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Reviews For: Uniden SDS-200

Category: Receivers: Scanners

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Review Summary For : Uniden SDS-200
Reviews: 8MSRP: 804.99
Description:
True I/Q receiver Trunk Tracker X Direct ethernet connectivity Completer USA / Canada radio database Auxiliary USB type A jack for future expansion 3/5" customizable color display Recording, playback, and replay PC programming & control
Product is in production
More Info: https://uniden.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
1283.8
N7WR Rating: 2023-03-31
Disappointed Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I purchased this scanner as a replacement for my old but getting tired HomePatrol I. It is an expensive scanner but given the dimensions it would fit into a cubby in my Dodge Durango as I wanted it for mobile use only. It does fit but it appears the angle of the display is such that any sunlight at all wipes out the ability to see the display even at the highest brightness setting. It's fine for nighttime use but not daytime and that is disappointing.

I should have known that most of the scanner's best features would be useless to me where I live as the only trunking system in the region is encrypted so, of course no scanner will work with that. Everything else is conventional and in hindsight I should not have invested so much $$ in this scanner when a much less expensive one would have been plenty. I really wish I had spent less $$ and purchased a HomePatrol II.

I have also found that when the scanner is turned off and then turned back on it does not scan. it is locked on a particular frequency and I have to re-enter location info to get it back to scanning.

I'm going to give it a bit more time to see if I can be satisfied with it. If not I will sell it at a loss and replace it with a Home Patrol II.
MM7BVP Rating: 2022-09-03
Best All-In-One Unit For Scanning Digital Modes Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
When the Software Defined Scanners came along with uniden punching through the market with their flagship SDS100/200 I thought it was worth a shot .

From Scotland UK the EU variant SDS200E was chosen and purchased from Lynch and Sons. At the time of purchase I was unable to obtain any accessories such as the important but not vital GPS antenna.
After several emails to various Uniden vendors around the world I was told to basically get on with it as I was outside the USA. I found this attitude stinking!

From the advice of another SDS200E owner I finally obtained the GPS antenna from Avera which was imported by Knights UK who were helpful and quick to get it to me .

Due to this brexit rubbish ...Anyone from the UK ordering any Uniden scanner (Not just the SDS series) best hope no faults or repairs happen outwith the year warranty as there will be tremendous difficulty and expense getting the parts/repairs carried out .

Another thing is the database which is dedicated to the US/Canada, We dont have access to such a database outside of those coutries. Therefore we have to manually build our own favourite/scan lists which can be time consuming .
Paid sites such as RRUK and the free WTR Browser will assist you in this aspect and help you at least get scanning .

Performance of the scanner :

Scanning around the usual analogue such as airband will disappoint .
Airband Audio is absolutely terrible and with the various updates over the time I've owned the scanner this has not improved .

Scanspeed is not breathtakingly quick , that being said if you load the radio up with loads and loads of inactive / not required systems it will take its time going through the lists .
Another way to ensure top speeds is to make sure your frequencies are laid out ascending from lowest to highest in each system. That will help a lot .


The scanners sweetspot is tailored at decoding digital audio and basically everything to do with the menu system is related to this .
If your not used to menu driven radios this can be daunting but my advice is to persevere , you will get used to these menus over time .

Once you are familiar to the whole programming 'System, Department , Site, TGID, UID LCN' things start falling into place .
There are very few videos showing the actual programming of the radio. However , I strongly recommend Bob Aune's 'Proscan' which is a real life saver with loads of features making programming this scanner easier from a PC or laptop. The Proscan software brings this scanner to life .

As the unit is Software Defined Radio based with internal RTL chip hardware it is dependant heavily on filters (another story but you'll understand when you come across them) .
Once you figure what filter is best for your area (yes take your pick its luck , and don't ask what these filters mean).

Although here in Scotland we don't have the complicated systems such as provoice and simulcast like our fellow enthusiasts in America / Canada the radio will decode moderate to strong signals easily . The same cannot be said for weaker signals .

Some testing with the scanner on the same antenna as an SDRplay device showed the cheap RTL chip inside the SDS200E was no match for weak to medium strength signals which the SDRPlay device decoded with ease.

As an all-in-one unit (large display , decoding of DMR/NXDN/PROVOICE/P25 , Networking VOIP) i would say this unit is probably the best out there for its price range .

Conclusion , without hardware amendments and complete firmware redesign the SDS series will remain mediocre in terms of filtering and weak signal decoding of digital modes .
If you want more quality and better access/control of gains , filtering and sensitive decoding save yourself 500 quid and buy an Airspy / SDRPlay RSP device which outperforms most of these recent digital scanners.


