Uniden UBC 3300 XLT Trunking Scanner
I had seen the Uniden BC 250D scanner before and decided that I didn't like the look of it. It was all too big for my liking and looked as if he wasn't able to accept most of the chain saw fell to the floor. I did, however, hear that it was basically a Uniden 780, but in a hand holding. The 780 did at this time my favorite scanner so 250 could not be all bad ... Could it?
I'm the one who likes a good look and at 250 I wasn't much to look at, so I never paid much attention to it. However, when Uniden leaves the European model in the hare from UBC 3300 xlt (I assume U is for European?) All the step sizes we use here in the UK and Europe as 6.25 kHz steps, which is incidentally a bit of one to deploy to 780 because it doesn't have 6.25 kHz inks. I started to get a little notice. and when Jonathan Clough of Javiation offered me one for review I was quite happy to accept.
First impressions
After opening the box and looking at the 3300 standing on my desk I was still of the opinion that it was big and ugly. I compared it to the size of the house and I didn't get a lot of changes back from the bricks. At the top of the unit is on/off/stow volume control and in the same place you sit under control on/off/volume to ggle. The first thing I thought it might be could easily be broken down with a bad tap. In the middle is on the hearing aids 3.5 mm jack for normal work we have started to expect. and on the left side, which is the BNC connector to mount one antenna. Moving in the top half of the face we have a silver/chrome metal speaker grill. It's a different prep. Do I like it? No. Under ne. Below this we have space between the speakers and the display with the word "Uniden" and beyond that we have the main LCD display.
In my opinion, there could be less gap between the grill and the display, filled with a larger display. After all, if we have a large scanner then at least give us a decent display size. Below this we have various function buttons / swivel wheel etc. So far it is not very good to look at the 3300. But I wanted to see if it really was as good as the 780 moud performance. Another check unit and I found it didn't look as weak as I first thought, in fact I probably could have knocked. Looking at the status and friends 250 says they certainly can have knocks.
The Uniden UBC 3300 comes with ten searches for banks that should be sufficient for most of the population's needs. These can be set up with any search range, step size or mode such as AM, FM, or NFM WFM. Alpha also tagging is a feature that can be used with search pots (or as uniden moves to call).
As with the 780 that you have a car storage feature that, when you search for search banks, 3300 drops the new found frequency into the memory banks of your choice. The new frequencies will only be found in writing in mind once it is very pleasing that unlike some scanners, they repeatedly drop the same frequency into the new memory slot over and over again. I find with any scanner when using this feature to do a couple of manual searches before the side locks any unwanted crude that skits around in the inside of the scanner, which allows you to lock it into the air. With that make car store feature everything took place in silence and a lot of the time I completely forgot why my scanner went silent. I think they would have wished for a little audio themselves, but the thinking from uniden was probably people I would perhaps go out and let him look and all the audio is a waste of time and battery life. But who stated that there is a "Mute" played on this radio.
When there is no car storage you will want to change the search direction, it is optional by using a small swivel wheel on the top of the keyboard. This I found pleasing, apparently it can be done with a 780, but I never figured at how to do it, with its 3300 one wind. To track the active find new frequencies just need a "Hold" button. From here, you can decide whether you want to save the frequency to memory. I was here found a feature I did not like. 3300 will be saved on the first available memory ch given that the 780 would have saved the channel I selected. With the 3300 you will need to drive the orange swivel wheel to the desired memory slot. Another hitch was when I found in search mode I couldn't find an easy way to go back to manual mode and hold a button, they are one and the same.
Lockout
While in search mode up to 200 frequencies can be locked to search ranges. As with the 780 recovery locked frequencies is a simple matter of pressed down the L/O button for 2 seconds. Simple and effective, great!
Programming
Typical Uniden scanners programming was cinch. Tap on frequencies and enter. Simple as that! Entering text tags for all channels and banks is also a similar matter very easy to do. CTCSS / DCS? set it to search and when found the tone in traffic press enter and that it is saved! Or you can manually select the tone usage. Why can't other scanners of this bloody light be easy? It wont accept brain doctors for running this scanner. Rotary wheel on the front of the scanner for easy navigation in relation to various functions. For additional simple programming BUTEL offer arc 250 software that is now compatible for use with 3300.
One complaint I mention about the scanner to be for the home market. I was constantly having to reset the gracesteps. For example, I could type 165.1625 and 165.160 would acquire in memory because it was not filling up to 10 kHz ininks. So I would set it to 12.5 kHz. I spoke to one bc250 owner (the US version is 3300) and said i would buy 3300 because of this reason. My advice? Save your money this still occurs with 3300.
