Railfan Technology > Uniden Bearcat SD200 info sought

Anyone have any first hand experience with the Uniden Bearcat SD200 digital scanner?  I'm considering ordering one but it is rather expensive and I'm just wondering if it's worth the cost.  I would like to have a home base scanner for listening in and not running the battery down on my handheld unit for when I go out.  Any info or pros and cons of this model would be tremendously appreciated.  Thanks in advance!

I have the SDS100 handheld model, it's "future proof" in that it will receive NXDN whenever the railroads change over, however it is an extra charge upgrade.  The screen display looks similar on the 200 to the 100, the Sentinel software does take some getting used to but overall is decent.  It's a great scanner for monitoring public safety and with the right antenna will likely be decent for railfanning.  I haven't used mine much for railfanning as I have ham radios I use for that (I'm also a technician class ham), overall though I'm impressed with the SDS100 (battery life could be better but oh well, not an issue with the 200), I would imagine the 200 is an excellent choice for a home scanner.

Amtrak288 Wrote:
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> I have the SDS100 handheld model, it's "future
> proof" in that it will receive NXDN whenever the
> railroads change over, however it is an extra
> charge upgrade.  The screen display looks similar
> on the 200 to the 100, the Sentinel software does
> take some getting used to but overall is decent.
>  It's a great scanner for monitoring public
> safety and with the right antenna will likely be
> decent for railfanning.  I haven't used mine much
> for railfanning as I have ham radios I use for
> that (I'm also a technician class ham), overall
> though I'm impressed with the SDS100 (battery life
> could be better but oh well, not an issue with the
> 200), I would imagine the 200 is an excellent
> choice for a home scanner.


What he said.  Fantastic, but programming can be a bit of a bear.   You have to get used to their "programming philosophy."

 

The SDS200 and 100 are both fantastic radios. However if your primary focus is RR from home you would be better served with a much cheaper Uniden BCT15x which is more sensitive to the RR band than the SDS scanners. The 100 and 200 with their cool displays and upgradeable features really shine on P25 public safety where simulcast distortion is a problem with older digital scanners. As always the antenna makes a big difference and the telescoping all band that comes with 200 is good but can't compete with a dedicated VHF band antenna for the RR band just like your handheld.
If you are a police/fire P25 800 mhz listener also, than by all means get the 200. Even older scanners like the Realistic pro 2006 or Uniden 780 are much better suited for RR.
Yes NXDN is eventually coming but still is a ways away for mainline use. I use all the above radios daily and even though I listen to local RR via an online feed due to being able to hear both sides better, its best to stick with dedicated radios for each of your listening interests.

 

I have the SDS 200 from Uniden and the TRX-1 from Whistler. Depends what you want to listen to and as others reported programming can be a bear.
A direct comparison between the two on the railroad bands led me to prefer the TRX-1 for railroads. There seems to be much greater VHF reception on the TRX-1. The SDS200 blows away the competition on the 800 bands . It has absolutely has the best 800 band reception in any radio I have owned.So I actually use both with the TRX-1 on VHF and the SDS 200 on the trunked 800 systems.