I have been trying to figure out the best way to go about this particular blog. This would really be suited for a youtube video, but that really isn't my thing, so I will span this over several parts. This part we will focus on a basic overview and the GPS hardware.
What does adding a GPS do for you?
If you setup your scanner right, everything will turn on and off automatically and you won't have to touch a thing. In my personal setup, I can drive anywhere in NJ or the surrounding areas and never have to touch anything except volume and the occasional locking out an annoying channel.
Which scanners support this and the differences
If you are a GRE/Whistler person, you are out of luck. Only Uniden's do this currently.
Most of T Models (BCD996T etc)
All the XT Models
All the Home Patrol Models
Supported GPS's
You need a GPS that supports NEMA and has a serial connector. The Garmin PC 18 is a popular one and works very well. Uniden makes one along with other manufactures. Some you can buy on ebay very cheap and just add your own power source and connector.
Some hand held GPS units will work too, such as the Garmin eTrex Legend. I would suggest going with a newer model, since they tend to lock on to the satellites a lot faster and tend to hold the signal.
My first experience was with the hand held eTrex and it would take 5+ minutes to sometimes lock and would often lose the signal. At the time, they did not have an external power option for my eTrex, so I would have to run it on AA batteries. As you can imagine, I would often get halfway to work and the gps would die. They is now a splitter/power cable available for these units, but I still highly recommend against using these for your scanner install.
Another advantage to the "Hockey Puck" style GPS Units, you can have it hooked up to your ignition power, so it will power on and off with no action from you. I have found that these units will generally lock on before I get out of my driveway.
My next installment will focus on the differences between the scanner models.
Friday, November 21, 2014
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
The Future WS1095 Scanner vs the BCD536HP & Home Patrol 2
Up until recently, it was easy to program your scanner for wide area/mobile listening. Each bank had a quick key, you hit the key and at first you had 0-9 to select from. Uniden upped the anti when they expanded it to 99 keys, then you had to hit .21 for bank 21. Still not a bad system and it works (and still does with the BCD536HP).
Thngs got more complicated with some of the newer radios. The Home Patrol has no quick keys, and fumbling through the menu's while driving is just as bad as texting. Same will go with the WS1095 if Whistler doesn't change anything. The 1095 menu actually is worse than the Home Patrol when it comes to that.
Uniden introduced GPS scanning with the BCD996T scanner and has improved upon it with every new radio, and if properly setup it works great. This puts the WS1095 at a major disadvantage, at least for anyone who wants to use the scanner outside their local area.
The one advantage whistler has (and some of the older Whistler/GRE scanner's do this), is the ability to lock on to the trunk site with the strongest control channel signal. That will eliminate the need to manually turn trunk sites on and off. I have never found that feature to work all that great while stationary, but mobile I think it would be better.
My programming has the entire state of NJ, Eastern PA and parts of NY & CT. The Whistler radio just wouldn't work for me. Where I do see value in it, is the Statewide 700 & 800 systems. If that is all you listen to, or as a dedicated scanner (with a matched 700/800 Mhz antenna), the scanner could be a big win for people who just are interested in the state systems.
On the physical hardware side, the 1095 is supposed to have a detachable head, that is a big plus, especially in these newer cars. The Home Patrol has no remote option, but the slim design actually would make it much easier to install in a modern vehicle. Unfortunately, due to how the cables hang off the site, and the crappy audio outputs Uniden decided to use, really doesn't make the HP series all that easy to setup in a mobile environment. I won't even address the 536 siren app issue, but if you don't need a remote head, the 536 works great in the car.
Conclusion: The 1090 has potential to say the least. If you need P25 Phase 2 capability and don't travel outside your area much, it may suit your needs. As more of the state joins the 700 systems, there may come a day when all you need is just 1 system in the scanner. Until then, you need something with at least quick keys, or GPS.
My next blog will give an GPS scanner over view and some advice for those who are interested in jumping into it.
Thngs got more complicated with some of the newer radios. The Home Patrol has no quick keys, and fumbling through the menu's while driving is just as bad as texting. Same will go with the WS1095 if Whistler doesn't change anything. The 1095 menu actually is worse than the Home Patrol when it comes to that.
Uniden introduced GPS scanning with the BCD996T scanner and has improved upon it with every new radio, and if properly setup it works great. This puts the WS1095 at a major disadvantage, at least for anyone who wants to use the scanner outside their local area.
