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

Andrew Clegg andrew_w_clegg at hotmail.com
Fri Nov 12 15:32:47 EST 2010 

While I was standing in HRO, I did a quick Web search on my phone and saw it for as little as $489. HRO price was $509, and I had to pay sales tax ($535 total). But I was already in the store and the Home Patrol was calling my name ...
 
Anyway, $484.90 sounds good, but add in shipping and tax (if any) before comparing prices.
 
 
> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:51:14 -0800
> From: johnantonelli at verizon.net
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net; cathy at drzyzgula.org; aclegg at nsf.gov
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)
> 
> Well I can get home patrol for 484.90 can anyone beat that??????
> 
> --- On Fri, 11/12/10, Clegg, Andrew W. <aclegg at nsf.gov> wrote:
> 
> From: Clegg, Andrew W. <aclegg at nsf.gov>
> Subject: RE: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)
> To: "JOHN ANTONELLI" <johnantonelli at verizon.net>, scan-dc at mailman.qth.net, "Cathy Drzyzgula" <cathy at drzyzgula.org>
> Date: Friday, November 12, 2010, 11:37 AM
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, sorry, what I meant was, that if you have the scanner manually
> parked on one particular channel or group, when you power off and back on, it
> starts scanning again. It doesn’t come back up parked on the particular channel
> or group. 
> 
>   
> 
> You can lock out systems, groups, and channels, and those
> lockouts will survive power off/on if you specify permanent lockout as opposed
> to temporary lockout. 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> 
> From: JOHN ANTONELLI
> [mailto:johnantonelli at verizon.net] 
> 
> Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 11:32 AM
> 
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net; Cathy Drzyzgula; Clegg, Andrew W.
> 
> Subject: RE: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio
> Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197) 
> 
> 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> 
> 
> God I want one now!
> 
> 
> 
> The only thing is that you can't just say lock out everything in Arlington
> except the Fire department and have it stay that way when you turn the
> scanner off and on?
> 
> 
> 
> That seems strange since many just listen to FD  Arlington Alex FFX....
> 
> 
> 
> --- On Fri, 11/12/10, Clegg, Andrew W. <aclegg at nsf.gov>
> wrote: 
> 
> 
> From: Clegg, Andrew W. <aclegg at nsf.gov>
> 
> Subject: RE: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio Shack
> Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)
> 
> To: "JOHN ANTONELLI" <johnantonelli at verizon.net>,
> scan-dc at mailman.qth.net, "Cathy Drzyzgula"
> <cathy at drzyzgula.org>
> 
> Date: Friday, November 12, 2010, 11:24 AM 
> 
> 
> According to the help screens, you hook
> it up to your PC via the included USB cable, and it will update the frequency
> database (from RadioReference.com) as frequently as once per week. In my
> opinion, it will be easier to update this scanner than any other scanner on
> the market. With other scanners, you would generally have to manually update
> the frequencies yourself (most likely by copying them from RR), and/or do a
> firmware upgrade to deal with rebanding. It appears that the Home Patrol does
> all of this automatically and frequently. 
>   
> Based on being able to scan Montgomery
> and PG counties’ systems from inside my RF-shielded office in Arlington, it
> seems to me that the sensitivity is very good. As another data point, my
> BC895XLT is not able to hear the 162.55 MHz NWS broadcast from Manassas
> (that’s how shielded my office building is). The Home Patrol sitting right
> next to it receives the signal with 2 out of 4 bars. A bit noisy, but easily
> copyable. 
>   
> Andy 
>   
>   
> 
> From: JOHN ANTONELLI
> [mailto:johnantonelli at verizon.net] 
> 
> Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 11:11 AM
> 
> To: Clegg, Andrew W.; scan-dc at mailman.qth.net; Cathy Drzyzgula
> 
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was:
> Radio Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197) 
> 
>   
> 
> 
> 
> I am also interested in this scanner.
> Specifically the sensitivity and how easy is it ti update since frequencies
> change and rebanding is coming. 
> 
> 
> 
> --- On Fri, 11/12/10, Cathy Drzyzgula <cathy at drzyzgula.org>
> wrote: 
> 
> 
> From: Cathy Drzyzgula <cathy at drzyzgula.org>
> 
> Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio
> Shack Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)
> 
> To: "'Clegg, Andrew W.'" <aclegg at nsf.gov>,
> scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> 
> Date: Friday, November 12, 2010, 10:16 AM 
> 
> Is it easy to lockout stuff you don't want
> to listen to?  That seemed to me
> 
> to be the possible downside of the "automatic programming". 
> I'm considering
> 
> getting one since I've gotten lazy about keeping up with programming the
> 
> scanners I have.
> 
> 
> 
> Cathy D
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> 
> From: scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net
> 
> [mailto:scan-dc-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Clegg, Andrew W.
> 
> Sent: Friday, November 12, 2010 10:09 AM
> 
> To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> 
> Subject: [Scan-DC] Uniden Home Patrol First Impressions (was: Radio Shack
> 
> Black Friday - PRO 106 & 197)
> 
> 
> 
> 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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> 
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