Uniden BC355N 800 MHz 300-Channel Base/Mobile Scanner, Close Call RF Capture, Pre-programmed Search “Action” Bands to Hear Police, Ambulance, Fire, Amateur Radio, Public Utilities, Weather, and More, Black

Great scanner for the money as long as the agencies around you aren’t using trunked or digital frequencies. I would check the radio reference website to verify what is being used in your area. As for programming: Yeah it’s a bit tedious, but really no harder than setting stations on your fm stereo in your car. Just a heck of a lot more channels to sift through, lol. Check the internet for what frequencies are used by agencies around you. Again radio reference is a good source. Reception and sound: This is really dependent on your antenna and the signal strength of the broadcaster. The supplied antenna is ok for about 20 to 30 miles. If you’re looking to get further broadcasts I’d get a different one. Speaker quality is clear, good, and is quite loud. Again it is dependent on the signal. Broadcasts that are farther away are going to be more faint. I have not used the close capture technology, so I can’t speak to its effectiveness. Is this better than using mobile scanner apps? Heck yeah. With the mobile apps, you’re stuck to whatever frequencies they have programmed, or if there is even a broadcast for your area. Overall I’m very pleased with the scanner. I would recommend this to everyone looking for a great cheap little analog unit.

This scanner after some time of playing around with became pretty easy to navigate. I knew from the start that it was analog but I didnt go digital because of the price difference. I thought that I would at least be able to pick up some local stations, but nothing. I live a good 45 minutes from NYC and I was picking up Brooklyn but nothing local. I will have to wait and get a digital scanner and see how it goes. I ended up returning the unit. I have to say though if you think your area is still running analog this scanner would be fine.

hello i recently bought this scanner for my uncle. Since buying this item i have found myself listening it just as much as he does. When we got the scanner it was programmed out of the box with some preset codes that work perfectly for our area, the box came with all the accessories to hook up to a car or home and is loud enough that anyone can hear it. My only complaint is that the antennae does not pick up alot of traffic if you live outside of a town but that can be corrected by buying a bigger antennae. Another problem is if you already have codes to program in, there is no key pad to program them in to the private bank but beyond these problems this is a good beginner to intermediate scanner for anyone. Still i like it and am happy i bought it.

Bought this for myself then decided to give it to my son for Christmas. WE have such a horrible fire season here in Northern Calif, every home needs a scanner to know what is going on around them.

This works great if you dont need to scan bands. The stock antenna it comes with works well right out of the box, and i was able to monitor my municipality (fire dept) on a single channel after about 3 zillion hours with the manual... So other than the fact that this thing is more complicated than the Hubble telescope to use and despite having a tech degree and being a reasonably geeky fellow I still cant figure out the scanning feature - it works. If you are easily frustrated by technology, you might want to opt for something a bit more user friendly.

You will know whats going on with this radio

My husband is having an issue programming this scanner and it is currently sitting unused until I try to program it myself as he gets frustrated too easily

Works great not A problem

Easy to program once you figure it out sounds great no issue receiving transmissions.

The BC355N is perfect for those who desire a simple easy to setup and operate radio. Ability to key pad frequencies into unit would make it a 5++. I have owned a significant number of radios over the years and must say this is a great unit for the $. I will also say that a scanner is only as good as the Antenna which is attached to it so before you give up on a radio add a better antenna first. Phil Tee Staten Island NY