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.

I have one of these in my patrol car and one in my personal. I paid for the provoice and dmr upgrades and will soon get the NXDN upgrade as all 3 are used in my state. I prefer this size over the new model because the new one takes up twice as much real estate. Both work great and I couldnt be happier.

Not cheap, but wow! Can actually work right out of the box, and with your zip code it sets itself up for everything in your area ... of course, you can make personal lists of what to monitor as well quite easily (but you need a PC or laptop to do it easily). very happy with this Christmas give I gave to myself. :)

To put it bluntly, if you havent taken a college course in how to program a high end scanner, dont buy this one, and as for its preprogramming of channels feature that all you do is enter your zip code, ya, itll scan every state around you and thousands of channels you dont want, and you cant use the range function either when using the scanner set up to scan using a zip code. That only works on channels you have manually entered, and you cant lock channels out either using the preprogramming function. So unless you have the time and knowledge of some very complex, very in depth scanner functions, youre going to be left wondering where the nearest place is you can take a course on how to program the thing, or figure on buying something not so complex, because Ive had 4 scanners prior to this one and was able to find my way around them, but this thing was just too much. The menus and functions keep going on like some infinite journey into the abyss. It has functions I had no idea what they even were, and didnt want to spend the next six months googling it and fiddling around with it just to program it to scan the channels I wanted and not a few thousand I didnt, and I mean thousands. When using the zip code programming, it will scan thousands of channels in your state and the states surrounding you, and theres no way to tell it not to scan all those channels while using in that manner. You cant lock them out and you cant use the range function either, its unreal, and I wonder why not when evidently itll do everything else including wipe your nose. Is it a well made scanner? Yes. Is it high end? Ya, and probably the most complicated scanner on the planet. I guess if this is your hobby and youve been into it your entire life and you want the absolute best, buy this scanner. If you live in a rural area and just want a scanner to scan maybe 10 to say 30 local channels, you dont need this one. Theres plenty of other scanners that have trunking and digital that arent a fraction as complicated as this thing. I returned it. So why did I buy it you may ask... well, I thought Id buy a scanner that I wouldnt have to upgrade for a good long while. What I didnt plan on was buying something so complicated that I couldnt properly program it. Thats my story and Im sticking to it.

Confession: Im BRAND NEW to the scanner hobby. There, now that thats out of the way. The 536HP is an absolute TOP OF THE LINE product! After spending quite a bit of time learning how this darn thing really works, the results are pretty darn amazing. Initially I was quite frustrated at the lack of channels that I could listen to in my immediate area even though I live in a major metropolitan area. A little research helped considerably so I purchased a much better antenna, placed it outside, spent a few hours reading over the manual and watching some youtube videos and actually found some listenable local channels. Spent some more time researching and learned some of the actual features of this scanner and how they work. There are an AMAZING amount of things that can be done with this scanner. If I had to do it again, I would start by doing more research, especially about antennas and proper placement for better reception. This is an unbelievably powerful scanner that quite honestly, with the right antenna, is plug and play right out of the box. FWIW I live in an Apartment with a lot of RF interference. After putting a decent antenna outside it really opened up the reception for me. I can understand the reviews that say that this is a complicated scanner and agree to a point. Ive spent quite a few hours getting this thing to where I understand it.

Easy to set up

July 23 update: After reading several posts at the radio reference website, I have found out why the unit is always asking to set the date and time. It seems that it has an internal battery for just this and it must be shipped dead from the factory. To charge it, you must leave the scanner on for several days. The magic number of days posted there seems to be three. So, turn on the scanner, and leave it only for several days in a row. The battery only charges while the unit is actually on. A constant power supply to the radio, while it is turned off will not charge the battery. Once I did this, the constant nagging for me to set the date and time has finally gone away. I will be adding back one of the removed stars as this is a great scanner but I am holding back one because UNIDEN should have made this CLEAR in the manual on the setting up section. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ July 2014 update: Now this scanner is asking me to set the date and time every time I turn it on!!!!!! Uniden, fix this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of this, Im removing two stars! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And now, I really like it. Like all Uniden scanners, documentation is to be desired. It is/was written for those that have been aboard with Uniden from the get-go. Im sure they get it! But, if you are not an aged veteran of Uniden, then you are not alone and the manual that comes with it is of little help. With that said, this unit does offer help for the novice. LIKE ME! The sentinel software really helps, but it also ASSuMEs a lot. Do as I did; take a day off, sleep good and then try it again with an open mind. With this, you can figure out how to make your scanner work best for you. yes, it uses stupid words like append for what most would call add and other stupid Chinese to English translation errors. The feature I like most is the simulcast. I can now listen to all the local police cars as they broadcast. With my old scanner, this was not there. The reason I got this new scanner was that I often saw police and emergency vehicles zoom by my home with no chatter at all on my old digital scanner. Now, when I see them, I actually listen to them and know exactly where and why they are in a hurry.

