Unication *New* G4 and G5 pagers/ somewhat limited scanner

[cpetraglia]

I can echo some of Evans experiences. I've had my G5 for a few days now and am currently monitoring a UHF simulcast system. It does sound good and deals with simulcast perfectly but it does have a slight hiss when the speaker comes on to pass audio. Sometimes it's louder than normal. I also notice low audio on my local system but I think it's more of a user issue. On my statewide system it's usually much louder. Every once in a while the speaker will emit a quick pop before or after a transmission also.

I'm not sure these speaker issues can be fixed with firmware or if it's a physical issue with the speaker. All in all I'm very pleased. It runs circles around any scanner. I have not noticed any missed transmissions. Not sure if it's following patches correctly or not but I think it is. We have a Harris system and one of the TGs is occasionally patched with a analog repeater and it's broadcast on a completely separate TG. My scanner would always create a temporary TG in the 65000 range but the Unication seems to always use the same TG as does Unitrunker.

If anyone has any specific questions I'll try to answer as time allows. I'm also making a sort of bug/wish list and may pass it on to Unication David if he thinks it would help any.

I have all the exact same issues with my G4. Still a great LSM receiver. BT has always been a problem for me. I would like to add the dire necessity for a delay feature. On a busy system it's easy to miss a follow-up transmission.

 

[buddrousa]

Do the G4-G5 pagers come with programming cable and software or is this an extra charge?

 

[hiddenrun]

Do the G4-G5 pagers come with programming cable and software or is this an extra charge?

The G4 and G5 come with a programming cable. the Programming software is downloaded from the dealer or Unication

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 And G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

I re-purposed parts from my old Uniden Home Patrol HP-1 RAM Mount. I used the suction cup and arm to attach it to a PanaVise Clip Caddy.

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 And G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

Here is a photograph with it displaying the talkgroup name that it is receiving.

 

[phirephoto]

The G4 and G5 come with a programming cable. the Programming software is downloaded from the dealer or Unication

Yep - in addition, the programming cable is a standard micro USB cable.

 

[IAmSixNine]

Cons:
-white noise/hissing background noise every time the thing unmutes. In a quiet environment, it is much more noticeable. For those who say the audio is as good as a moto radio, I have to disagree. The audio quality is not even as good as my BCD536 (ignoring the simulcast issue).
-wide belt clip means it doesn't fit my standard holders
-changing zones is really a nuisance-too many button presses and takes a minute to actually change zones
-when you are in the menu, you constantly get interrupted when a TG that is being scanned becomes active
-serious need for a TG hold function
-it seems to occasionally miss active TGs all together which are being passed on my scanner. I haven't figured out a pattern here.

I still haven't tried any conventional frequencies just yet.

evan - Do you have the ability to run Trunker on the system your missing some conversations with?
I ask this because i was testing my G4 out and a local system has their dispatch consoles set with an ID of 0. I noticed my G4 would not pass audio from the dispatch consoles at all from this system. Everything else was fine.

I also agree with you about the hissing and occasional popping of the speaker.
Yes the menu interruption is a pain. I had not noticed it much because of what i monitor is not a super active system.
Hoping they add a hold function as well and / or an option to set hold time on active TG. I like a 4-5 second hold time.

 

[Thunderknight]

evan - Do you have the ability to run Trunker on the system your missing some conversations with?
I ask this because i was testing my G4 out and a local system has their dispatch consoles set with an ID of 0. I noticed my G4 would not pass audio from the dispatch consoles at all from this system.

I have noticed the same thing. In this case the RID 0 "users" (seen in Pro96Com) are actually patches from the legacy systems. It's a new Motorola P25 system with transitioning in user groups, so there are patches in place.

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 And G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

.....The Unications G5 dimensions are listed as 102 x 61 x 31.5 mm.....

I may have been a bit misguided by looking for Motorola pager cases. I ran across an old Motorola Visar case at home and that prompted me to look up the dimensions of it. The Motorola Visar dimensions list:

56 × 103 × 28 mm (2.20 × 4.06 × 1.10 in)

It should also be noted the following:

-The Motorola Visar dimensions may depend on which battery is specified.

-Some of the Motorola Visar cases have holes for the speaker in the wrong location for the Unication G5.

Motorola - Visar : ASTEUS.COM!, Wireless Carrying Case Solutions

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 and G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

I am wondering if anybody else here has ran across this issue. From time to time the audio level will take a big drop. This is even with the battery fully charged. I connect it to my computer and re-program it and the problem goes away. I don't want to send it in yet, just in case it is something that can be corrected with firmware. Has anybody else here had this issue? Is there anything else that I should try to correct it.

 

[T04KLH9PW7AN]

I had a customer notice an audio difference between talk groups. Unication is looking into an AGC setting to keep the audio more level. That may have something to do with it.

 

[Thunderknight]

I am wondering if anybody else here has ran across this issue. From time to time the audio level will take a big drop. This is even with the battery fully charged. I connect it to my computer and re-program it and the problem goes away. I don't want to send it in yet, just in case it is something that can be corrected with firmware. Has anybody else here had this issue? Is there anything else that I should try to correct it.

Yes. Audio drop and gets distorted.

You can "fix" it by removing the battery which seems to "reboot" the pager (which is probably what you are doing by reprogramming).. Or if you wait long enough, it goes back to normal on it's own (so far). It affects not just the RX audio but the voice prompts too, so it doesn't seem to be an radio portion related problem.