The one advantage whistler has (and some of the older Whistler/GRE scanner's do this), is the ability to lock on to the trunk site with the strongest control channel signal. That will eliminate the need to manually turn trunk sites on and off. I have never found that feature to work all that great while stationary, but mobile I think it would be better.
My programming has the entire state of NJ, Eastern PA and parts of NY & CT. The Whistler radio just wouldn't work for me. Where I do see value in it, is the Statewide 700 & 800 systems. If that is all you listen to, or as a dedicated scanner (with a matched 700/800 Mhz antenna), the scanner could be a big win for people who just are interested in the state systems.
On the physical hardware side, the 1095 is supposed to have a detachable head, that is a big plus, especially in these newer cars. The Home Patrol has no remote option, but the slim design actually would make it much easier to install in a modern vehicle. Unfortunately, due to how the cables hang off the site, and the crappy audio outputs Uniden decided to use, really doesn't make the HP series all that easy to setup in a mobile environment. I won't even address the 536 siren app issue, but if you don't need a remote head, the 536 works great in the car.
Conclusion: The 1090 has potential to say the least. If you need P25 Phase 2 capability and don't travel outside your area much, it may suit your needs. As more of the state joins the 700 systems, there may come a day when all you need is just 1 system in the scanner. Until then, you need something with at least quick keys, or GPS.
My next blog will give an GPS scanner over view and some advice for those who are interested in jumping into it.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Another Look at the Whistler WS1080 AKA GRE PSR-800
Funny thing about some of these new scanners, they either work well for you or they do not. There seems to be no middle ground. Many people swear behind the WS1080, other's like me hated it. I had the PSR-800 for about a year and it was a battle to say the least. I am revisiting this due to the expectation of the mobile equivalent (WS1095) which will hopefully be released next year.
The 1080 has a VERY sensitive receiver, which either works for or against you. A lot has to do with your environment (wifi, cell phones, laptops etc), your antenna and what you are trying to monitor. Part of my issue may have been my antenna selection. I had tried several different ones, but settled on the Seeker800, which in hindsight may have been too much gain on 800 & 700. Another common issue is that VHF tended to get overloaded very easily, which then required you to run those channels with the Attenuation on, and that often made the signal weak and scratchy.
Like I said, at home it was a constant battle. I did take several trips with it over the year and had varied results.
The first trip was to Southern California soon after I bought it. LAPD came in pretty good, along with most of the other systems I programmed in. Over all it was a pretty good trip.
2nd Trip was just north of Chicago. Trying to monitor the STARCOM21 turned out to be a disaster, which a lot of interference (from the hotel I imagine). I had to lock out several of the trunk channels and wound up hearing very little. I was just outside the Chicago range, but was able to pick up some of their UHF channels.
The 3rd trip was to Brownsville Texas. I had monitored the city trunk system several times in the past with Uniden Scanners and expected the same type of results. I did get more interference than the Unidens, but it wasn't as bad as it was in Chicago, I still had wished I had my Uniden with me through.
On to the sofware. A big positive is that you are limited only by the size of your sdcard (more on sdcard's later). Uniden HP series limits you to 1 meg per scan list, and if you have a lot of radio ID's, that space goes quickly. A big negative is that the software updates your list in real time, so if you accidentally a bunch of things, they are gone forever, unless you backed it up before you started. I had done this many times when I thought I was deleting all the radio id's and instead deleted all the talkgroups. If Whistler has learned anything, please change that in the next generation of radios.
Although the 1080 has a USB interface similar to the Uniden, write speed was painfully slow, and often wound up corrupting the sdcard. I found that you had to remove the sdcard from the scanner and plug it directly into the computer to program it, otherwise it took 15 minutes or so to program. This is another area which really needs improvement.
Sadly, I never really tested the scanner inside the car with the outside antenna. I wish I had because now that the mobile version may be upon us, I would have liked to see how it would perform on the road.
Finally, one of the biggest drawbacks, is there is no programming this without a computer. If you are like me and use your own scan lists, if you leave for a trip and mess something up, your only recourse is to try and import it from the database. Sometimes that works, other not so much. I found that the alpha tagging is often very generic and you may wind up with something that just shows up as "Police 1", but you have no idea which police it is.
On the next installment I plan on comparing the future WS1095 mobile to the Uniden BCD536HP & Home Patrol 2.