One way about this is to set the radio to band plan 2. It comes from the band's plan 1. at 3300 then the default 80-87.4875 fm and138-174 Mhz 12.5 KHz steps. But even if it does fix the VHF 12.5KHz problem other frequency bands will continue unchanged. For example, band 3 trunked frequencies will be the default 50KHz WFM.
Also, the military airband will default up to 50 kHz when the international standard is 25 kHz.
The feature that I love and you will appreciate with a 1000 ch scanner is that you try to enter duplicate frequencies into memory at 3300 will warn you a message like "Duplicate 222" so you know that these frequencies already in Kap 222 Wicked! I have this feature on my 780 so I know how useful it is. This will save you from filling the memory bank with duplicate frequencies. Once this warning will then have two options, press Enter again and the frequency will be saved in memory, regardless, or not to enter the frequency.
In operation
OK now to do this too much and enter your favorite frequencies into memory locations. By the way, with 1000 ch compared to me 780 to 500 allows for better bank allocation planning. Definitely more versatile though you only use it at 500 frescoes.
Used as in most of my previous reviews I used the Watson W-889 telescopic antenna.
Within seconds of entering a few frequencies I was very impressed. I tapped in the frequency of my local fire at 70Mhz now there aren't many scanners to do well here, and in all fairness is a very bad signal, I heard the engine fire with its radio roaring getting a very broken signal so what should be a chance with a scanner when the radio is built for this band, with the air cut for that frequency and still fighting to stop in the signals? I 3300 brought signals of a thriving thumb I was well impressed. Unfortunately it was short lived as soon as I pull the mains charger signal was not heard, and is only heard from good Vantage points or if and about in the car then when in a better position. This is not really a criticism of the 3300 you see some scanners better signal when it is powered from the mains. In all fairness there is matched results on this band with 780. The fire station at 70 Mhz about 40-50 miles was heard from time to time, which is very good because it is rarely heard of other scanners.
Moving to 30 MHz I found 3300 handle very well, even with signals coming from a very reasonable distance. A later comparison check against the 780 shows that 3300 is not quite as good as the 780 for income in the area.
VHF airband
Using my usual test point (My Bedroom window) I found i was giving reasonable results of 3300 to 119,250 MHz. Ground side with interviews heard it, but pure sound.
Birmingham airport comm it was again audible, but not the best signals I encountered. It wasn't as good as the icome R20, which delivered brilliant considerations in the field, but by par with 780.
Moving to VHF 162-170 MHz PMR gave good results, some scanners match here but not 3300.
The 177-185 Mhz Fleetcomm frequencies could be heard loud and clear from the neighboring city 20 kilometres and beyond.
Once again the UHF 440-463 MHz PMR gave really very good results with Birmingham Airport's 455,475 ground roads this is one example of getting fined loudand clear from its location. I can't be 100% sure, but I don't think my 780 came alive from the same location. (Later checks comparisons with both scanners by the side will show my last comment to be true with frequency, although weak easily audible at 3300, but silent on the remaining 780) said that with my 780 scans one repeater at 443MHz loud and clear from the city 30 kilometers for a certain location in the house, but in 3300 was a little inuntable from the same location.
Pager interference
One test I wanted to run was to follow past strengths while a pager tuned to 152Mhz ch. Sites I eat past usually flattens no signal have received them, but with 3300 I found that they managed to fight it back and remained audible. There was no interference or pager breakthrough heard about all but one frequency of 152MHz from which a pager could be heard up to a mile away from the broadcast site. Strange that good pager rejection all but one tone taking the poorest results yet. In all fairness in total the 3300 showed excellent results, and came through this test very well, really. (Apparently the 153MHz pager of this site are due to die by the end of the year! Good! I hope its slow and painful!). All VKV frequency PMR appeared pristine.
Delay times
One of the characters I like about 780 times is the delay that can be set for each channel. You can choose No delay so that once the transfer completes the scanner whizzes off to find the next active ch. A two second delay, so the scanner waits for two seconds for any response, four seconds the same as the last, but another two seconds of waiting, infinitely when ch with this setting gets the operation the scanner will have to do it until you resume scanning manually. Finally, you can set it to refresh the scans even if the upload occurs continuous after ten seconds. Last option I found very useful if some of the channels can contain either boring or interesting transmissions. I have ten seconds to decide if I find it interesting, even if I just have a print manual or stick.
Imagine my dismay to find these options gone to 3300! You have delays or delays and that's it! 2 seconds is also the only option I found a little deployable.
