SDS100 Hints, Tips and FAQ’s

Posted on July 13, 2018 by Rich Carlson

Here are a Baker’s Dozen of hints and tips to make life with your new SDS100 scanner happier. If your question is not answered let us know and maybe we can add it to Part 2!

1) What is the deal with the battery?

Uniden designed the radio with a new Lithium Polymer battery pack, getting away from using common AA cells. While a lot of people preferred the AA cells since they can be easily obtained and swapped out, they just could not provide enough current to run the radio for a decent amount of time. The Lithium Polymer pack that comes with the radio was supposed to be sufficient but Uniden was not happy with the results so they designed a larger pack to be used. Unfortunately the radio was already on the assembly line by the time it was discovered that the battery life was not up to snuff.

Uniden decided to allow the radio to be sold and distributed as it was but included a notice in the box to advise purchasers to sign up for a FREE larger battery pack once they are available, likely in August 2018. Sign up at Uniden’s website and they will send you the new larger battery as well as a replacement battery door at no cost.

Once these batteries are available there should also be available for sale extra batteries. Eventually some sort of external charging device will also be available so you can charge one battery while using another.

2) Can I charge the battery and run the radio at the same time?

Actually, on the SDS100 you can! While other Uniden scanners do not support this, as long as your charger has sufficient current capability you can charge the battery with the radio on as long as you have that option turned on in the Settings>Battery Options>Set Charge While On menu.

Why would you not want this option turned on? The only reason I see is that the red or green charge light will be on all the time when the radio is plugged in. It might take a while longer to charge the battery when the radio is on but it should not be a big issue.

3) What else can I use to charge the battery?

The SDS100 comes with a USB charger. Alternately any USB charger will power and/or charge the SDS100 battery. If you have a smartphone or other USB device charger you can use it if you don’t want to use the charger that came with the radio.

In the car you can use any USB port to power/charge the radio. Most cars these days will have a USB port to charge your phones and other devices, these work well with USB powered scanners like the SDS100.

4) What is the deal with the raised ridge by the antenna connector?

That ridge is part of the water proofing of the radio. When used with the supplied rubber duck antenna this helps provide a seal to block water from getting into the radio. The supplied SDS10 antenna has a rubber gasket that fits this ridge.

This does however block use of many third-party antennas and adapters. The SDS100 comes with an SMA-BNC adapter so you can use your BNC antennas but with this adapter you will not have the water resistance provided with the supplied antenna.

5) What is that little hole on the back of the radio? Am I missing a screw?

That hole below the belt clip knob is there to provide a case breather to prevent pressure issues. The radio is still water resistant due to other parts inside the case. On some radios there have been issues with elevation changes causing the case to pressurize and damaging components. This pressure relief helps to prevent these issues.

6) It is hard to see the color screen in sunlight, what can I do?

The SDS100 color screen is a thing of beauty but can be difficult to read in direct sun. If you go into display settings you can select white on black or black on white instead.

7) What are the “Detail” and “Simple” screen modes?

The SDS100 has a fully customizable display. You can set it up to display just the basic information (Simple) or all kinds of special information (Detail) when receiving. Almost every item can be positioned where YOU want to put it. You can even select the colors each item is displayed in.

Simple Mode shows just basic information in an uncluttered way. Detail Mode allows you to show many different details about what you are listening to, such as trunking ID’s, PL tones etc. so you can analyze systems you are listening to. You can switch between these at will and change the way they look on the radio via the keypad or Sentinel.

8) What are the software options?

The SDS100 uses the free Sentinel software to do the database and firmware updates. This is the same version as used on the BCD436HP and BCD536HP scanners and you can share files back and forth among all 3 radios. There is a separate version of Sentinel used for the HomePatrol models. The HomePatrol modes Sentinel has a brown icon, the 436/536/SDS version uses a green icon. Sentinel can also be used for programming Favorites lists as well.

ARC536 by Butel can be used to also program Favorites Lists, it provides the familiar Butel interface so if you have used other ARC products you will feel right at home. The Pro version also supports Virtual Control as well as other features.

9) Will there be a base/mobile version of the SDS100?

Yes! The SDS200 is identical in operation and programming to the SDS200, but in a mobile package with a larger display.

10) How does the GPS unit connect to the SDS100?

The Uniden BC-GPSK GPS receiver works on many different Uniden scanners and comes with several cables to adapt it to these scanners. With the SDS100 (as well as the BCD325P2) however you need a different cable. This special adapter cable, available at scannermaster.com, replaces everything but the GPS disk and attached cable. Plug the round plug from the GPS into this cable, the USB plug into a USB power source and the small plug into the Charge/USB jack on the radio. The radio will be powered/charged from the GPS cable as will the GPS itself.