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 And G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

I was looking for ways to mount this up on the dash. Since the belt clip is so wide, I was wondering if the RAM High Strength Composite Cradle for Devices With Belt Clips RAM-HOL-BC1 would work .RAM High Strength Composite Cradle for Devices with Belt Clips - RAM-HOL-BC1 | RAM Mounts
I have used RAM Mounts in the past and they seem to work pretty well. There are some dimensions listed at The Mount Depot, so I may contact them for more information. RAM-HOL-BC1U RAM Universal Holder for Hand Held Two Radios

The other thought I had is to clip a pager or cell phone holster to either the RAM High Strength Composite Cradle or Panavise Clip Caddy. If I recall correctly, NiteIze has some pretty well made universal holsters. https://www.niteize.com/collection/Universal-Holsters-Phone-Cases.asp

It also looks like Unication has nylon holsters for other pagers. I don't know if they make one for the G5 yet. Also, it would need to have a narrower belt clip to work on the Clip Caddy.

It did receive an email from Ram Mounts. The message regarding the RAM-HOL-BC1U was: ".....It will accommodate belt clips up to 2" wide....." So, now I just need to determine who has a good price and how many I want to order!

 

[cpetraglia]

I am wondering if anybody else here has ran across this issue. From time to time the audio level will take a big drop. This is even with the battery fully charged. I connect it to my computer and re-program it and the problem goes away. I don't want to send it in yet, just in case it is something that can be corrected with firmware. Has anybody else here had this issue? Is there anything else that I should try to correct it.

My G4 has done this since day one. There can be a major difference in volume not only between TGs, but between radios on the same TG. I only notice this on my local county PS system. Other counties and city's don't seem to have the problem, or at least not nearly as bad. I have attributed it to possible older versus new radios. Or it could be just the extension mikes being used. The dispatch will always be at the same volume with the same dispatcher. Some radios come across so loud that it clips my mixer and causes it to shut down for a second. One other thing I have noticed is my PSR600 & WS1065 are not effected much at all. It has to be something with the LSM decoding and the user radios not being calibrated the same. I know nothing about and APX radio. Do they even have a mike audio adjustment in the FW?

 

[mharris]

My G4 has done this since day one. There can be a major difference in volume not only between TGs, but between radios on the same TG. I only notice this on my local county PS system. Other counties and city's don't seem to have the problem, or at least not nearly as bad. I have attributed it to possible older versus new radios. Or it could be just the extension mikes being used. The dispatch will always be at the same volume with the same dispatcher. Some radios come across so loud that it clips my mixer and causes it to shut down for a second. One other thing I have noticed is my PSR600 & WS1065 are not effected much at all. It has to be something with the LSM decoding and the user radios not being calibrated the same. I know nothing about and APX radio. Do they even have a mike audio adjustment in the FW?

This is a FW issue that Unification is aware of. They attempted to fix it several FW version ago but it didn't stick. One way to solve is to reset the radio. The only way to reset the radio is to remove the battery which sucks because it requires a very specific screw driver. Hopefully they will figure this out in the next FW update, along with the scan "Hold" feature.

 

[BenScan]

I've had a Unication G5 for a little over 24 hours. So far, I'm very impressed with the reception, especially compared to scanners that don't seem to work well in my area.

Here's a video as an example of the G5 pulling in the Fort Worth Regional Radio System, layer 2/P25 simulcast. I had the scanners focused on Fort Worth Fire as well, and they just don't get it. Now, I could probably move the Uniden and the Whistler to certain spots and get ok reception, but with the G5, it's not necessary.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsxxUoLDLEk

That's not to say the Unication G5 is for everyone, but it will certainly relieve some of the simulcast issues I have. It will be especially nice while driving or walking around, when it's not practical to hold your mouth just right, and point a yagi at some random direction, like I have to do with Uniden and Whistler scanners.

I purchased mine from http://www.rayspagersales.com. He was the quickest to return calls and emails, and once I purchased he was quick to ship.

Happy Scanning!

 

[phirephoto]

This is a FW issue that Unification is aware of. They attempted to fix it several FW version ago but it didn't stick. One way to solve is to reset the radio. The only way to reset the radio is to remove the battery which sucks because it requires a very specific screw driver. Hopefully they will figure this out in the next FW update, along with the scan "Hold" feature.

I've used just a regular flat head - or phillips, can't remember, but if I had the screwdriver, anyone should (I'm lacking in the tools department LOL)

 

[IAmSixNine]

Flathead works just fine. I did a battery pull on my G4 yesterday.

 

[JASII]

Unication *New* G4 And G5 Pagers/Somewhat Limited Scanner

I just received my drop in charger yesterday. It arrived well packed and in great shape. I put it in service right away. It comes with a wall wart power supply and a 1/4 wave length VHF antenna with a BNC connector.

My first impressions are that it is LOUD. I bought this for several reasons:

-Charge the Unication G5.

-Hold it in a position that makes the display easy to read.

-Ability to connect an additional communications speaker through the 3.5 mm jack.

-Ability to connect an external antenna via the BNC antenna jack.

Frankly, NONE of these things are really must haves for the G5. Honestly, I just wanted it to give it a whirl.

I did connect a rubber duck gain antenna on the BNC antenna jack and the signals are solid on the site that I monitor.

The display is easy to read with the pager inserted in this. While that would not really be an issue for say a Motorola Minitor, with the Unication G5, I find it quite nice to see the display.

I did try a different communications speaker and it has LOTS of volume, if necessary. This would also make it quite easy for me to connect this to my SlingBox PRO-HD, if I ever wanted to set up a private stream of my own.

 

[IAmSixNine]

Post some pictures or video of the set up for us.