Uniden's New Product Called Home Patrol

[ofd8001]

A couple of random thoughts.

1. Now I know why Uniden decided to have an open house. I kinda figured there was a new product about to be announced.
2. Them Uniden folks are pretty smart cookies - they "tease" people with new products and let the discussion boards come up suggestions for options/features/etc and then finalize the product. Gets a lot of good minds at work on their product at no cost.
3. As one who has a fairly decent understanding of scanning and scanners, I really welcome a "minimally intellectually challenging" scanner for those who don't have that understanding. That might lead to a reduction in the contacts folks us receive asking us "How do you . . ." While it's always nice to be helpful, sometimes you feel like being a scanner411 when there are other things you need to be doing.

 

[DaveIN]

3. As one who has a fairly decent understanding of scanning and scanners, I really welcome a "minimally intellectually challenging" scanner for those who don't have that understanding. That might lead to a reduction in the contacts folks us receive asking us "How do you . . ." While it's always nice to be helpful, sometimes you feel like being a scanner411 when there are other things you need to be doing.

I agree with you. Those folks that couldn't read or find the information needed with the latest DMA and OOP scanners are frustrated and had no other place to go for answers than the Radioreference forums, but I'm sure even the HomePatrol will have lots of questions too. Even the easiest technology has something that someone will have questions about. I'm sure the HomePatrol won't be an exception. It sounds like it will be easy to use for us, but I'm sure the target users will have questions. I'm sure those folks you have helped in the past were grateful for answers they could wrap their head around.

 

[DPD1]

Not sure why your saying this, they should hear everything they want to hear since they can control what they are hearing. The only things they won't hear are encrypted channels or systems that can't be monitored anyway. As long as the DB is up to date they will hear it.

I think what he might be implying is... If people are completely incapable of understanding how radio works at all, then even if the radio works perfectly out of the box, there's still a very good chance they still won't have the slightest idea how to really make use of it, or understand what they are listening to. Most people here probably underestimate the amount of experience they have gathered over the years. And that experience came from curiosity and a joy of solving puzzles. Without that desire, I'm not sure there's enough to really keep the average person interested. There's still a whole heck of a lot to know, to really get a significant amount of information out of it. It still isn't going to be anything like turning on a crystal radio with 10 channels or something like that. So in that regard, I think that's a fair guess at how it might be perceived by some people. I think it's an interesting product. But personally, I would like to see more effort at possibly offering other protocols that are unavailable. Possibly NXDN, or something like that. I think that is the key for longevity in the business.

 

[karldotcom]

And here are I always thought the other "70 percent of scanner users" weren't willing to spend over $200.00 for a scanner. That is the reason I always heard...not difficulty of programming.

 

[Caesar]

this may be the first ever wife approved scanner to go in her car for when I'm driving, better than the 396t hanging on the visor! lol

 

[hiegtx]

I agree with you. Those folks that couldn't read or find the information needed with the latest DMA and OOP scanners are frustrated and had no other place to go for answers than the Radioreference forums, but I'm sure even the HomePatrol will have lots of questions too. Even the easiest technology has something that someone will have questions about. I'm sure the HomePatrol won't be an exception. It sounds like it will be easy to use for us, but I'm sure the target users will have questions. I'm sure those folks you have helped in the past were grateful for answers they could wrap their head around.

Paul said he handed one of the Home Patrol's to someone, gave them very basic instructions, and within 2 minutes, 21 seconds from startup, the scanner was programmed for DFW Metro and scanning.

Based on what I saw, trying it with my Dallas zip code, and then reprogramming with the Arlington zip code for Uniden's facility, that's about about right. Looking at the system names it came up scanning, it did not appear to have missed anything of consequence. All of the local trunked systems, as well as the conventional systems, were present and scanning.

Did not get a real long time to play with the unit, but it has possibilities. While many people here, especially those posting in this thread, want the latest & greatest scanner we can get, all of us know someone that also wants or uses one, but can't consistently program what they have. So, we end up doing it for them. May be a family member that wants to know what's happening in the neighborhood, or where those sirens were going. Possibly a friend or co-worker, who bought a scanner, but vapor-locked when you tried to explain trunking and talkgroups to him or her. With the advent of the ever larger regional, or statewide, trunked systems, many if not most, digital (or soon to convert to digital), the days that you could pass along that outdated model that's been gathering dust and meet their needs inexpensively are just about gone.

