Uniden BCD536HP HomePatrol Series Digital Phase 2 Base/Mobile Scanner with HPDB and Wi-Fi. Simple Programming, TrunkTracker V, S.A.M.E. Emergency/Weather Alert. Covers USA and Canada.

Although pricey, this is the best consumer grade scanner out there IMO. That said, theres an apparent glitch with SD-card-write-read-memory, meaning that after shutting down the scanner with HOLD settings for the System and Department these settings are lost approximately one of every four boot-ups, making it frustrating to have to take the time to catch the desired System and Department again to put back on hold. Ive experienced this with two brand new BCD536 scanners and Ive discussed this quirk with Unidens technical support to which they agree that this characteristic is not right. If and when they can solve this minor issue I will then give this scanner a highest 5-Star rating.

it was as they said very good condition and i am very please with my scanner

Date of manufacturer was 2013, guess they did not move off the shelves. Did not operate on power up, could not find any stations at all. Figured due to date of manufacture, it was obvious to me that it was out of date because the local police and fire frequencies were not correct. Tried to do database update, but the new database required a firmware update before it would load the DB. Did the FW and then the DB and all was well. Set my zip code and we were off to the races. As for the remote SW for my iOS iPad. It works but they really put no effort into doing a great remote app. As for the Sentinal SW for the PC, it uses dated methods of organizing the various functions. This app is in search of a well organized GUI..... Electricly it is a very good scanner, good sensitivity but could use bit more selectivity. Only negative is that when using an external speaker, the plug for external speaker does not turn off the internal speaker. This causes audio level problems and reduces the ability to control the audio in graceful way. Once you get past the growing pains it is a fine performing scanner, but I can’t justify 5 stars.

This is an expensive unit. Setup was quite easy and when I entered my ZIP code it immediately began scanning. There are many possible complexities and it will take me some time to explore to see whether I can fine tune and expand my searches. UNFORTUNATELY, THE UNIT DOES NOT COME WITH A WI-FI DONGLE AS STATED. Considering the cost of this unit, this is a considerable disappointment and unacceptable.

The BCD536HP has all the the makings of the top of the line scanner...except inexplicably Uniden fell asleep at the wheel. The units build quality is top of the line...sturdy and rich feeling. The advertised features...who could ask for more?! The problem is they dont deliver on some of the features (at least not as of yet...as I am hoping a few firmware updates down the road they will). No App and no Analyze Mode feature even though those are two of the selling points . Worst of all if you buy this unit and are not located near the hub of what you are trying to receive...you absolutely will need to buy a better antenna. This is unforgivable. How is it possible that my 1980 Bearcat 210 can pull in clear stations that just show up as noisy scratchy inaudible transmissions on the 536???! Not sure if this is a bad antenna or worse poor sensitivity internal to the scanner. Either way...think external antenna unless your transmission source is close by. One would think that shelling $600 for this would get you a decent antenna. I want to love this unit...it has the makings of a great scanner...I just cant understand why Uniden skimped on the antenna / reception sensitivity and did not deliver a product that has the advertised features working ...unbelievable! For now I just like it and hope that firmware updates will deliver what was promised and then may be I will love this after all.

Easy to set up

The easiest software programming interface and process that I have ever used. Have owned several Uniden/Bearcat scanners since the 90s and still have a BCD992 and BCD396XT. I would have preferred more display colors available- similar to my handheld 396 but the white background is fine. The stock telescoping antenna is functional could use a better dual band behind the set BNC connector unit. Just havent found one yet .

I love how easy it is to program this scanner by simply entering your zip code, but that may also overwhelm you with channels you dont care that much about which causes it to take much longer to scan through all the channels and you can easily miss parts of a conversation or updates about an event. So, youll still have to learn how to go through your channel list and block out the ones you dont want so you dont miss the important things you do want to hear (such as police band or fire and rescue traffic only). Otherwise you may hear the dispatch say something, then it takes so long to get back around to that channel again and you missed the response. My other major dislike about this scanner is it has no auto volume control feature. You set the volume to a normal level and then you have these very loud female dispatchers come on and blow you out of the room. You turn it down so it doesnt disturb everyone in the house and you cant hear anyone else. The extreme difference in volume levels during the same conversations on the same channels is more than annoying and a very good reason not to buy this scanner, it gets old very fast, especially at night when other people in your house may be trying to sleep. Almost everything out there in the market these days, tvs, stereos, etc has a very simple feature known as auto volume control or auto leveling for the audio output stage so your volume level will stay fairly consistent as you switch channels or input sources, and its usually enabled by default. I thought maybe I turned it off accidently somehow but after looking through a lot of the forums this seems to be a very common complaint with most of these scanners, the feature simply isnt there, and the company doesnt seem to care much about fixing the problem. Its hard for me to believe a scanner so technically advanced would not have this very basic and much needed feature, but do consider this before making a purchase. The only fix Ive found so far is to route the output audio of this scanner thru another (extra cost over the $500 you are spending) device that does control the audio output level and make it consistent. Overall, if you can live with the extreme volume level differences, then this isnt a bad scanner, but there are other brands out there that work just as well and dont have that type of ongoing unresolved issue. One last thing Ill say... youll be paying a whole lot for this scanner versus the price of an analog scanner or even digital scanners from some other companies. Its nice that they have released a product that is usable now, and has a builtin feature to upgrade the firmware as they continue to work on it, but in reality the software is an unfinished product and youll have to pay dearly to get the other features added to your scanner as they complete them. I thought I was paying a lot for a well supported product but right after I spent my money on this I learned there are a few updates available for it but Ill have to pay even more to get those. Thought I did all my research on scanners before making this purchase, but knowing what I do now, I think the choice would have been the other one I was looking at instead. For reference previous scanners owned were a Radio Shack Pro Base Station (still have), 2 Bearcat Mobile (still have 1), 3 Bearcat Handhelds (still have 1).

Works awesome, great product, thank you

Easy to program from face of radio if you hold on channel and add. Watch video on YT. Search through the full database and see what you want to listen to. Just turn off full database and your saved list will load fast. Audio is ok-good but an expert speaker would be better.