[TrunkCom] digital decoder plug-in

[Brian J Cathcart]

On Fri, 11 Jan 2002 16:11:28 -0500 iDEN-Test Port-Marcelrf
<Marcelrf@Bellsouth.net> writes:
> Don't CRY it will be all right. Wait until late Q4 of 2004 to cry 
> about  the new Multi-digital mode scanner. I'm sure you will have
something to 
> cry about then. You can compare a Toy to a professional device all day
but you 
> don't understand the big picture. It's quality v questionable
performance. 

It is you who does not see the big picture.  You are trying to assert
that we who want to listen to digital should all go out and buy Astros
and forget the digital scanner.  You assert that you cannot get the same
performance when in fact that has always been the case, since scanners
are not made for the same purpose as commercial-grade radios.  You try to
compare the performance of two different items made for two different
purposes, then when the radios show better performance than the scanner
(as they should), you dismiss the scanner as a toy, when it fact they do
perform well.  Scanners are not commercial-grade transceivers, and never
will be.  If they were they would be a lot more expensive.  And you still
do not have an answer to the fact that dollar for dollar, features for
feature, for receiving purposes, you get a better deal buying the
scanner.  There's no crying here, especially since I will be saving so
much money, and listening to far more than you on your Astro, including
digital.  I could even afford Nextel with the money I save.


> Why settle for less when the economics are equal after several years of

> investing in multiple scanners and interface boards. I'm sure many
people have 
> spent 1G or more or more and still don't have what they want.

Based on what you are asserting we would need to spend $3900 to get close
to the coverage of the $630 digital scanner, and even then you STILL
would not have everything the scanner has.  That's $975 per Astro for
each band (VHF, UHF, 800, and 900).  And you STILL do not get EDACS, LTR,
face programmable, etc.  For "1G" I can get a digital scanner and a
portable analog (since not everything around me is digital) and STILL
have money left over.  And on top of that, it's completely legal - I
don't have to use bootleg software found on a foreign website to make it
work.  Even if I purchase a legitimate copy of the software you still
have to get System Keys for ALL of the systems you want to listen to.  If
I'm found with an Astro programmed with local systems there could be hell
to pay.  If I'm found with a digital scanner there's nothing that can be
done about it.  You might not have hell to pay since you work in the
industry, but what about the rest of us?


> EWAC will be gone in a few years

What do you base that on?  And even if it were true, agencies all over
are using it NOW.  So, if I did what you say and buy an Astro (and not
the mere "toy" scanner) I would be locked out from listening.  Maybe
that's good for you, but it's not for the rest of us who enjoy scanning.


>and LTR will have limited use.

Limited use?  Have you checked around at the number of LTR business
systems around the U.S.?  I can listen NOW on my "toy" 780xlt.  Can you
do that with your Astro?  And you paid how much?

--

The Scanner Dude
Brian J. Cathcart - KE4PMJ
South Florida Trunking Guide - 5th Edition (On CD-ROM too!)
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