Uniden's New Product Called Home Patrol

[Voyager]

Me too.

As someone mentioned here that they would like to see a software defined scanner. I don't think the technology is here yet with regards to the RF section but a touchscreen is a step closer.

Yes, there are many SDRs (Software Defined Radio) out there. Even in the scanner world, there is WinRadio and Icom's PCR series. While these might not be complete SDR integration, there are ham transceivers such as those made by Flex Radio that are 100% SDR units. There are also many SDR receiver kits I've seen.

So, the technology is here.

Joe M.

 

[Voyager]

as for outside USA so uniden dont think about selling radios to the rest of the world ? if yes so how can the systems will be programmed to the radio ? i didnt see that there is any kind of frequencu entry .....

Uniden DOES think about the rest of the world, but Uniden *America* does not. They have a limited geographical area that they serve.

Uniden has other divisions that cater to other parts of the world, and Uniden has released scanners for those areas similar to the American models. Granted, not all models have international counterparts, but it is up to each division to release what they will sell in their area.

I've heard that there will be a way to input data, but I've also heard that it is not in the model as displayed. It might be a feature that is not yet added, or it may be a feature that will be added later (ala UID support).

The only thing I would say for certain is that the features displayed will be in the model when released. There may be nothing more, but there may be much more. One thing I've heard was a streaming feature which was not included in the displayed model. But, treat that as rumor for now. I, of course, do not know the release feature set. As the release is months away, it's possible UPMan does not even have the final feature set established.

Joe M.

 

[Voyager]

Last I looked (last night) there are fed and military frequencies in the RR DB

V

Some were removed from the RRBD at the request of the agency involved. Now, I don't know if they were just removed from the display part of the database or removed entirely. So, they might still be in there.

That's a question Lindsay would have to answer.

Or, maybe they can be included in the database the Home Patrol uses.

Joe M.

 

[N5AMS]

Wow after skimming through all of that i need to go back to bed after only having 3 hours of sleep but can't cause i'm at work lol anyways it looks like a great addition to a scanner collection especially if you are a business traveler and i think it would be great for the beginners to learn i know it would have been great for me when i started this hobby back 15 years ago in the 9th grade when i first heard about scanners from my shop teacher who was also a san jacinto county sheriff deputy at the time and HAM radio operator just wish it did provoice but you can't have everything as far as ENC i have thoughts on that i'm not going to rant on but find it strange that public works would have that but then again some security companies that do the attractions here in houston of business buildings have TRBO being used and one of the ISD buses just applied for TRBO

Point being is that in my opinion Uniden has surpassed their expectations coming out with this product

Happy Scanning

 

[Voyager]

I don't think that was the case.

HOME PATROL- Domain for sale

My guess is they saw that it expired a few years back and took it over.

If you Google Home Patrol, you get a lot of hits. It's possible someone else had the domain, although I would think the 'created date' would be when the last registrant created it, not the first.

I have a company name. The domain for that name is used by some overseas company (and their company name is different). So, it's entirely possible to trademark a name in the USA when the domain is not available.

In fact, you can even trademark a name for different purposes. HomePatrol can be a Uniden product, but it can also be a service name provided by a company in the USA, and BOTH can have trademarks under different classes (there are many classes, and having a name in one does not cover all classes). A third might have a drink called HomePatrol. Of course, with domain names, there is only one .COM name which could be used by any trademark holder - or even someone who does not hold that trademark.

Oh, and for each class, the parent and trademark office gets a fee on each one registered.

Joe M.

 

[eorange]

Looks interesting.

But that unit don't look cheap. Will the price scare away the scanner newbies they're hoping to attract? The average Joe may have second thoughts about listening to Police/Fire if the entry point is like $400 - $500.

 

[Voyager]

-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.

There are only two things that could help this:

1. Convince your governments to stay on analog formats. Then they can produce a scanner at the cost level of the 15X.

2. Convince DVSI that they no longer need to sell licenses for the P25 vocoder. Remember that that P25 chip ADDS $100 RIGHT OFF THE BAT before you have the first component in the unit.

So, you're really not buying a $500 scanner with the 996XT - you're buying a $400 scanner that has a $100 vocoder license fee tagged onto the price.

If you want to break that down farther, you're buying a $200 scanner that has $150 worth of digital audio hardware, $50 worth of additional memory, display features, and R&D costs, and a $100 vocoder license fee.

(the more I expand the breakdown, the less likely my figures will be accurate, but I know the vocoder fee is at least $100)

This applies to all those complaining about other digital formats, too. How many people are going to buy scanners that include a licensing fee for a digital mode they will never use? And don't misunderstand this: Most people will never want to monitor digital modes other than P25.

Oh, and keep in mind this is coming from someone in the heart of OpenSky country - one of the few formats where the manufacturer approached scanner makers about buying licenses for their format.

Joe M.

 

[FoeHammer]

Some were removed from the RRBD at the request of the agency involved. Now, I don't know if they were just removed from the display part of the database or removed entirely. So, they might still be in there.

That's a question Lindsay would have to answer.