The Home Patrol has the potential to increase the number of scanner users. "Grow the market" was the term Paul used. Anything that grows the market is good for all of us in the long term. An easier to set up & use scanner, digital capable, I suspect, would be a welcome addition to the product line for any of the scanner dealers. It certainly would be an ideal travel scanner, with the database loaded & ready to go. Is it going to satisfy the most hard core "Joe Scanner"? Maybe not, especially if that person already is fully comfortable programming the units they have. But it's size & features will be enough to warrant taking a good look.

 

[RadioDaze]

Pro-107 Killer

It has an auto shut off.

Okay, now I officially want one!

Seriously.

Tired of tanking batteries when I go to sleep. The 330/396 architecture has a soft power switch. Sure coulda had an auto off or sleep timer.

My family had scanners the whole time I was growing up. I'm the only one now with the fortitude to program and operate these things. I'd love to get my parents scanning again. This could do it.

Anything that increases market demand is great for scanner manufacturers. Build something they can use and they will come... and many of them will trade up when they get more comfortable with, and curious about, the hobby.

 

[b52hbuff]

A couple of random thoughts.
2. Them Uniden folks are pretty smart cookies - they "tease" people with new products and let the discussion boards come up suggestions for options/features/etc and then finalize the product. Gets a lot of good minds at work on their product at no cost.

I think that is selling UPMan and the various contributors short. I am sure that Uniden got a bunch of good ideas.

How long do you think it takes to develop a firmware feature? Even if they get an idea today, it takes time to spec out the the requirement, design, code and test it.

...which leads me to my next concern, just how quickly uniden can develop new features for the platform?

I totally get that this new device is a computer controlled radio with a touchscreen. One software load, and it has training wheels. Another software load and it has a bunch of advanced features. A 'virtual' 996XT would be interesting for the advanced user, but I digress...

The question is whether Uniden can deliver? I don't know if they can. Truthfully, they have better firmware features than GRE. But there have been some hiccups with the PC-based software. And while I appreciate the firmware upgrades to the older and discontinued radios, they whole 'key-based' firmware seemed to have hit a deadend...

 

[Danny6569]

Home patrol radio

ok does anyone know what kind of systems this radio will pick up ? or is it just motorola P-25 ? does it get the edacs and the lt and any other systems too or not ? and also i listen to both digital and analog on my 396 xt and my 996 xt radios now, and i have my one digital system on the same quick key as one of the analog systems being that both kinds of systems are used all the time in my area, so does anyone know if this radio will also download or can you manually put in some analog channels in with whatever the radio downloads after you put in the local zip code ? my county uses a motorola P-25 system along with some analog channels.

 

[UPMan]

I hope it goes beyond the original idea of pay for updates on the BCD396T, that never materialized.

Actually we did come out with the pay updates. We just decided not to charge anything for them.

Video is still "cooking" in Pinnacle. So, looks like I'll have to post it Sunday.

Ability to create your own stuff will roll out in the PC software once we get the initial release taken care of. Ability to enter stuff "on the fly" is further out. I want to make sure we get the feature set for the advanced user nailed...and reading these posts + the ones that come out after release will certainly feed into that process.

This has been the culmination of about 4 years of effort...a couple of the patent-pending features were filed years ago. A couple of the patented features we licensed over a decade ago. We are working very hard to make sure that we've correctly identified the audience, the feature set, and the implementation...and we are ready to adjust to reality from Day 1 if we missed anything at all.

I know and appreciate that this is not going to be a product for many of you. And don't take it that this scanner is for "stupid people" or that it is a dumbed down product. That absolutely isn't the point. A friend of mine's son is an astrophysicist. Definitely not stupid. But, he has tried and failed at programming today's scanners because he just doesn't have the time to become a radio engineer. He really likes listening (he uses 911scanner on his iPhone), though. He is ready to buy HomePatrol today (if only we were ready to sell it today).

