Given that this is my first scanner, some of my enthusiasm for its features and ease-of-use might simply be naivete. On the other hand, having a fairly deep technical background, I think my appreciation of this unit's abilities and organization are mostly based on Uniden's exceptional design. Over and over I find that this unit operates just as I'd like it to, showing that it's the clear result of several generations of refined scanner design.The BC-780XLT provides both traditional frequency scanning, as well as trunk-tracking. Traditional scanning lets you program frequencies into memory banks, and then scan through them looking for active signals. You can also search ranges by programming the low and high endpoints, and having the scanner search between them for active frequencies. With 10 banks of 50 frequencies each, the BC-780XLT provides reasonable room for even the most crowded airwaves. (And, as discussed further below, the ability to upload and download the scanner from a computer extends this ability significantly.) Individual banks can be turned on and off, and individual channels can be explicitly locked out, allowing you to finely tailor your scan.
Where this unit differs from traditional scanners is in its ability to track trunked systems. In such systems a small set of frequencies is shared by many different organizations (e.g., police, fire, public works), and rather than assigning fixed frequencies to specific units, the frequencies are assigned dynamically as needed. The result is that a single conversation may hop between frequencies as it progresses. Tracking this with a traditional scanner is nearly impossible, as a single frequency will play host to parts of different conversations, and a single conversation is strewn across multiple frequencies. The trunk-tracking scanner is able to use the information on the system's control channel to follow the conversation, just like the radios of the participants. The result is that you follow a single conversation, rather than just a single frequency.
Uniden offers several models of trunk-tracking scanner, including the lower-priced 895, and the handheld 245. The 895 is limited to tracking either trunked systems or traditional frequencies at any one time. The 780 (and 245), on the other hand, can intermingle trunk and regular frequencies within a single memory bank, and be set to scan through both of them, or between banks which contain any combination of trunked and standard frequencies.
For me, where the 780 really excels is in its alphanumeric display. In addition to having an alpha tag for each channel, you are able to set up scan lists of talk group IDs. Talk group IDs represent a logical channel (rather than a single frequency), such as the police department's dispatch channels ("Dispatch 1" "Dispatch 2"). When following a trunked system, the scanner tracks talk groups, rather than individual frequencies, and the labeling will show you an alpha tag for the talk group (e.g., "Tactical 1"), rather than just he Motorola or EDACS ID number. This makes it much easier to know who you're listening to.
Public trunked systems are well documented (either on the Web, or in publications such as "Police Call"), but for those that simply appear out of thin air (you might stumble on a system's control channel while searching frequency ranges, for example), the 780 will also help you find the full set of frequencies. Once you have found the control channel in a Motorola system, you can use a "control channel only" mode to ferret out the rest of the system's frequencies.
The 780 has a serial port through which the unit can be programmed or driven by computer. There are numerous software packages for accomplishing this, available through the many on-line 780 discussion groups and websites. It's a good thing, too, as 500 channels, plus 10 trunk scan lists of 100 group IDs each (1000 total) would be nearly impossible to program through the scanner's front console. By keeping separate frequency files on your computer, you can easily download different sets of parameters (i.e., should you have more than 500 frequencies you want to keep track of).
The front console and menu system are reasonably easy to understand, given the complex function available in this receiver. A novice user can get up and running with traditional frequency scanning very quickly, and the unit come with introductory frequency guides. Getting a trunked system programmed is a bit more work, but still not too complicated. The manual has most of the operational detail you'll need, though it's not always well organized as a reference (e.g., items mentioned in passing in one section may not be repeated elsewhere where you might go looking for it). The manual also contains a few mistakes. The numerous on-line discussion groups can help out if you get stuck.
The reception with the included whip antenna is excellent in dense, urban areas. Where stations are weaker, obviously, an external antenna will be needed. The sound quality out of the bottom firing speaker is very listenable, though an external speaker (for which a connection is included) would improve the audio quality. The unit comes with both a wall-wart 120v adapter, as well as power cords for connection to a car battery and a car's cigarette lighter. Reports of mobile usage have been very positive.
Overall this has been a great purchase. I picked the 780 over the 895 primarily for the 780's sophisticated alpha tagging system, and secondarily for its ability to track trunked and non-trunked systems at the same time. Both features have turned out to be essential to my enjoyment. I'm looking forward to having these features in Uniden's new handheld (BC-250D)!
I've had this radio for about a year now (ever since it came out). I was initially attracted to it because of the faster scan speed and the ability to monitor both regular and "trunked" frequencies.Trunked frequencies are being adopted by more states and towns. What this technology does is share a common set of frequencies among all the users. A computer controls the switching and usage of the channels. So perhaps only 5 frequencies might be used to power an entire city.
Not all scanners can receive trunked radio systems (the 780 does receive almost all of them with the exception of those that are digital).
Anyhow, here are my loves and hates for this radio:
LOVE:
1. Alphanumeric display: You program in both the frequency and the name of the police/fire department you are listening to. With 500 channels to program -- there is very little chance (unless you are fanatical) that you'll remember what every frequency is assigned to. Using the alphanumeric programming you can enter a name for each channel to display in addition to the frequency.
2. Simultaneous scanning of both trunk and conventional frequencies (this is fairly important if you live near a city or are halfway serious about monitoring).
3. Each channel can be programmed with a PL which stands for private line. Sometimes in congested areas different users will be assigned the same frequency. When this happens, they also make use of a non-audible PL frequency which allows the radios to tell which users should be let through and which should be squelched.
HATE:
1. Scan speed slows when you use the PL feature: They don't tell you this but once you turn on the PL usage the scan speed goes waaay down.
2. You CANNOT use the priority feature (which periodically samples channels that you indicate for activity) when you are operating in Trunk Mode (IMHO, this is a huge drawback and one thing I immediately noticed).
Even though there are some things that I do not like about this radio, I would definitely (and probably will) buy it again.
The alphanumeric display and the dual scanning of trunked/conventional frequencies are must have features.
There is supposed to be a model of this radio coming out late 2002 which will offer the ability to track digital signals (something no scanner on the market presently does). This digital monitoring ability is going to require the purchase of a scanner similar to this one plus a ... digital decoder add-on.
Another great scanner to consider if this one is too pricey is the BC 895. The 895 is lightning fast and the only thing I don't like is that it has a loud squelch tail (meaning when the transmission is over the radio emits short burst of white noise prior to resuming scanning).
