When I got rid of my PSR-800 last year, I never thought in a million years I would discuss it ever again. In the end it turned into quite a hate/hate relationship. Thanks to Radio Shack blowing out the Pro-668 for $150, it was an offer I couldn't refuse. The timing is actually perfect, considering Uniden's popularity right now is neck and neck with Congress.
I had a lot of issues with my PSR-800, and some of that has not changed. One thing I have noticed with the new 668 is I don't have as much front end overload. My 800 was an early model (with the faceplate issue), and they have seemed to have made some minor improvements under the hood over the last couple years.
Since I deleted all my EZScan files, I had to start from scratch with the radio. It took me a few days to get everything in order and to re-familiarize myself with the radio.
First thing I missed was the LED light. Uniden gives you 2 options, 1 color and either flash or solid for 5 seconds, then it shuts off. The 668 (going forward includes the PSR-800 & Whistler 1080), gives you the option of a solid light or flashing. You can change how many colors to flash, and how fast. You can even change the pattern. It also stays on as long as the squelch is broken.
Another thing is the Scan Lists (now called Play Lists for some awful reason). You can setup a lists for specific purposes. For example I have a slim list consisting of a few NJSP Talkgroups, and my local Fire/EMS/OEM frequencies, for when I don't want to listen to a whole lot and just what is happening locally.
There are also the V Folders, which lets you setup an entirely different configuration. I always found this useful for when I am going away and want to setup the scanner in advance.
When I first got my 436, I thought the display was much better, a year later I am not so sure:
They both show pretty much the same information.
The 436 can show 23 characters vs 16 on the 668.
The 436 text is smaller and the fonts are thinner, the 668 has nice bold fonts which are easier to read. The 436 does have text in 2 different sizes to differentiate things, where the 668 kind of runs together.
The 436 is not that bright, in fact the brightest level is the 668's lowest level.
The 436 light can come on with the squelch, but it is time limited, where you can set the light on the 668 to come on (per channel), and will stay on until the squelch closes.
I have to say I have changed my mind and I like the 668 display better now.
Another pet peeve I had was the front end overload, and with that being toned down (It is still present, but nothing like before), the 2 scanners seem to perform very similar, with the 668 pulling in signals a bit better than the 436. I did have some difficulty pulling in some TMDA traffic, but changing the DSP Level Adapt to 16 seems to have helped the situation.
There are still plenty of things I think the 436 does better, and I also prefer the HP Sentinel software, and I like the one touch recording, and being able to actually make changes without a computer. That is the one reason why I would probably take the 436 with me on vacation vs the 668. I was burned too many times when my programming wasn't correct on my PSR-800 and I had no way to correct it.
In conclusion, for $150, this is the scanner deal of the year and you can't go wrong. You will not find a deal like this again anytime soon. After a year with the 436 and Uniden's drama over the last 6 months, the 668 (and it's clones) have redeemed itself.
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