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northernsummit

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Maybe we'll get lucky and Uniden will make a 536 detachable face with ignition sensing and a capacitor that lets it shut down safely in a mobile environment.

Throw in a second receiver dedicated to monitoring control channels. Maybe a USB port so you can optionally use a RTL dongle as a CC receiver and add priority to talk-groups/systems so you can abandon decode on a given voice channel if something with a higher priority comes up ;-)

That'd be sweet. Since we're dreaming.
 

JamesO

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Maybe we'll get lucky and Uniden will make a 536 detachable face with ignition sensing and a capacitor that lets it shut down safely in a mobile environment.

I have raised this issue and most of the hooks may already be in the hardware??

The 3 pin power connection on the 536HP has a dash light monitor/display dimmer input.

There are software hooks to adjust the display dimmer behavior so it may be feasible to use the dash light input as an ignition sense input?

Delay power up on ignition sense and proper power down on loss of ignition sense.

The radio already has a power off timer configured in the firmware, so it there is a way to modify the firmware to follow the ignition sense, then boom, you have your problem solved!

Again, assuming the hooks are all there, which appears they may be. This means probably getting rid of the automatic dimming while monitoring the dashlights.

But another option is to use the real time clock as a way to automatically dim the display. Sunrise and Sunset is 100% predictable depending on your location. A look up table can be used to predict the sunrise and sunset assuming there is enough memory. This could be something that is accessed on the SD card and a small table be cached in the scanner.

Lots of ideas, but at the end of the day the primary purpose of the radio is to scan and as I last recall we are STILL waiting on features that were promised 1st Quarter 2014 which will very soon be 3, yes 3 years!!

There has been some movement, but not enough IMHO regarding the Apps, Features and my take on what Uniden promised was the ability to remotely access the scanner using the App from anywhere!!! This all handled internally by Uniden servers and software, not requiring every end user to be an IT specialist to configure their own VPN.
 
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k3fs

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BREAKING NEWS would be releasing the features that were promised three years ago. Still waiting for that BREAKING NEWS. Failure to deliver what you promise to paying customers and not owning up to it, is a problem.

When there is a problem, admit it as soon as possible.

Customers are not stupid. Ignoring or denying a legitimate problem is not the way to handle it.
 

allend

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BREAKING NEWS would be releasing the features that were promised three years ago. Still waiting for that BREAKING NEWS. Failure to deliver what you promise to paying customers and not owning up to it, is a problem.

When there is a problem, admit it as soon as possible.

Customers are not stupid. Ignoring or denying a legitimate problem is not the way to handle it.

Who cares anymore. Its been three full years now and the ship has sailed. Move on and move forward.

If Uniden cared these issues would of been fixed. Eventually the BCD536HP radios will be scraped. Uniden doesnt care about their customers, all they care about is market shares and profits for their executives.
 

SOFA_KING

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CES is next week. Maybe announcement would be then?

Uniden aint got nothin'! :mad:

The PV/DMR option for the P2 was an easy way to make some quick money. That's all. They're not interested in giving us what we want. :mad:
 
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kd7kdc

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I think the 996P2/352 owners are happy with that move by Uniden.

If you need analyze features that badly you should be looking at something a little more geared toward system test/maintenance not a police scanner.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

jcardani

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Hi Sofa,

I am thinking more and more the manufacturers just don't get it.

The only way we get what we need is to do things ourselves. There's plenty of resources on the forum to design and build an I/Q based receiver using a triple conversion heterodyne front end. This receiver design would be hardy enough for excellent selectivity and image rejection (unlike current SDR) while still converting to zero IF I/Q, which is required for simulcast LSM. And the firmware can be open source giving us everything we need. Think DSDPlus in embedded format controlling the hardware.

Buy the hardware which comes with a basic receiver control firmware and then download any additional features that are developed privately.




Uniden aint got nothin'! :mad:

The PV/DMR option for the P2 was an easy way to make some quick money. That's all. They're not interested in giving us what we want. :mad:
 

SOFA_KING

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Hi Sofa,

I am thinking more and more the manufacturers just don't get it.

The only way we get what we need is to do things ourselves. There's plenty of resources on the forum to design and build an I/Q based receiver using a triple conversion heterodyne front end. This receiver design would be hardy enough for excellent selectivity and image rejection (unlike current SDR) while still converting to zero IF I/Q, which is required for simulcast LSM. And the firmware can be open source giving us everything we need. Think DSDPlus in embedded format controlling the hardware.

Buy the hardware which comes with a basic receiver control firmware and then download any additional features that are developed privately.

Yes, that is the way it is going. I think the problem is Uniden and Whistler are living in the past and are out of date, engineering wise. Open source and independent developers have surpassed the "establishment" companies who refuse to get with the new technology. They have been so focused on profits that they haven't invested in the new technology necessary to solve a number of performance issues some customers are experiencing, as well as an easier way to handle mode updates. But we have invested much in the x36 line, so I do hope they finish the product and add NXDN, Fusion and D-STAR. Stop wasting time and resources on lower end models. Finish the flagship models already and move to ZIF after that. And do it before your customers get tired and either buy SDR solutions in place of old designs or give up altogether.

And I can't help noticing how slow it is around here even after xmass and two recent upgrade releases. Whistler bombed with NXDN and the dog CrappyScan software, and Uniden one again blew off the folks who have invested in their top line flagship product. This place should be buzzing with excitement! Instead it's a sad string of problem reports and gripes. Not good. Demand is there, but supply is not.