Or, maybe they can be included in the database the Home Patrol uses.

Joe M.

Hmmm well how hard or time consuming will it be to add another frequency or TGID to a system manually
on the fly
& if you are listening & hear a unit say to switch to frequency you dont have programmed in ,how quicky can you program it in , or if you allready have it in , how quickly can you manually tune that channel
From what I understand this is why some Mil-Air monitors like the older radios like the BC 780 is for the speed & ease of entering frequencies or tuning channels quickly as transmissions are often very brief .
also how quickly can you change modes?
That reminds me to ask , How fast does it actually search/scan?
Also, you should be able to change to any mode in all bands with minimal keypress , another thing I always wondered about will it ever be possible for 3rd party firmware or apps like software , for example if someone came up with sw for a mode not currently scannable , it would be 3rd party & not supported or connected to Uniden ,...who knows what people would come up with
Now that would be a revolution ..
Having an advanced user mode with the ability to change all parameters on the fly without to much hassle would go along way towards keeping the veteran user portion of the market
Oh & the touchscreen , would it still work if you put one of those clear screen protectors over it like what they have for Blackberrys to prevent the screen from getting beat up?

 

[nd5y]

That reminds me to ask , How fast does it actually search/scan?

Judging by the rate that the system names changed on the display on the one I played with, the scan rate appeared about the same as my 396T.

I also wanted to figure out if you can directly enter a frequency. I didn't have time to figure it out, but other people said you can.

 

[ampulman]

Re: Pay for updates

Upman stated (in part):
"Actually we did come out with the pay updates. We just decided not to charge anything for them."

Was that ver 3 to give the 'T' passable digital decoding/audio and rebanding capability?

Amp

 

[markbart]

After seeing the video on YouTube and reading most forum posts I have decided that this radio has a 1000% Drool factor.Unfortunately I will never get to see or own one.My wife and I live on $600 Per month.There is hardly enough money to pay bills and eat at the same time.I've been to police radio for 40 yrs.Every from tuneables to my current Pro-2055.Again this looks like a GREAT radio.

Mark

 

[mrkelso]

No Thank you.

 

[mojobreakfast]

Wow!

This product is amazing and I think it is great to see a company like Uniden make a huge leap in what is realistically a limited market. I will be buying one of these.

 

[dragonball]

home patrol

where did you order that radiosquirrel

 

[chgomonitor]

What I'm Looking For In Homepatrol

1. The ability to simply drag and drop (or double click) systems into and back out of the radio from a scrolling list of memorized possible systems. This includes the ability to scroll through which systems are currently in the radio in scan and remove them from scan should I choose to do so. Bliss. Controlling what's being scanned in the 396/996 radios is such a headache and here we appear to have the answer, sweet.

2. An ability to custom edit installed systems and/or create my own with my computer.

3. An ability to quickly switch between talk group scan and talk group search.

4. Conventional search. Being able to either choose from a list search ranges, program a search range or both. Being able to chain together different search ranges would be very handy. Controllable search step size and mode would be nice, too.

5. Service searches at the level of the 996XT or better. In truth, I'd buy the product without this but it is handy to have.

6. Close call has become pretty hard to live without. Close call with a better AM mode detector would be a god send.

7. CTCSS/DCS detect and and display availability.

8. A signal strength meter or indicator of some kind is always a plus. Lets not drive up the price just to do it, though. I will note that determining the signal strength of a P25 signal is VERY difficult without one.

9. On the dream list - some sort of spectrum or system/band activity display. But again, I may not be able to afford a kilo-buck radio right now. I do like the current band indicator display system on the 996XT, you guys are onto something with this, don't stop.

10. A (probably cheap) belt strap style tote case. Light gray please, so I don't cook the radio at my air shows. It's def coming with...

11. FM Broadcast band. A geo station database would be sweet. (but huge, I know...)

12. On the dream list - SD card memory config storage.

13. An easy to use web page where we can share systems / configs.

Happy Scanning! (Happy Patrolling? Hmmm...) - Ted

 

[a29zuk]

Kickback?

Hey I made a suggestion 3 or 4 years ago on these forums to have a scanner read information off the receiveable control channels in the area. Then have it program itself from the information off of those control channels. Does the Home Patrol work this way?

 

[Bigden7456]

This Is Probably already posted,,I Think Paul Said The Home Patrol Website Would be Up July 1,, I see I wasn't The only One Taking pictures

 

[wireless_friendly]

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.

It's cool, but why you not asked your customers about what they need?

It looks like toy. And limits market to the North America only.

I am disappointed.

 

[sragen]

Intriguing

While I enjoy programming the XT on the fly, customization, etc., this certainly may fill a gap. Certainly more needs to come out, but for me, the ability to "set up shop" in the field, quickly-could this be a better way to go? possibly.

BTW-would anyone know if the disply has a "night time" mode a la GPS models? Not a deal breaker, but curious.

 

[Jimmoats]

Will a handheld version be available eventually ?

This is an interesting concept, but a handheld version would meet my needs, not a base mobile version.