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.

FINALLY! A Scanner with the durability of Old, and with the ease of HP-1 Programming! Yes, I do own a HP-1. It is an excellent scanner, but I always thought that the build was just a tad on the flimsy side, and not very durable. I use it primarily as a home base station, as its all plastic, hollow chassis does not make it a desirable choice for extended road trips. Now, the BCD536HP is my kind of Scanner! It practically screams Road Trip! Mount one of these puppies in your Car, Camper, or SUV, and with the right kind of antenna on your vehicle, and it will be the only radio your vehicle will ever need. This thing is built like a Cinder Block, and is just as durable. Of course, you dont want to spill liquids on it, but other than that, it is pretty resistant to road travel, has GREAT Audio, and what could be easier than traveling around the country, and the only thing you have to do to get pretty much ANYTHING you want to hear can be, just by punching in the Local Zip Code! Of course, this also makes a great home Base Station Radio as well, except for one glaring fault: The Wi-Fi Dongle feature is just about as useful as a Zebra on a Bicycle, unless they ever come out with a version of their SIREN App that is PC Friendly. Other than that, this is the most AWESOME, TOP OF THE LINE Scanner Uniden has ever made.

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.

Sound quality is not great for conventional channels, but that’s just minor. This scanner is very complex at first, but after a day or two it’s really simple. I suggest using the Sentinel software to create a favorites list because the scan speed on a digital system is slower than conventional. I don’t suggest using the “zip” feature. Use the software and create a favorites list, and monitor that list.

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.

Works Great:I have had this for 3 months without a glitch. If you need to listen to a Motorola or Harris P25 public safety system this is the best way to go for most people. Previously I was using a Motorola Spectra to listen to this system in analog mode (I have skills). But the county switched to P25 and shut me out. So this Christmas after a long delay I treated myself to a BCD536HP. Pros: Very sensitive receiver Receives analog and P25 digital and capable to upgrade the common digital modes Provoice and DMR at small cost. Small, well appointed controls, WiFi connectivity for Android and IOS. Powerful audio (when used with an external speaker) Easy to upgrade firmware and channels using Sentinel. Cons; You will have to get latest firmware and channels using Sentinel to get started. Not hard to do, it requires a PC and a USB cable (supplied). Ditch the internal speaker, plug in an external communications speaker 3 or 4 inch diameter. Getting Started Programming can be somewhat frustrating for the newbie. I am used to programming commercial LMR radios and understand all the parameters. So I would say I am expert, however this experience turns out to be unneeded and perhaps misleads me. This radio is quite different in that Sentinel will download a fire hose full of nationwide channels. Your radio will require you to provide your Zip code (or connect optional GPS) and it will activate all the systems in a radius you provide. This will probably be way more than you need. The solution is to use Sentinel to create a Favorites List and use Quick Keys to activate only the channels or systems you wish. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time pressing the Avoid Button to ignore the dog catcher (no kidding). The database comes FREE from www.Radioreference.com Visit that site, the forums etc, and learn about the system you wish to monitor. Simulcast Systems You will hear a lot of favorable and unfavorable things about this receiver. The largest complaint is the reception of P25 simulcast systems. It is true that the scanners available today (Both Uniden and Whistler) use a discriminator to decode the P25 signal. This is not the best way to decode P25 in a simulcast system. The best way is a DSP receiver, and you can only obtain that by buying a Motorola, Harris radio (which you cannot legally program properly), a Pricey Unification Pager, or set up a software defined radio (for geeks). Personally my experience is that my radio works fine on my local simulcast system and I am in an overlap area. Occasionally the bit error rate is high and the audio garbles. P25 itself is not a perfect mode and you will find dispatchers and officers sound like the have marbles in their mouths. It is the nature of P25. If you have any concerns contact local users and ask them their experience with this scanner in your area. Encryption If your local agency uses encryption on some or all of their talk groups you will NOT be able to decode them. The radio lacks an encryption card and even if equipped you would NEVER be able to obtain the lengthy 256 bit key. It would be illegal as well. If I havent scared you off, you will be very pleased after you get it up and running. Uniden also makes a portable version of this radio, the BCD436HP. I bought the mobile/base version as then I do not have to worry about batteries and the BCD536HP has better shielding and so receives with less noise.

Amazing piece of equipment but might not be ideal for everyone. The 536HP (and its sister 436 handheld) incorporate Unidens HomePatrol technology that esentially allows for anyone to turn it on and listen to just about anything you choose based on your zip code (including APCO 25 trunked systems in use by many agencies). However, programming the unit to isolate your favorites can prove to be a nightmare as many reviewers have noted. The old methods of programming banks with your favorites is complicated and essentially requires that you use software to achieve what used to be possible with direct entry. Specifically, Uniden has a free software application called Sentinal (PC only, no MAC) that allows for programming and managing the various profiles lists and systems that correspond to your listening requirements. Within those categories you must also customize in order to match the units performance with your desires. Once programming is completed in Sentinal, the choices are transferred to the units micro SD card via the included cable. The entire process can be frustrating for those without the willingness or patience to persevere. Having said all that there are various third party resources that can help you understand the process if youre determined. If you make it through all that youll be rewarded with what I believe to be a remarkably competent piece of equipment that will provide what is arguably the best consumer grade wideband base station listening experience on the market. But for its complexity I would have easily given it 5 stars.

I bought it from the Amazon Warehouse to save $90. i was a little worried, but it arrived in pristine condition. Re-boxed, not the original Uniden box, but who cares. All the accessories were there. Turn it on, set the date and time, set the Zip Code, and start scanning. Easy peasy. If you have a Ph.D. in Technology, you can probably figure out how to use and enable the gazillion other features. For the rest of us, one day at a time. Really good scanner, and hundreds less than the Uniden SDS-200.. 1-19-23 Updated Review Very good scanner. I did realize that the volume/on/off knob is fairly fragile. I find myself turning the scanner on and off very carefully so it wont break. I could see that happening easily.

This is an awesome Scanner. If your area PD uses DMR you cannot be without this scanner if you want to know what is going on in your area. I am planning on getting another one for the other end of the house, and possibly a portable one.

Very nice scanner with many options really a professional piece of equipment. Unidens sentinel program is a big help programming the scanner and also some very nice instructions on YouTube. I noticed that a lot of people on Amazon go for the pre-programmed option on Amazon this is not necessary with the Sentinel program. save yourself some dough and do it yourself this is my first Scanner and I figured it out The scanner comes with a microSD card whent you install the Sentinel program on your computer you can simply plug the micro SD card into your computer and program it for your area

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).