11) Sharing Favorites Lists with other scanners

The SDS100 can share the same Favorites Lists as the BCD436HP and BCG536HP, and since they all use the same version of Sentinel, it is really easy to share. You can create different Profiles for each scanner if you want or just program them all the same.

To share files from other radios you would need third party software and import/export those files with that software.

12) If I have many Talkgroups or Sites in my trunked system will it slow down the scanner?

If you have many TALKGROUPS then no, it will not slow the scanner down. The SDS100 (and other Uniden scanners) does not actually scan talkgroups, it scans SITES and if it sees an active Talkgroup it looks to see if it is in an active Favorites list and Department. If it is it displays the name and listens to the talkgroup. If not it ignores it and moves on. All this is done in fractions of a millisecond.

If you have that trunked system’s Favorites List set to Trunked Search the scanner will look for the talkgroup and see if it is listed. If it is in the radio it will show the name etc. and hear the traffic. If it is not already programmed into the radio it will display it as “Unknown” with the Talkgroup number. If you can identify the user you can add it to your Favorites List.

What can slow down your scanner is if you have a lot of SITES programmed into the radio that you have no chance of hearing. If your area uses a large regional or statewide system then either turn off or delete the sites you would not be able to hear. (The radio’s manual describes how to do this…). The fewer sites the radio has to go thru the faster it will get to them.

13) Do I need ProVoice, DMR or NXDN?

Well, maybe, maybe not… Check the RadioReference database and see if anything in that area use these modes. If they use them in the areas you want to listen to then you might want to get the upgrades. ProVoice is used mostly by public safety agencies in specific areas including Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Denver and Albuquerque.

DMR and NXDN are mostly used by business operations and campus installations but are occasionally used by smaller police and fire departments as it is less expensive than P25 digital systems.

14) Where can I go for more information?

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/SDS100_and_SDS200_FAQ_Page has a ton of info on the SDS100 and SDS200

The SDS-100 and why it is so revolutionary

Posted on July 2, 2018 by Rich Carlson

If you haven’t heard already, the new Uniden SDS-100 handheld digital scanner has taken the prize as the most desired scanner available. Introduced in the spring of 2018 and finally available in June, we sold every one we had and were promised and just now are able to keep them in stock for regular purchases.

What makes the SDS-100 so special? Why does it work so well? Why is it worth all the extra money it costs? Glad you asked!

The biggest advantage to the SDS-100 has over other scanners is it’s ability to monitor Linear Simulcast Modulation (LSM, also known as P25 Simulcast) systems. Traditional scanners do not work very well often with LSM systems but the SDS-100 handles them much better, almost as well as a regular system radio like the police use. Other scanners tend to break up, miss words or phrases or just not hear it al all.

Why, you might ask, does this happen? Simply put, a simulcast system transmits the same traffic on the same frequencies at the same time from 2 or more locations. A simulcast system would transmit from multiple sites to provide better coverage within its intended operational area. These signals then tend to arrive at your scanner with slightly different time delays. Even though these time differences are almost indescribably small, the fact that they are digital1’s and 0’s makes them interfere with each other. The 1’s from one tower tend to block the 0’s from another tower. This causes interference and sometimes the interference is so bad as to block the entire conversation.

The SDS-100 uses a totally different internal architecture than other scanners, basically using a Software Defined Radio (SDR) with True-IQ processing to more properly decode LSM transmissions. This means that the SDS-100 will receive these simulcast systems with little to no distortion or interference.

There are other advantages to the SDS-100 SDR-based architecture. It allows other features and capabilities to be added down the road. While Uniden has not announced any of these features yet the possibilities are endless.

The SDS-100 works much like the BCD436/536 series scanners, the interface is very similar and they use an updated version of the Sentinel software so you can share your Favorites Lists between them.

The other big feature with the SDS-100 is the color display. This display can be used in either a “Simple” or “Detail” mode. The Detail mode is entirely customizable. You can place any of dozens of different fields almost anywhere on the screen and assign any color to just about any item. You can switch back to Simple mode and just have the basics, still in color or even switch to a simpler black and white scheme that works better in bright sunlight.

The SDS-100 is an amazing radio. If you have simulcast systems in your area then it works much better than other scanners. While it is more expensive than other scanners it is well worth it!

Why does my Phase 1 scanner still work on a Phase 2 system?

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Rich Carlson

So you have had your trusty old BCD396XT or other Phase 1 scanner for years and it works great. You hear that your system has upgraded to a Phase 2 system but your old Phase 1 scanner still works? What gives?

Here is the skinny on that: Most “Phase 2” systems are actually operating in Phase 1 mode, at least partially. When a system upgrades to Phase 2 not only does the infrastructure have to be upgraded (base station repeaters, controllers etc.) but also all of the mobile and portable radios. Until ALL radios have been upgraded and reprogrammed the system will usually be operating in Phase 1 mode.