But, even you scanner guys are going to find things to like about it right off the bat. I was in Nashville last week and had the opportunity to have Greg Voros work on my guitar. He said that the most common request from beginner/intermediate guitarists is that they want their guitar to be easier to play. Actually, he said, everyone wants their guitar to be easier to play, even the guitar impressarios. It isn't cheating to be easier.

On that trip, 5 minutes after I hit the hotel room I was listening to the Nashville area PD, FD, and EMS. What took about 3 minutes was finding something in the hotel room that had the local zip code . As a casual visitor, I would have been immediately blown away by what I was listening to with so little knowledge of the local systems. I had not researched Nashville at all before the trip, so didn't even realize that they had digital channels. It wasn't necessary for me to know anything about the technicalities of the systems...I was hearing a Motorola Type 2 system with some P25 channels, many conventional channels, and I think some Motorola (maybe EDACS) systems with no digital, too. It really wasn't necessary for me to know any of that...and your dad (or brother-in-law, or mom, or cousin, or next-door-neighbor) will not need to know that either. But, they'll still hear police, fire, ambulance (and more, if they turn on those other channel types), just by knowing their zip code.

I'm way to "inside" this project to give an unbiased view. I'll let the guys who saw it today give their likes/dislikes. But, while this is really targeted at your brother-in-law, we aren't forgetting about you. If you don't want it today, I totally understand, and we aren't abandoning products like the BCD396XT and BCD996XT. But, I'm making a list (actually started it last year) of things I want to do for you to bring you up to this platform, too. Can't make any promises...so don't buy it until you see something you like. I'm just betting that even the way it will be on day 1 will be irresistable to a good chunk of die-hard radio technologists in addition to the guys who "just want to hear the cops."

 

[mancow]

Exactly. I can't count how many times guys at work ask me about the PRO-197 in the work car or the one on my desk or the 396XT etc.. They get a bit interested and ask how much it would cost for them to get something similar. When I tell them it's generally $500 they scoff at it as if I said it's $5000. These are the same people that would gladly drop $500 on a golf club. It's all in what you are interested in and they just aren't that interested.

And here are I always thought the other "70 percent of scanner users" weren't willing to spend over $200.00 for a scanner. That is the reason I always heard...not difficulty of programming.

 

[DPD1]

But, even you scanner guys are going to find things to like about it right off the bat. I was in Nashville last week and had the opportunity to have Greg Voros work on my guitar. He said that the most common request from beginner/intermediate guitarists is that they want their guitar to be easier to play. Actually, he said, everyone wants their guitar to be easier to play, even the guitar impressarios. It isn't cheating to be easier.

Hey now, you might be onto something there... Is there any way you can also make it capable of tuning your intonation automatically? Now that I would buy. ;-)

 

[Muskratt]

But, I'm making a list (actually started it last year) of things I want to do for you to bring you up to this platform, too. Can't make any promises...so don't buy it until you see something you like.

When I first heard about this scanner this morning, I'll admit I was disappointed and said to myself that there was no way I would buy it. I guess I am the "Joe Scanner" type who likes to spend time programming the scanner and getting things just the way I want it. BUT tonight after reading almost 8 pages in this thread, my hopes have been renewed as I see the one feature that I can see a lot of potential in...the record and playback without the need for a computer to be hooked up to it. Right now it looks like it is pretty limited in what it can do, but with proper firmware updates and the right amount of memory, I can see myself spending $600+ for this scanner (just a guess...). What I would like to do is to be able to leave the scanner on (10+ hours at a time) recording and logging everything it picks up. If something big happened overnight, I'd like to be able to go back into the playback menu and listen to any comm's that the scanner picked up. I should be allowed to select exactly what TG's and frequencies I want played back, along with a specific timeframe. The comm's should be played back in the order they were received. I don't know how many times I've had the scanner off and heard a police car or fire truck fly by the house. Would be cool to have this scanner constantly recording and when something happens, I can just play back the last couple minutes of the sheriff dispatch, fire page, fire dispatch, and fire tac channels to hear what is going on. Sometimes when you miss that original call, it's difficult to figure out what is going on. I'd also use the record/playback/logging during tropo to capture and identify some of those distant transmissions. My 996XT, 346XT, and pro-197 would still be my main scanners for listening, but the Home Patrol would be a worthy addition just for the record and playback options.