The 1080 has a VERY sensitive receiver, which either works for or against you. A lot has to do with your environment (wifi, cell phones, laptops etc), your antenna and what you are trying to monitor. Part of my issue may have been my antenna selection. I had tried several different ones, but settled on the Seeker800, which in hindsight may have been too much gain on 800 & 700. Another common issue is that VHF tended to get overloaded very easily, which then required you to run those channels with the Attenuation on, and that often made the signal weak and scratchy.
Like I said, at home it was a constant battle. I did take several trips with it over the year and had varied results.
The first trip was to Southern California soon after I bought it. LAPD came in pretty good, along with most of the other systems I programmed in. Over all it was a pretty good trip.
2nd Trip was just north of Chicago. Trying to monitor the STARCOM21 turned out to be a disaster, which a lot of interference (from the hotel I imagine). I had to lock out several of the trunk channels and wound up hearing very little. I was just outside the Chicago range, but was able to pick up some of their UHF channels.
The 3rd trip was to Brownsville Texas. I had monitored the city trunk system several times in the past with Uniden Scanners and expected the same type of results. I did get more interference than the Unidens, but it wasn't as bad as it was in Chicago, I still had wished I had my Uniden with me through.
On to the sofware. A big positive is that you are limited only by the size of your sdcard (more on sdcard's later). Uniden HP series limits you to 1 meg per scan list, and if you have a lot of radio ID's, that space goes quickly. A big negative is that the software updates your list in real time, so if you accidentally a bunch of things, they are gone forever, unless you backed it up before you started. I had done this many times when I thought I was deleting all the radio id's and instead deleted all the talkgroups. If Whistler has learned anything, please change that in the next generation of radios.
Although the 1080 has a USB interface similar to the Uniden, write speed was painfully slow, and often wound up corrupting the sdcard. I found that you had to remove the sdcard from the scanner and plug it directly into the computer to program it, otherwise it took 15 minutes or so to program. This is another area which really needs improvement.
Sadly, I never really tested the scanner inside the car with the outside antenna. I wish I had because now that the mobile version may be upon us, I would have liked to see how it would perform on the road.
Finally, one of the biggest drawbacks, is there is no programming this without a computer. If you are like me and use your own scan lists, if you leave for a trip and mess something up, your only recourse is to try and import it from the database. Sometimes that works, other not so much. I found that the alpha tagging is often very generic and you may wind up with something that just shows up as "Police 1", but you have no idea which police it is.
On the next installment I plan on comparing the future WS1095 mobile to the Uniden BCD536HP & Home Patrol 2.
Monday, November 10, 2014
NJSP 800 Trunk System vs NJICS 700 system Part 2
So you have both systems programmed into your scanner, sometimes you hear things on 1 system, but not the other. What is going on?
Most of it has to do with radio affiliations. A good example of this are the NJSP radio's. Most are 800 only, but the newer APX 700 radio's are slowing being introduced. Not only NJSP, but other agencies as well. As I said in Part 1, the 700 sites are smaller, so if you live near the coast, you may hear the NJSP Marine police on 700, but those of us on the North West part of the state may never see that show up.
There is a 700 talkgroup equivalent for every 800 talkgroup. On the 700 side, if you are trying to identify a 700 talkgroup, multiply it by 16, and chances are it will be an existing talkgroup on the 800 side. If the 700 talkgroup is larger than 4096, then it would be a 700 only talkgroup (The 800 system will only go up to 65536). Same thing goes for radio ID's, anything you see 66000 or higher will be a 700 only ID. Any of the upper ID's will show up on the 800 side as 65520.
Real world example
Lets say we have 3 users all on StateCom 2. User 1 has an 800 radio and is in Morristown. User 2 has a 700 radio and is in Cape May with a Cape May Co radio (Woodbine Site) and User 3 has a 700 radio and is in Camden with a Camden Co Radio(Berlin Site). No one else has affiliated with this talkgroup.
In this scenario, what you will wind up with is this:
StateCom 2 will come across the entire Troop B System, the Woodbine site and Berlin site. No one anywhere else will hear it. In addition, the 2 South Jersey sites will see all the radio ID's correctly, since they are both 700, however on the North Jersey 800 side, you will see the right radio ID for the guy in Morristown since it is an 800 radio, but for the 2 700 radios in South Jersey, both will show up as 65520.
