SDS 100 / 200 and Simulcast Distortion.

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Robotech2112

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I am curious now that the SDS series has been on the market for a while ....have they been a solution to simulcast distortion as many had hoped?

Please chime in with your experiences... good, bad, or ugly.

And please compare to previous equipment used if any.

Thanks.
 

mc48

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I have an HP2 and it is worthless at times, my 436HP is somewhat better but my SDS100+200 are far superior to either of those scanners.
I had actually given up on listening to my local P25 system and scanned the legacy VHF/UHF system as long as it was still being linked to the P25.
 

Skypilot007

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I found the SDS100 handled the linear simulcast distortion pretty well. However the audio quality from the SDS100 scanner is absolute crap like most other scanners, Whistler included. I returned the SDS scanner. Previous/Current equipment used is Relm/BK KNG2 portable.

On a side note I have found that the BCD996P2 scanner works quite well on the P25 phase II systems near me setup as a basestation even though it's old school technology (non-I/Q demodulation). I'm sure if I took it mobile it would have problems.
 

fredva

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My SDS-100 was a big improvement on simulcast compared the scanners I owned prior to getting it, including BCD436hp, Radio Shack PRO-197, and WS-1080. I remember reading people complaining about distortion on a local Phase 1 simulcast system before I bought my first digital scanner (the PRO-197). I thought "How bad could it be?" I found out - it was terrible. The SDS-100 is expensive, but it takes away that frustration.
 

R8000

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I have both the 100 an 200, and they work great on our local Phase 2 P25 simulcast system. Reliability wise, both have been excellent. No issues.
 

nacsr

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I agree. I had a Trx 1 and the Uniden 436 and was always trying to tweak all the adjustments with poor results. Out of the box the SDS200 worked. No fooling around.
 

TailGator911

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Fairborn, OH
Previous scanners I used on the local MARCS Ohio P25 digital simulcast system was a mix of three - TRX-1, Whistler 1065, and BCD536HP. The SDS100 & SDS200 blow these out of the water. No comparison on simulcast.
 

captainmax1

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You will never know what you're missing unless you run a SDS Scanner next to any other scanner. While in Miami, I've seen my 436 completely deaf while my SDS100 was receiving nonstop transmissions.
 

mr10pt

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Bought the 200 because the 536 was so garbled at times it sounded encrypted at times. The 200 is far more superior in audio quality. Older eyesight, fat fingers and a bigger speaker helped me decide on the 200 Thankfully, ProScan has eliminated any need for a portable scanner which I cannot legally possess in my vehicle in my state.
 

trentbob

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I am curious now that the SDS series has been on the market for a while ....have they been a solution to simulcast distortion as many had hoped?

Please chime in with your experiences... good, bad, or ugly.

And please compare to previous equipment used if any.

Thanks.
YES! :ROFLMAO:

Yes they are the only consumer scanners that perform very well on simulcast and don't suffer distortion from LSM.

They work well like the unication professional pagers and professional subscriber radios without the volume punch of course.

It's important to note that they require knowledge and proper use. To get the best results you need to tweak the radio with filters and other adjustments.

There are some who will complain about performance, especially on analog conventional channels but this is due to user error in not utilizing the filters properly or other adjustments.

If you're not familiar with the X36 series it is quite a learning curve. More than some can bare but most do well.
 

teknishun

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Alvin, Texas
I am curious now that the SDS series has been on the market for a while ....have they been a solution to simulcast distortion as many had hoped?

Please chime in with your experiences... good, bad, or ugly.

And please compare to previous equipment used if any.

Thanks.

Absolutely!! That is the main reason I bought them. They do handle simulcast distortion quite well. Plus they are both
in color (SDS100 and SDS200). Unication G4 and G5 pagers handle it well too. But the SDS scanners are not without their problems though. You can find out plenty about them on other forums in the Uniden section. Before we went to simulcast my GRE PSR-800 worked flawlessly and had great audio, but even after having Whistler convert it to the WS-1080 it just never performed clearly on the simulcast stuff. YES -- if you are looking for a scanner that will do simulcast then the SDS scanners are the way to go. Remember that EVERY scanner has problems of some sort, so do your homework before you buy.
 

hexagon_keyhole

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Our area very recently moved from a Motorola SmartZone 2 to P25 Phase 1, and I’m reading folks having issues with older scanners. I would say it’s a even split as some sounds like they are in indeed in a simulcast deaf zone, while others just didn’t program the new P25 system.

Home? SDS100 and BCD436HP work fine at my location.

Out and about town? SDS100 works really well in areas I haven’t gotten any reception.
 

ofd8001

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I'd say whether the SDS line is better for simulcast has been addressed many other places, particularly in the Prospective Owners section.
 
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