Product Comparison: Whistler WS1080 vs Uniden BCD436HP

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Whistler WS1080 Handheld Digital Trunking Scanner

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Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner

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General Specifications

Brand

Whistler

Uniden

Model

WS1080

BCD436HP

Origin

China

About the Product

Whistler’s top of the line model, the WS1080 is a handheld digital trunking scanner with Motorola P25 Phase I, X2-TDMA and Phase II capabilities. It is ready to use out of the box with all USA/Canada frequencies pre-programmed onto the included SD card. It offers ease of use with a multifunction keypad and has Virtual Scanner mode that can store 200 various scanner configurations. The WS1080 also permits recording by scannable object and saves into a Windows compatible file.

The BCD436HP is the first scanner to incorporate the HomePatrol-1’s ease of use in a traditional handheld scanner. Plus, Uniden’s exclusive Close Call® RF Capture feature, GPS Connectivity, Extra-Large Display, Radio System Analysis and Discover Modes put the most advanced scanner features ever right in the palm of your hand.

Key Specs

Receiving System

Triple conversion PLL super heterodyne

Receiving Modes

AM, FM, FM-MOT, LTR, CTCSS, DCS, NAC on P25, EDACS wide/narrow, P25-Phase I, P25-Phase II, X2-TDMA

AM, NFM, FM, WFM, FMB, APCO25 Phase 1&2

Frequencies

137-174 MHZ, 216-300 MHz, 300-406MHz, 406-512 MHz, 764-960 MHz, 1240-1300 MHz

25-512 MHz, 758-824 MHz, 849-869 MHz, 894-960 MHz, 1240-1300 MHz

Search Rate

80 steps/sec.

Scan Rate

70 channels/sec.

85 channels/sec.

Scan Delay

2 sec.

Search Rate
Scan Rate

What customers say about "Key Specs"

Whistler WS1080 Handheld Digital Trunking Scanner

Killer! Works great! The first day after programing my scan lists, the first transmission I heard involved an expired car registration stop involving a friend of mine; what are the odds of that happening?
Excellent radio for analog and digital requirements. I love this scanner! I personally have found it to be easy to use and figure out.
Like the Uniden Home Patrol and the BCD436HP, the WS 1080 allows the scanner's database to be downloaded to a computer, and updates retrieved when necessary. The WS1080 does receive P25 Phase 2 transmissions, as does the 436.
The scanning speed is slow and battery life is short even with four batteries.
The Whistler WS1080 did not meet my expectations for several reasons. The scanner does not work well for receiving phase-2 digital P-25 communications. The voice is distorted sometimes and broken up reception.

Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner

I even pick up a NOAA station almost 100 miles away. Trunking is really good for a scanner. Very satisfied.
The 436 sets up easily and I was scanning within 2 minutes of putting in the batteries. The pre-programming takes all the work out of scanning. Because the 436 can receive Project 25 Phase 2, it can be used anywhere in the US or Canada
You can do some editing but for the most part you select where you are, how much distance from where you are that you want to hear, it imports it and you are scanning. Very easy to use, the screen is quite readable.
Scanning setup has gotten incredibly complex these days and I have been using scanners for 35 years. The basic complete frequency database for USA and Canada
Within 10 minutes after all the downloads you should be scanning the emergency departments in your area. The audio booms on this scanner.

Size & Weight

Height

5.31 in.

6.3 in.

Width

2.12 in.

2.8 in.

Depth

1.06 in.

1.5 in.

Weight

0.46 lbs.

0.77 lbs.

Sensitivity (12db Sinad) Nominal

VHF Low Band

0.2 μV

0.4 μV

Aircraft Band

0.4 μV

VHF High 1 Band

0.3 μV

0.4 μV

VHF High 2 Band

0.4 μV

0.3 μV

UHF Low

0.8 μV

0.4 μV

UHF/UHF-T

0.4 μV

0.3 μV

UHF High

0.5 μV

0.3 μV

1200MHz Band

0.5 μV

0.4 μV

VHF Low 2 Band

0.7 μV

What customers say about "Sensitivity (12db Sinad) Nominal"

Whistler WS1080 Handheld Digital Trunking Scanner

This is a top notch radio scanner with excellent RF sensitivity. It has high complexity with a number of menus and sub menus. You can select the city you live in and the radio will load the frequency channels for that particular area.
The good is that the unit was very easy to program and was quite sensitive.
One nice aspect I really like is the ability to program custom flashing colors which identify who is broadcasting without your having to read the screen--a very cool feature which I found to be downplayed by both Whistler and Amazons' descriptives.
Simulcast trunked p1 transmissions are sometimes garbled but its mostly clear. This is my first portable scanner and it has met my expectations.

Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner

This scanner is VERY sensitive in comparison. I can hear Birmingham Alabama APCO25 system at home now almost 30 miles away where I live on the outskirts!! And that's with a 800Mhz rubber antenna!!
I also have GRE 500 scanner and the sensitivity of both that one and the 436 seem pretty similar. Great that the database from Radioreference is already preloaded, so fun to listen to sites I would never enter myself.
This handheld scanner covers just about anything you might want to listen to. Trunking operation is great. Good sensitivity. Feature rich.
A few draw backs that all have mentioned is that it doesn't charge the batteries while in use and the speaker could be louder. I also don't feel that the sensitivity on the unit is as good as other radios I own.
This scanner is very good. The only problem I have with it is that the receiver is not very sensitive.

Features

Extras

A built-in Discriminator Output, USA/Canada Radio Reference database on SD Card, Quick Location based Programming (City, Zip, County), Detects and masks encrypted voice audio, Weather Radio Functions, V-Scanner II Storage System, Uses an industry standard MicroSD card, Improved P25 Functionality (Phase II, X2-TDMA)

Simple Programming, TrunkTracker V, S.A.M.E. Emergency/Weather Alert, Covers US and Canada, Quick Record and Playback, Close Call RF capture with 4GB of memory. Audio AGC

Type

Handheld

Frequency Range

25 - 1300 MHz

Display

132 x 65 Full dot matrix bitmap LCD

192 X 160 Full Dot Matrix LCD with white-color backlight

Internal Speaker

4 W

0.8 W

Antenna Impedance

50 Ohms

Power Requirements

5V DC

3 X AA Rechargeable Ni-MH Batteries (2300mAh)

Weather Channels

7 Channels

Type
Internal Speaker

What customers say about "Features"

Whistler WS1080 Handheld Digital Trunking Scanner

One futuristic feature this radio scanner has is the ability to (by sub menus) route out the IF from the radio receiver if an external demodulator is needed for future radio coding schemes.
The numberless keyboard makes it very good for one handed operation. The audio recording option is a great feature. If you want a scanner, and you have digital systems in your area, this is for you.
This is by far the best scanner out there! I have had quite a few and this one still is loudest,clearest and easy to program on the fly,anyone who cant program this is totally clueless,all you need to do is put your zip code in.This does the phase 1 best but also does phase 2,P25.
It does some power so a set of four AA NiMH would last about one day of continuous use.
I did the programing on my Laptop. The software is only compatible with Windows PC and that sucks but the Scanner is awesome.
The reason I give it only 2 stars is many people including me have had driver problems. For some reason this radio is not recognized,( win7 ) and a driver is installed as what windows call " unknown driver ".

Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner

Programming is easy with the supplied sentinel software. The scanner has more features than the BCD325p2. The DMR upgrade works well with the sites I have programmed.
Like all smaller portable scanners the speaker is a little weak but, with earphones or light headphones the sound is really good. Back in the saddle again! Love to listen on road trips.
This is a very easy scanner to use that can accomplish very complex scanning tasks. Easiest use of all the scanner's features benefits from using a computer software package.
I was impressed at the fact that when I turned on my scanner it started scanning my area of Ohio just like the tech on the phone said it would. My husband and I have a good time, drinking tea and listening to the scanner.
I have owned several handheld scanners and this one is my favorite. Why? because I didn't have to program it! And program it again every time I go somewhere! Wherever I go I just punch in a zip code and I am scanning

Warranty / Certifications

Manufacturer Warranty

1 year(s)

Certifications

FCC