SDS100/SDS200: SDS100 Regrets

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trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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You would have to live in the county of Nye. LOL.

ART BELL used to live in Pahrump Nevada in the County of Nye..
As for the whole filter this and that discussion..wide narrow inverted...I get that..I am not going to get anywhere with this.. the radio is too complex to deal with on the fly..so its going to have to run this way until i run into a problem that required me to dig any further.
Of course my friend oh, that's why I made the reference to the County of Nye. Now we're getting way off topic but as so many folks here did, I loved the man for many many many years. George snoory is a joke and I don't listen to the show anymore.

Getting back on topic oh, your energy and interest in learning the radio shows me that you should just stay with it. How many gadgets and radios have we had that we mastered in no time? We ended up saying, is that all there is? Yes the reference to the song... Stay with it. Read more... learn the website and how to get the answers to everything you want to know without talking to anybody, just read. You will love the radio.
 
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Of course my friend oh, that's why I made the reference to the County of Nye. Now we're getting way off topic but as so many folks here did, I loved the man for many many many years. George snoory is a joke and I don't listen to the show anymore.

Getting back on topic oh, your energy and interest in learning the radio shows me that you should just stay with it. How many gadgets and radios have we had that we mastered in no time? We ended up saying, is that all there is? Yes the reference to the song... Stay with it. Read more... learn the website and how to get the answers to everything you want to know without talking to anybody, just read. You will love the radio.
Off Topic but granted...George...Commander George Noory... Yeah I quit listening when Art retired..I liked John Wells.. Jimmy Church is another version of George Noory...Political...Art Bell made me love radio...if I get my technicians license it will be because of him and people like you..
Thank God for youtube...and Earthfiles, Martin Willis.Richard Dolan..they all cover topics that I enjoy..but ART BELL..is just a one of a Kind..Like Paul Harvey, Howard Stern, Larry the Cable Guy...ICONS amidst mediocrity,,,Arts laughter..was so genuine..and irrepressible when you hear him laugh on..air..( ILISTEN TO ART BELL EVERY DAY I AM AS I WRITE THIS ON MY IPHONE with the PARANORMAL RADIO APP..I have 2 stations on the APP that play nothing but ART BELL 24/7. (right now its a show with Sean David Morton)
 

sallen07

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You most certainly can listen to trunked nxdn systems on the TRX and get all the talkgroups, it just does not track the control channel. Side by side my trx1 outperforms my 436 and 536 on my local nxdn trunked system.

Isn't that what I said?
 

sallen07

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I regret buying the SDS 100 because the sofware to run it is slow and clunky compared to ARC BUTEL PRO and the BCD325P2.. The 325P2 is at least as good on the EDACS system and is hands down easier to program than the SDS100 with the Sentinel software.

Now here's something we can agree on!!! :)

Definitely a YMMV, but I am not a fan of Sentinal. My suggestion would be to try ARC536 and ProScan. They both have 30-day free trials, and (IMHO) are vastly superior to Sentinal for programming the SDS scanners.
 

sallen07

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I purchased my SDS 100 back in June. Its ok, but I found my 536 was same except for fancy display. I dont have phase 2 near me, Only state pd is on phase 1 and rest of state uses UHF.

While the display is the obvious difference, it's not the important one. While the two scanners use the same programming software, the reciever design is totally different. The 536 (and every previous Uniden Scanner) has a conventional heterodyne receiver, while the SDS100/200 are SDR-based. (SDS == Software Defined Scanner) Basically it's an SDR and a little computer in a scanner form-factor. That's what gives it the ability to handle simulcast systems, but also requires the big battery since the power draw is much higher.

Haven't sold my 536 yet, deliberating should I keep it or sell sds 100 which I have extra battery & charger for. Also have remex antenna which now gives me good 800/900 but i think i maybe loosing UHF. If i switch antennas to vhf/uhf, I loose 800.
Received everything on 536 good with stock antenna
Now, my question is reading the above, what do you suggest I do? and does the 536 receive better than the sds100 when it comes to VHF/UHF??
Comments welcome.

The Remtronix antennas are (in general) great on 700/800, OK on UHF, and not so great on VHF. With that said, if I'm sitting at home with one of my handheld scanners and want to listen to UHF or VHF I use a Diamond RH77CA antenna, but if I'm out walking or mowing the lawn or running the snowblower I put a Remtronix on the same scanner and it does just fine. (The RH77CA is 15" long; the Remtronix 7"!)

Many people have stated that, out-of-the-box, the SDS100/200 don't do as good a job monitoring non-simulcast channels and systems as other scanners. Many other people have stated that if you tweak the filters, they are as good or better. Personally I can't tell you, since I bought my SDS scanners to listen to the local P25 simulcast system, and use other scanners for other traffic. I DO know that none of my other scanners can handle the simulcast.

So the decision is yours. If there is no simulcast, and none in the near future, sounds like your 536 will do just fine. On the other hand, if you keep the SDS100 you'll be future-proofed if a new simulcast system IS stood up.
 

trentbob

W3BUX- Bucks County, PA
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Off Topic but granted...George...Commander George Noory... Yeah I quit listening when Art retired..I liked John Wells.. Jimmy Church is another version of George Noory...Political...Art Bell made me love radio...if I get my technicians license it will be because of him and people like you..
Thank God for youtube...and Earthfiles, Martin Willis.Richard Dolan..they all cover topics that I enjoy..but ART BELL..is just a one of a Kind..Like Paul Harvey, Howard Stern, Larry the Cable Guy...ICONS amidst mediocrity,,,Arts laughter..was so genuine..and irrepressible when you hear him laugh on..air..( ILISTEN TO ART BELL EVERY DAY I AM AS I WRITE THIS ON MY IPHONE with the PARANORMAL RADIO APP..I have 2 stations on the APP that play nothing but ART BELL 24/7. (right now its a show with Sean David Morton)
Yes I am a weekly listener to Somewhere in Time. It's interesting when you remember a show from over 20 years ago. It's like a time machine that goes backwards. And yes George Snoory destroyed the show. Let's the nutjobs go on and on. I always thought that Whitley Schreiber should have taken over...