Muskratt

 

[ampulman]

Remove the existing flex antenna and connect your external antenna. The connection is a SMA type

Couldn't tell from any of the videos, but is the SMA connector have a right-angle swivel joint?

Amp

 

[ausscan]

Looks like an awesome unit for the target market. I think it would be handy to have in the car as a backup or perfect for my work ute, that I can't drill a hole in and find it way too hard to carry my 396 in a safe place. Window mount like a GPS would be a dream. Perfect market, those who want to listen but don't want to spend hours programming it. Even advanced users who just want to plug it in and go.

But who am I kidding, Uniden will never release this in Australia, as they have no interest in supporting the hobby.

 

[prc117f]

I own a 996XT and I can easily see this as my trip radio when going out on a trip etc. Good to see R&D still going on.

So will this unit have the same programability,tweaking capability VS the 996XT if someone chooses to go beyond the basic level?

With the GUI it seems like more advanced info could be displayed as well. Maybe even come up with a more advanced version with spectrum display etc..

 

[BenScan]

No, but the antenna did.

Couldn't tell from any of the videos, but is the SMA connector have a right-angle swivel joint?

Amp

 

[n2pqq]

Does radio come with a stand or base
that it connects to?

Stand can be seen in photos that where posted
but not really a close up view.


Finally a color screen !!!

Based on photos not to happy with antenna
placement, would like to have seen it on rear.


But I must say thank you to uniden and to
upman who is a great asset to there
company .

 

[joneil2000]

But, even you scanner guys are going to find things to like about it right off the bat. I was in Nashville last week and had the opportunity to have Greg Voros work on my guitar. He said that the most common request from beginner/intermediate guitarists is that they want their guitar to be easier to play. Actually, he said, everyone wants their guitar to be easier to play, even the guitar impressarios. It isn't cheating to be easier.

-snip-
I don't mean to sound terribly mercenary, but in the long run, I personally think what will really sell this unit is not if it is easier (although that helps ), but if it's cheaper. The economy is terrible, and everybody wants a deal and/or to cut back. If Home Patrol shows up on the store shelves for the same price range as a non digital scanner like the BCT15X ( yeah, I know, I'm dreamin' ) then I imagine it would fly off the shelf, and most people here would eventually get one regardless if they thought it was dumbed down or not. (Hey honey, you know I would love for Christmas...... ).

On the other hand, if the price is closer to the 996XT, but people are still convinced it's the greatest thing since sliced bread, then I figure great, go for it. That would just mean a lot more good, used 396 and 996Xts on the market for sale for guys like me looking to save a few $$.

So please, go ahead and convince eveywhere here to "upgrade" as soon as they can.


joe

 

[LordJ]

What I would like to do is to be able to leave the scanner on (10+ hours at a time) recording and logging everything it picks up. If something big happened overnight, I'd like to be able to go back into the playback menu and listen to any comm's that the scanner picked up. I should be allowed to select exactly what TG's and frequencies I want played back, along with a specific timeframe. The comm's should be played back in the order they were received. I don't know how many times I've had the scanner off and heard a police car or fire truck fly by the house. Would be cool to have this scanner constantly recording and when something happens, I can just play back the last couple minutes of the sheriff dispatch, fire page, fire dispatch, and fire tac channels to hear what is going on. Sometimes when you miss that original call, it's difficult to figure out what is going on. I'd also use the record/playback/logging during tropo to capture and identify some of those distant transmissions. My 996XT, 346XT, and pro-197 would still be my main scanners for listening, but the Home Patrol would be a worthy addition just for the record and playback options.

Muskratt

You could already do this with the right software...I use Proscan, and record everything that is picked up. You can set the amount of days to keep the files, and they are sorted in almost any way you want...You would just have to keep it hooked up to your computer, whereas this new scanner, you wouldn't..