Like another reviewer stated that it has more bugs than a roach motel is true. Uniden knew this when they announced they were coming out with it back in November. They released it anyway in January! Profits before performance! Uniden said it is WI-FI capable and it is not. Not yet! Maybe never! It does come with a WI-FI dongle but it is useless at the moment.They said you could use an app for either Android or Apple devices. You can not because the app is still in development.Or so it is said. They knew this when they released this scanner but did not tell anyone about it OR that the analyze function that they highly advertised does not work either. These were 2 of the main features why I purchased this scanner.Their website has no mention of the analyze function not working but they still have it on their site as being available on this scanner. Oh it is there. It just doesnt work. Their website also says the app for the WI-FI will be available 1st quarter of 2014. It is now May 25th. I purchased mine near the end of February and realized that there was no CD with it that contained the app. I immediately started searching the Internet to find out why there was no app. If you go to [...] youll find all the questions and answers youll need to make your own determination as to purchase or stay far away. I kept mine thinking that Uniden would release the app and have a fix for the analyze function by the end of the 1st quarter. But the time has passed for me to return it so Im stuck with it. You can use it as a functional scanner but I along with countless others paid for features we didnt get and probably never will. Uniden will not answer emails either. Purchase the scanner and then try to find out info about it.Not one email was ever answered. I personally will not buy another Uniden product of any kind. Period! Theyre dead to me. I would bet my last dollar that there will be a class action suite over this. Check out the Uniden forum at radio reference and see for yourself how many other unhappy customers Uniden has. I also personally think that the good reviews are from people that didnt want/need the unavailable features or are affiliated with Uniden to try to boost sales. There are people in the forums that constantly belittle the people that complain that Uniden is doing nothing and not listening to them. You know the people that paid $600 dollars for something and didnt get what they paid for. I call them customers. Those people will think long and hard before buying anything with a Uniden label on it again. Update 7/29/2014 7 months have passed since the release of this scanner and there is still NO Wi-Fi/Siren App or Analyze function. Yet everywhere you look, including Amazon.com, they still advertise these features. WHY! Do they enjoying making customers mad and have to deal with returns once the customers realized theyve been lied to. Or theyve had their head under a rock since January! Uniden is still not returning emails or taking calls regarding this scanner but Uniden continues to send their propaganda emails advertising! Our government is always wanting to get in on everyones business but never there to protect the consumers from liars and thieves! Update 2/3/2015 Here we are over a year since it was released and still DO NOT have the features that were advertised. A YEAR! REALLY! And to add another slap in the face from Uniden, the 1 year warranty will be expiring soon. So once, I mean IF, these features ever do materialize and something goes wrong, then good old Uniden will happily charge you/me for out of warrenty repair. Its a win/win for Uniden and a loose/loose for us! So to all that went ahead and purchased this while ignoring the those of us that tried to save you your hard earned money and a lot of headaches, I TOLD YOU SO! So much for consumer protection laws. But I have said before Uniden is dead to me. Yeah I got screwed along with a lot of others but I will make it my life goal to bash Uniden until I take my last breath or they go out of business! I sure hope Im around to see it!

Ive had this scanner for a month now and have had zero problems with it. I never tried the zip code programming as I installed the Sentinel software first thing, updated the database and firmware and was off to the races from there. Programming the unit with the Sentinel software is very simple. (Sentinel software is included on the SD card that came pre-installed in the unit.) My only complaint is that DMR functionality is a paid upgrade. Would highly recommend downloading ProScan and using it instead of Unidens Siren app because it sucks. I run the scanner 24/7 piping it through my desktop computer with the ProScan software functioning as a web server. I can listen to the scanner from anywhere in the world through the browser in my phone. Buyer beware though, if your local public safety system is encrypted you are out of luck so do your due diligence before buying.

Absolutely awesome scanner! Very easy to get the wifi up and running, and the Siren app works perfect on iPhone and iPad. THe programming software makes this a VERY simple scanner to program. Just find your state, choose what you want, and make your list to send to the scanner. Was completely up and running in 30 minutes and have not used a scanner since the old analog only kind. This takes all of the mystery out of trunking and programming all of that so you can get on with listening. Best part is you can switch your lists very quickly and easily. Radioreference.com is a great site to use for seeing what is in your state and area. A definite recommend on this one.

Great radio, Ive got another one of these purchase about a year ago and the best of the best, covers everything you need to cover and the ability to program via a zip code is incredible, gone are the days of punching in hundred of freqs manually like in the old days! The only issue? Amazon needs to learn how to ship things!!!! You pay $450 bucks for a radio, and you expect the product box to come INSIDE a box right? Wrong. Amazon ships these in ONLY the the box the scanner comes in and drops it on your doorstep. Luckily I was home when they rang the bell, picked up the box and said WHOA! I called over the driver and showed him an empty box except for the accessories and manual, he called his office, I gave him back the box and I had to reach out for a refund. Sad...