WS-1080 vs BCD-436HP in Los Angeles Day 1

[N8IAA]

Hi,
On the psr-800 and 1080 when you plug the USB cable in, you cannot use the radio for monitoring.
That's why you got no audio when usb is plugged in.
It's only for charging batteries or programming.
So you can't use a 1080 without batteries, this is a HUGE con on these radios.
I might have to mount a jack parallel onto the battery leads to feed external wall wart on my 800.
Just don't think there's any room for the jack.

Then you must be doing something wrong with the radio.
My 800 receives quite well running on the USB cable. It powers the radio, as well as, programming it. It is being used as a base scanner. Being as I don't charge batteries in the scanner. In fact, I used it mobile on a trip using the USB cable.
Best get your facts straight before posting such nonsense.
Larry

 

[N8IAA]

Hi,
On the psr-800 and 1080 when you plug the USB cable in, you cannot use the radio for monitoring.
That's why you got no audio when usb is plugged in.
It's only for charging batteries or programming.
So you can't use a 1080 without batteries, this is a HUGE con on these radios.
I might have to mount a jack parallel onto the battery leads to feed external wall wart on my 800.
Just don't think there's any room for the jack.

Double post.

 

[Jay911]

Hi,
On the psr-800 and 1080 when you plug the USB cable in, you cannot use the radio for monitoring.
That's why you got no audio when usb is plugged in.
It's only for charging batteries or programming.

Strange - when I had a PSR800, that's the only way I could listen to it was to leave it plugged in to USB (or USB to AC adapter). Left to run on batteries, even high-quality ones, the run time was in two-digit minutes at best. Maybe try again, as others have said.

 

[Jay911]

Day 2 with 1080 in Los Angeles. Now that I have figured out more about how this radio works, and successfully installed the EZ scan software, the more I am liking it.

I am most interested in how you find the "EZ scan software" and if it is the same application that GRECOM delivered with the 800. That's one of the main reasons I ditched my 800, because the "EZ-Scan Digital" software was too user-unfriendly (and I'm not averse to using computer software - it just had an interface that was too disruptive for me to work with).

 

[INDY72]

I am really tired of these Digital scanners. Both the Uniden and Whistler/Gre models fail miserably in decoding p-25 phase 2 systems with LSM. I try to listen to the NJ Interops from West Orange and although my signal is excellent the garbled broken up transmissions are impossible to understand.
Can anyone here advise me what other units made by Motorola etc. would let me hear these phase2 and phase 1 for that matter clearly without garbled sound.
I would like my cheapest option to be able to program trunked UHF 700, 800 systems, trunked and conventional UHF 380-512 MHZ and conventional 150-174MHZ.
Must get phase 1 and phase 2 clearly (Of course I know I can only get unencrypted transmissions).
I am not interested in transmitting at all only want this for receiving.
I will need ability to re-program if desired.
i know this will not be a $500 scanner but I will pay more for something that works!
Please any help on what radio fits my needs is appreciated.

You do know you can not use an P25 radio for just monitoring an P25 TRS right? It must affiliate to get data and let you hear anything. If it does not affiliate with the system all you get is an error message and no data or traffic. Of course, once it affiliates, it will get denied access unless it is an allowed radio on the system, or even bricked. Gone are the days of TX inhibited radios for just listening. This can only be done now with radios authorized to access the system. Someone will sure as shooting post that you can just go with the input freqs.. But you will again not be monitoring the TG's you wish to monitor, and have to guess who your hearing. And to your wanting the Federal/Military trunked bands.. You will not be getting anyone to program a radio for you with those at any radio shops. You actually will only truly be successful in getting conventional TX inhibited programming done, and non P25 TRS's, in the non Federal/Military bands. Sorry to bust an hope.

 

[W6KRU]

I am most interested in how you find the "EZ scan software" and if it is the same application that GRECOM delivered with the 800. That's one of the main reasons I ditched my 800, because the "EZ-Scan Digital" software was too user-unfriendly (and I'm not averse to using computer software - it just had an interface that was too disruptive for me to work with).

The software for the 1080 is identical to the 800 software.

