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Unication U3??
- Thread starter rja1
- Start date
- Status
eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
Just curious...why did you buy a U3?
Jesus H Christ! I left the radio on for the last 10 minutes, pluging stuff into the PPS, and all of a sudden, the damn thing starts talking! It starts receiving my local SD City 700 system I am programming into PPS, doing a freescan or something. Now, keep in mind, I did nothing but read the radio and leave it on, unattached to the PC...I did not enable anything, its just sitting on channel 1 out of the box! Holy crap, this is freaking me out. Imagine turning on a G5 and after 10 minutes with no programming it just starts receiving your local P25 system.
Looking at the display and menu, looks like it ships in full spectrum scan...also, get this, you can access the menu while its receiving!
Paul
Looking at the display and menu, looks like it ships in full spectrum scan...also, get this, you can access the menu while its receiving!
Paul
So, basic operation is like a G4 or G5, you just add a knob position and add up to 64 talkgroups to it...you can even do the RRdb import for talkgroups. There is no hold, no block, except for the delay, its like old G series pre freescan firmware. It displays the RSSI value and error rate when receiving, while waiting you get signal bars. Audio is OK, not too loud, a bit distorted at high volume. The audio tone is lacking any bass, so it's very shrill and piercing. The side buttons serve no descernable function, they dont do anything, and there are no screens in the PPS for any of the 4 buttons, which is sad. The thing is also bigger than an APX6000, and for the most part, about the same price as a used one on eBay. The accessory connector looks 100% APX, but is changed just enough that APX or MotoTRBO accessories will not mount on the radio.
Paul
Paul
Thought it would be fun to see what it could do, and if it could be useful to my work as a news photographer. The U3 has no hold or nuisance delete functions, no user programmable scan, no priority feature...very very limited device, about the same as the G series but easier to program because it isn't filled with 90% pager settings. It's amazingly good at locking into a single talkgroup in RX only mode, and because it doesn't require affiliation, when you change the channel, the talkgroup is instantly received, where a readio such as my APX6000 requires a few seconds to affiliate before it begins to receive audio.
Paul
If you’re an authorized system user, how do you obtain the DKF? Any plans to add TG hold and block?
I don't have a DKF, and without one, the radio defaults to the RX ONLY TRUNKED SCAN settings. I would asume you would have to contact Unication for a DKF? The DKF normal trunking also has a receive only menu option, but not sure if that is like the listen only on a Motorola that just allows affiliation.
Paul
Paul
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2019
- Messages
- 41
- Reaction score
- 144
Hello Paul,
Thank you for purchasing the U3 radio from Unication and we're glad to see your instant feedback. You may be surprised to find that our U3 can start talking without any programming. Because our engineering team makes the default setting for you to help you with the initial programming. Our setting can scan all the frequency bands and if the control channels send the message, the U3 will play it out. Therefore you can record the channels you want to keep for your initial listening. Regarding the DKF, I believe that is the required item if you need to transmit the signal; however, since your model is the receive only model, I think that is not necessary to get the DKF. I also contact our engineers for this matter and I may send you the updates later
Thank you!
Steve
Thanks Steve! Shipping was very fast, a few days, no cystoms issues, dropped right at my door (thank you for not ringing the door bell UPS!)
I see FREESCAN being put in the U3...it would be GREAT if there could at least be a HOLD and BLOCK while receiving like the G series...the U3 has only a REC ON/OFF over the left soft menu button on receive, but I would gladly give this up for HOLD and BLOCK for the two front soft menu keys!
The audio quality is much much better than the G series, a LOT louder, cleaner, no horrible hiss, very clean so it sounds like "quality". The lack of bass does assist the radio in achieving louder volumes with less distortion. The G series antenna doesn't work on the U3. I am using a short Motorola APX/GPS 1/4 wave stubby on the U3, works great. The instant RSSI dbm while receivng is really cool. Also, it has a 16 position knob instead of 8 position.
