No. If you don't have an SDS radio to compare, you have no way to know what you're missing. I've done simulcast comparison tests between the 436 and SDS100 in a vehicle with both connected to the same antenna, and it's common for the SDS100 to pick up traffic while the 436 is silent.
I didn't have anything to compare to the 436 in Philly, but the comms were non-stop while driving thru. I do, however, carry a 396XT while monitoring Berks Co. PH2 simulcast system which is rxng the PH2 relays on VHF and haven't missed any comms on the 436 as per the 396XT. Maybe the mod I did to the radio has improved the rx as I installed a speaker jack by the bnc adapter to get full audio out the speaker mic and mobile speakers I use. I noticed when I had my 396XT on in the house I was rxng the Allentown wx freq loud and clear, but on the 436 I had to open the squelch and could barely hear them. I switched antennas and no improvement. I figured there was internal noise blocking the signal since as soon as I hooked up to an external antenna the 436 rxd as good as if not better than the 396XT. I started experimenting with capacitors attached to the bnc and the speaker jack grounds that I installed thinking it may "bleed off" some of the internal rfi. A .01 mfd attached brought in the wx freq on the 436 just as good as on the 369XT, but after several weeks of hard use on the 436 a leg broke off the cap and I lost my good rx with the duck. I had some resistors with larger legs, so I tried several of them and found a 35 ohm one did the same as the cap, wx came in lima charlie as well as all the other freqs I listened to on the RS 800 duck. My second 436 I purchased had the same rx issue until I added a speaker jack and resistor between the two jacks and wow, what an improvement that made.
Rich - N3VMY - KAG 0096