Not everything can go everywhere, or sometimes they just don't
Not every talkgroup on the 700 can go everywhere in the state. Union County talkgroups appear to be restricted to the Union and West Orange sites (maybe others). They do not carry over to the Hunterdon Site, even though Union County radio's frequently show up in Unitrunker. Another recent development is the new Rutgers 700 site, soon as that went live, the Rutgers activity on the Hunterdon site pretty much stopped.
Another thing to bear in mind is that most, if not all the radios programmed on the 700 have all the StateCom talkgroups, so it is very possible to hear some units that you do not normally hear on them. This is why it is important to program the radio ID's in your scanner if it is capable. If someone shows up on one of these channels, you can easily identify who it is.
One Final Thought
There has been discussion on the NJ Transit radio's recently. Often you hear activity on 800, 700, sometimes both, sometimes it bounces from 1 to the other. They may be a few reasons for this. 1 is different radio's affiliated at different locations, plus these guys outside the North East are always on the move, so sites change often. The other possible explanation for this may be that some of these guys keep their radios on scan, so they may be bouncing between the 700 & 800 talkgroups, depending on the radio.
Most of it has to do with radio affiliations. A good example of this are the NJSP radio's. Most are 800 only, but the newer APX 700 radio's are slowing being introduced. Not only NJSP, but other agencies as well. As I said in Part 1, the 700 sites are smaller, so if you live near the coast, you may hear the NJSP Marine police on 700, but those of us on the North West part of the state may never see that show up.
There is a 700 talkgroup equivalent for every 800 talkgroup. On the 700 side, if you are trying to identify a 700 talkgroup, multiply it by 16, and chances are it will be an existing talkgroup on the 800 side. If the 700 talkgroup is larger than 4096, then it would be a 700 only talkgroup (The 800 system will only go up to 65536). Same thing goes for radio ID's, anything you see 66000 or higher will be a 700 only ID. Any of the upper ID's will show up on the 800 side as 65520.
Real world example
Lets say we have 3 users all on StateCom 2. User 1 has an 800 radio and is in Morristown. User 2 has a 700 radio and is in Cape May with a Cape May Co radio (Woodbine Site) and User 3 has a 700 radio and is in Camden with a Camden Co Radio(Berlin Site). No one else has affiliated with this talkgroup.
In this scenario, what you will wind up with is this:
StateCom 2 will come across the entire Troop B System, the Woodbine site and Berlin site. No one anywhere else will hear it. In addition, the 2 South Jersey sites will see all the radio ID's correctly, since they are both 700, however on the North Jersey 800 side, you will see the right radio ID for the guy in Morristown since it is an 800 radio, but for the 2 700 radios in South Jersey, both will show up as 65520.
Not everything can go everywhere, or sometimes they just don't
Not every talkgroup on the 700 can go everywhere in the state. Union County talkgroups appear to be restricted to the Union and West Orange sites (maybe others). They do not carry over to the Hunterdon Site, even though Union County radio's frequently show up in Unitrunker. Another recent development is the new Rutgers 700 site, soon as that went live, the Rutgers activity on the Hunterdon site pretty much stopped.
Another thing to bear in mind is that most, if not all the radios programmed on the 700 have all the StateCom talkgroups, so it is very possible to hear some units that you do not normally hear on them. This is why it is important to program the radio ID's in your scanner if it is capable. If someone shows up on one of these channels, you can easily identify who it is.
One Final Thought
There has been discussion on the NJ Transit radio's recently. Often you hear activity on 800, 700, sometimes both, sometimes it bounces from 1 to the other. They may be a few reasons for this. 1 is different radio's affiliated at different locations, plus these guys outside the North East are always on the move, so sites change often. The other possible explanation for this may be that some of these guys keep their radios on scan, so they may be bouncing between the 700 & 800 talkgroups, depending on the radio.
Friday, November 7, 2014
NJSP 800 Trunk System vs NJICS 700 system Part 1
Since so many people have a hard time understanding the differences between the 2 state trunk systems, I am going to attempt here to give broad overview of the differences of the 2 systems. Part 1 will be an a very generic overview of the 2 systems, Part 2 will focus on the differences of the 2 systems and now they work together.
