Wish List For Next-Gen Scanners

[jonwienke]

Multiple receivers scanning in parallel feeding a common audio buffer would be a huge jump forward. It would allow more channels to be scanned without missing traffic.Especially if you could listen to buffered audio without interrupting scanning.

 

[marksmith]

Multiple receivers scanning in parallel feeding a common audio buffer would be a huge jump forward. It would allow more channels to be scanned without missing traffic.Especially if you could listen to buffered audio without interrupting scanning.

Interesting

Mark
536/436/WS1095/HP1/HP2/996T/996XT/996P2/396XT/325P2/PSR800/15X/others

 

[vocoder]

much needed items

A data skip button or option would be good. Something to ignore birdies or non-carrier signals and scan onward. Optional setting to unmute or mute data audio or encryption audio. Lets keep lighted keypads and multi-color choice displays.

 

[SOFA_KING]

I really like the encryption button idea...a lot! Put the "O" with a slash through it on the display to indicate the status. There are times I might want to detect what is going on with encryption, but I have to say I'm very happy when it skips over it and scans on to traffic I can actually hear. The button and display indicator would be useful. Would we want that as a global option, or individual channel option? I'm thinking global. Maybe you could do it either way by pushing the button during SCAN for global, and pushing it during HOLD for individual channel selection. Then a global activation/deactivation clears the individual channel settings back to skipping encryption again. I would also like this on searching. And really want to see P25 data and NAC on searching to detect the presence of a P25 transmission of any type. Right now it totally bypasses P25 data, and shows no NAC on P25 encrypted transmissions. No NAC, no User ID...wasted intel.

Good one!

Phil

 

[vocoder]

Good one too, Phil. I was thinking while programming my 996p2 / 325p2, if we knew what type of transmission during search mode or close call, would be very useful.

like it

 

[vocoder]

Or maybe some form of data skip or unmodulated ignore could be added to a future firmware. Important in locations that use locution or robo dispatch because these systems perform data updates on a regular basis. This becomes very annoying and sometimes lasts 15 minutes or so.

 

[Machria]

Color TFT type LCD backlit display

Touchscreen + a few hard buttons and 2 knobs (Volume and Squelch on separate knobs!)

TEXT search! Need to find something, simply type in a few letters and be presented with a list to select from....

Ergonomic controls that work consistently. If a button works as mute, then put "MUTE" on the dang button. No secondary use (Fn) of keys other than upper and lower case text. No special "codes" or "Quick keys" to remember to operate the unit. Use a simple menu structure based after Garmin devices or Apple devices. DO NOT use a menu key on the side, Func key above that, a knob on top, keypad that is not labled for what the buttons actually do... (you know, like the BCD396xt!) which forces you to operate it with 3 hands. Keep it consistent!

Customizable display: Let us decide what is displayed during scanning and searching, and where, and with what fonts.

Make the text on buttons and on-screen menu's either LARGE enough for old people to read OR customizable screen display fonts.

Lithium Ion battery pack with contacts on bottom to charge off a drop in docking station. You can also include an AA alkaline battery adapter, leave off the charging contacts on this adapter so it can't be "charged" on accident when dropped in the charger with non-rechargeable AA's installed.

Include multiple receivers, so Fire Tone Out can monitor more than one frequency simultaneously. This would allow for monitoring several dispatches (FD + EMS + ...) simultaneously

Bluetooth so we can use wireless headsets

Just a few off the top of my head.....

 

[Boatanchor]

It's worth noting that half of the items in my list (global default settings, functional AGC, and Close Call / Search lookup, could easily be implemented in the x36 line if scanners with firmware updates. A rudimentary map display could be shown, too, if the font size of the system/department/channel was reduced.

Multi-mode audio AGC is never going to be introduced until such time as Uniden starts processing both analogue and digital audio through an common DSP that incorporates basic compressor/limiter functions.

AGC can't be introduced in the x36 line because the analogue audio isn't fed through a DSP - This is hardware defined.

Once the analogue audio is produced/processed by DSP, all kinds of exciting things can start happening, like

* Brick wall filtering of CTCSS tones (300Hz HPF on CTCSS enabled channels).
* Squelch noise elimination (only requires a 100ms or so audio delay)
* User adjustable EQ tailoring of audio
* Compressor/limiter/AGC functions
And more

One can dream...

 

[Ubbe]

Multi-mode audio AGC is never going to be introduced until such time as Uniden starts processing both analogue and digital audio through an common DSP that incorporates basic compressor/limiter functions.

AGC can't be introduced in the x36 line because the analogue audio isn't fed through a DSP - This is hardware defined.

Too bad they didn't continue with the common DSP function of HP1/2 in the x36 line. Do you know why Uniden took the decision to abandon it?

/Ubbe

 

[jonwienke]

Given that there IS an AGC function in the x36 scanner line (just a poorly working one), I'm skeptical Boatanchor is correct.

 

[bobmich52]

Would have liked to know the mindset of Uniden why they did not incorporate a priority channel feature into the HP series of scanners,1/2/436

 

[jonwienke]

The x36 line of scanners have several priority scan options.

 

[vocoder]

Last freq or tg recall would be good. And I agree, a form of tone control for speaker (voice)

 

[Machria]

Last freq or tg recall would be good. And I agree, a form of tone control for speaker (voice)

GREAT idea!! Most of the new Marine VHF's have a "recal button" which replays the last received transmission (like 10 or 20 seconds...). That would make a nice scanner feature as well.

 

[jonwienke]

I already specified that with the audio buffer. You'd be able to replay the last 30 mins of transmissions and see everything about them (system, department, frequency, etc.), without interrupting scanning.

Current scanners can replay anything that happened within the last 4 minutes, but scanning pauses while recordings are being played.

 

[Machria]

I already specified that with the audio buffer. You'd be able to replay the last 30 mins of transmissions and see everything about them (system, department, frequency, etc.), without interrupting scanning.

Current scanners can replay anything that happened within the last 4 minutes, but scanning pauses while recordings are being played.

That's fantastic, I like that too. But I'd also like to be able to just hit a quick button [REPLAY] right on the face that simply played the last transmission. So if you miss something (you know, somebody in the room flapping their gums! ) you just hit the button and can quickly hear if it were something of interest.

 

[vocoder]

a must

Distinct delay time settings for tg and conv. frequencies. Negative and positive variables. This would be very well utilized and appreciated.

 

[jonwienke]

Existing models already have this.

 

[vocoder]

My 996p2 / 325p2 only has delay settings for groups. I think it would be handy if they allow you to set delay independently and unique to each individual tg or conv. frequency. Just like they have the alert setting for each.

 

[jonwienke]

The x36 scanners set delay at the channel level.