Many systems listed in the RadioReference database as “Phase 2” have been heard with Phase 2 operations but still operate as Phase 1, so in reality it is better termed as “Phase 2 Capable”.

Some wide area systems may operate in Phase 2 modes in one area and Phase 1 elsewhere. The huge StarCom21 system in Illinois is a good example of this. In the Chicago area some users use Phase 2 but others are on Phase 1 since the new radios are expensive. Until all those older radios are replaced or reprogrammed the system will operate in a mixed Phase 1 or 2 mode.

This makes your older Phase 1 only scanner usable for at least parts of the system and saves you from having to replace it right away. When they do switch entirely over to Phase 2 then you will need to replace your scanner.

Another question we often get here at the ScannerMaster International Headquarters is how one updates his older Phase 1 scanner to Phase 2. The answer to that is that you don’t. There is no update path for older scanners to Phase 2; you will have to replace it.

Most newer model digital scanners from Whistler and Uniden handle Phase 2, see them at https://www.scannermaster.com/Digital_P25_Phase_II_Scanners_s/708.htm

Basic Troubleshooting – How to fix a silent scanner

Posted on October 5, 2017 by Rich Carlson

So your fancy scanner no longer works. Is it the scanner itself or did your local agencies move to new channels? Today we will discuss ways to find out.

The first thing I tell callers when they say their scanner is dead is to try the local weather channels. Almost everyone is in range of one of the National Weather Service radio stations on 162.400 thru 162.550. If you try each of the 7 channels (listed below) and nothing is heard then there may well be something wrong with the radio. If you have another scanner or weather radio handy try that one. If the other radio works then there is likely something wrong with the first radio.

Here are the weather frequencies that you can check to see if your scanner is working properly:

162.4000
162.4250
162.4500
162.4750
162.5000
162.5250
162.5500

If the weather channel works on your scanner then we should look to programming. If the radio worked before but no longer hears the local police, fire or other agencies you used to listen to then they may have changed frequencies. Several states have recently updated their wide-area radio systems, if you live in Ohio, Indiana or South Carolina there is a great possibility that this is what occurred. Alternately, some agencies have switched to existing regional radio systems such as these states or those in Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Michigan Colorado, Louisiana and Mississippi among others.

The best thing to do is check the RadioReference.com database and forums. If you recently lost your target there is likely someone else who has also. I had a caller the other day from northern Arizona say his police department disappeared, he listened to them over the weekend and then on Monday they were gone. We found that they had just switched to a new P25 digital system. While it was not yet listed in the RadioReference database it was being discussed in the RadioReference forums for Arizona.

If all this fails and you cannot find the target anywhere by searches with the scanner there are still a couple more tricks. Remember that public safety communications systems are expensive. They don’t go out and buy them on a whim. Purchases of that size usually must be approved by the local boards, City Council, County Supervisors etc. Look at these board’s websites for meeting minutes and agenda items. This is all public information and most places these days post them to the web. You can sometimes find all kinds of interesting information on the systems, sometimes even complete technical details, frequencies and talkgroup information get put up there!

Check with your local officers and administrators. While often they might not be technically savvy they might know that “we switched to the County system” or something. Also look for the type of radio they are carrying or have installed in the vehicle. That can sometimes point to the radio system type they are using.

Once you find out what system they are using and the frequencies etc. reprogram or replace your scanner to match.

HP1 vs .HP2

Posted on August 30, 2017 by Rich Carlson

The Uniden BearCat HomePatrol was a revolutionary design that transformed the scanner hobby when it was introduced. Never before was there a scanner that allowed one to just put in a ZIP Code to replace individual channel programming. The success of the HomePatrol led directly to the BCD436HP and the BCD536HP as well as location based scanners from Whistler (GRE and RS).

A couple years ago the HomePatrol line was extended with the introduction of the HomePatrol 2, the original HomePatrol is now called the HomePatrol 1.

So what is the difference between the HomePatrol 1 and 2? Well there are a few differences. The biggie of course is that the HP-2 handles APCO P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 while the HP-1 only does Phase 1. If your area doesn’t use Phase 2 you could save some money and get the HP-1. The HP-1 has a silver front panel while the HP-2 is black.

In addition the HP-2 (like most other current handheld scanners) chargesits batteries from the USB port instead of using a separate jack like the HP-1. This allows the HP-2 to use common USB chargers of which you probably already have a bunch of. Since it uses common USB chargers it doesn’t come with one. If you are that one guy who doesn’t have a USB charger available we do sell them.

Other than the charger and Phase 2 the HP-1 and HP-2 are almost identical. The same software is used to update and program either radio. You can even take a memory card from one radio and use it in another. If you are using mounting gear the same gear can be used for either radio.

HomePatrol 2: