SDS100/SDS200: SDS200 DMR, NXDN, ProVoice upgrades?

[trx680]

looking at several scanner websites, they offer the following upgrades.
Whats your guys opinion on them? I’m in Petersburg Virginia and have the surrounding counties/cities where I’d program the radio to listen in on all available police, fire, ems, etc…. Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Prince George, and State Police.
thanks!!

 

[ka3jjz]

You can do the upgrades yourself and save some cash. I wouldn't bother with ProVoice unless it's in your area; it's pretty much a dead duck. Do your research in the database and see whether you would need either DMR or NXDN or perhaps both first

Mike

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

None of the paid upgrades will do you any good if you're focused solely on emergency services in those counties. Consult the database and see what's documented as DMR/MotoTRBO or NXDN. Don't bother with ProVoice, only about 20 known systems still online, none in VA. Mostly businesses & non-public safety users (yes there are exceptions to the rule) operate on DMR or NXDN. Search the database for your counties of interest and make an informed decision on your own if any of the upgrades are worth it to you

 

[K9KLC]

Get the upgrades direct from Uniden after you have made sure the scanner is what you want.

 

[richardbritt]

Also check the systems you want to receive, lots of agencies on Virginia STARS have recently gone encrypted. Virginia State Police for one. If the database listing says DE or TE they are encrypted. No upgrade will allow you to receive those.

 

[richardbritt]

I was curious about your area frequencies (I used to hang out in Henrico County many years ago with friends in the rescue squad) and Richmond Police, Henrico County Police, Chesterfield County Police, Chesterfield County Sheriff, and Coloniel Heights Police are all full time encrypted.

 

[n1chu]

Also check the systems you want to receive, lots of agencies on Virginia STARS have recently gone encrypted. Virginia State Police for one. If the database listing says DE or TE they are encrypted. No upgrade will allow you to receive those.

The DE & TE are listing two modes of operation each. The D equals Digital, the T equals trunked. It’s the E that, if included, designates encryption. An upper case “E” equals full time encryption and a lower case “e” equals part time encryption. (The agency may manually turn on full encryption when necessary or have just one side encrypted all the time.)

 

[N9JIG]

The DE & TE are listing two modes of operation each. The D equals Digital, the T equals trunked. It’s the E that, if included, designates encryption. An upper case “E” equals full time encryption and a lower case “e” equals part time encryption. (The agency may manually turn on full encryption when necessary or have just one side encrypted all the time.)

Actually "D" indicates single path Digital, the "T" indicates (TDMA) (Phase 2 on P25 systems) with the "E" and "e" indicating the encryption status.

Trunking is indicated by the system type, not the Mode column.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Also if you do decide on one or more of the paid upgrades, don't buy them as an add-on with a scanner purchase. Instead buy direct from Uniden after you make the scanner purchase. Retailers mark the upgrade prices up by about $25 apiece as an added convenience.

If I were to choose only one of the three I'd definitely go with DMR as it's the most widely used of the three. Again, won't help much with public safety. Mostly business & amateur radio use, same applies to NXDN though it's less prevalent compared to DMR. You may find some rail traffic on NXDN. If none of the aforementioned interest you then don't bother with the upgrades. See what's documented in the RRDB for your counties of interest though I'm sure if you spun the dial (mostly UHF) you'd likely stumble upon some undocumented DMR stuff.

 

[dmfalk]

Also if you do decide on one or more of the paid upgrades, don't buy them as an add-on with a scanner purchase. Instead buy direct from Uniden after you make the scanner purchase. Retailers mark the upgrade prices up by about $25 apiece as an added convenience.
(....)

If I were to choose only one of the three I'd definitely go with DMR as it's the most widely used of the three. Again, won't help much with public safety. Mostly business & amateur radio use, same applies to NXDN though it's less prevalent compared to DMR. You may find some rail traffic on NXDN. If none of the aforementioned interest you then don't bother with the upgrades. See what's documented in the RRDB for your counties of interest though I'm sure if you spun the dial (mostly UHF) you'd likely stumble upon some undocumented DMR stuff.

And this is where the Waterfall option comes in handy!

Me, personally, I have all four upgrades, "just in case", because while there are officially documented systems, there are also "unofficial" systems out there, as in many cases, such older equipment often get auctioned off, and may in fact still be in use, somewhere else.

This, of course, is just part of what makes radio an interesting hobby.......

And yes, upgrades, buy them directly from Uniden!