SDS100/SDS200: The Waiters...

[UPMan]

There are some b/l issues being tested under the open beta thread. Have you tried it?

 

[TxScanner]

There are some b/l issues being tested under the open beta thread. Have you tried it?

No sir, I haven’t, if you can provide a link to info, or i can find it, I’ll give it a try, be the first time ive tried doing a beta firmware.


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[jonwienke]

https://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/372091-sds100-firmware-1-02-05a-open-beta.html

 

[TxScanner]

https://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/372091-sds100-firmware-1-02-05a-open-beta.html

Thanks, I’ll look into it.


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[hosehead88]

I for one would have to say I am extremely pleased with everything in the SDS so far. I drove from Cumberland County PA to Schuylkill County PA using GPS location from the dongle. First, I was shocked at how well this worked (I know, that existed before, but WOW), Second, the reception on the trip was well above that of the TRX-2 that I have used as a mobile mount for some time. I used the Austin Spectra on my vehicle as the antenna for the SDS. In the past, I would hardly pick up Berks (P2 Simul) until I was in the heart of the county. Today, It was coming in loud and clear near Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County. LebCo came in fine. Lancaster (P1 Simul) also showed a great performance improvement. Of course, once I got to the Berks/Schuylkill line on PA-183, as with all scanners, it went deaf (Skook= encrypted) but I was able to get Luzerne and Carbon from Southern Skook.

Did I mention how much I love GPS scanning? I may cut back the mileage range because it seemed to take forever to drop Perry, Juniata, etc. from the scan once I was well out of their range. I also had to dump airports as it was, well, non-stop airports. Time to sell a few TRX-2, and I gave my mother a WS-1088 so she can listen to something on the way down to visit.

I cannot wait to do another road trip over a longer distance, perhaps Columbus (Dublin Irish Fest) to run through PA iCORRS areas, and then MARCS-IP and COIRS.

I feel like a little kid again. Y U NO have MOBILE version YET?

 

[TxScanner]

I for one would have to say I am extremely pleased with everything in the SDS so far. I drove from Cumberland County PA to Schuylkill County PA using GPS location from the dongle. First, I was shocked at how well this worked (I know, that existed before, but WOW), Second, the reception on the trip was well above that of the TRX-2 that I have used as a mobile mount for some time. I used the Austin Spectra on my vehicle as the antenna for the SDS. In the past, I would hardly pick up Berks (P2 Simul) until I was in the heart of the county. Today, It was coming in loud and clear near Fort Indiantown Gap in Lebanon County. LebCo came in fine. Lancaster (P1 Simul) also showed a great performance improvement. Of course, once I got to the Berks/Schuylkill line on PA-183, as with all scanners, it went deaf (Skook= encrypted) but I was able to get Luzerne and Carbon from Southern Skook.

Did I mention how much I love GPS scanning? I may cut back the mileage range because it seemed to take forever to drop Perry, Juniata, etc. from the scan once I was well out of their range. I also had to dump airports as it was, well, non-stop airports. Time to sell a few TRX-2, and I gave my mother a WS-1088 so she can listen to something on the way down to visit.

I cannot wait to do another road trip over a longer distance, perhaps Columbus (Dublin Irish Fest) to run through PA iCORRS areas, and then MARCS-IP and COIRS.

I feel like a little kid again. Y U NO have MOBILE version YET?

That’s pretty awesome, i really liking mine aswell now, im 37, been scanning since i was real young, i can still remember my first police chase i heard, and how exciting it was, lol.


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[TxScanner]

There are some b/l issues being tested under the open beta thread. Have you tried it?

I noticed someone mention about the backlight issue, as flickering, which mine is not. I was just thinking when you set the backlight timer, it stayed on for however many seconds you it to, or if you put it on open squelch it just came when a transmission came on, and went right off when they stopped talking, and thats what mine does, it just comes on like when they push the button to talk, and when they let go, the light goes right off, even though i have it set at xx seconds, im almost positive the first one did like i was talking about, maybe im wrong, should i still try the beta?


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[n1chu]

Waiting for all the “bugs” to be worked out because (in general) any new product has a “wringing out” period, is a responsible option and I don’t fault anyone from going this route. But so far I haven’t seen any glaring issues that would cause us to wait. (I would think it’s more a matter of waiting for the price to come down... and using the “bugs” issue as justification.)

My take on the issues you listed;

“Better LSM reception and UHF reception” Any improvements that can/will be made will come in the form of FW updates (or in the case of necessary hardware updates a recall/repair program will be put in place) free of charge, provided Uniden determines it necessary.

“Backlight toggle fixed”. Same corrective action as stated above.

“Redesign on the sma antenna connection to accept after-market antennas” This is an obvious concern but is user correctable with an adapter. I discount the asthetics argument (an adapter takes away from the appearance of the scanner) because the primary reason for substituting the stock antenna with an aftermarket antenna (typically a longer whip up to 18”) is to improve reception-not appearance. And those that are liking a shorter antenna, are more interested in concealment, having little or no appearance concerns. But it’s true, the option of using other antennas is compromised by the current physical mount. A redesign of the case? Or a user mod to lower the height of the “barrel” wall...

“Larger battery and new battery door” Corrective action has already been enacted. Register with Uniden and receive a longer life battery with a new battery compartment cover for free.

