Whistler Fake News

[SCPD]

I just ordered an 800 MHz bandpass filter .. so it will be interesting if that fixes the issues of this scanner. I am mostly interested in 800 MHz (on this scanner when mobile) so this is my fix. I will likely be adding a coax switch where the other antenna is just normal VHF/UHF/800 MHz for use outside the city, when the front end issues will hopefully disappear.

I will post my thoughts in a week or so.

 

[genemalet]

I have to put my two cents in. I have had issues with Uniden and have had issues with my Whistler scanner. Right now I have the Uniden 536 and 436. Both Uniden Scanners had horrible issues when they first came out from backlight issues to clock issues however Uniden was very responsive, fixed the problems and the units are working great. The downside is that Uniden Charges for Upgrades for DMR and ProVoice. The decoding and sound on these units are excellent. No issues. P25 works very well and that is primarily what I listen to.

I decided to buy the TRX-1. After reading reviews on this site I made the decision to buy one. I had one for about 3 months. The radio was useless. It doesn't decode P25 simulcast worth a damn. Several folks gave suggestions and we tried it all. I am surprised Whistler hasn't asked to take the radio in for testing so I sold the thing. It was a shame because I really thought the product was a good radio. It reminded me of my older RadioShack radio PRO-197. Those things just sucked for digital .They just had horrible Digital issues and tower issues. You had to play with Antennas and adjust all types of things. Who wants to do all that. Learned my lesson.

 

[radio3353]

I just ordered an 800 MHz bandpass filter .. so it will be interesting if that fixes the issues of this scanner. I am mostly interested in 800 MHz (on this scanner when mobile) so this is my fix. I will likely be adding a coax switch where the other antenna is just normal VHF/UHF/800 MHz for use outside the city, when the front end issues will hopefully disappear.

I will post my thoughts in a week or so.

This sounds interesting. I look forward to your observations.

If successful, would you post the make and model number of the device?

Thanks.

 

[devicelab]

I have to put my two cents in. I have had issues with Uniden and have had issues with my Whistler scanner. Right now I have the Uniden 536 and 436. Both Uniden Scanners had horrible issues when they first came out from backlight issues to clock issues however Uniden was very responsive, fixed the problems and the units are working great. The downside is that Uniden Charges for Upgrades for DMR and ProVoice. The decoding and sound on these units are excellent. No issues. P25 works very well and that is primarily what I listen to.

I decided to buy the TRX-1. After reading reviews on this site I made the decision to buy one. I had one for about 3 months. The radio was useless. It doesn't decode P25 simulcast worth a damn. Several folks gave suggestions and we tried it all. I am surprised Whistler hasn't asked to take the radio in for testing so I sold the thing. It was a shame because I really thought the product was a good radio. It reminded me of my older RadioShack radio PRO-197. Those things just sucked for digital .They just had horrible Digital issues and tower issues. You had to play with Antennas and adjust all types of things. Who wants to do all that. Learned my lesson.

Hmm, so you were willing to give Uniden the benefit of the doubt in fixing their issues but gave up on to the TRX after 3 months? Just a tad biased don' you think?

When I first received the TRX it was far from perfect but it was hardly "useless." In the 5 months that I've owned one, Whistler has had what... about 3 or 4 software updates and several firmware updates. I submitted a bug to Whistler, and while they haven't fixed it as yet, they worked with me to get as much debugging as possible so they CAN fix it.

Frankly, the 436HP does do a couple of things better than the TRX but the issue for me is that the TRX is FAR easier to program and has a much nicer interface overall. You don't have to mess with all of Uniden's BS klunky programming and poor scanner interface.

It [the TRX] does have an issue with an LSM system which they are working to resolve. BTW, switching the mode from NFM to FM did seem to help a little.

I own both scanners and I find myself using the TRX-1 about 95% of the time. And no, I don't need to tweak my TRX to make digital decoding work.

I'm probably sick of having to mess with the system clock on the 436HP. That issue has nearly ruined the scanner's reputation.

Leave it to Uniden to re-invent the wheel. They had a perfectly good scanner in the 396XT and yet they had fix what wasn't broken. :roll:

 

[radio3353]

It [the TRX] does have an issue with an LSM system which they are working to resolve.

Please back up your statement. What evidence do you have they are resolving this issue? Whistler ignores this issue on this forum where Wendy in Marketing is quite active.

Just wondering if you have anything besides fake news. Thanks.

 

[fxdscon]

I'm probably sick of having to mess with the system clock on the 436HP. That issue has nearly ruined the scanner's reputation.

A fix was issued for that a long time ago:

https://www.uniden.com/product-information/bcdx36hp-repair-campaign

 

[genemalet]

Hmm, so you were willing to give Uniden the benefit of the doubt in fixing their issues but gave up on to the TRX after 3 months? Just a tad biased don' you think?

When I first received the TRX it was far from perfect but it was hardly "useless." In the 5 months that I've owned one, Whistler has had what... about 3 or 4 software updates and several firmware updates. I submitted a bug to Whistler, and while they haven't fixed it as yet, they worked with me to get as much debugging as possible so they CAN fix it.

Frankly, the 436HP does do a couple of things better than the TRX but the issue for me is that the TRX is FAR easier to program and has a much nicer interface overall. You don't have to mess with all of Uniden's BS klunky programming and poor scanner interface.

It [the TRX] does have an issue with an LSM system which they are working to resolve. BTW, switching the mode from NFM to FM did seem to help a little.

I own both scanners and I find myself using the TRX-1 about 95% of the time. And no, I don't need to tweak my TRX to make digital decoding work.

