What scanners are Rochester NY/Monroe county folks using?
- Thread starter GSPD
- Start date
Unication G5 Pager is the best option scanners don’t work too well in the system
Uniden SDS100, SDS200, BCD436HP, HP-2. The SDS radios work much better for me at my location.
SDS100 for Monroe P25 only, BCD436HP and BCD536HP for everything not simulcast P25 due to the SDS100 desense and spurious response problems.
If I did not already have the SDS100 or gave more priority to monitoring the P25 and/or wanted to monitor adjacent county P25 systems I would get a Unication G5. SDS100 is fine for the P25 cell you are in but, for me, Genesee and Livingston are spotty and Ontario generally unusable at my location due to the overload from the local signals.
436/536 P25 simulcast reception is variable depending on location and not 100% even under ideal conditions. Other than for simulcast P25, they are outstanding scanners including DMR, NXDN and even non-simulcast P25 like NYSEG.
If I did not already have the SDS100 or gave more priority to monitoring the P25 and/or wanted to monitor adjacent county P25 systems I would get a Unication G5. SDS100 is fine for the P25 cell you are in but, for me, Genesee and Livingston are spotty and Ontario generally unusable at my location due to the overload from the local signals.
436/536 P25 simulcast reception is variable depending on location and not 100% even under ideal conditions. Other than for simulcast P25, they are outstanding scanners including DMR, NXDN and even non-simulcast P25 like NYSEG.
SDS100 and SDS200 work well on the system from my location. I *had* a BCD436HP that was hit-or-miss so I sold it. BCD325P2/BCD996P2 won't work at all for me; can't even lock on the control channel.
If you are that close to a tower, you might be able to win the simulcast lottery and get good results with a 436HP/536HP or 325P2/992P2. Might want to see if someone you know can bring one to your location and give it a try. It's all about location. Or just get a SDS100/200.
With an outside antenna, I am able to pick up Livingston County very well and Genesee County well enough to listen to it. I cannot pick up Orleans County (although much of their traffic is carried on the Genesee County site) and Ontario is too far away although you can hear some of their traffic on the Monroe County sites.
There are also SDR-based solutions that will work. I've run OP25 on a Raspberry Pi with good success, but that's not a scanner.
Oh but keep your Pro-652. There are LOTS of things to listen to in Monroe County (and surrounding counties) besides the P25 systems!
If you are that close to a tower, you might be able to win the simulcast lottery and get good results with a 436HP/536HP or 325P2/992P2. Might want to see if someone you know can bring one to your location and give it a try. It's all about location. Or just get a SDS100/200.
With an outside antenna, I am able to pick up Livingston County very well and Genesee County well enough to listen to it. I cannot pick up Orleans County (although much of their traffic is carried on the Genesee County site) and Ontario is too far away although you can hear some of their traffic on the Monroe County sites.
There are also SDR-based solutions that will work. I've run OP25 on a Raspberry Pi with good success, but that's not a scanner.
Oh but keep your Pro-652. There are LOTS of things to listen to in Monroe County (and surrounding counties) besides the P25 systems!
Having lived there and having a variety of scanners, I would suggest you ONLY go with a Unication G5, SDS100 or SDS 200. None of those 3 will disappoint and will give very good performance. If you purchase anything but those three, you will have regrets.
If you are seriously considering the SDS100/200 you should do some research on these forums about the many known issues they have and see if you are prepared to live with them before you spend the money.
Which many known issues? I know of two.
Early SDS100s are subject to a cold solder joint problem. Sadly, mine fell victim to that, but I sent it to Uniden and they fixed it.
Some [early] SDS200s have an annoying "hum" while scanning. Never witnessed that myself.
The SDS scanners might not be the best (or at least easiest to use) option for general scanning, but for listening to simulcast systems they work very well.
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- Sep 16, 2020
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In my opinion if you are just wanting to listen to things with in your own county than an SDS 100 or 200 will be just fine, however trying to listen to the next county over it MIGHT be a challenge (it depends on your location of course). The receiver in the SDS 100 and among other scanners are not that great. I don't have an SDS 200 or ever used one so I can't comment on that. I have a Unication G5 and it works great and is has a much better receiver in it.
There are trade offs the SDS is scanner and is more versatile, the Unication's are really made for professional use so the scanning is possible but its different and NOT as versatile to scan with. I have both, I prefer the SDS slightly more due to the versatility of scanning a lot more (there is a good amount of NXDN in the area businesses and schools, there is some DMR).
There are trade offs the SDS is scanner and is more versatile, the Unication's are really made for professional use so the scanning is possible but its different and NOT as versatile to scan with. I have both, I prefer the SDS slightly more due to the versatility of scanning a lot more (there is a good amount of NXDN in the area businesses and schools, there is some DMR).
Bob1955
Member
GSPD- Save yourself $$$ and purchase a brand new Baofeng BF-H6 for $39.99 and its a dual band VHF/UHF transceiver (don't transmit on it) so you can monitor both frequencies and it is MADE much better than the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT with a drop-in charger, high capability Li-ion battery and it comes also with a short antenna along with CHIRP programing cables too-"OUTSTANDING" value and loud audio-MUCH better than a BC125AT too. Look at it on Amazon.Com as it is a fairly new model and also you can view it on YouTube as well.
Hope this helps you out.
I have two 100's and a 200 and have had zero problems. The 200 will receive Monroe, Orleans, Livingston and Wayne Countys with a
discone antenna in my attic. The 100's will receive Monroe, Orleans and Livingston Counties when outside with the stock antenna.
I'm able to receive Monroe County (west site) when I'm in Letchworth State Park with a Remtronics 820S antenna on one of the
100's inside my truck.
discone antenna in my attic. The 100's will receive Monroe, Orleans and Livingston Counties when outside with the stock antenna.
I'm able to receive Monroe County (west site) when I'm in Letchworth State Park with a Remtronics 820S antenna on one of the
100's inside my truck.
The desense, intermod and spurious responses in the SDS scanners inherent in the design based on a cheap SDR chip are well known and documented. There are frequent posts from users of reception issues and the dubious results of fussing with the filter, IFX and attenuator settings which are Uniden's "fix for the problems. Depending on what you want to monitor and your environment the SDS may be OK but it is lot of money for a unit with known potential problems. Know what you may have to deal with if you buy one.
I've been using BCD992P2 with success.
