727469]

Do you have any other frustrated friends?🤬 I think the most frustrating scanner I had was an old, I think,
radio shack one supposedly designed for car racing use..I do not even remember the model, but it made no sense and I could not imagine a person being able to use it or program it..I did sell it and have no idea where it went…probably into a drawer.. Give me an sds100 or 200 anyday!

 

[ratboy]

He's the only one that really just decides to give up on stuff really quickly. I don't know how he's managed to make it to 50+ being that way. Another of my scores from him was not too long ago he bought his son an RC truck. Well, grandpa, who has big money, bought him a much nicer/bigger truck, like a $1000 truck, making the $330 truck he bought look sad. He couldn't get a refund, it was on sale too long ago, so he asked me if I wanted it for like $200. Oh yeah, I could use another truck for 1/3 off. Close to 50 MPH out of the box is fast enough for me, and the parts are fairly cheap. And no matter how expensive the car or truck is, parts will be broken, unless you don't have any fun with it. The parts breakage and problem finding them back pre internet got me to give up on RC, but parts are easy to find and the trucks and cars are much tougher than the used to be. Look better too:

Never had the RS racing scanner, sounds like fun. AOR radios are always frustrating, as was Welz and Standard, and the oddballs which were relabled scanners they Standard (Marantz) made. I had pretty much all of them at one time or another, incuding the AX400, which had weak audio, slow scanning, and would overload with the tiniest duck on it. Other duds were the Regency HX-2000, the crunchy squelch, weird step size, and goofy threaded antenna connector, and a very fragile case, all added up to scanning "fun". The crunchy squelch was fixible with a mod, but nothing else about it was. Nothing I had by GRE or Uniden came close to the Home Patrol though. Besides the reset thing, it was deaf as a rock, kind of like the SDS200 is, but much worse.

 

[a727469]

Thanks for sharing such an interesting story!! I just looked through my old radio inventory list( yes, I have one!). I owned a couple of regency base scanner, m400 and d810..never a regency handheld. The frustrating racing scanner was the rs pro-99. I did not mention but the real worst scanner I owned was the first real programmable bc100!..but I gave it a pass because of its history
90

 

[KD9KSO]

I used to think that AOR receivers were difficult to use. When I stopped thinking about how Radio Shack/GRE and Uniden scanners were programmed and actually studied the menu structure of how AOR does things, it all made perfect sense and the light came on.

I find these some of the easiest sophisticated receivers to use. Once you understand AOR's programming scheme it will all fall into place.

 

[ratboy]

My main complaints about the AOR radios wasn't programming them, it was lockups and forced resets. Weak audio on most of them didn't help either.

 

[ratboy]

Thanks for sharing such an interesting story!! I just looked through my old radio inventory list( yes, I have one!). I owned a couple of regency base scanner, m400 and d810..never a regency handheld. The frustrating racing scanner was the rs pro-99. I did not mention but the real worst scanner I owned was the first real programmable bc100!..but I gave it a pass because of its history
View attachment 16445390

My first handheld was one of the awful Regency crystal H-604's, I can't remember if it was the "E" version or not. I avoided handhelds until the Bearcat BC-200/205 came out. That radio soured me on scanner radios with battery packs for many years due to the packs failing to hold a charge after a very short time of use. I ended up going to only AA battery scanners from that point on for many years. The main good part of the 200/205 was it had good audio, but other than that, it was at best an OK radio. I have positive memories about some of the many scanners I've had, but a lot of them were just plain bad. Some were too small (Standard/Welz)for their own good, some just had intermod issues, some were just junk. Highlights were the Pro-34/37/43/106/651 handhelds, the Regency HX 1000 for rail/VHF hi only, the Yupiteru MVT-9000, and several of the HTs I had, the Icom Ic-24AT was much loved. One tough radio and a big battery pack would run it for about 2 days if you didn't transmit. The Yaesu VX-170 is a great railband radio, tough and LOUD. The AA battery pack I have for it has saved the day a few times over the years when the sealed packs died.

 

[buddrousa]

My 1st handheld was the battery eating 4-6 thin scan then the BC100 then the HX1000 replaced by the RS-96 replaced by the RS-106 replaced by the RS-18 replaced by the RS-668 replaced by the Uniden 436 added the 325p2 added the sds100 added the 160dn.

 

[a727469]

I was not going to comment but I see others mentioned the bc100..at the time, I thought no one else ever bought one but I guess I was wrong. I do remember traveling on business and sitting in a hotel room trying to make it work and realizing the keys they used were horrible and 16 channels was not enough…I could not admit to my wife that I had probably made an expensive mistake buying it, but I made it work and feel happy that I was on the leading edge of technology at the time even if I did not know it!

But I almost went back to crystal scanners but in time things improved greatly to what we have today.

 

[bearcatrp]

The most difficult radio I had was the first generation AOR 8200. A serious PITA to program. Sold it a year later and picked up a RS Pro 26, which I still have. One of the fastest scanners on the market. Still going strong. Tested it against the new uniden 160 and my R30. Very close on analog reception.