UnidenSDS100 True I/Q Digital Handheld Scanner, Designed for Improved Digital Performance in Weak-Signal and Simulcast Areas, Rugged / Weather Resistant JIS 4 Construction

I already owned an SDS200. The 100 is just the little brother to that one. They both work nearly the same. The SDS100 is a little bit more tricky to operate but still not hard to operate if you know how to use an SDS200. You will need to do a little research on how digital and state wide interop systems work before attempting to program or you will mess up. Programming is a breeze with the Sentinel app that Uniden provides free of charge. The Database isn't 100% so I would suggest searching the FCC website to fill any holes. Good quality unit and I like it.

I thought the scanning days were over for me, since agencies have started to go digital. THIS solved my problem and was easy to set up out of the box. it is highly customizable and will take you years to figure it out but it works pre programed out of the box if you just want the basics without programing. Good for beginners and advanced HAMS

This is an AWESOME scanner and a worthy upgrade. Is it perfect? Nope. Uniden should have included some features that would have added significant value to the user. A few of those things are 1) Bluetooth 2) Ability to lockout keypad (seriously?) and 3) Ability to use AA batteries as a backup if needed. Are those all of them? Nope. But they are a few of them that irk me at the moment. The scanner overall is wonderful and amazing. The speaker is loud and clear, the reception is really great, and I pick up neighboring counties that I have never been able to pick up previously, and that’s just using the stock antenna that came with it. The programming of this scanner is extremely easy. I had considered purchasing from another retailer as they had me scared to death about the complexities of setting up the programming. It’s no sweat. Everything is pretty much already set up in the scanner. Just set up your favorites list, then enter your zip code location (in that order as one reviewer pointed out) and your set! There are a lot of customizable settings, pretty much everything by system, and it’s fun to play around with all the different settings and screen colors. The reason I ended up purchasing on Amazon was for the extended warranty. I have enough experience to know, that you never know with Uniden what you will get long-term, and it was an inexpensive peace of mind to add that warranty through Amazon. I trust that if they ever need to make good on it, they will.I did not really need to utilize the Sentinnel software... well because everything is pretty much already databased in the scanner, and it’s easy to get it set up the way you want it. My concern with Sentinnel is that we have all Mac’s, which it won’t run on. I downloaded the parallel stuff and spent hours getting it all set up, but just couldn’t get it to work. I ended up finding a super easy solution that worked easily and perfectly on my Mac, which I’ll paste below if it would be helpful to someone else. It’s important to note once again, that I really didn’t need to do anything with the Sentinnel software, but I guess it’s nice to know I have a backup of all my settings now. The instructions below may look intimidating at first, but trust me it’s really quite easy and pain-free.Here it is:1. Go to WineBottler |*Run Windows-based Programs on a Mac and download WineBottler. I used the 1.6.1 Stable on Mavericks. It will pop up an ADFly Page. Just give it 5 seconds then click the “SKIP AD” button in the top right. (If you get any more ad pop ups just give it a few seconds and it will start downloading.)Once finished: Move “Wine.app” and “Winebotter.app” to you applications folder.2. Download the latest Sentinel Version. BCD536HP < UnidenMan4 < TWiki and unzip it to your desktop. (or where you fell comfortable)3. Launch “Winebottler” from you applications folder. Follow prompts for install. This will install any needed files to run the apps later.a. Click “Advanced” in the top bar.b. Select “new prefix” defaultc. Program to install: “select File…” and select the “Setup_BCDx36HP.msi” in the Sentinel folder on your desktop.d. check “This is an installer, execute it.e. in the “Winetricks” section, click in the search field and search for “dotnet20”. Check the MS .NET 2.0. (this will install the .net for the Sentinel to install)f. Click “Install” button. Save to your desk top as Sentinel.This is now creating a windows app that will run on your mac using “wine”. It will install the Dot Net files and you will have to agree to terms and tell it where to install. Defaults will be fine. That will finish and then Sentinel will star the install. Again, agree and save to defaults. This part does take some time so bear with it. (HINT: sometimes the installers will pop up in the background. You may have to click the doc to bring it forward to agree to the DOT NET terms etc…) Once the files are installed, the last step is to “Select Startfile” leave it on Program Files/Uniden/BCDX…… and when you click the “Sentinel” app it will launch the app. Hit OK and your done. Now double click the newly created app and your ready to run Sentinel on your mac.

This scanner is overall really good.I will say that I do think it’s overpriced, but only for some quirks.First upon unboxing it lacks “sturdiness” or “ruggedness” that some professional radios or even HAM radios have. It doesn’t feel like a Baofeng but it’s very light mostly due to that it’s an SDR based platform, so it’s lighter and the plastic seems thinner. I think if I dropped it from fairly high I’d probably damage it in some way. The huge battery protruding out the back looks a bit silly but not overtly. That said it doesn’t feel flimsy or cheap or like a toy and it does look like a professional product.It seems like attention was made to waterproof the unit. O rings are visible and flaps for the USB port are in place. I’d not take it out in the rain, but if it gets some water on it looks like it’ll probably be fine. I do wish for the price it was a higher IP rating!It takes a long time to charge, it uses a USB mini which I haven’t seen in years. USB c would be nice and a better more modern battery for quick charging would be amazing. That said the battery lasts decently long. I scan all day and usually leave it plugged in all night. The back of the scanner does get a little warm sometimes when using it for long periods of time or when plugged in.I was worried about programming some people say its easy as entering in the zip code others say it takes a programming degree. I found it to be somewhere inbetween. What you need to do is to use Sentinel software, create favorites list, enable them, set them to respect location, and set your location on the scanner. A lot of people get tripped up on the service types as well. If you learn these things you’ll have no problems. I spent one day, pretty much the whole 8 hours learning how to do this. I’m on ARMER which is very complex so it may be easier for you if you just have a few sites you want to monitor and depending on the complexity of the trunking system in your area. I definitely think it’s not as scary as people say. Sentinel is great software. The menu on the system is very very good and easy to navigate. The display also looks very good.My last gripe is the belt clip is just terrible. A belt clip needs to be ROCK SOLID so you don’t risk the unit coming off and losing it. They might as well not have included one. You tilt it the wrong way and it just completely detaches.All in all it does an amazing job at scanning. I do think it’s fairly overpriced for some of the antiquated things (battery, charging), lack of higher IP rating, terrible belt clip, and lack of ruggedness which is why I docked a star. I do hope in the future they release an updated model with USB-C, IP68, and a better belt clip and battery. What it is meant to do is scan, and it does that phenomenally. I can pick up everything I hoped to pick up with very good audio and I’m very happy I purchased it and can now be informed without relying on online scanning sources.