Uniden BCD325P2 Handheld TrunkTracker V Scanner. 25,000 Dynamically Allocated Channels. Close Call RF Capture Technology. Location-Based Scanning and S.A.M.E. Weather Alert. Compact Size.

Ive been using this scanner for 2 years now. Prior to that I had no scanner experience. The learning curve was steeper than I was expecting, but not because the scanner was poorly designed. Here is some of my experience and advice. The Scanner is Too Hard to Program This is true, not because the scanner is poorly designed, but because the nature of digital systems are so much more complicated. Most states are, or already have, converted from analog to digital systems. The reason is because coverage is so much better (by a factor of hundreds!). This also means users need more knowledge about how these systems work. You cant just buy a scanner, turn it on, and listen. With digital, there are THOUSANDS of frequencies. You have to tell the scanner what you want to hear. If youre not familiar with digital systems, youll want and need help. Fortunately, there is an excellent place to get it. Youre also going to need a computer. If thats a problem, dont buy a Digital scanner, buy an analog scanner and save several hundred dollars. Go to radioreference.com. Do it before you even buy your scanner. Youll find tons of useful information for beginners. The site has separate forums for each state that tell you what frequency is used by which talk group (they all set up their systems differently). It also has many different forums, some organized by scanner manufacturer, where you can ask questions about specific models. Theres even a forum for PROSPECTIVE Uniden buyers where you can ask questions before you buy. Theres also a forum for beginners where experienced users answer questions. Most of it is free, but they sell a one-year membership for $25 that lets you download frequency tables. Its worth it. The time savings of downloading over manually entering data is enormous. Another major help to me was links to “easier to read owners manuals”. The guy that wrote them sells them on different sites for about $30. RR.com has a link to many, at no cost. They still dont tell you WHY you might want to use one option over another, but they will tell you HOW to set it up in fairly easy to understand terms. Software You dont have to use computer operated software to program your scanner, but doing so will save you hundreds of hours of tedious data entry. Download Freescan (yes, its FREE), and read about it on RR.com. It really simplifies things. One great thing is that if you have Freescan, and you read the forum for your state, its possible you could find someone nearby willing to email you a copy of the Freescan file theyve created that you can simply download to your scanner. Its a lot easier to start with a working copy someone else is already using, than to try to build your own from scratch! Once you have one, you can tweak it to suit your preferences. Batteries When I first got mine, I thought the battery life was short too. I dont know if that’s true or not, as now, the same rechargeable batteries typically last 4-5 hours. Best to buy enough to last you a day. I listen to mine from 5 to 8 hours a day, and can easily do this with 4 rechargeable AAs. The Stock Antenna is Crap! This is my one big gripe about Uniden scanners, or at least the BCD325P2. The photos show the unit with a 6” black “rubber ducky” antenna. If you take a scissor and cut off the black plastic an inch or so above the base, youll find that the actual antenna (the cable wire inside the plastic) is actually only an inch long. This greatly reduces the scanners ability to pick out radio transmissions from the air. In order to receive the frequencies the scanner is capable of transmitting, youll have to buy an after-market antenna, at a cost of around $30. I bought the Remtronix REM 800B, available on-line (see scannermaster.com) and noticed the difference immediately. Why Uniden would build a great scanner and put such a crappy antenna on it is a mystery to me. Its an insult to customers, and given the high cost of digital scanners, the added cost for a good antenna would be minimal. Bottom line: expect to spend another $40 to $60 over and above the cost of the scanner for a decent antenna, batteries, and possibly a subscription to RR. Its a relatively small (but irritating) amount to spend to get the most out of your scanner investment, but once you get your programming catered to your interests, you wont regret it. On the plus side, this scanner is $100 cheaper now than it was two years ago!

Uniden BCD325P2 Handheld TrunkTracker V Scanner Audio is crisp and clear, as digital should be. But the dispatchers volume is rather weak. There must be a setting to set Automatic Gain Control other than the one I checked. The real problem is the fact that it quit working on rechargeable batteries. Arrived on time and price was good.

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Great scanner battery life not good though

Lots of fun to listen to the surrounding Dispatches! I probably shouldve listened to the reviews, and not purchased this as a first time scanner. It came unprogrammed, so I couldnt listen to anything until I searched the manual on doing a basic scan of the entire frequency spectrum. So I tried the freescan software. And that was even difficult to understand. Then I found the ARC XT Pro software. Downside, freescan is free but time consuming to use and ARC is either $40 or $70 (depending on what you want), but its FASTER!! So within 15 minutes of loading up the ARC software and playing around a little (in the trial version), I was able to program my scanner, and listen to the city police, fire and ambulatory dispatches, as well as a few surrounding areas! The only other thing thats not very cool, is the battery life (again noted in the reviews). About 2 or 3 hours of continuous use and it starts beeping at you to replace the batteries. At least its only 2 double As. But you can always just leave it plugged into a power source with the USB Plug. Overall, I am very pleased with this scanner. It is very fun!

Nice Trunk portable. Light weight and works great with local conventional & trunked systems. Programming manually is tedious to say the least but thats to be expected with so many options, settings, etc. FreeSCAN software (third party) is a MUST if you want to make data entry minutes instead of hours! As the name suggests, its free (http://www.sixspotsoftware.com/products/freescan) and works great with the BCD996P2 and BCD325P2. You can clone the 325 to your 996 in a minute with the software. Also comes with USB programming cable and rechargeable batteries. No power supply but any USB charger (or computer) will do. Note: will only CHARGE batteries when OFF but will also work on USB power alone or 2 standard AAs. I suggest playing with it first before getting serious about programming it all out. The Uniden Trunktracker V System-Site-Group-Channel configuration is different and requires a little learning curve. I have mine set up to look like a conventional scanner with banks although it is much different with System-Site-Group-Channel structure, The manual (on the 325 and the 996) leaves a lot to be desired in many respects. The layout is easier to see with the third party software but I would recommend the manual method to learn it and then RUN with the software. Itll make more sense.

Works just like the bcd996p2

Scanner works well, can be a bit of a challenge to program, but on the whole, easy to operate.

Grade scanner because it gets lots of channels. You have to pay for the upgrade to get DMR. Its also difficult. To turn systems on and off you have to go through a series of menus.

It is a nice scanner, easy to program if using 3rd party software. Range in my area not as good as i thought it should, even with purchasing another antenna. Range drops when it is running of batteries.