NJSP 800 Mhz Trunk System (Circa Late 1980's)
This is one the countries first trunk systems. It started out as a type 1 system, migrated to a type 1/type 2 hybrid in he 90's, and finally became a fully type 2 around 2002. The system has P25 capabilities, however the digital user base is quite small. Although I refer to it as 1 system, it is actually 3 trunk systems, all with different system ID's that are patched together. This is why if you take someone's Unitrunker file from the North System and try to run it on the Central or South, it does not work (unless you manually change the SysID in the xml file) As I said, there are 3 systems which split the state into North/Central/South. In addition there are a number of "Intellipeter" sites, which essentially are used to fill in small area's with lousy coverage. Those IR sites usually only have 2 frequencies associated with them, and only carried traffic from a radio that affliates to them. People ask all the time if they should monitor those, and the answer is no. The only exception would be if you don't get any signal at all from one of the main sites. Some examples of how limited these sites are and what would you hear compared to the main sites:
Montana Mountain site: 3 & 5 Comm Troopers only
Easton: DRJTBC Units only
Bedminster: 5 Comm troopers and at times NorthSTAR
Wildwood: Marine Police and at times Bass River Parkway
Some talkgroups are limited to a particular system, others will follow a user. For example, you may hear the Bass River Parkway channel on the North System for a while, then it disappears. A unit may have traveled into the North zone with that talkgroup on, or even switched over to it momentarily. Once a radio affilates with that talkgroup, it usually will stay active for about an hour before dropping off if there is no more activity and the radio leaves or logs off. There is some encryption capability, however it is rare and only used on a few NJSP talkgroups.
NJICS 700 Trunk System (Summer 2011)
The NJICS system is a P25 Phase 2/TDMA Trunk system. 100% digital, when complete, it will be a 4 slot TDMA system, which means up to 4 transmissions can take place per frequency. The currently configuration is a mixed P25 Phase 1 & 2 Slot TDMA. This will host local, state & federal agencies. With many NJ counties planning or rolling out their own 700Mhz systems, most are being setup in a way for users to roan onto each other's systems for better coverage and inter-operability.
Unlike the 800 system, this is considered 1 system statewide. You can take someone's Unitrunker file from any site and use it on another of the other sites and it will work. Instead of 3 simulcast sites, there are 6 (7 if you include Union County, which is sort of a special case). There are no IR sites per say, but about 15 additional sites that have varying degree's of coverage. For example the Meadowlands site covers about a mile around the stadium, and each of the Sussex County sites cover about half the county. Although you would hear more on the Simulcast sites, the smaller sites can very well carry traffic you won't hear anywhere else on the system. A good example of this is Sussex County, where you may hear Sussex Troopers on the Walpack & Highpoint sites, but no where else.
As with the 800 system, radio's will log onto each site they connect to, and any talkgroup they are affiliated on will carry over to that site. The hang time is minimal however, and when all the radios affiliated to a givin talkgroup all leave, the talkgroup shuts down on that site within a few minutes. This is why we often hear only 1 or 2 transmissions on a talkgroup at times.
NJSP 700 radios have become more common in recent months, and it is not uncommon to hear NJSP talkgroups active on the 700, especially during the daytime when they are more units on the air. 700 activity tends to drop off after 7pm.
Encryption is much more widely used on this system. NJSP has several encrypted talkgroups, along with Cape May County Prosecutors and Rutgers Encrypts pretty much everything.
This has been a very basic overview. If you haven't been there yet, check out the New Jersey forum on www.radioreference.com
In part 2, I will try and explain how the 2 systems work together, why you hear or don't hear certain things. If you have questions, post them in the comments and I will try and answer them in part 2.
NJSP 800 Mhz Trunk System (Circa Late 1980's)
This is one the countries first trunk systems. It started out as a type 1 system, migrated to a type 1/type 2 hybrid in he 90's, and finally became a fully type 2 around 2002. The system has P25 capabilities, however the digital user base is quite small. Although I refer to it as 1 system, it is actually 3 trunk systems, all with different system ID's that are patched together. This is why if you take someone's Unitrunker file from the North System and try to run it on the Central or South, it does not work (unless you manually change the SysID in the xml file) As I said, there are 3 systems which split the state into North/Central/South. In addition there are a number of "Intellipeter" sites, which essentially are used to fill in small area's with lousy coverage. Those IR sites usually only have 2 frequencies associated with them, and only carried traffic from a radio that affliates to them. People ask all the time if they should monitor those, and the answer is no. The only exception would be if you don't get any signal at all from one of the main sites. Some examples of how limited these sites are and what would you hear compared to the main sites:
Montana Mountain site: 3 & 5 Comm Troopers only
Easton: DRJTBC Units only
Bedminster: 5 Comm troopers and at times NorthSTAR
Wildwood: Marine Police and at times Bass River Parkway
Some talkgroups are limited to a particular system, others will follow a user. For example, you may hear the Bass River Parkway channel on the North System for a while, then it disappears. A unit may have traveled into the North zone with that talkgroup on, or even switched over to it momentarily. Once a radio affilates with that talkgroup, it usually will stay active for about an hour before dropping off if there is no more activity and the radio leaves or logs off. There is some encryption capability, however it is rare and only used on a few NJSP talkgroups.
