Thought I would question this. Icom and Uniden has new radios coming out. No P25. Seems odd. Just wondering if government doesn't want folks to have P25 capability.
Seems odd no P25 in new radios coming out
- Thread starter bearcatrp
- Start date
How far did you have to go for that stretch?
Railways are supposed to go NXDN, aviation is AM, littoral maritime is FM, many businesses are some form of DMR and slowly migrating there... Yes, IACP and NFPA want P-25 systems - mostly because it is a new toy and new gear to play with and chiefs can point to it on their résumés and say 'see what I did'.
That premise has little support in evidence when Uniden makes and sells several P-25 scanners, Unication sells P-25 pagers, one can buy used P-25 portables, etc. Even some Ham repeaters are P-25. Icom even sells P-25 to PS users, but doesn't include it in hobby receivers. Icom doesn't sell 1.25 meter ham radios - does that infer that they are leaving amateur radio? Of course not.
I moved from a county that was nearly exclusively P-25 to one where the local PD is plain ol' FM-N. Much of my State's public safety is that way. Not everyone needs P-25. Heck, we have a mid-sized PD that went to NXDN for their new radio system.
Uniden is trying to sell receivers to people who do not need or do not want P-25 for their listening needs.
That premise has little support in evidence when Uniden makes and sells several P-25 scanners, Unication sells P-25 pagers, one can buy used P-25 portables, etc. Even some Ham repeaters are P-25. Icom even sells P-25 to PS users, but doesn't include it in hobby receivers. Icom doesn't sell 1.25 meter ham radios - does that infer that they are leaving amateur radio? Of course not.
I moved from a county that was nearly exclusively P-25 to one where the local PD is plain ol' FM-N. Much of my State's public safety is that way. Not everyone needs P-25. Heck, we have a mid-sized PD that went to NXDN for their new radio system.
Uniden is trying to sell receivers to people who do not need or do not want P-25 for their listening needs.
Exactly. That is the niche market Uniden was aiming for. Railfans, especially, would be interested in a NXDN capable scanner, with no need for trunking, if and when their local rail companies make the long discussed switch from FM to NXDN.
There are a large number of businesses, & especially school districts, that are using DMR, and are not trunked.
E.g. my local school district...
Radios are like cars, some people only want/need a low-end Kia or Hyundai as it "gets them there" (for what they need), while others want a Mercedes, Rolls or Genesis for the "everything factor". Now not everyone wants, needs or can afford to buy a luxury car or scanner, but if a company can sell more lower priced products, they will. In the end the market (consumers) decide. In my area 95% of everything that I listen to is still FM-N or AM and only one service of interest to me is P25. If you can buy a BC125AT for about $120.00 and it does 95% of everything you want, can the average person justify spending spending $530 more for that extra 5% unless money is no option? I'm betting most people cannot or will not, so there you go, that's why they still make and sell analog only scanners.
Guess we will see on the pricing when they are released. Am guessing $400 minimum.
It's anybody's guess right now what the selling cost will be. But if they did go to the $400 range, that's in the price point of a 325P2 with either the NXDN or DMR upgrade. (Currently $346.25 @ Amazon, plus either the NXDN ($50) or DMR ($60) upgrade fee.) At that price level. the 325P2 would be the better choice.
If that's true, the feds are a bit late to the party. With the number of P25-capable receivers on the market and in the hands of hobbyists, that ship already sailed long ago!
It may have sailed but current P25 radios don’t last forever.
It's no secret. The P25 standard is well documented. The DVSI chips are available. The "government" isn't trying to control access. It's not theirs to control. Anyone with $25 and an Amazon account can buy a USB stick receiver and listen in.
But I'm not supposed to tell you that. The guys from the government will probably come and get me before I can finish this pos
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Yeah, no. The "government" really doesn't care if hobbiests have P25 receivers, they will simply encrypt if they don't want you to hear them.
Which as we all know just takes a “flip of a switch”.
I sit there at work sometimes and just flip the "switch" off and on for fun, knowing that somewhere in the 32KM radius around me some scanner listener is getting upset. Sometimes the janitor mistakes it for the light switch and turns it off at night. I hate it when that happens.
By the time the current P25 radios, scanners, pagers, and SDR dongles die off there will be a new mode to replace the then outdated P25.
But, putting the government wants aside, as you say, radios don't last forever and there is a growing demand for a new mid-tier non-trunked DMR, NXDN, railroad, air-band radio. DMR is growing with businesses around the country.
I would love to know the numbers regarding the purchases of P25 scanners in the presence of increased encryption. I have read many folks that are SOL for scanner monitoring.
It is a shame that they have to listen to McDonalds after they bought an SDS 100. I am afraid I would have to destroy it like my Garmin, slamming the damn thing on the concrete. I seriously doubt other scanner enthusiasts living in the same area would continue to buy scanners if they lived in a smaller city with one trunking system (example).
In a large metro area like Houston, there is plenty to monitor.
If Waco went to the dark side, I would likely get rid of the damn radios. Or, I would mothball them and get them out for trips.
I have heard a lot of anecdotal predictions, but no hard data.
Does anyone actually know market numbers for the scanner industry. If there is a decline, does it relate to increased encryption throughout the U.S. I am excluding the price factor.
The Homeland Insecurity crowd wants encryption to be widespread from what I've read. The Patriot Act B.S. did not help matters.
I appreciate having the platform to share my thoughts and opinions.
It is a shame that they have to listen to McDonalds after they bought an SDS 100. I am afraid I would have to destroy it like my Garmin, slamming the damn thing on the concrete. I seriously doubt other scanner enthusiasts living in the same area would continue to buy scanners if they lived in a smaller city with one trunking system (example).
In a large metro area like Houston, there is plenty to monitor.
If Waco went to the dark side, I would likely get rid of the damn radios. Or, I would mothball them and get them out for trips.
I have heard a lot of anecdotal predictions, but no hard data.
Does anyone actually know market numbers for the scanner industry. If there is a decline, does it relate to increased encryption throughout the U.S. I am excluding the price factor.
The Homeland Insecurity crowd wants encryption to be widespread from what I've read. The Patriot Act B.S. did not help matters.
I appreciate having the platform to share my thoughts and opinions.
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HA! No argument there!
Not exactly sure what you are trying to say. That you can't get a replacement for a worn-out or broken radio unless companies are introducing new models every year?