Phil
 

kb7gjy

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Maybe we'll get lucky and Uniden will make a 536 detachable face with ignition sensing and a capacitor that lets it shut down safely in a mobile environment.

Throw in a second receiver dedicated to monitoring control channels. Maybe a USB port so you can optionally use a RTL dongle as a CC receiver and add priority to talk-groups/systems so you can abandon decode on a given voice channel if something with a higher priority comes up ;-)

That'd be sweet. Since we're dreaming.

I was actually surprised it didn't have a second receiver built in for for monitoring CC or even FTO or Priority channels) being that even cheap chinese handhelds have dual receive (Granted, not a great receiver as the Uniden is).
 

mancow

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Yes, that is the way it is going. I think the problem is Uniden and Whistler are living in the past and are out of date, engineering wise. Open source and independent developers have surpassed the "establishment" companies who refuse to get with the new technology. They have been so focused on profits that they haven't invested in the new technology necessary to solve a number of performance issues some customers are experiencing, as well as an easier way to handle mode updates. But we have invested much in the x36 line, so I do hope they finish the product and add NXDN, Fusion and D-STAR. Stop wasting time and resources on lower end models. Finish the flagship models already and move to ZIF after that. And do it before your customers get tired and either buy SDR solutions in place of old designs or give up altogether.

And I can't help noticing how slow it is around here even after xmass and two recent upgrade releases. Whistler bombed with NXDN and the dog CrappyScan software, and Uniden one again blew off the folks who have invested in their top line flagship product. This place should be buzzing with excitement! Instead it's a sad string of problem reports and gripes. Not good. Demand is there, but supply is not.

Phil


Huh? What's wing with NXDN? As for ezscan I love it. It is logical and works extremely well.
 

INDY72

Monitoring since 1982, using radios since 1991.
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Indianapolis, IN
Yes, that is the way it is going. I think the problem is Uniden and Whistler are living in the past and are out of date, engineering wise. Open source and independent developers have surpassed the "establishment" companies who refuse to get with the new technology. They have been so focused on profits that they haven't invested in the new technology necessary to solve a number of performance issues some customers are experiencing, as well as an easier way to handle mode updates. But we have invested much in the x36 line, so I do hope they finish the product and add NXDN, Fusion and D-STAR. Stop wasting time and resources on lower end models. Finish the flagship models already and move to ZIF after that. And do it before your customers get tired and either buy SDR solutions in place of old designs or give up altogether.

And I can't help noticing how slow it is around here even after xmass and two recent upgrade releases. Whistler bombed with NXDN and the dog CrappyScan software, and Uniden one again blew off the folks who have invested in their top line flagship product. This place should be buzzing with excitement! Instead it's a sad string of problem reports and gripes. Not good. Demand is there, but supply is not.

Phil
Ookayyyy. If its so easy and simple how many have you built? FCC type accepted? Licensed codes for? Set up marketing? Hmmm are those crickets we hear?

Sent from my LG-K330 using Tapatalk
 

wbswetnam

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Huh? What's wing with NXDN? As for ezscan I love it. It is logical and works extremely well.

I have to agree... so far I've been very pleased with the performance of my BCD536HP in receiving DMR, which is a MUST if you're monitoring in Arkansas. The 536 performs way waaaaay better than the tapped scanner and DSD+ set up I was using before. As for Whistler and NXDN, I have found that my TRX-1 works fine in conventional mode; I can't speak for trunked NXDN mode, though. EZ-Scan is a bit quirky but it works fine, as does Uniden's Sentinel.

Honestly, the only place where I have seen more whiners than on the RR forums is when I was teaching middle school 15 years ago.
 
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DaveNF2G

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If SDR solutions were portable, then the scanner market would start to feel an impact from them.
 

racingfan360

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If SDR solutions were portable, then the scanner market would start to feel an impact from them.
I think the other way of looking at it is that the scanner market missed a big opportunity to sell more products because of the time it's taken to release something that approaches the level of capability you can get from DSD+ and an SDR/tapped scanner. Now they beginning to appear, but with the price tag they come with, I think lots of folks are willing to simply stick with their DSD+ based solution.

Personally, I find my Icom R2 hooked up to a 7inch Windows tablet running DSD+ is pretty much as portable as a BCD436HP (or a TRX1 for that matter), once you consider how many batteries the 436 eats in a day. It's certainly more capable than the 436, given the amount of NXDN monitoring I use it for.
 

buddrousa

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I think the other way of looking at it is that the scanner market missed a big opportunity to sell more products because of the time it's taken to release something that approaches the level of capability you can get from DSD+ and an SDR/tapped scanner. Now they beginning to appear, but with the price tag they come with, I think lots of folks are willing to simply stick with their DSD+ based solution.

Personally, I find my Icom R2 hooked up to a 7inch Windows tablet running DSD+ is pretty much as portable as a BCD436HP (or a TRX1 for that matter), once you consider how many batteries the 436 eats in a day. It's certainly more capable than the 436, given the amount of NXDN monitoring I use it for.

AND you have more cpu power than a scanner. All your tablet is doing is running DSD+ and My 436 battery life is much better than my 8 inch or 10 inch windows tablet.
 
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