It took me about 15 minutes to load around 500 talkgroups into the channel pool, using RRdb import feature, so now just need to assign them. If Unication were to put HOLD and BLOCK, maybe multi system PLTG function into the U3, I would say it is really worth double the cost of the G4.
Paul
I see FREESCAN being put in the U3...it would be GREAT if there could at least be a HOLD and BLOCK while receiving like the G series...the U3 has only a REC ON/OFF over the left soft menu button on receive, but I would gladly give this up for HOLD and BLOCK for the two front soft menu keys!
The audio quality is much much better than the G series, a LOT louder, cleaner, no horrible hiss, very clean so it sounds like "quality". The lack of bass does assist the radio in achieving louder volumes with less distortion. The G series antenna doesn't work on the U3. I am using a short Motorola APX/GPS 1/4 wave stubby on the U3, works great. The instant RSSI dbm while receivng is really cool. Also, it has a 16 position knob instead of 8 position.
It took me about 15 minutes to load around 500 talkgroups into the channel pool, using RRdb import feature, so now just need to assign them. If Unication were to put HOLD and BLOCK, maybe multi system PLTG function into the U3, I would say it is really worth double the cost of the G4.
Paul
I will test tonight...the entrance/exit to my TV station is directly in the radiation path of the cell phone tower (ATT and Verizon, so 700 and 800) on top of the building. It will completely knock my G5 off the air on 700MHz systems. It will fade an 800MHz Uniden to almost nothing on analog.
The tower is between the sign and the light on the post. Nothing impoved LSM like a giant cell phone tower 50 feet from your assignment desk scanner antennas
Paul
The tower is between the sign and the light on the post. Nothing impoved LSM like a giant cell phone tower 50 feet from your assignment desk scanner antennas
Paul
Thanks for the info as I've been following the thread. Any chance you can make a video of the radio in operation?
It is good high power interference verification test , I hope U3 works, by the way the next version G5 will support the high rejection performanceI will test tonight...the entrance/exit to my TV station is directly in the radiation path of the cell phone tower (ATT and Verizon, so 700 and 800) on top of the building. It will completely knock my G5 off the air on 700MHz systems. It will fade an 800MHz Uniden to almost nothing on analog.
The tower is between the sign and the light on the post. Nothing impoved LSM like a giant cell phone tower 50 feet from your assignment desk scanner antennas
Paul
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Jordan, When will the next version of the G5 be available?
The U3 survived the tower of doom (that's what I call it), no loss of signal strength, or reception, decode took a bit of a hit 1.4% error. Max volume in a car, with no bass, is a bit enemic and difficult to really hear, no punch. Programming has taken a turn for the worse, as you cannot load the software with all your talkgroups to assign to any new system, you need to reimport into each individual system, which is taking forever checking checkboxes reimporting from RRdb every single time...uggy. The home button is nice...when a transmission blocks menu access, hit the home button to clear the screen back to the menu while the radio continues to receive. Would still DIE to have at least a BLOCK button on the unused right softkey (left is set to REC ON/OFF during receive), as nuisance delete has been an industry standard forever on all brands, and the lack of it really makes it difficult to program or use this radio to full effect, being as the scan lists are software programmed and fixed. A plus, the RSSI meter now goes above (below?) -90dBm, so it will go to -35dBm, or -45dBm etc, assuming your signal strength is that good. I never liked how the G series stopped at -90dBm. :-\
Paul
Paul
It does P25 trunking Phase 2, and DMR conventional...not seeing options for DMR trunking, but not familiar with those settings...it has menu options to run license plates, thats weird, I can also send photos...I am looking for the camera on the damn thing
Paul
Paul
cookmaster
Member
YO Paul how is the U3 going, any updates on its performance and track trucking Operations on your local system,and have you learned how to use the Radio,any word on when they will start selling them to rest of us and pictures of yours radio,i know there is pictures of this radio on line just checking to see if your radio is identical to the pictures i have seen on Unication website?
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