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

Having worked in the news media for over 30 years I can tell you that Uniden scanners are used in a number of newsrooms. Having said that I can also tell you that if you are into listening to police calls, there might be a problem since a number of police agencies are on different frequencies that some scanners can not pick up. As hard as Ive tried I can not pick up the local police on my scanner because there are no buttons to push to a set frequency. So instead I listen to the fire and EMS calls. Just as interesting as police calls in my opinion.

Bought this on the advice of a neighbor. Not disappointed but it takes sometime to figure out how to get the best programming out of it, but I do like that it’s portable as well. Thanks!

As with most things you get what you paid for. There are scanners out there that are easier to use and program, but that also cost a conciderable more money. This product does sacerfice some ease of use features that are present on higher priced models like number keys for programming channels, but it doesnt skimp on sound quailty or build. For a small electronic device this is built like they did back in the day housed in a nice solid case with tight buttons and nice sturdy dials there should be no fear in mountiing this in the hardest working trucks out there. Scan is relitivly fast for a scanner at this price point. Make no mistake this is a little to no frills device but youre also not paying a premium for those features. In short this leaves out some items that are convenience items but nothing that I couldnt live without. If you want a nice scanner for the right price that delivers where it counts, you cant loose with this one. As a side note the item came in sooner then I expected and Im 100% happy with the vendor and Amazon delivery

Good little radio, nice features easy to set up. Sound quality could be a little better but good radio over all.

I use this scanner in my Jeep. It was easy enough to mount next to the CB. Antennas for fiberglass shells are hard to come by, so I got creative with a magnet mount, and a little hardware. Seems to receive signals satisfactory.

I purchased this scanner for my car. It came with everything you need car adapter, plug, etc the concern I have is on the back of the scanner it states 13.8 volts and is going to be plugged into a 12 volt adapter. Although most cars I know of are 12 volts but because my vehicle which is a Subaru is very sensitive I called customer service at Uniden to explain the 13.8 volts, One agent said he did not know then referred me to email in which I did with no response, I called again and the agent indicated wire it to the battery. What was strange to me is that both agents stated this scanner is not for a car even though the manual states you can use it in a vehicle with the plug in adapter or hard wire it. Bottom line, my questions where not answered completely and will have to hard wire it to the battery even though I did not want to do that.

I plan on doing a longer review on this product very soon but for now these are my thoughts after 3 days of use as a desktop unit. 1- Programming: I almost did not buy this item after reading the reviews about programming it. The thing was though that the BC355N fit my needs and area to perfection so I went ahead and bought it knowing that as an Amazon Prime member it could be returned without much hassle. My worries went unfounded as it was a breeze to program after watching the Uniden You Tube Channel video on how to do so, it is less than 2 minutes long. After about 10 minutes I had all my local channels programmed in and was listening to them. 2- Antenna: I also bought an aftermarket antenna for $10 to see if it was all it was described as in the reviews for it since I do live pretty far out in the country. Hands down it out performed the stock antenna this unit comes with but that is not a bad review on what it comes with as it worked as well as the other as far as reception but it did not have the adjustments that the aftermarket one has and you will need that with the angle that the BC355N sits on your desk at. 3- Overall: Very happy with the quality / feel of the unit, it looks good sitting on my desk in my office and matches all the other electronics that surround it as I do both FM and Internet Radio. Shipping was fast with Prime 2 Day and it was packaged very well.

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

Im a beginner when it comes to police scanners and am glad this was very easy to set up. You just literally plug in the power and plug in the antenna and you are good to go. Thanks to earlier reviews I bought an aftermarket antenna and used it at the get go so i havent run into the issues with reception that other reviewers have mentioned. Also thanks to another earlier review I was able to (fairly) easily program my local police departments channel into the private bank. Although it did take a little extra time because for one I couldnt input the channel directly and for two the search arrows have to be pushed over and over again for each channel change instead of being able to simply hold the button down and have it scroll through quickly to the channel I wanted. This lead to me having to hit the scroll up botton I kid you not 150 times before I got to the station I wanted and was able to save it into the private bank. But now that its in there it is super convenient. The built in speaker is adequate and quite loud when turned up all the way. It is a tad fuzzy but its hard to tell if that is due to the quality of the speaker or the quality of my local polices radio equipment (I live in a small town that is kind of behind the times when it comes to technology). That being said, even though its a little fuzzy, I am still able to understand almost all of what is being said.

I really wanted to like this scanner. I bought it to replace another Uniden that I had 20+ years ago. I live in an area where our public safety uses digital trunked systems. Not a problem, as I only purchased it to monitor air, marine, rail, and ham traffic in the area. Sadly, this scanner just doesnt fit my needs and is being returned. I really did not like how the memory channels were allocated and how you had to go through the entire band, air for example, BEFORE the unit would scan the small handful of air frequencies you programmed. In all honesty, this radio only has 100 programmable channels that are functional. The other 200 are useless. Those 100 usable channels in the Private bank cannot be broken out into subsections. So, all the frequencies you want to monitor need to be stored there, and not in the service banks. As far as overall quality and audio output, the scanner is a nice compact package and sounds really good. Buyer beware...