The obvious competitor to the BCT15X is the GRE PSR-600 and Radio Shack PRO-197. The PSR-600 and PRO-197 are both made by GRE.
The PRO-197 is sold by Radio Shack and has a slightly different faceplate but otherwise they are identical.
Size, fit and finish
The BCT15X is a DIN sized radio, by removing the black metal outer case you will see a second metal interior case. Using the included DIN
sleeve you can mount the radio in the dash of some vehicles. Otherwise you can use the included under-dash bracket. The BCT15X is the same
height and width but slightly deeper than the GRE and RadioShack DIN mobiles (PSR600 and PRO197) although the front panel layouts are
different. The Uniden mobiles have a heavy, solid feel. They weigh in at almost 3 1/2 pounds
Pressing Needs (Buttons and Knobs)
The BCT15X has a 19 key keypad vs. 30 buttons on the GRE. The BCT15X uses three rotary knobs (Volume, squelch and the MFK) that
double with pushbuttons by pressing them. The Menu button and Function are used to modify key presses. The Function button is activated by
pressing the multi-function knob (MFK) on the front of the radio. I find that it is easy to get lost in the maze of buttons on the GRE but many
people find that it's preferable to have more buttons and functions available right on the keypad as opposed to Uniden's method of burying
functions within a menu, so this is a matter of personal opinion.
The BCT15X has separate Volume and Squelch controls (the handheld version uses the MultiFinction knob). It is far easier to adjust the
volume and squelch on the mobiles because of this. The GRE uses Up-Down-Right-Left keys with a Select key for many programming
functions, the Uniden MFK rotates and can be pressed. There's no personal opinion involved here.
The keypad buttons are larger on the BCT15X than the GRE, but there are only 19 vs. 30 for the GRE. In addition the labeling on the GRE is
smaller so it is harder to find the button you want sometimes.
Programming Interface
The radios both use forms of dynamic memory management but in radically different formats. The GRE uses "Objects" in which you can
assign channels, talkgroups and searches to while the Uniden uses Systems and Groups. Both formats can be intimidating to learn but once you
do learn one format or the other it becomes second nature.
The Uniden method seems less complicated to me, it has direct correlations to older methods of scanner programming so is easier to convert to.
Of course, some people will find GRE's methods easier, you will have to try them to find out.
Speaker Audio
The speaker audio is very good, especially compared to the handhelds, but audio quality suffers a bit compared with the GRE competitors.
While rated at 2.6 watts audio output compared with the GRE's 1.8, the GRE has a larger speaker and can produce louder audio with less
distortion. Both radios allow you to use iPod style earphones with sound going to both the right and left channels.
Reception, Sensitivity and Interference
In the old days Uniden and Bearcat scanners had a reputation of higher sensitivity the Radio Shack scanners but were usually more prone to
interference from strong signals, including intermod and images. These days however those roles are reversed. The GRE's (including the Radio
Shack PRO197) are usually more prone to interference from strong signals such as taxi data, broadcast stations and pagers.
The BCT15X has shown so far to be less bothered by strong signals than my PSR400. A recent excursion to an area full of pagers and taxi data
towers made the PSR400 go crazy while the BCT15X had no real issues. While I locked out a bunch of CloseCall hits from these with both
radios, the Pro163 received hits on several images of real strong signals that the BCT15X only received on the actual frequency. There were a
few instances of hearing a strong signal on adjacent freqs when the actual freq was locked out on the BCT15X but you had to be close enough
to touch the tower for this.
One would think that reduced interference levels like this would mean less sensitivity. In my experiments I was unable to discern any real
difference in sensitivity. While a detailed analysis with a service monitor might provide such details, real world users probably won't notice
much difference. Most forums however tend to lean towards the GRE being somewhat more sensitive.
Feature Set
