Scanner suggestions for Austin

[ntnahed]

Hi -

I've been off the board for a while, and I WILL be renewing my subscription soon, but I'm back!

I've recently moved to Austin from Seattle, and find my Pro-97 and BC250D aint cuttin' it in the Austin area. Guess I should have moved to Dallas. (Gotta love that analog conventional!)

So... I'll be investing in a new scanner. I've read up on the Pro-96, Pro-106 and BCD396XT, and I have a few questions for the local radio heads. Does the multi system interfere with the function of the Pro-96? How about computer programming? Is the -106 worth the extra dough compared to the -96? Any other P25 scanners I should consider?

I'm kind of partial to the Bearcats, I like the Arc software better than the Win, but there is a goodly price difference, so I'm interested in y'all's opinions. Thanks, and it's good to be back in Texas!

Antenna Head

 

[josephdavis13]

I have the UNIDEN BCD396T radio and it works well in the Austin Metro area and it has a good track record.

 

[SCPD]

If you can find a Pro-96 I hear it'll work for Austin. But its going to limit you. The Pro-106/PSR-500 ROCKS! It will not limit you. And it will handle the future proposed 700Mhz. Digital Trunked over lay the State of Texas wants to do in Metro Cities. With the NAC features it does very well. I use Win500 Software by Starrsoft. Very user friendly. With more and more systems preparing to re-band its the only logical option. Wasting your money on an Analog scanner will just Keep you from hearing the good stuff.

 

[texasemt13]

Here are my thoughts:

As Max said the Pro-96 will limit you. I used it couple times on the system before I got my PSR-500 (basically the Pro-106). The Pro-96 was decent for the hobbyist, as it would definitely pickup everything. But, it doesn't have enough memory to cover the whole gamut of my personal listening interests. My Pro-96 still gets plenty of Austin use (by a buddy of mine who's trying it out before he gets one). For someone who just wants to hear anything it works awesome. If you are just wanting certain talkgroups it would be fine also with just programming those that you wanted and "closing" the bank (essentially it will only listen for the talkgroups you have programmed in and no others). However, if you were trying to log new talkgroups, there wouldn't be enough memory to make this an easy task. If you get ingenius using your "V-scanners" you can setup certain closed banks on certain sites and just switch folders every now and then.

Enter in GRE PSR-500/GRE RS Pro-106- The hardest part of this scanner is the initial learning curve, once you're past that, it can't be beat. Audio is crisp and clear. Following a certain talkgroup takes one button. It has enough memory that you won't worry about filling it up with all the talkgroups, and you can define how long a "bank" is. It can be a list of 50 talkgroups (or 500 if you wanted), or just 1 (or even mix and match conventional/trunking and analog/digi on the same list; and even talkgroups from different trunked systems). In my opinion, this scanner is definitely worth the little extra cash over a Pro-96. The software makes programming this guy a breeze (I use win500- for the monitoring capabilities).

As for any Uniden product, I can't give any feedback.

 

[ntnahed]

Thanks for the info!

Budget constraints have me leaning toward the '96. Just to clarify, the Pro-96 IS digital, right? And Will work on Austin's p-25 system? Am I correct in thinking there's regular trunking with P-25 digital and also a different system (like Austin's) that is "P-25 trunking"?

I read in RR product review that my BC250D (with P-25 card) will receive digital voice, but won't follow the new trunking system in Austin. I'm assuming the BC250D would work for DPS, which as I understand, uses conventional (non-trunking) 800 mhz with digital voice.

I'll probably end up going with the BCD396 eventually, since I'm more partial to the Unidens, generally. So what's the difference between the BCD 396T and BCD 396XT?

 

[texasemt13]

Budget constraints have me leaning toward the '96. Just to clarify, the Pro-96 IS digital, right? And Will work on Austin's p-25 system?

The Pro-96 is digital and trunks the Austin TRS just fine.

I read in RR product review that my BC250D (with P-25 card) will receive digital voice, but won't follow the new trunking system in Austin. I'm assuming the BC250D would work for DPS, which as I understand, uses conventional (non-trunking) 800 mhz with digital voice.

The BC250D (with P25 card) will receive DPS. They are on conventional, digital frequencies and have the exact same frequencies they did back in their analog days. They aren't 800MHz. See here for those frequencies.

I'll probably end up going with the BCD396 eventually, since I'm more partial to the Unidens, generally. So what's the difference between the BCD 396T and BCD 396XT?

See the answers to that right here or the wikis BDC396T vs. BCD396XT.

 

[ntnahed]

Thanks, Lab Tech. I found the TvsXT feud forum, too. Guess I'll save some money and go with the -96 for now and pick up a 396XT when the coffers are a little fuller.

 

[ntnahed]

I took up "Techy" on his BC396T for $250, just got back from mailing the M.O.
I'll probably go with a Pro-96 next. Though my personal preference is Uniden, I always seem to have a BC and a RS. I'll probably be putting my BC250D and PRO-97 up for sale in the next few weeks. They're still waiting to be shipped from Seattle. Both have cables and software, both kind of worn in the looks department, but work perfect, in case anybody's interested.

 

[SCPD]

Radio Shack is not selling the Pro-96 (or the last time I checked it was not there) Scanner Master isn't even showing it. This says something ..... its out-dated. the 106/500 gives you 20+2 scan lists with no real limit as to how much is in the list (or how little) the 96 is 10 banks and won't even do LTR or 700 Mhz. Trunked. If I'm not mistaken, it wont allow for NAC programing either. and the Cost for one, even on epay is still high. The Pro-106 or PSR-500 allows the user to program WAY more than 10 Trunked systems and yet scan only the groups you want to hear and mix them with EDACS/P-25/LTR and simple old conventional. with WIN500 or PSR500 Edit, you have full PC control of the radio with Incredible Logging. Even the New 396XT offers stuff the 96 never dreamed of. (ESK scanning on Non-Provoice systems & Private lists) I understand and respect the purse is low and 499.00 is a little high in this economy. But wow, the 96 is a dinosaur and only about a hundred and a half less than the new State-of-the-art 106/500/396XT. Consider your investment and its future. Public Safety radio in Texas is about to take a drastic change and some 96 users are gonna be seriously upset when this occurs in the next year or two.