NJICS 700 Trunk System (Summer 2011)
The NJICS system is a P25 Phase 2/TDMA Trunk system. 100% digital, when complete, it will be a 4 slot TDMA system, which means up to 4 transmissions can take place per frequency. The currently configuration is a mixed P25 Phase 1 & 2 Slot TDMA. This will host local, state & federal agencies. With many NJ counties planning or rolling out their own 700Mhz systems, most are being setup in a way for users to roan onto each other's systems for better coverage and inter-operability.
Unlike the 800 system, this is considered 1 system statewide. You can take someone's Unitrunker file from any site and use it on another of the other sites and it will work. Instead of 3 simulcast sites, there are 6 (7 if you include Union County, which is sort of a special case). There are no IR sites per say, but about 15 additional sites that have varying degree's of coverage. For example the Meadowlands site covers about a mile around the stadium, and each of the Sussex County sites cover about half the county. Although you would hear more on the Simulcast sites, the smaller sites can very well carry traffic you won't hear anywhere else on the system. A good example of this is Sussex County, where you may hear Sussex Troopers on the Walpack & Highpoint sites, but no where else.
As with the 800 system, radio's will log onto each site they connect to, and any talkgroup they are affiliated on will carry over to that site. The hang time is minimal however, and when all the radios affiliated to a givin talkgroup all leave, the talkgroup shuts down on that site within a few minutes. This is why we often hear only 1 or 2 transmissions on a talkgroup at times.
NJSP 700 radios have become more common in recent months, and it is not uncommon to hear NJSP talkgroups active on the 700, especially during the daytime when they are more units on the air. 700 activity tends to drop off after 7pm.
Encryption is much more widely used on this system. NJSP has several encrypted talkgroups, along with Cape May County Prosecutors and Rutgers Encrypts pretty much everything.
This has been a very basic overview. If you haven't been there yet, check out the New Jersey forum on www.radioreference.com
In part 2, I will try and explain how the 2 systems work together, why you hear or don't hear certain things. If you have questions, post them in the comments and I will try and answer them in part 2.
Wednesday, November 5, 2014
Uniden Part 2 - How they have mis-managed the BCDx36HP scanners
Before I even get into it, the Home Patrol 2 is now showing up in peoples hands. From what I have read about it, I am not at all impressed. There are only 2 differences from what I see between the HP 1 & 2. The 2 has P25 Phase 2/TDMA, and USB charging. That is it.
I was hoping they would have fixed a few things, like having a real audio output for mobile use, or moving the connector jacks around so they don't stick out the side of the unit.
On to the BCDx36HP
Lets start by splitting this up into 4 things Uniden needs to fix.
1) Audio streaming via Siren App
2) Remote display via Siren App
3) Analyze Features
4) Misc. Bug Fixes
I split the Siren App into 2 sections because the remote display feature is a lot easier to pull of, vs the audio streaming. Those of you who have tried to stream over a wifi connection, know that it rarely works out and the wifi more often than not gives out after a period of time. The other complication is if you have a crappy router, you will have even more problems.
My guess is that Uniden decided to try and knock the audio streaming out first, probably because it is the hardest to get working and the most time consuming. It sounds like a reasonable plan. So here is where Uniden has screwed up. They have become so fixated in getting this to work, they let everything else slide. At a certain point, you have to stop and look at the big picture, and if what you are trying to accomplish isn't working, you should be able to switch gears and deliver something.
I don't think anyone would have faulted Uniden if they had said "We are having a hard time with the audio streaming, we are going to table it for now in order to work on the other items, then get back to it."