 

[Jay911]

The software for the 1080 is identical to the 800 software.

Then you 1080 users (and presumably the 1095 users as well) have my sympathy. I'm sincere, not trying to bash your choice of radio; that software is just abysmal.

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

I am really tired of these Digital scanners. Both the Uniden and Whistler/Gre models fail miserably in decoding p-25 phase 2 systems with LSM. I try to listen to the NJ Interops from West Orange and although my signal is excellent the garbled broken up transmissions are impossible to understand.
Can anyone here advise me what other units made by Motorola etc. would let me hear these phase2 and phase 1 for that matter clearly without garbled sound.
I would like my cheapest option to be able to program trunked UHF 700, 800 systems, trunked and conventional UHF 380-512 MHZ and conventional 150-174MHZ.
Must get phase 1 and phase 2 clearly (Of course I know I can only get unencrypted transmissions).
I am not interested in transmitting at all only want this for receiving.
I will need ability to re-program if desired.
i know this will not be a $500 scanner but I will pay more for something that works!
Please any help on what radio fits my needs is appreciated.

To fix the LSM issues so you do not pull out your hair anymore you will need to buy a Motorola Astro XTS 5000 radio if you want to decode P25 Phase I or an Motorola APX 6000 or 7000 if you need Phase I and II. This is your only option if you have tried all of those cheap scanners with Simulcast issues.

 

[JT-112]

You do know you can not use an P25 radio for just monitoring an P25 TRS right? It must affiliate to get data and let you hear anything. If it does not affiliate with the system all you get is an error message and no data or traffic. Of course, once it affiliates, it will get denied access unless it is an allowed radio on the system, or even bricked. Gone are the days of TX inhibited radios for just listening. This can only be done now with radios authorized to access the system. Someone will sure as shooting post that you can just go with the input freqs.. But you will again not be monitoring the TG's you wish to monitor, and have to guess who your hearing. And to your wanting the Federal/Military trunked bands.. You will not be getting anyone to program a radio for you with those at any radio shops. You actually will only truly be successful in getting conventional TX inhibited programming done, and non P25 TRS's, in the non Federal/Military bands. Sorry to bust an hope.

Someone else want to chime in here?

 

[W6KRU]

Then you 1080 users (and presumably the 1095 users as well) have my sympathy. I'm sincere, not trying to bash your choice of radio; that software is just abysmal.

There are things that I don't like about EZScan but I'm kind of picky being an ex-IT guy. I wouldn't call it abysmal though. That title will forever belong to Unidens UASD. I doubt that a piece of software that actually works could be as terrible as UASD was.

 

[scosgt]

I am really tired of these Digital scanners. Both the Uniden and Whistler/Gre models fail miserably in decoding p-25 phase 2 systems with LSM. I try to listen to the NJ Interops from West Orange and although my signal is excellent the garbled broken up transmissions are impossible to understand.
Can anyone here advise me what other units made by Motorola etc. would let me hear these phase2 and phase 1 for that matter clearly without garbled sound.
I would like my cheapest option to be able to program trunked UHF 700, 800 systems, trunked and conventional UHF 380-512 MHZ and conventional 150-174MHZ.
Must get phase 1 and phase 2 clearly (Of course I know I can only get unencrypted transmissions).
I am not interested in transmitting at all only want this for receiving.
I will need ability to re-program if desired.
i know this will not be a $500 scanner but I will pay more for something that works!
Please any help on what radio fits my needs is appreciated.

For NJSP you need to lock out some of the towers. I listen to the Troop B feed all day long here on Long Island, but only on one tower. You need to figure out which tower works for you and lock out the others. If you travel , use the V-Scanner to make some different tower configs.

 

[scosgt]

Strange - when I had a PSR800, that's the only way I could listen to it was to leave it plugged in to USB (or USB to AC adapter). Left to run on batteries, even high-quality ones, the run time was in two-digit minutes at best. Maybe try again, as others have said.

That is a battery or settings issue. The cheap NiMH from Harbor Freight last 6 hours in my 800.

