SDS100/SDS200: SDS100 Revisited....

[Aviation_Scanner]

Been a while since I last posted here. Ended up getting a job.

Now that I have a job and have purchased a steam deck (For those of you that do not know what a steam deck is, it is valve's portable gaming PC), I am looking at saving up and purchasing an SDS100 Scanner.

Have a couple of questions about it.

1. Should I buy it directly from the uniden website? If so, does it come with the NXDN out of the box? (On second thoughts, I may not get/use the NXDN upgrade, since most agencies I want to listen to use VHF/UHF, DMR & Project 25 Phase II, Only found one agency in my area which uses NXDN).

2. Is it easy to learn how to program the SDS100 (Going to download the manual from uniden's website & start reading, even though it will be a couple of months before I can get one ) coming from a Radio Shack Pro-164? I will probably end up getting the ARC programming software for the SDS100, as that is what I use for my Pro-164.

3. Are there any other scanners, regardless of brand, I should consider?

 

[mc48]

MTC Radio often has sales on Uniden scanners. Upgrades for DMR, NXDN are available directly from Uniden and you should download Uniden Sentinel for the X36 scanners to play around with programming, you also need this to update the database and for firmware updates as well.

https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/Unidenman4/BCDx36HPSentinel

MTC Texas Sized Ham Radio and Electronic Deals | MTC

Free shipping over $100, great deals on cool stuff, ham radio, icom, kenwood , yaesu, wouxun, MTC, scanner, two way, commercial

www.mtcradio.com

myUniden - Customer Product Registration and Support Area

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

MTC Radio often has sales on Uniden scanners. Upgrades for DMR, NXDN are available directly from Uniden and you should download Uniden Sentinel for the X36 scanners to play around with programming, you also need this to update the database and for firmware updates as well.

https://info.uniden.com/twiki/bin/view/Unidenman4/BCDx36HPSentinel

MTC Texas Sized Ham Radio and Electronic Deals | MTC

Free shipping over $100, great deals on cool stuff, ham radio, icom, kenwood , yaesu, wouxun, MTC, scanner, two way, commercial

www.mtcradio.com

myUniden - Customer Product Registration and Support Area

Thanks for the helpful information.

If anyone has anything else to add, please feel free to do so.

 

[fxdscon]

If anyone has anything else to add, please feel free to do so.

Just to add emphasis to what mc48 posted above, don't purchase any upgrades from the dealer when you purchase your SDS100. You can purchase the upgrades yourself after the scanner purchase for a much better price anytime you want, direct from Uniden for a much better price. You can get one at a time or all at once if you need them.

A very easy process and just takes a few minutes to install at home. Get them direct from Uniden at these prices...

DMR = $60
NXDN = $50
ProVoice = $50
Waterfall Key = $20.00

Most dealers charge much more for each upgrade, Here's a list from Bearcat Warehouse (now called Police Scanners):

Uniden SDS100 Digital Police Scanner

The Uniden SDS100 Police Scanner is another first for Uniden. Free shipping, lifetime support, programming, best price guarantee, easy returns, Uniden full line of scanners

bearcatwarehouse.com

 

[dmfalk]

Worth having all the upgrades, IMO.... You never know when you need them, since not everyone is in the database! Sometimes, some itinerant business radios have NXDN or MotoTRBO or DMR in use... I've heard a few, even in this rural area of California I'm in...

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

Worth having all the upgrades, IMO.... You never know when you need them, since not everyone is in the database! Sometimes, some itinerant business radios have NXDN or MotoTRBO or DMR in use... I've heard a few, even in this rural area of California I'm in...

I will end up getting the DMR and NXDN upgrades.
Provoice is not widely used in my area anymore, so I will wait until I need it to get it.

I do not know what the waterfall key is for, so not sure if I really need that or not.

 

[RandyKuff]

I do not know what the waterfall key is for, so not sure if I really need that or not.

It will unlock this... If interested...

 

[fxdscon]

I do not know what the waterfall key is for, so not sure if I really need that or not.

Lots of info in the forums about the Waterfall upgrade, have a look through the results of this search query....

Search results for query: waterfall

forums.radioreference.com

 

[BC_Scan]

Been a while since I last posted here. Ended up getting a job.

Now that I have a job and have purchased a steam deck (For those of you that do not know what a steam deck is, it is valve's portable gaming PC), I am looking at saving up and purchasing an SDS100 Scanner.

Have a couple of questions about it.

1. Should I buy it directly from the uniden website? If so, does it come with the NXDN out of the box? (On second thoughts, I may not get/use the NXDN upgrade, since most agencies I want to listen to use VHF/UHF, DMR & Project 25 Phase II, Only found one agency in my area which uses NXDN).