Uniden has lost sight of the big picture and everyone is paying for it
They have consumed themselves with fixing the audio streaming to work, they have lost sight of the big picture. What they fail to realize is that even though the wifi/audio is problem, there should be no reason why the remote head portion would not. Lets add to the fact that there is a work around for the audio streaming. Move the scanner next to the computer and hard wire it. No ideal but we have been doing it this way for 15 years and it works. There is no work around at all for remote head or the analyze feature. A lot of people bought this scanner for the remote head option. 10 months later and it is still non existent. There is no reason why they couldn't change gears, put something together for the remote head option, then go back to the audio streaming.
In short, what we are witnessing is project management at it's worst. Uniden is spinning it's wheels trying to get the one feature to work, that we can do without for the time being, and has let everythign else slide.
I am hopefully done with Uniden bashing for now. The next post will be a write up on the differences between the NJ State 800 Trunk System and the new NJICS 700 Trunk System.
I was hoping they would have fixed a few things, like having a real audio output for mobile use, or moving the connector jacks around so they don't stick out the side of the unit.
On to the BCDx36HP
Lets start by splitting this up into 4 things Uniden needs to fix.
1) Audio streaming via Siren App
2) Remote display via Siren App
3) Analyze Features
4) Misc. Bug Fixes
I split the Siren App into 2 sections because the remote display feature is a lot easier to pull of, vs the audio streaming. Those of you who have tried to stream over a wifi connection, know that it rarely works out and the wifi more often than not gives out after a period of time. The other complication is if you have a crappy router, you will have even more problems.
My guess is that Uniden decided to try and knock the audio streaming out first, probably because it is the hardest to get working and the most time consuming. It sounds like a reasonable plan. So here is where Uniden has screwed up. They have become so fixated in getting this to work, they let everything else slide. At a certain point, you have to stop and look at the big picture, and if what you are trying to accomplish isn't working, you should be able to switch gears and deliver something.
I don't think anyone would have faulted Uniden if they had said "We are having a hard time with the audio streaming, we are going to table it for now in order to work on the other items, then get back to it."
Uniden has lost sight of the big picture and everyone is paying for it
They have consumed themselves with fixing the audio streaming to work, they have lost sight of the big picture. What they fail to realize is that even though the wifi/audio is problem, there should be no reason why the remote head portion would not. Lets add to the fact that there is a work around for the audio streaming. Move the scanner next to the computer and hard wire it. No ideal but we have been doing it this way for 15 years and it works. There is no work around at all for remote head or the analyze feature. A lot of people bought this scanner for the remote head option. 10 months later and it is still non existent. There is no reason why they couldn't change gears, put something together for the remote head option, then go back to the audio streaming.
In short, what we are witnessing is project management at it's worst. Uniden is spinning it's wheels trying to get the one feature to work, that we can do without for the time being, and has let everythign else slide.
I am hopefully done with Uniden bashing for now. The next post will be a write up on the differences between the NJ State 800 Trunk System and the new NJICS 700 Trunk System.
Monday, November 3, 2014
Uniden Announces the Home Patrol 2, and manages to piss off everyone
Uniden Announces the Home Patrol 2
In my 25 years of scanning, I have never witnessed such a backlash on a new product announcement. Radio Reference had no less than 6 forum threads bashing Uniden, not because of the HP-2, but because of the yet unresolved issues with the BCDx36HP scanners. Things got so bad that Paul Opitz (UPMan) had to issue a statement saying new productions are always in the works and work continues on the Siren app etc. Needless to say it was little too late. As of this writing things have calmed down, but the negative posts continue.
This is all Uniden's fault
Uniden made a colossal mistake with the announcement. They would have taken heat due to the BCDx36HP mess regardless, however an update to the HPx36HP progress and similar statement a few days prior to announcing the new scanner would have gone a long way and it would not have spun as far out of control as it did. The bottom line is that they screwed up.
The aftermath and troubled times ahead
With the BCDx36HP updates in chaos, no doubt the HP-2 is going to suffer sales wise. There is a lot of anger towards Uniden right now. With Whistler releasing new scanner models, this probably couldn't have come at a worse time. There is a lot of speculation of the possibility of Whistler announcing their equivalent of the PSR-900 mobile scanner at CES. A lot of people may be swayed back over to them and give up on Uniden.
Conclusion
I did the math and over the last 15 years I have spent close to $5,000 on Uniden products (new retail, not used). I have always purchased their flagship scanners without question. Normally, I would have my HP-1 up for sale and would be making plans on buying the HP-2 when it launched, however due to the way Uniden has handled things over the last 9 months, I am sitting this one out for now and I am going to give Whistler a second look.
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