 

[Halfpint]

Hi,
On the psr-800 and 1080 when you plug the USB cable in, you cannot use the radio for monitoring.
That's why you got no audio when usb is plugged in.
It's only for charging batteries or programming.
So you can't use a 1080 without batteries, this is a HUGE con on these radios.
I might have to mount a jack parallel onto the battery leads to feed external wall wart on my 800.
Just don't think there's any room for the jack.

Huh?! I'm currently monitoring with my PS-800 hooked up to my computer via a USB cable. Though,usually I just use a USB cable hooked up to a USB`Wallwart' rather than taking up a port on any of my computers. (I *also* prefer to use a SD Card adapter and a matching USB cable whenever I want to update my programming or add another V-Scanner file.) Hint: Try have the scanner already on and scanning. When you plug in the USB cable without it turned on it assumes that you are going to just be re-programming the SD Card. (It's `smart' enough to recognize whether there is an `adapter' or a `computer' on the other end of the USB Cable.)

As for charging batteries... I wouldn't even consider recharging them in *ANY* scanner. (And... Yes, I have had, and still do but don't use them any more, scanners that only used `proprietary' rechargeable batteries. They now reside in my `Scanner Museum'.)

 

[scosgt]

Then you must be doing something wrong with the radio.
My 800 receives quite well running on the USB cable. It powers the radio, as well as, programming it. It is being used as a base scanner. Being as I don't charge batteries in the scanner. In fact, I used it mobile on a trip using the USB cable.
Best get your facts straight before posting such nonsense.
Larry

The 800 and PRO-18 both run on USB power.

 

[KE4ZNR]

There are things that I don't like about EZScan but I'm kind of picky being an ex-IT guy. I wouldn't call it abysmal though. That title will forever belong to Unidens UASD. I doubt that a piece of software that actually works could be as terrible as UASD was.

Comparing EZScan to UASD is an unfair comparison....you want to compare software
you compare EZScan to Sentinel and Sentinel wins hands down in terms of ease
of use. UASD has not been supported for a few years now.
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[KE4ZNR]

You do know you can not use an P25 radio for just monitoring an P25 TRS right? It must affiliate to get data and let you hear anything. If it does not affiliate with the system all you get is an error message and no data or traffic. Of course, once it affiliates, it will get denied access unless it is an allowed radio on the system, or even bricked. Gone are the days of TX inhibited radios for just listening. This can only be done now with radios authorized to access the system. Someone will sure as shooting post that you can just go with the input freqs.. But you will again not be monitoring the TG's you wish to monitor, and have to guess who your hearing. And to your wanting the Federal/Military trunked bands.. You will not be getting anyone to program a radio for you with those at any radio shops. You actually will only truly be successful in getting conventional TX inhibited programming done, and non P25 TRS's, in the non Federal/Military bands. Sorry to bust an hope.

milf: Hate to be "that guy" but your post above is wrong. As a Radio System Engineer in a municipal radio shop there are ways to "No affiliate" scan both a 3600 and 9600 Moto System. Don't believe me? Instructions can be found HERE.
As far as the radio system I help manage/maintain: I would rather someone used the above "no affiliate scan" method than any other as it presents the fewest opportunities for
interference with the radio system.
To the poster asking about costs of owning an official Motorola Radio: depends on how new of a radio you need to purchase. A Motorola radio can cost anywhere from $600-$4000 depending on the model of the radio and the options flashed into the radio.
Then you have to consider the cost of Motorola CPS programming software which can run $300 or more.
Proof that I know what I am talking about...here are 4 radios on my desk from 2 days ago...2 XTS 5000s and 2 APX 6000s:

Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[Jay911]

That is a battery or settings issue. The cheap NiMH from Harbor Freight last 6 hours in my 800.

I'm not going to belabor this point. I had the radio programmed with minimal "high battery consumption" options enabled and I was using Sanyo eneloop XX batteries charged in a quality Maha charger. The same batteries last for days in my HP1 or PSR500 and typically 12+ hours in my 436.