I'm probably sick of having to mess with the system clock on the 436HP. That issue has nearly ruined the scanner's reputation.

Leave it to Uniden to re-invent the wheel. They had a perfectly good scanner in the 396XT and yet they had fix what wasn't broken. :roll:

Not biased, based on my experience with the two, the Uniden works so damn good compared to the TRX-1 I had no need for the unit so I sold it.

 

[devicelab]

A fix was issued for that a long time ago

Umm no I'm talking about the whole issue. Why do I have to constantly press a period when turning on my scanner? Very silly.

 

[devicelab]

Please back up your statement. What evidence do you have they are resolving this issue? Whistler ignores this issue on this forum where Wendy in Marketing is quite active.

It's a new form of communication -- called E-MAIL.

Just wondering if you have anything besides fake news.

Shut up punk. If you want to call me a liar then that's one thing but at least have the balls to do it...

 

[bigcam406]

It's a new form of communication -- called E-MAIL.



Shut up punk. If you want to call me a liar then that's one thing but at least have the balls to do it...

Time to mellow out folks. This subject has been beaten to death.

 

[mikewazowski]

Gentlemen, let's stay civil.

devicelab, as far as I know, Whistler has not announced anything public about the LSM issues hence the request to back up your claim.

Can you share anything from that email with us?

 

[devicelab]

devicelab, as far as I know, Whistler has not announced anything public about the LSM issues hence the request to back up your claim. Can you share anything from that email with us?

I'm not going to presume to know the inner workings of Whistler's development on the TRX scanners. AFAIK, I never implied this either. They asked for help in debugging my LSM system troubles so I'm presuming they're working on the overall issue.

There's nothing really to share except that they have collected my debug information from my particular issue.

If others are having issue then follow WhistlerWendy's instructions and send Whistler a bug report to the email address she provided.

To report a bug - please email this address -> scannerbugreports@whistlergroup.com

Gentlemen, let's stay civil.

Sorry for my outburst but I don't respond well to sarcasm.

 

[slicerwizard]

Sorry for my outburst but I don't respond well to sarcasm.

Well, this sort of thing happens when someone suggests that a scanner manufacturer is going to magically fix a major defect in their hardware design with a firmware update...

 

[cistercian]

To edmscan...I have a pro-2006 which I consider one of the finest scanners ever made.It is sensitive and selective throughout it's range. Aside from being a bit slow it is superlative. My Icom R-8500 is a better receiver and also works in ssb/cw...

Both cost a lot more than my HP-2 and my TRX-2 corrected for inflation. I expect a rig as good as the 8500 with digital decode would be in the 3000 dollar range...notwithstanding the price of the new 8600...which just like my 8500 is not really a scanner.

Point being I guess 750 dollars or so would probably produce the results you want and further narrow the buyer range. Make no mistake I want great performance but I also understand it comes at a cost.


A cost higher than these radios currently sell for.

 

[Mojaveflyer]

TRX-2 Reception

Many of the folks in this forum string talk about listening to different public safety systems that are all repeated systems - regardless of what modulation they use. My priorities are monitoring aircraft and railroads (usually simplex systems). I purchased the TRX-2 with the anticipation that eventually the railroads would convert to NXDN modulation.

I think my biggest disappointment is the low squelch settings (9 - 10) instead of what I'm normally used to (3- 4). I can't help but think I'm missing traffic with this low squelch setting but don't see many alternatives...

I really like the remote mount control head but I find the On/Off procedure and selecting channel groups (banks) less than convenient at best. I DO like the huge memory this radio possesses, far greater then the PSR-600 it replaced.

No sarcasm or personal attacks here, just my frustrations... I'd appreciate any constructive comments. Reply here or a PM if you wish...

 

[radio_runner2003]

I have a newer Uniden BCD436hp (with the new board not the one that needed the clock issue fixed) and it blows the doors off of the TRX1 when it comes to Phase 2. When it comes to 400 meg and DMR the TRX1 blows the 436 off the map. So if need Phase 2 don't buy a TRX1 if you need DMR don't by a 436. Simple as that.

 

[SCPD]

TRX1 vs 436hp

I have a newer Uniden BCD436hp (with the new board not the one that needed the clock issue fixed) and it blows the doors off of the TRX1 when it comes to Phase 2. When it comes to 400 meg and DMR the TRX1 blows the 436 off the map. So if need Phase 2 don't buy a TRX1 if you need DMR don't by a 436. Simple as that.

I would enjoy seeing a video proving this with audio from the TRX1 on one stereo channel and a 436HP on the other stereo channel.I think they work pretty much the same,it all depends if you have LSM or not.

 

[nosoup4u]

I have a newer Uniden BCD436hp (with the new board not the one that needed the clock issue fixed) and it blows the doors off of the TRX1 when it comes to Phase 2. When it comes to 400 meg and DMR the TRX1 blows the 436 off the map. So if need Phase 2 don't buy a TRX1 if you need DMR don't by a 436. Simple as that.

I own both and I absolutely agree with that. The TRX-1 rules for UHF DMR and the 436 blows it away when it comes to 700 Phase 2.

 

[IAmSixNine]

I would have to disagree with this but not in the reception part, in the trunking part.
I monitor a connect plus system and because the 436 handles trunking so much better i never miss a call or tone out (medical helo) but on the 1080 i often miss parts of calls. From what i have gathered the whistler units dont actually trunk track but rather scan the channels for the active TG. But i could be wrong.

 

[Ed6698]

My 1080 and 1095 are fantastic on 700mhz P25 Phase II, actually I can't imagine it could get any better. All just a matter of location and the system that is being monitored.