N3BXZ Rating: 2021-05-12
Great Scanner Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
OK, so I have owned this scanner for about 8 months. It is still great. I have updated the database and the firmware using the Uniden Sentinal software. Very easy process that took about 10 minutes to complete.

I do have a couple of recommendations for potential buyers. Setting up the scanner is really easy. It took me about 15 minutes to enter my zip code and then edit the radio services down to what I wanted to listen to. I don't think it is worth it to pay to have this done. Also, I purchased the 3 digital mode upgrades directly from Uniden rather than thru a 3rd party and I saved about $80.00.

All in all, it's a great scanner and I look forward to many years of fun with it. I hope to buy an SDS 100 soon so I can have a portable scanner as good as the SDS 200.

Tate
N3BXZ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Great Scanner. I have a cheap discone up at 35 feet or so AGL and I'm picking up signals 50 miles away. I went ahead splurged on all the mode upgrades a few weeks after I bought the scanner. I'm glad I did.

I do have one minor nit-pick. I wish Uniden had put the ethernet jack on the rear panel instead of on the front.

I highly recommend this scanner.

Tate
N3BXZ
KF4HR Rating: 2021-01-06
Amazing scanner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I've found my SDS200 (and also the SDS100) both very useful scanners, with an amazing number of features. If properly programmed, and if you have activity is in the area, this unit will pick it up.
An Easier to Read SDS100/SDS200 Digital Scanner Manual is online.
KJ7JAL Rating: 2021-01-05
Great for scanning police and UHF/VHF FM traffic. Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The police in my city are now on digital and so this Uniden Software Defined Scanner seemed to be the appropriate radio for my needs. There are two basic ways to run this scanner: off a "hand entered" FAVORITES LIST or a LOCATION based list (eg zip code lookup using the built in database at each startup).

Most Hams will download the free Sentinel Windows only PC software to program this radio by manually entering UHF/VHF frequencies and modes into a Favorites List. Some vendors will program the Basic County Police channels into a Favorites List in your radio for a fee. You can then download the Basic County list from your radio to your computer using Sentinel as a starting point for your own custom Favorites List. To load your custom favorites list back into the radio you _must_ enable (Monitor ON and Download ON) by editing your profile in Sentinel.

It is possible to boot up to a location based scan + your favorites list by default when you turn on the scanner. This might be useful during a natural disaster. If you assign a Startup Key to your Favorites List you can boot only to your Favorites List by holding down the appropriate key at startup. This is more useful for limiting your scan to Police and local UHF/VHF traffic.

PROS: With a good outdoor antenna I get excellent audio on both Police Digital Coms and regional UHF/VHF repeaters. I can get by with a Roll Up antenna hanging from my window shade if needed. I have found that the scanner is an excellent addition to my Ham Shack alerting me to local UHF/VHF Simplex and Repeater traffic. I even discovered a previously unknown weekly GMRS Net!

CONS: Like many SD Radios, this unit may be overwhelmed by your transmissions from a nearby antenna. You may be disappointed if you just use the included telescoping antenna. There is a definite learning curve to programming this complicated radio. If there is an advanced manual I did not find one.



K7ULS Rating: 2020-12-17
A bit pricey Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
It has a slight hum when turned on not sure if they do the mod at the factory will have to look later. Got the DMR upgrade which should be included (TRX-2). The zip code thing and range is a pain in the a$$ but if you make favorite lists and keep main database off then it's livable. I use both Sentinel and ARC536PRO to program don't try doing it by hand unless you've got plenty of time on your hands. Antenna upgraded to REMTronix REM-800B UHF BNC Antenna.
AF4KK Rating: 2020-03-27
Truly a game changer!! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
Talk about a scanner that does almost everything! It picks up signals that other radios miss. To get the full potential, you have to pay for several upgrades but if you have enough radio activity in your area, the upgrades are worth every penny. And that display.... WOW!! I love it!! :)
N8PX Rating: 2020-03-26
Not worth the price Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
Pros: 1. Large, easy to read display
2. Not hard to program, if you are already familiar
with uniden scanners.
Cons: 1. After a few days of running, you will notice that
you haven't heard anything for a while. It appears
to be working, but is not. Must turn it off then on.
2. Has a small amount of hum on the audio.
3. Over priced. Save you money and buy the
BCD996P2. It's a more reliable radio.