Comparing EZScan to UASD is an unfair comparison....you want to compare software
you compare EZScan to Sentinel and Sentinel wins hands down in terms of ease
of use. UASD has not been supported for a few years now.
Marshall KE4ZNR

Agreed. I don't have EZ-Scan on my computer any more since I sold the 800, but some of the things I recall are being unable to copy/paste, excessively restrictive constraints on manipulating data (possibly due to restrictions placed on programs like EZ-Scan and Sentinel which contain the "full" RRDB), and being unable to tab between cells (the most excruciating part of my experiences with the program involved creating a custom trunk system from scratch, and instead of key in a value, tab, key in the next, tab, etc., I had to key in, grab my mouse and click on the next cell, then click again to enable editing, then key in the value, then grab my mouse again and click twice (but not double click) once more, then type again, and so on).

If you're using it strictly to update the DB each week and keep your scanner up to date, it probably won't be too frustrating. But I couldn't stand it.

 

[W6KRU]

Comparing EZScan to UASD is an unfair comparison....you want to compare software
you compare EZScan to Sentinel and Sentinel wins hands down in terms of ease
of use. UASD has not been supported for a few years now.
Marshall KE4ZNR

I can't compare to Sentinel because my 396T and 396XT suck so bad on my local system I am unwilling to gamble $500 on the new Uniden risks that come with sentinel.

 

[Halfpint]

Strange - when I had a PSR800, that's the only way I could listen to it was to leave it plugged in to USB (or USB to AC adapter). Left to run on batteries, even high-quality ones, the run time was in two-digit minutes at best. Maybe try again, as others have said.

Ok... I'll use Duracell Alkaline batteres first...

A set of new batteries start out at around 5.475 Vdc *depending on how long they've been `hanging around' your `shack' before you load them. (*I've* seen them `clock in' as high as 5.72 Vdc for `brand new right off "The Truck"' and as low as 5.23 Vdc for ones that have been `Hanging around the house in a drawer in the kitchen'.) A set of used batteries *usually*, at least according to my notes, endup `dieing' at around 4.25 Vdc. Given those figures, if one just accepts the `Default' settings for the `Battery Indicator / Alert Values' one *might* think that they aren't getting much of a `bang for their buck' service-wise. However... *if*one goes and `recalibrates' the figures for them in the `Battery Indicator / Alert Values' setting on the Advanced Features tab one can get a *lot* more scanning time than `two-digit minutes'.

For Ni-Mh batteries you'll have to run your own preferred brand's figures to callibrate the NiMh side of the `Battery Indicator / Alert Values'.

With either type of battery the the difference between the 0-Bars & Alert setting should be approximately only about .02 VDC lower. Also, I would recommend that one not set the level for 14-Bars too close to the `full charge reading taken from the newly installed batteries. Start out at around 4.9 - 4.8 VDC and adjust down from there. (An inexpensive DVM for actually measuring the total battery voltages is a great help for determining your actual settings for either battery type as I suspect that there *will* be variations for both the battery type *and* scanner `component tolerances'! [I have a pair of PSR-800s and I've noticed a slight bit of variation between the older and newer scanner. Not all that much but, if oneis trying to eak the `last bit' out of the batteries it may make a difference.])

 

[scosgt]

I'm not going to belabor this point. I had the radio programmed with minimal "high battery consumption" options enabled and I was using Sanyo eneloop XX batteries charged in a quality Maha charger. The same batteries last for days in my HP1 or PSR500 and typically 12+ hours in my 436.



Agreed. I don't have EZ-Scan on my computer any more since I sold the 800, but some of the things I recall are being unable to copy/paste, excessively restrictive constraints on manipulating data (possibly due to restrictions placed on programs like EZ-Scan and Sentinel which contain the "full" RRDB), and being unable to tab between cells (the most excruciating part of my experiences with the program involved creating a custom trunk system from scratch, and instead of key in a value, tab, key in the next, tab, etc., I had to key in, grab my mouse and click on the next cell, then click again to enable editing, then key in the value, then grab my mouse again and click twice (but not double click) once more, then type again, and so on).

If you're using it strictly to update the DB each week and keep your scanner up to date, it probably won't be too frustrating. But I couldn't stand it.

Actually the eneloops don't seem to do well in the 800. Try Eveready NIMH, they work for a very long time using a standard charger.