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A Revolution in Scanning is Coming
by Larry Van Horn, MT Assistant Editor
Fort Worth, Texas -- A major revolution in our hobby is on the way and it will forever change the very nature of the scanner radio hobby. Today, June 26, 2010, Uniden America held an open house here at their corporate offices in Fort Worth, Texas, for the public and the media. At this open house they unveiled a new revolutionary scanner called the "HomePatrol."
So what is so revolutionary about this new scanner? Simply put, it is simplicity! There has never been one like it before. To say that it will be easy to program by the user is to totally understate the facts.
The only thing you will need to know to program a "HomePatrol" scanner is, wait for it, the Zip Code where you are currently located. Yes, you punch in your zip code on the LCD touch screen, press enter, and you will instantly start hearing local scanner communications (conventional and trunked, analog and digital). No other operator interface is needed and it is truly just that simple.
Maybe you don't want to monitor civilian or military air comms that got loaded when you punched in your zip code, just police, fire and EMS. No problem: touch the screen to set up what you want to hear and it is done. No banks, no systems, no groups, no programming of frequencies: your location is all you need to get you started. And did I mention that all the controls for this scanner is via a full color touch screen?
If you are traveling and you have a GPS, plug that puppy into the "HomePatrol" scanner and it will ensure that your unit has up-to-date frequencies for the area you are traveling in. You don't have to do anything except to make sure that the GPS is working and plugged into the "HomePatrol." Of course you will have to supply the GPS unit since it is not included with the "HomePatrol" scanner.
That is why I think that the Uniden "HomePatrol" has the potential to create a major revolution in the scanner world.
Since the unveiling is still taking place as this is being posted, the full details and specs are not yet available. I will be bringing a test unit home from Fort Worth and will be conducting a full blown MT First Look review of the "HomePatrol." I will also post some of my first impressions on the "HomePatrol" scanner on the Monitoring Times website at http://www.monitoringtimes.com or on my personal blog, the BTown Monitoring Post at http://monitor-post.blogsot.com. You can also check out a new website that Uniden has setup for their new unit at http://www.homepatrol.com/ for everything "HomePatrol."
We will have a full detailed First Look review of this revolutionary new scanner in the October issue of Monitoring Times magazine, but check back here for furture updates.
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