scosgt
Member
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2004
- Messages
- 1,295
I have the HP-1 with the Extreme Update and a Garmin 18 GPS.
I find that in the house the unit is not very sensitive. I have tried the included antenna, the RS 800 Mhz antenna, the Diamond 77 antenna and an 800 Mhz SMA antenna I bought on Ebay.
I live about equally between the NJSP TRS and the Suffolk County NY TRS. My 796D picks up both flawlessly.
Sitting right next to it, the HP-1 often can not even get a sniff of the control channel, confirmed with the extreme update tools. So for listening to distant systems, it is far from ideal, unless possibly you install a rooftop antenna. Due to my local topography (I have a one story house) that might not be of much help. I do have an antenna mounted on the chimney for about 30 years, even when it was newer it didn't do much, the rubber duckies usually worked better.
I took the scanner out on the road with the GPS, and this is where is shines. It seamlessly enabled and disabled systems on the fly with no user input, and since the systems were generally local due to the GPS, reception was very good.
Now some ideas:
1. It NEEDS a symbol of some kind to indicate it is receiving a control channel. Every scanner I own has some way of indicating that it is indeed listening to a trunked system. The 796D shows "ID Search". The 996T shows "NFM" instead of a frequeny. The PSR 800 shows at "T".
The HP-1 just sits there and spins. Unless it is actually receiving something, there is no way to know if it is locked on a CC. I hope this could be addressed with firmware.
2. I note that the "full Database" can not be altered when using GPS. That is to say, when using Favorites it is possible to go advanced in a system and change the "range". But that can not be done when using the GPS with the full database.
So what happens, for example, is that if you are driving in North New Jersey, you will pick up NYPD. The range is factory set I think at 19 miles. That means that most of northern NJ will receive NYPD. The problem is the NYPD is broken down into numerous "Departments", and you would need to avoid each and every one of them or they just keep chattering. And of course, when you turn the scanner back on, those avoids are cancelled, so you have to do it each time. This creates a problem when traveling, as you will for example pick up NJSP well into PA.
It seems to me that when traveling, I would want the option change the range of systems to only hear what is actually local, if I choose. I also note that NJ Transit is, for some reason, enabled just about into Suffolk County NY.
So I am hoping that a new firmware version might provide some fixes for this.
I also think that this is a fine mobile scanner, but not much of a desktop scanner if you want to be able to monitor systems more than a few miles away (which obviously is possible since the 796D does it, and the 996 is just behind it).
Disclaimer: All my testing was done in another State since scanners are illegal in cars in the Nanny State.
I find that in the house the unit is not very sensitive. I have tried the included antenna, the RS 800 Mhz antenna, the Diamond 77 antenna and an 800 Mhz SMA antenna I bought on Ebay.
I live about equally between the NJSP TRS and the Suffolk County NY TRS. My 796D picks up both flawlessly.
Sitting right next to it, the HP-1 often can not even get a sniff of the control channel, confirmed with the extreme update tools. So for listening to distant systems, it is far from ideal, unless possibly you install a rooftop antenna. Due to my local topography (I have a one story house) that might not be of much help. I do have an antenna mounted on the chimney for about 30 years, even when it was newer it didn't do much, the rubber duckies usually worked better.
I took the scanner out on the road with the GPS, and this is where is shines. It seamlessly enabled and disabled systems on the fly with no user input, and since the systems were generally local due to the GPS, reception was very good.
Now some ideas:
1. It NEEDS a symbol of some kind to indicate it is receiving a control channel. Every scanner I own has some way of indicating that it is indeed listening to a trunked system. The 796D shows "ID Search". The 996T shows "NFM" instead of a frequeny. The PSR 800 shows at "T".
The HP-1 just sits there and spins. Unless it is actually receiving something, there is no way to know if it is locked on a CC. I hope this could be addressed with firmware.
2. I note that the "full Database" can not be altered when using GPS. That is to say, when using Favorites it is possible to go advanced in a system and change the "range". But that can not be done when using the GPS with the full database.
So what happens, for example, is that if you are driving in North New Jersey, you will pick up NYPD. The range is factory set I think at 19 miles. That means that most of northern NJ will receive NYPD. The problem is the NYPD is broken down into numerous "Departments", and you would need to avoid each and every one of them or they just keep chattering. And of course, when you turn the scanner back on, those avoids are cancelled, so you have to do it each time. This creates a problem when traveling, as you will for example pick up NJSP well into PA.
It seems to me that when traveling, I would want the option change the range of systems to only hear what is actually local, if I choose. I also note that NJ Transit is, for some reason, enabled just about into Suffolk County NY.
So I am hoping that a new firmware version might provide some fixes for this.
I also think that this is a fine mobile scanner, but not much of a desktop scanner if you want to be able to monitor systems more than a few miles away (which obviously is possible since the 796D does it, and the 996 is just behind it).
Disclaimer: All my testing was done in another State since scanners are illegal in cars in the Nanny State.
If the range is actually "too large" it need corrected in the DB, however if that IS the range that is what it's designed to do. 