 

[n1chu]

It appears to me the reason for the current antenna connection was driven by Uniden’s concern of meeting some mil spec relating to moisture propection. But Uniden also supplies a very nice (solid, one piece-no moving parts) SMA/BNC adapter... without an “O” ring to guard against moisture, defeating the reason for touting the “water resistant” claim. (I’m going under the assumption the reason for the current connection was because of Uniden’s offering of water resistance.) But its not a deal breaker for me. If anything, I appreciate the inclusion of the adapter. With one request... a second SMA male to SMA female adapter, with the same dimensions as the one supplied (solid, one piece) be made available for those of us who simply need an extension, in height, to clear the top of the existing “barrel”. I haven’t looked to see if this type of adapter is available aftermarket as yet and would appreciate input as to availability-a hyperlink to where it can be found.

 

[TailGator911]

Waiting for all the “bugs” to be worked out because (in general) any new product has a “wringing out” period, is a responsible option and I don’t fault anyone from going this route. But so far I haven’t seen any glaring issues that would cause us to wait. (I would think it’s more a matter of waiting for the price to come down... and using the “bugs” issue as justification.)

My take on the issues you listed;

“Better LSM reception and UHF reception” Any improvements that can/will be made will come in the form of FW updates (or in the case of necessary hardware updates a recall/repair program will be put in place) free of charge, provided Uniden determines it necessary.

“Backlight toggle fixed”. Same corrective action as stated above.

“Redesign on the sma antenna connection to accept after-market antennas” This is an obvious concern but is user correctable with an adapter. I discount the asthetics argument (an adapter takes away from the appearance of the scanner) because the primary reason for substituting the stock antenna with an aftermarket antenna (typically a longer whip up to 18”) is to improve reception-not appearance. And those that are liking a shorter antenna, are more interested in concealment, having little or no appearance concerns. But it’s true, the option of using other antennas is compromised by the current physical mount. A redesign of the case? Or a user mod to lower the height of the “barrel” wall...

“Larger battery and new battery door” Corrective action has already been enacted. Register with Uniden and receive a longer life battery with a new battery compartment cover for free.

I am keeping track of all of the bugs and fixes and I agree with you, most of them can and will be repaired with a simple firmwear update download. I will be chomping at the bit with money in hand.

Hearing updates from the many who adopted and those of us that are waiting has been very helpful. I had to ask myself is this about brand loyalty? For me, no it is not. I think I have owned every major scanner that has been released on the market since the mid-80s. Yeah I will buy the new Whistler LSM-capable scanner as well as the SDS100 desktop model. Not so much brand loyalty as it is the search for ultimate quality performance, and perfection. I welcome all observations, both negative and positive. Most people in here are very knowledgeable and technically proficient, and I value their opinions. It's all about communications, something we all value and respect.

The feedback from these forums has to be of some value to the manufacturers and their engineers and designers. Whether we know it or not, we ARE the beta testers.

 

[DeDawg]

After keeping up with all the threads concerning the SDS100 bugs and fixes and shortcomings, the LSM monitoring compared to 436s and G5s, I feel I made a very wise decision in waiting to purchase the Uniden SDS100.

After seeing my Amazon return time window close while waiting for Uniden to come up with a fix for my 536 soured me on any new product of theirs. After spending that much money on something that did not work, until they get around to a firmware fix did it for me.

And I gather the decoded digital speech is still crappy, so why spend the money? So you ca wait for more firmware fixes and still hear indecipherable speech??

 

[jonwienke]

After seeing my Amazon return time window close while waiting for Uniden to come up with a fix for my 536 soured me on any new product of theirs. After spending that much money on something that did not work, until they get around to a firmware fix did it for me.

And I gather the decoded digital speech is still crappy, so why spend the money? So you ca wait for more firmware fixes and still hear indecipherable speech??

You obviously never listened to any of the simulcast recordings I posted...

 

[DeDawg]

You obviously never listened to any of the simulcast recordings I posted...

You would be correct, I mostly just ignore you.

 

[jonwienke]

Which means your opinion is based on assumptions, rather than actual evidence--exactly what I thought.

 

[NWI_Scanner_Guy]

After seeing my Amazon return time window close while waiting for Uniden to come up with a fix for my 536 soured me on any new product of theirs. After spending that much money on something that did not work, until they get around to a firmware fix did it for me.

And I gather the decoded digital speech is still crappy, so why spend the money? So you ca wait for more firmware fixes and still hear indecipherable speech??

Crappy? Not on my SDS100. Crystal clear would describe it pretty accurately.

 

[jonwienke]

These SDS100 recordings are certainly not "crappy":
https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApJIS-l4xqPtgvUJ80oikLWr0Kq3bg

But unfounded opinions are more important than objective facts and evidence to some people.

 

[buddrousa]

Just ignore the TROLLS they are just trying to defend something that has not been engineered yet.
And if your X36's are that crappy send them to me I WILL TAKE THEM AS THEY ARE GREAT SCANNERS.

 

[Embalmer-Mortician]

Video evidence has shown the SDS100 can not decode digital properly. Waste of money considering that using the right antenna on my 436 has made it a lot less of an issue for me. Would rather get a G5.

 

[jonwienke]

In one instance, yes, posted by a guy who never bothered to install a firmware update that possibly could have solved his specific issue. OTOH, there are numerous other videos and tests showing the SDS100 performing significantly better than the x36 models when connected to the same antenna and monitoring the same simulcast site.

Here's my comparison:
|https://forums.radioreference.com/u...71823-sds100-vs-436-simulcast-recordings.html

 

[spotsyrick]

These SDS100 recordings are certainly not "crappy":
https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApJIS-l4xqPtgvUJ80oikLWr0Kq3bg

But unfounded opinions are more important than objective facts and evidence to some people.

Receptions are clear on the SDS100 and sound better than any other scanner that I have. Now if we could slow down some of those dispatchers that think they are auctioneers, then we may understand what they are saying.