[Scan-DC] UHF Mil Question..

[Rick]

WRT to the BCD396T I sort of think the dynamic memory works well and maybe 
for some old schoolers it was difficult to understand but I found it quite 
easy actually and I have owned scanners since a 4 channel Fanon Courier 
scanner was state of the art.  Perhaps for a newcomer to the hobby it will 
be no more difficult than the old bank and channel system since a newcomer 
would not know any other way.  Just my thought before the 396 gets axed.

Rick

Date: Sat, 1 Apr 2006 14:41:39 -0800 (PST)
From: "" <ka3jjz at NETSCAPE.COM>
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] UHF Mil Question..
To: <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
Message-ID: <20060401144139.51FF77F2 at resin07.mta.everyone.net>
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 These aren't stupid questions, but they are interesting...

--- dehmmy at gmail.com wrote:
Question 1:
  Is there any way for me to build a simple to moderately difficult
kit that will upconvert my VHF frequencies to UHF milband? OR, is it
more efficient/cost effective to  splurge on a UHF capable scanner as
I don't have a whole lot to spend. My feeling is the latter however I
would like to hear your input.
================================
 To be perfectly honest, I haven't seen any such kits in quite some time 
(that doesn't mean they don't exist, of course). I would check Hamtronics or 
Ramsey ... however, such kits are generally not for the beginner, and 
depending on how they're constructed, may need additional instruments for 
alignment and measurement purposes.
Therefore, yes, a dedicated UHF milair scanner is probably the best way to 
go.
================================
Question 2:

If I were to get a milcom capable scanner, what do you all recommend
as far as sensitivity and resistance to outside RFI etc etc.

I would also like to be able to receive APCO-25 as well living in DC
everything seems to be digital and such!
================================
A more difficult question, since you didn't mention a price range. P25 
capable scanners are, unfortunately,
quite pricey - I'd wait for something to show up on the RadioReference 
boards, Strong Signals, ect. or perhaps await a clearance sale. I would 
certainly want to avoid a BC250D or BC785D as they will not be supported by 
Uniden when rebanding takes place.
Also neither the PRO96 nor the PRO2096 does well in the milair band, when 
opened up using the Win96 software. They simply weren't originally made to 
work in this band, so their sensitivity here is questionable at best. Some 
folks find it's acceptable, others not.
The BC296 and BC796 are P25 and milair capable, however, as mentioned before 
they're pricey. If you find one at a reasonable price - maybe about USD400 
or lower - it's worth taking a good hard look at it. Both seem to perform 
pretty well as milair scanners as well as P25 decoding.

I wouldn't recommend the BCD396, quite frankly, if you're new to scanning; 
I've seen a plethoria of folks who buy this scanner and get lost - and 
frustrated - very quickly. The way the scanner allocates channels out of a 
common pool (the so-called Dynamic Memory Architecture) is somewhat 
difficult to understand, and with all
the other bells and whistles, I have a feeling newcomers get overwhelmed. 
Of course, it too is quite pricey.

However, if you're willing to do without P25, the Military Monitoring Wiki 
at RadioReference (there's a link to it on our Intro page) has NUMEROUS 
scanners that can do the job. The PRO-2006 and Uniden BC780 are both very 
highly regarded as milair machines, and you can find these at a price much 
less than a new P25 scanner. The newer BC898 should also be a good milair 
scanner; however, I understand the owner's manual is horrific; it misses all 
sorts of details. There are many others; I'd use that Wiki as a starting 
point. There are reviews and user comments posted in each category. Of 
course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the PRO-97 and the PRO-2055, as 
both seem to also be good milair machines, and they too cost a whole lot 
less than a P25 scanner.
 Keep in mind that GRE/Radio Shack scanners cannot be computer controlled; 
they support up/downloading only (the PRO-2052 is a Uniden product in GRE 
clothing, and is controllable. However, it cannot hear the 138-144 LMR band 
in AM mode without a modification, and you would miss a great deal of the 
ANG units if this were the way you went). AOR also produces scanners that 
are milair capable, but from everything I've read, aren't the best when 
thinking about spurs and overloading.  Icom radios tend to scan rather 
slowly, so that may also be a concern. Your best bet, clearly, is a Uniden 
product, or perhaps one of the PRO-20xx models equipped with an outboard 
circuit so they can be connected to a PC (such as a Opto456 board).
 Lots to think about here.   73s Mike