2. Is it easy to learn how to program the SDS100 (Going to download the manual from uniden's website & start reading, even though it will be a couple of months before I can get one ) coming from a Radio Shack Pro-164? I will probably end up getting the ARC programming software for the SDS100, as that is what I use for my Pro-164.

3. Are there any other scanners, regardless of brand, I should consider?

1- not necessarily ( I said due to my area all ENC) I would never buy this unit , but along came a great local deal a 100E with NXDN?DMR?PV allready included (Euro Mkt) I snapped it up a month ago couldn't be happier , despite my 436 being my go to portable
2- steep learning curve for me with dynamic memory many hours spent learning , but now absolute master!
3- NO

 

[fxdscon]

I will probably end up getting the ARC programming software for the SDS100, as that is what I use for my Pro-164.

Before you decide on that, have a look at ProScan Software. The content and features are the very best value around for the money, and aren't matched by any other software. Myself and many other members of the forums recommend it very highly:

ProScan

Computer Aided Scanning Software for the Uniden BC125AT BC250D BC296D BC346XT BC346XTC BC780XLT BC785D BC796D BCD160DN BCD260DN BCD325P2 BCD396T BCD396XT BCD436HP BCD536HP BCD996P2 BCD996T BCD996XT BCT15 BCT15X BR330T SDS100 SDS100E SDS200 SDS200E UBC125XLT UBC126AT UBCD3600XLT UBCD436PT...

proscan.org

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

Before you decide on that, have a look at ProScan Software. The content and features are the very best value around for the money, and aren't matched by any other software. Myself and many other members of the forums recommend it very highly:

ProScan

Computer Aided Scanning Software for the Uniden BC125AT BC250D BC296D BC346XT BC346XTC BC780XLT BC785D BC796D BCD160DN BCD260DN BCD325P2 BCD396T BCD396XT BCD436HP BCD536HP BCD996P2 BCD996T BCD996XT BCT15 BCT15X BR330T SDS100 SDS100E SDS200 SDS200E UBC125XLT UBC126AT UBCD3600XLT UBCD436PT...

proscan.org

Mind is already made up, sticking with ARC since I am familiar with that software, seeing as how I have used ARC with my Pro-164..
Sure there will be a learning curve with the SDS-100, but at least I will be familiar with the UI of ARC.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

It will unlock this... If interested...

So basically, a wave form representation of the frequency?

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

I installed the Sentinel software to take a look at it.
I cannot seem to find any railroad frequencies.
I am in Harris County, Texas if anyone could point me in the right direction.

 

[dispatch235]

I installed the Sentinel software to take a look at it.
I cannot seem to find any railroad frequencies.
I am in Harris County, Texas if anyone could point me in the right direction.

Is this what you are looking for? Some frequencies are listed in the statewide categories.

 

[dmfalk]

I will end up getting the DMR and NXDN upgrades.
Provoice is not widely used in my area anymore, so I will wait until I need it to get it.

I do not know what the waterfall key is for, so not sure if I really need that or not.

I have the ProVoice "just in case", especially since what few travels take me these days includes Sacramento, which does have ProVoice-enabled EDACS.

And "Waterfall" gives a visual bandscope, SDR-style, that shows the progression of signals. (Others here can explain it better.) I do find it useful, since I use it to find signals not normally in the database, as well as, as I just did, find out why my local PD and FD conventional P25 channels weren't working. (Turned out they've changed NACs, no longer using 293 NAC....) Some others think it kinda useless, and not worth the $20.

So, it's really up to you, but I like being prepared, and my SDS100 has been a worthwhile expenditure.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

Is this what you are looking for? Some frequencies are listed in the statewide categories.

Yes. Thanks for pointing it out.
Not sure how I missed it.

 

[Aviation_Scanner]

If a channel is marked encrypted, that means no scanner will be able to pick it up?

 

[fxdscon]

If a channel is marked encrypted, that means no scanner will be able to pick it up?

That is correct. Note that in the RR database a lower case “e” means that the channel has been observed to be using encryption part of the time (may still be worth monitoring), whereas an upper case “E” indicates full time encryption.

 

[StoliRaz]

I will end up getting the DMR and NXDN upgrades.
Provoice is not widely used in my area anymore, so I will wait until I need it to get it.

Location is everything, but in my experience DMR is used fairly heavily, NXDN is sporadically used, and there is only 1 Provoice system and it is being phased out over the next year or so. Provoice is obsolete/not being used anymore so I doubt you're ever going to need it if you don't have a system within range already