[Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)

Clegg, Andrew W. aclegg at nsf.gov
Fri Nov 12 10:09:14 EST 2010 

I just picked up a Uniden Home Patrol scanner yesterday. Wow. It is the
easiest, most logical scanner I have ever used, and the reception seems
unusually good (I can monitor Montgomery and PG counties from my
RF-shielded office in Arlington, using the stock antenna).

They have a demo unit that you can play with down at Ham Radio Outlet in
Woodbridge. You may want to check it out. I was hooked in the first 5
minutes.

There are some trade-offs with this unit in terms of being able to
custom program your own frequencies and systems, but in the first 24
hours of using it, my opinion is that the benefits far outweigh the
drawbacks. No doubt my opinion of this radio will evolve as I get more
experience with it, but my first impression is very favorable. I've
owned about 20 scanners in the last 20 years, and this one is the most
impressive so far for ease of use and excitement factor.

Here is my very early take on it:

Obvious Pros:

+Ease of use

+Built-in nationwide location-specific frequency database (Canada too,
eh)

+Good reception

+Ability to record and playback transmissions, or replay recent
transmissions (but not both at the same time, unfortunately)

+Very good audio quality of decoded P25

+Nice display (high contrast color touch screen)

+Front-firing speaker

+Generous included accessories: both AC and car chargers, desk stand,
batteries, 2 GB memory card (alas, no included instruction manual, just
a quick reference guide).

+Can integrate with external GPS to auto-choose local channels as you
cruise on down the highway (optional GPS cable required; haven't tried
this yet but plan to soon)

+Looks a bit like a GPS navigation unit, so it would be less likely to
attract attention of law enforcement if you're pulled over while
cruising on down the highway


Possible Cons:

-Price ($500); still a good value in my opinion

-No Close Call (major bummer)

-Max volume may be a bit low inside a noisy car (not sure yet)

-Limited flexibility for searching and custom programming (I haven't
explored this thoroughly yet; no doubt you can find online discussions
on this aspect)

-SMA antenna connector (should be outlawed)

-A bit large (to me, it's about 1/3 bigger than it appears in pictures)

-No included instruction manual


I don't know about realistic battery life yet. No doubt someone on this
list has a lot more experience using this radio than I do. So far, I
would recommend that anyone in the market for a new scanner (newbies and
oldbies alike) should consider this one.

Andy


-----Original Message-----
From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of kra2829 at aol.com
Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 9:03 AM
To: jimmnn at comcast.net; w4nng at soalex.us; scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197


I've been out of scanning for awhile and have been thinking about
getting back into it. I live in FFX County, which of these would be the
best to invest in?

Thanks




-----Original Message-----
From: James Richardson <jimmnn at comcast.net>
To: 'Bob W4NNG' <w4nng at soalex.us>; scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
Sent: Thu, Nov 11, 2010 11:15 pm
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197


Great radios indeed have a few of both and especially at that price very
asy to program as well.
Jim< 
-----Original Message-----
rom: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Bob W4NNG
ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:14 PM
o: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
ubject: Re: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197
I have both the PRO-106 and PRO-197.  Impressive radios

---- Original Message -----
rom: "Doug Kitchener" <oldsdoug at hotmail.com>
o: <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
ent: Thursday, November 11, 2010 9:38 PM
ubject: Re: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197


 If anyone's considering a purchase of one of these, let me know...

 ----------------------------------------
> From: oldsdoug at hotmail.com
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 21:21:32 -0500
> Subject: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197
>
>
> http://www.blackfriday2010.com/ads/radio-shack-black-friday-ads
>
> Well, if you believe this, it looks as if the PRO-106 and PRO-197 APCO
25
>> digital trunking scanners will be on sale for $100 off, at $299.99,
on 
> Black Friday... also possibly free shipping, and Friday prices on 
> Thanksgiving Day online... I couldn't see anything about sale dates...
>
> If anyone needs a review, I have had a -197 for 2 years and have been 
> very pleased with it, so much so that I will be buying a -106 during
this
>> sale.
>
> There is one RS store in the Rockville area that I would not deal
with, 
> tho... email me privately if you want details on that.
>
> Happy Thanksgiving.
>
> KMA-367

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