Unication G series pager

[aprswatcher]

Anyone using a Unication Gx series pager to monitor systems here in Montana?
Looking at G5 dual band VHF/ 800 MHz pager for my area, local PD and Fire supposedly moving to 800MHz in
near future.
If anyone here in MT is using one could you post your Likes and Dislikes using these pagers!
I have done lots of studying of the Unication site and have poured over YouTube videos.
Just really not sure if this would be good here in MT with the Trunked systems and conventional systems.
Thanks for your time!
73, Rex

 

[maus92]

I'm not from Montana so I cannot comment on the G series radio's performance on your local systems. I can say that they are very good radios in general and perform particularly well with P25 trunked radio systems in the 700/800 band. I own the G5 VHF version, but only use the VHF band for analog conventional channels. It works well for FTO purposes. One thing to consider is the external antenna is used by the 700/800 section, VHF is handled by an internal antenna, so perhaps VHF performance *might* not be as good as another solution that uses an external antenna. But if you keep your expectations reasonable, you should be happy with it.

 

[mshumeyk]

I also am not in Montana, but I have used the G5 in an area that was transitioning from VHF to a 700mHz Phase 2 trunked system. I have found the VHF analog reception with the internal antenna is quite good, comparable to a uniden 325P2. The radios are rugged with great audio. Programming conventional analog channels is a bit more involved than with other scanners, but not that much of a pain. With Radioreference importing the trunked system has become quite easy. Although they cannot be programmed on the fly, you can set up different knob positions to cover various events like a fire emergency, local events, etc. The update that allowed holding and blocking talkgroups is very useful.

If you need a radio to monitor the trunked system and conventional VHF channels at the same time on one radio, this is not the unit for you. The SDS units would then be your best bet, although you will probably be disappointed with the audio and sensitivity on VHF. A reasonable compromise would be to use a less expensive scanner for VHF and use the G5 for 800. Where I use my G5 most everything has gone to trunked, so I use the #8 knob position for the VHF paging channel when I am not actively monitoring and just turn the knob to the appropriate trunked selection when in interesting call comes in.

I have both the G5 and SDS100, and have use for both. My G5 is my go to scanner for my local system. I use the SDS100 when I visit other places using P25P2 systems, as it carries the entire national database and the large display helps listening to unfamiliar systems. The SDS paired with a program like Proscan can be helpful sorting out the talkgroups as system is rolled out by using the logging function.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[LeSueurC]

I also am not in Montana, but I have used the G5 in an area that was transitioning from VHF to a 700mHz Phase 2 trunked system. I have found the VHF analog reception with the internal antenna is quite good, comparable to a uniden 325P2. The radios are rugged with great audio. Programming conventional analog channels is a bit more involved than with other scanners, but not that much of a pain. With Radioreference importing the trunked system has become quite easy. Although they cannot be programmed on the fly, you can set up different knob positions to cover various events like a fire emergency, local events, etc. The update that allowed holding and blocking talkgroups is very useful.

If you need a radio to monitor the trunked system and conventional VHF channels at the same time on one radio, this is not the unit for you. The SDS units would then be your best bet, although you will probably be disappointed with the audio and sensitivity on VHF. A reasonable compromise would be to use a less expensive scanner for VHF and use the G5 for 800. Where I use my G5 most everything has gone to trunked, so I use the #8 knob position for the VHF paging channel when I am not actively monitoring and just turn the knob to the appropriate trunked selection when in interesting call comes in.

I have both the G5 and SDS100, and have use for both. My G5 is my go to scanner for my local system. I use the SDS100 when I visit other places using P25P2 systems, as it carries the entire national database and the large display helps listening to unfamiliar systems. The SDS paired with a program like Proscan can be helpful sorting out the talkgroups as system is rolled out by using the logging function.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I was in Billings this past June for a week. Had to do some digging to find 700/800 mhz sites in Billings and found one for the SW TRS. Once I configured my G4 for the Billings 27th site, it did very well, it also did very well on the Billings P25 system alongside my SDS100