Unication G4/5 in Ontario

[Enjoi19]

I see lots of talk about it on the forums here, using the Unication G4/5 in it's scan mode - was curious if anyone in Ontario was using one, if they had positive/negative findings with it, and if they did purchase one, where from.

 

[Muxlow]

I like mine alot. It has amazing reception with the stock antenna and some good audio on it.
Use it for the 7/800MHz P25 systems and for VHF DMR.

Due to its size, I carry that around over the APX or Harris portables,if I won't be needing to transmit outside of the vehicle.

Sky Mobile in Windsor sells them. And Spectrum...who's now BearCom

 

[Forts]

I have one enroute to me... currently sitting in Customs waiting to be released. I've used one in the past and it worked well, but should be even better now with the newer firmware they have released.

It really comes down to what you are wanting to listen to. It's definitely not a scanner... but it does let you scan to a limited degree. For example, you can't scan anything trunked plus conventional frequencies at the same time. It also only works with P25 trunking, so it won't work with older systems like FleetNet.

 

[Enjoi19]

Thank you @Forts @Muxlow. I like the idea of the size a lot and being able to program it to easily switch to specific channels/groups of channels with the knob. No FleetNet needed... specifically looking to monitor the 700/800 fire systems.

Forts, where did you order from?

 

[Forts]

I got mine thru a dealer on eBay. V/7/8 model with DMR already installed. I reached out to a few other dealers but none of them had any in stock that were DMR enabled, meaning they would have to order me one or I buy the pager then have to send it to Unication for the upgrade. I really didn't want to go thru that process if I could help it. Lucked out and found one ready go to!

 

[Enjoi19]

I got mine thru a dealer on eBay. V/7/8 model with DMR already installed. I reached out to a few other dealers but none of them had any in stock that were DMR enabled, meaning they would have to order me one or I buy the pager then have to send it to Unication for the upgrade. I really didn't want to go thru that process if I could help it. Lucked out and found one ready go to!

Would you mind linking or naming the dealer? Looking on eBay the prices seem reasonable... just wanted to see if there was a particular trusted dealer. I have little to no eBay experience, quite honestly.

 

[Forts]

I got mine from a seller called 'acme*sales'. It doesn't look like he currently has anything else for sale at the moment.

 

[Enjoi19]

Just an update I suppose - I ended up pulling the trigger on a G4 on eBay from a very reputable seller. Fingers crossed for not-awful shipping times. Although I saw you had some issues with yours Forts, hopefully its sorted out quickly.

 

[Forts]

Mine is still in limbo. Unication won't help you directly, they want everything thru a dealer. I found one here in Ontario but they wanted $50 to look at it first before opening a ticket for warranty with Unication. No thanks. I then had a fellow member on here from East Coast Pagers reach out to me to offer his help. We tried a few different things (including some beta firmware from Unication) that didn't work, so he's now getting it setup for to return directly to them. Can't recommended them enough for the help he's given me so far. But, at the end of the day the pager is still here after... What, almost 3 weeks I think, awaiting direction on where to go.

Was a dynamite little piece though before it packed it in! Reception was way better than that I expected.

 

[Enjoi19]

Finally got it, actually in a decent amount of time considering Christmas and all. The hype around it is real - reception is incredible just on this stubby antenna. For what I generally like to listen to, it’s perfect.

 

[Forts]

The reception really is impressive isn't it!

 

[Synchro39]

I am not in Ontario, but I can tell you here in Montreal this beats everything. I have a SDS100 or whatever. If you want a great dealer go with Phil @ East Coast pagers. He is on this forum too w2lie. I purchased two units from him with very great service. The other dealer doesn't want to ship to Canada.

 

[Enjoi19]

I am not in Ontario, but I can tell you here in Montreal this beats everything. I have a SDS100 or whatever. If you want a great dealer, go with Phil @ East Coast pagers he is on this forum too w2lie. I purchased two units from him with very great service. The other dealer doesn't want to ship to Canada.

Judging by many folks posting on this forum with lots of great praise, they will be my go-to for any issues or accessories down the line!

 

[EJB]

Judging by many folks posting on this forum with lots of great praise, they will be my go-to for any issues or accessories down the line!

What are you using it for? Are you using it on a simulcast system?

The TPS system has 4 towers, Halton has 2.

With this thing, if you had to get rid of a scanner to have this, which scanner would you give up?

 

[Enjoi19]

What are you using it for? Are you using it on a simulcast system?

The TPS system has 4 towers, Halton has 2.

With this thing, if you had to get rid of a scanner to have this, which scanner would you give up?

Using it for a bit of everything - Toronto, Peel, Halton. Peel was fantastic this morning - never gotten to hear it so clearly before.

Primarily listen to Toronto Fire. I sit on dispatch and can just turn the knob to whatever zone I want. So far even deep downtown it’s able to pick up all 4 corners where my other scanners are stuck to the south only. So many less dropouts and so much less interference I usually get (virtually none).

Contemplating selling the 325P2 to a friend and keeping my 436. It’s just slightly smaller than the 325... (without the antenna!) which was what I liked a lot about it, easy to carry around.

Battery life is excellent as well. Had it on for a good 7-8 hours today already and still at 3/4 bars

 

[Muxlow]

I've had crazy, good reception on the G5 in VHF DMR ( P25 for OPP) and on 800 MHz systems. And now with the RR import feature makes programming it as a scanner super simple! G2 is VHF or UHF single band. G3 is VHF+one of the 3 UHF bands. G4 is 7/800 MHz. G5 is VHF-7/ 800 MHz UHF-7/800 MHz

Unication also has a repeater and a U3 portable that you can do P25 and DMR at the same time. Repeater you can have it in mixed mode, talk on P25 and hear it on a DMR radio and other way around. Makes for one interesting unit.. but quite expensive. The U3 portable does that also.

 

[slicerwizard]

What are you using it for? Are you using it on a simulcast system?

The TPS system has 4 towers, Halton has 2.

They have far more than that.

 

[mitbr]

Using it for a bit of everything - Toronto, Peel, Halton. Peel was fantastic this morning - never gotten to hear it so clearly before.

Primarily listen to Toronto Fire. I sit on dispatch and can just turn the knob to whatever zone I want. So far even deep downtown it’s able to pick up all 4 corners where my other scanners are stuck to the south only. So many less dropouts and so much less interference I usually get (virtually none).

Contemplating selling the 325P2 to a friend and keeping my 436. It’s just slightly smaller than the 325... (without the antenna!) which was what I liked a lot about it, easy to carry around.

Battery life is excellent as well. Had it on for a good 7-8 hours today already and still at 3/4 bars

Wait till you accidentally drop it and it doesn't even get a scuff mark on it.
Tim

 

[Forts]

Once my G5 gets back from being repaired, I will likely sell off a few scanners & radios that it will make obsolete. Sadly, mine just went braindead one day, so hopefully it's a one off and they don't have any reliability issues.

 

[Enjoi19]

I had to come back and rave about it one more time, now that I’ve been using this daily for a few weeks. It’s totally changed monitoring for me.

Everything is crystal clear. I almost never have reception issues (the odd time I’m right under a low laying cell tower downtown I sometimes lose it for a second. I’ve picked up sites with ease up to 65km away. I can listen to Peel and Halton with ease I never had before

If you like monitoring P25 systems... this is a must. Worth biting the bullet and ordering one.

It also made me start collecting radio IDs so I can view them nicely on the display. It’s kind of a fun thing to pass the time. Logged a good 100+ trucks for Toronto now.