Audio
The beep record can be set for each channel based on the warning that the interesting frequency is active. It works the same as with the 780 so as three fast high pitch beeps can be heard, so somehow as a penetrating noise. I found it works very well. You try to fix that on your favorite channels and I can guarantee you your head will turn from whatever you do look at the display.
Trunking
Here are a few points I've noticed that are different from the 780, and how I feel for the better. When an ID and search for a new talkgroup is found 3300 will display the "new" it's most needed because to me with the 780 I am forever filling memory allocations with talkgroup's double version. Minus On the side of trunking is that there is no way to visually see if you are in trunked mode. With 780 "Hull" is shown. I find that sometimes the 780 and the first word is sometimes abbreviated however I didn't notice the lag with 3300.
The sound quality I found are very good. With a volume cranked up to 3300 has given a beautifully powerful clear sound with little possible disruption. It was a big bonus as I wanted to have my scanners with me everywhere and because there is a car that can be a noisy environment. Mainly with my family in the car with Kylie jetting out.
At VKV My signals still used in the UK occurred in a beautiful, loud and clear about the best I've encountered so far.
Backlight
The backlight at 3300 doesn't work great, in the orange hue that we've come to expect from Uniden I've found it's enough to see bright everything going on and looking at the display in a dark environment with all the display and keyboard lit up creates enough space. Not only that, but the light comes with two brightness settings. Medium and high. The lower settings for the night are more than sufficient, but when and probably in my car I prefer the higher settings. This is another feature of the 780 that again most like me. Ideally, the backlight will come when the frequency is activated. This is characteristic of the AOR 8200 MK 3 and I loved it. I've been asking about this for some time. It's seen on amateur radio, but for some reason scanner manufacturers ignored the feature. This of course will have to come with the option of switching off if it would be a waste of battery power if it powers in daylight.
Signal strength meter
The stength meter signal is the same set as the 780, six segments of the job, but it seems to work better than the 780 on which would sometimes show the full strength of the signal, even if the income was not good. There is a mod to this in 780 and it seems to have Uniden sorted this problem.
Reverse button
The 3300 comes with a reverse button that is, for all purposes, to monitor duplex conversations. ie pressing this button you can hear the transfer used in the distribution of the number set. For example, you are tracking your local police at one frequency, the talk through is turned off so follow the other side of the conversation by pressing this button. Great! The problem is that there is no way to set and it comes with the default setting god knows for which country, but not in the UK, to make this feature completely unnecessary. At 780, it's the same. This is a feature I've grown to use on other scanners so we find it to be used on 3300 is very grumpy, it wouldn't be so bad if it didn't come with a feature, but offering it and then using it for nothing is frustrating. This is one of the areas that have Uniden lagging behind the competition.
Priority
As with the 780 to 3300 comes with a priority feature, it is possible to do any of the following in each bank as a priority. Confused? You're well in the search and one of your priority ch is in bank 5 is referred to as active, so 3300 will switch to this channel. Shortly after your priority ch bank 4 is referred to as active, so 3300 will switch to this channel in the parent of the previous priority ch. I was pleased to find out when 3300 samples are taken for active priority channels it's not caused the frequency was on the resume scan as is the case with some scanners.
Priority plus
This is a new feature for the 780 does not have and one I quite like when they are in principle preferred plus mode 3300 will test only priority channels is in each bank. As they water down, select the scan feature that comes with some scanners like the AOR 8200.
Transfer
I noticed this button, but it wasn't investigated for some time and when I found out what a great pleasure it was for me. Basically, the download ch is complete with all the data as CTCSS/DCS, an alpha record to another memory location setting. Very nice and I can see this feature utilizes extensively.
Battery saver
That doesn't matter, and that's probably all you can tell me, really. I've never run a test on how long it took without the battery being active, so I'm not sure how well it does its job. By the way the battery supplied with 3300 is in the form and 4 cells AA Ni-MH. Pack. Battery life is not the best I encounter, but it should give full days of testing. (Remember that last scanner I was icome R-20 and the battery on which is phenomenal so I was spoiled).
CTCSS / DCS
No custom scanner respect these days should come without this feature. AOR take note! The CTCSS/DCS property is one of the best in its opinion on the 3300. It's the same as the 780 whereas it will be looking in ascending over all tones (69.3 tones are, however, missing, like the 780) and if you manually hold on to the frequency, when the conversation is dropped, and it stops the search being available tones and then the conversation starts again, with 3300 starts from where it was interrupted, rather than from the tone of 67.0 Hz Nice! After you complete the search all CTCSS tones and no one are found then, if using DCS 3300 tones will search them automatically and is for some reason apart from CTCSS tones to find immediately! Best CTCSS/DCS tones played