But nevertheless, stick with the radio, you can read everything you can about it here on radio reference. An overwhelmingly informative source if you learn how to navigate it properly.
 

W8KIC

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Sooner or later it was going to come down to that..some one was going to make that post and now you have. Lets move on. You have all made your response to my consumer opinion very clear. This thread is about SDS 100 REGRETS..and I regret having to pay more on top of what I have already paid.(I bought the Pro Voice Upgrade for the 325P2) I am considering whether I will do that for the SDS 100 and unlock its natural potential for Nationwide Reception. I don't like it and I don't have to but if I want the ability then right now there is no other choice. I dont have to like it..and I DONT. This will be my final word and post on the matter. Feel free to continue at your own pace. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year and 73's to all who persevere with this hobby

Are you for real? Is there anything you own that doesn't require any kind of personal initiative on your part? Why not just pick up a remote control for the boob tube and call it a day!
 
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himages

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Once our community celebrates New Years 2021......and our local Fire Dept and EMT paramedics and Lifeguards bid farewell to EDACS and provoice, I probably will sell my rig because there will be nothing else to listen too.....as one photographer said of their old broken lens, "use it as a bookstand".
 
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Once our community celebrates New Years 2021......and our local Fire Dept and EMT paramedics and Lifeguards bid farewell to EDACS and provoice, I probably will sell my rig because there will be nothing else to listen too.....as one photographer said of their old broken lens, "use it as a bookstand".
If you really are in Hawaii then you have Aviation, Marine, and other things you can Monitor.
Are you for real? Is there anything you own that doesn't require any kind of personal initiative on your part? Why not just pick up a remote control for the boob tube and call it a day!
Your post about Television is hilarious. I have not owned a Television in nearly 10 years and I stopped watching it before that. I have no idea if the people who liked your post can read and comprehend what I wrote but for the record you are all wrong. People being wrong on the internet seems to be a thing these days.
 

GregOH

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New Phila, OH
I actually wish I knew somebody local that has a BCD325P2 and find out how it performs. I'm within simulcast, but the nearest tower is maybe a couple miles away and I was using a Whistler WS1040 earlier this year and to be honest, I really don't notice much difference in reception with the SDS100.

As mentioned above, why pay more if you don't have to?
 
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I actually wish I knew somebody local that has a BCD325P2 and find out how it performs. I'm within simulcast, but the nearest tower is maybe a couple miles away and I was using a Whistler WS1040 earlier this year and to be honest, I really don't notice much difference in reception with the SDS100.

As mentioned above, why pay more if you don't have to?
I have a BCD325P2 and to be honest it was handling the RF situation here with zero issues most of the time..but there were a couple of times when I got garbled reception. Honestly the 325P2 is really good it has the memory and is easily programmed. The whole Simulcast thing is not really an issue for me with it. I have the SDS100 running now on AFRCS and its catching the odd call..but..nowhere near the traffic I hear with the 325P2
 

GregOH

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I have a BCD325P2 and to be honest it was handling the RF situation here with zero issues most of the time..but there were a couple of times when I got garbled reception. Honestly the 325P2 is really good it has the memory and is easily programmed. The whole Simulcast thing is not really an issue for me with it. I have the SDS100 running now on AFRCS and its catching the odd call..but..nowhere near the traffic I hear with the 325P2
What's funny with my situation is, in the room I listen to the scanner I get good reception but not as much as if I move the scanner to a different room (maybe reduces the simulcast issue even more?). I have no problem getting all of the local stuff in my room and quite a bit more when moving to any other room in the home it seems. The only garbled audio I got with the other digital scanners I've owned was the local ambulance and it's no different with the SDS100, it's garbled with it at times as well.

My only other use for the scanner is outside the simulcast area, so do I need the SDS100? Maybe not.
 
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What's funny with my situation is, in the room I listen to the scanner I get good reception but not as much as if I move the scanner to a different room (maybe reduces the simulcast issue even more?). I have no problem getting all of the local stuff in my room and quite a bit more when moving to any other room in the home it seems. The only garbled audio I got with the other digital scanners I've owned was the local ambulance, and it's no different with the SDS100.

My only other use for the scanner is outside the simulcast area, so do I need the SDS100? Maybe not.
I really did not need the SDS100 but I was made to believe I did I thought I was missing something..turns out I was not missing that much.
In terms of future proofing my monitoring abilty its an investment that will pay off in time. I have it and I am slowly learning to use it.. They say its never wise to meet your heroes and the SDS 100 is confirmation of that for me.
 

fxdscon

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Ok lets start with the List of 7 what are they and where do I find them

 
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Thank you...
 

Peerlessk

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I love these threads. Bottom line is if you need a SDS series / Unication radio to properly receive a system in your area, you will need to engage your brain and learn how to use it efficiently.
I thought it was a fun learning curve 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
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I love these threads. Bottom line is if you need a SDS series / Unication radio to properly receive a system in your area, you will need to engage your brain and learn how to use it efficiently.
Some people are very fortunate and they have the experience and knowledge to make the most of the radio right out of the box, Others like me are making a big step up financially and technically with the investment in the hobby. I would never want anyone to feel disparaged for their lack of understanding of the technology inside this radio. Everything is knowable given enough time. Making remarks about people engaging their brain are unhelpfull and do not make this hobby the accessible and inclusive space it needs to be. Shame on you.
 
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