[TrunkCom] New Scanner Pricing

[Wayne M H]

Marcel doesn't want to comment *again* so I will.

>> Like I have always said Uniden /Rat Shack are going to suck the =
consumer
>DRY!
>
>And commercial manufacturers don't ?

Commercial manufacturers sell their products primarily to public
safety agencies, industrial companies, and government agencies. The
government and military get good discounts also. But regardless of
that, they all buy a lot of radios so the one single price that we
would pay if we bought one would not be what they pay. Plus you get
support for the product that no scanner manufacturer could compare
theirs to.

Can you drive a car over your scanner or drop it off a building, or
submerse it in water? Yes, I know not all Motorolas will take ALL of
that abuse but my point is they are 10x more durable then a scanner.
Any scanner.

>> Now  the 296D is more than an Astro Saber.....
>http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3D2556980256&category=
=3D4669
>
>Brand new, yes, the scanner costs more than the current bid on that USED
>Saber I.  At least the scanners can work multiple bands, come with =
buttons,
>a display, the box, the manual, and a warranty.

You don't follow ebay astro radios do you? You can get a new XTS5000
for under 2000 with the correct options if you are patient enough (and
I'm not talking 'watchbuddy' radios). The above auction was an
EXAMPLE.

>> BTW what is a 296D? Let me guess a 3600/9600 Baud P-25 scanner?
>
>How much do brand new 9600 baud Motorola radios cost ?

Who buys them brand new? Stop being ignorant to amateur use of
commercial radios. Things are a lot easier than they seem.

>> Does it do 700Mhz
>> yet?
>
>Does a Saber I ?

No, but an XTS5000 does. If someone really needs 700 so they can
listen to TV or whatever they really want it for since it's basically
useless right now. The nice thing is if they do buy a 700MHz capable
radio then can just buy a firmware upgrade to add or delete features
as needed. No scanner does that. Scanners aren't built to last
forever, commercial radios are. And don't tell me they aren't when
people are still using crystal controlled radios. Most trunked systems
are 800 anyhow. I actually track a few UHF systems with my 96 also but
I used to use both an 800 and UHF XTS3000 to do it. For me, the ease
of adding or deleting talkgroups is the only benefit. When it comes to
trunking, the only way to get it done correctly is with a Motorola.
The 96 does a good job. Far better than any Uniden so far. But
sometimes I like the ease of tracking a SmartZone system, following
patches properly, and "VOC" support. Not to mention, I don't have to
worry about dropping my Motorolas. Each time I drop any scanner
something cracks or comes off. I can recase a Motorola too. Whatever
you do to a scanner is PERMANENT.

>> Or is that another $1,000.00?
>>
>Beats buying an XTS5000.

The way people have been lately it surprises me they haven't gone out
and bought one. As I said, the 5000 isn't that much more than the
EXAMPLE auction that was mentioned.

>> Go with the ICOM at least it holds it value better than a scanner.
>
>What kind of trunking are you gonna listen to with an ICOM ?

Who says we all listen to trunking? Can you transmit with a scanner?
Nope. Apples and oranges. We all need different things, we all don't
need what you want. Nothing yet tracks any major form of trunking
(ie., SmartZone, SZ OmniLink, MultiNet, etc) yet. The nice thing is
that scanners can be made to properly follow trunking since it's all
just additional code. None have made a serious effort to do it but the
96 did add the system id decoding feature, which I think is a step in
the right direction. Uniden is pretty pathetic, and they introduced
their work-around to trunk via control channel back when Motorola's
patent was still around. They got the ball rolling but they're doing a
terrible job at keeping it going.

>Do Uniden scanners need their own special  programming cable to the tune=
 of
>$50 - $100 or more ?

This isn't the 1980s, the prices have gone down. Also, remember that
those prices are not for the average consumer.

>Do Uniden scanners require a RIB box to be programmed ?

Newer motorola's don't now. So what's your point?

>Do Uniden scanners require $300 software to be programmed ?

Motorola software is expensive I will admit. But no scanner is as
configurable as a Motorola is (ie., zones and channels). In addition
the software comes with a few years of updates, good tech service, and
can be used to update the firmware (not to mention many other things
scanner software can't). And yes, I have seen software controlled
Motorola radios, so don't bother arguing computer control.

>Do you have to call Uniden, sign the software licensing agreement, and =
hope
>they approve you, just to even get the software you need to program the
>scanner with ?

You don't have an issue of piracy with scanner software like you do
with RSS/CPS. You don't seem to know much about software distribution
and what it's like to write and offer something for profit so I won't
bother to argue this point anymore.

>Or do Uniden scanners not need any of that because they are hand
>programmable ?

So you are saying the new digital Unidens and the PRO-96 are extremely
easy to program? NOT! Once I got WIN96 for my PRO96 it made things
*way* much more easier not to mention it allowed more things to be
configured plus allows for multi-range V/UHF trunking to be enabled.

Typically when people debate an issue they have investigated both
sides so they are aware of both. I think you should just stick with
scanners.

-Wayne