Which scanner and antenna for San Diego?

[s-one]

I have an old Uniden BC235XLT Trunk Tracker and I'm not sure if it'll work any more... so I was thinking I should invest again in either a portable or base unit. What are my best options for a newer scanner and antenna would work for San Diego area? Currently I listen online (broadcastify) mainly north San Diego in Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos area and sometimes I listen to the city area.

thanks kindly.

 

[Stringer619]

Unication G4 or G5, or the Uniden SDS100/SDS200. Been scanning SD since 2010, the Unication’s are worth their weight in gold. Never tried the SDS radios, but heard good things. The Unication is more of a pager with scanner features, whereas the SDS are actual scanners.

 

[s-one]

Thank you Stringer619.. I will check these out..

 

[kearthfan101]

+1 on the Unication. I'll be taking my G5 down there next month but based on how it covers systems in LA I'm confident it will sound great on RCS and the 700 sys.

 

[s-one]

Thank you Kearthfan101.

Stringer619 or Kearthfan101, the Unication has peaked my interest. If I were to get the G5 model.. which Band model would I need for police/ems for all of San Diego to include Oceanside PD?

 

[kearthfan101]

Thank you Kearthfan101.

Stringer619 or Kearthfan101, the Unication has peaked my interest. If I were to get the G5 model.. which Band model would I need for police/ems for all of San Diego to include Oceanside PD?

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For just your areas, you'd be fine with a G4 since it's all 700/800 mhz. BUT if you want the dual band G5, I'd probably suggest the A Band VHF 136-174 if you want to listen to brush fires and other wildland incidents. Check out Rays Pager Sales. I got mine through Ray and highly recommend him.

 

[s-one]

Ah ok thank you for clarifying. Yea the G4 should be fine for my needs and I appreciate the recommendation.

 

[ScanFanEd]

One more vote in regard to Unication. They do a far better job of decoding simulcast systems and the audio quality is significantly better than scanners. They are not cheap, but quality and performance wise are more along the lines of professional grade radios.

 

[shadow925]

Love my G4. Size, reception, battery life, audio quality and bluetooth are my favorite features.

 

[s-one]

Thank you both so much. I've been watching some G4 videos and have been learning before taking the plunge. Any must have accessories you all recommend with it?

 

[SDBud]

I have an old Uniden BC235XLT Trunk Tracker and I'm not sure if it'll work any more... so I was thinking I should invest again in either a portable or base unit. What are my best options for a newer scanner and antenna would work for San Diego area? Currently I listen online (broadcastify) mainly north San Diego in Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos area and sometimes I listen to the city area.

thanks kindly.

That 235 will work for the City of San DIego, 800 mhz and 700 mhz, and conventional channels, but you'll need something newer for the County stuff (P2 capable). I find my Uniden 996P2 units work just fine for me.

 

[Stringer619]

Any must have accessories you all recommend with it?

I am a big fan of the Amplified Charger, instead of wearing out the micro USB plug to charge it. I also have a rooftop antenna hooked up, and it has it's own speaker. They make a cheaper version that only charges it, either one would probably be a good choice.

G2/G3/G4 & G5 Voice Pager Accessories | Unication USA

Browse Unication's selection of holsters, chargers, and other accessories for G2/G3/G4/G5 Voice Pagers.

www.unicationusa.com

And the G4 would probably be better than the G5, as it's $100 cheaper, and the VHF/UHF performance isn't where the Unication's shine, it's the 700/800MHz. The VHF/UHF works but it uses a tiny internal antenna, while the removable external antenna only does 700/800 MHz (from what I've read on these forums).

 

[s-one]

Hi SDBud, oh really? OK i'll have to dig it out of some old boxes then and check it out. Thank you!

Hi Stringer619, appreciate the recommendations. I know what you mean about those usb charging ports.. certainly failure prone on some of my other devices that use them. So the charging station recommendations is very helpful. thanks.

 

[JoeyC]

Hi SDBud, oh really? OK i'll have to dig it out of some old boxes then and check it out. Thank you!

Hi Stringer619, appreciate the recommendations. I know what you mean about those usb charging ports.. certainly failure prone on some of my other devices that use them. So the charging station recommendations is very helpful. thanks.

Not really. The 235 only does analog, and SD city is transitioning to 700 mhz (which the 235 will not do at all, band and modulation) and what remains on the 800 system sounds like crap. Not sure if the 800 mHz transmitters outputs were lowered or if some sites were decommissioned, but for at least a year now the 800 system quality and signal strength has deteriorated, at least for me. I pretty much listen to the 700 mHz system exclusively. For now, the 800mHz system is still up and YMMV.

 

[s-one]

Hey JoeyC thank you for your input. Yea after hooking up my old 235 it was really hard to understand what was going on.. i'm not sure if it was my antenna or the horrible speaker.. so I'm pretty much working my way towards the G4. Still doing research and understanding it's capabilities. Lots of helpful and informative people on here. Thanks kindly.

 

[Mike_G_D]

Another option, very cost effective, is the P25RX: BlueTail Technlogies.

Active threads here on RR: Blue Tail Technologies.

Developer is very active in taking user input and updating firmware and software.

Very easy to use and demodulated P1 and P2 audio is extremely good in simulcast areas.

I own one of these and it has now become my primary means of monitoring the SD County RCS.

As to the G5's internal VHF antenna - if you use the amplified charger base, my understanding is that the external antenna connection on the charger is good for both bands (using the radio's bottom connectors to pass the RF as well as the power). There is a lot of confusion surrounding it but I recall an actual Unication rep somewhere in one or more of the active threads confirming this. Don't own one so can't confirm myself.

-Mike

 

[TailGator911]

I visit Escondido quite often (well, haven't for a year now due to covid and health issues) to see my son and some friends there in San Marcos and Oceanside. I just gifted my son with an SDS200 for his area, working fine. Keep in mind that the G4s & 5s are not scanners, they are pagers with not nearly the amount of features and capabilities of a scanner. If you are scanner experienced I think you will find that a pager falls short. Yes, superb reception I always hear, but that is focused on only one system at a time (?). You cannot (I couled be wrong if they have upgraded their features) scan several systems at once. I could never put up with that.

 

[s-one]

Hi Mike_G_D, very interesting.. thank you for the info and links. I'll also check this out.

Hi TailGator911... appreciate the info about unication's/scanner. Very valid point and I'll certainly reconsider this as I exhaust all my research. thanks kindly.

 

[Anderegg]

I am a big fan of the Amplified Charger, instead of wearing out the micro USB plug to charge it. I also have a rooftop antenna hooked up, and it has it's own speaker. They make a cheaper version that only charges it, either one would probably be a good choice.

G2/G3/G4 & G5 Voice Pager Accessories | Unication USA

Browse Unication's selection of holsters, chargers, and other accessories for G2/G3/G4/G5 Voice Pagers.

www.unicationusa.com

And the G4 would probably be better than the G5, as it's $100 cheaper, and the VHF/UHF performance isn't where the Unication's shine, it's the 700/800MHz. The VHF/UHF works but it uses a tiny internal antenna, while the removable external antenna only does 700/800 MHz (from what I've read on these forums).

I have been BLOWN AWAY by the VHF performance of my little G5. Side by side with various DMR dual bands and even Motorolas, the internal antenna of the G5 pretty much matches what my XTS5000 can do with it's own dedicated tuned external 156MHz antenna for brush fire channel reception.

Paul

 

[shadow925]

Any must have accessories you all recommend with it?

The only must have accessory for me is a bluetooth earbud. I use the Mpow M30 and it works good. The G4 in your pocket and bluetooth earbud makes this a very discreet solution.