[MilCom] Re: New Uniden Portables NOT MILCOM Capable!?

[Blaine Brooks]

> Now if only you had the time to compare your results 
> with a known radio like the pro 43, we'd really appreciate it.

Unfortunately, I don't have a PRO-43 to compare it to.
I wish I did. The PRO-43 IMO still rules the roost as one
of the best portables around for milair if you can get your
hands on one. Actually, there would really be no use in 
comparing the PRO-43 to the PRO-96 in the milair band. 
The 43 would win hands down. Remember, the PRO-43 
came with this band included on the radio as a default. The 
PRO-96 does not. The milair band is only activated with 
Don Star's Win96 program as "extended frequencies". 

> I'm not too technical as some people in the hobby are, but if the
> difference in reception is not noticable for aircraft comms at an
> airshow, THAT I'm sure will make people think about whether or not it is
> worth it.

I'm certainly not a techie either, but for me it works fine at an airshow
with the standard duckie antenna. Plus, you have all the other features
of the radio in a nice little package.

> I think the general feeling is this radio does not have the reach, and
> never claimed to to pull in distant milair comms, but it takes someone
> who's  got the cash to buy it and try it.

Your statement is true in that the radio never claimed to be for milair.
I personally bought the radio for the P25 digital decoding already in
the radio, the alpha numeric labels, and the trunking capabilities. I
did not buy it for milcom, although the extended frequencies is a 
nice capability of it. 99% of my listening with my PRO-96 is for 
things other than milcom, and I think for that it's a great investment.
In a side by side comparison with my BC780 hooked up to my 
outside discone, the PRO-96 will pick up the same milair my 780
does. However, with just the duckie attached, the 780 does MUCH better.
In a mobile situation, sometimes it picks up well and sometimes its
dead...It just all depends on the altitude of the aircraft. Personally,  I 
wouldn't recommend the 96 as a MILAIR ONLY radio, but rather for 
someone interested in an all encompassing scanner that can do a little 
bit of everything, and generally do it quite well.

Blaine Brooks
Flower Mound, Tx.