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.

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.

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.

It was time to upgrade a couple of my scanners so I done some research and chose the Uniden bcd536hp. my previous scanners were all radio shacks and were a pain in the neck to program them, even with third party programs. The 536hp is the simplest scanner I ever owned to get up and running. From updating the firmware to frequency database it is a breeze. Having the wifi and gps capability is a plus as well. Although unidens siren app is not as well thought out or implemented as it could be, there are other features that can make use of the wifi ability. I currently have this on my nightstand but will probably buy a second for my vehicle. Im a ham radio operator and a volunteer with local public safety entities. Unfortunately they use three different bands depending on the agency. My single band issued radio just doesnt give all the information I need. This new scanner so far has done a bang-up job of filling the gaps just by simply entering in my zip code. Would definitely (and most likely) by again

It is a great scanner. I bought it in June of 2017 as an upgrade from my old scanner. Now it is two years later and I can say: the Sentinel software which was updated four months ago is pretty good but could still use improvement. The Siren app on my iPhone is ONLY good for listening and viewing call information from the scanner within the bounds of my home WiFi, but it has not been updated in four years. The 536 WiFi is hard to setup as you must enter your WiFi password via twisting the front knob around to select letters and numbers, and then it takes several retries of the same process to get it to stay set. The radio is prone to dropping its connection to the WiFi network, it shows as still being on the network router but no longer responds to port scans which means you must go to the radio and turn it off then on again before it will work on the network again. There is a steep learning curve in using the front panel to switch modes etc. I really doubt we will ever see an update to this radios firmware as a new model scanner has replaced this one and as many may realize that all new effort will be targeted towards the new radio. That said, some changes to the new radios may trickle down to the older models firmware, phone app and software.

I knocked off 1 star only due to the high price. This seems like a very high quality product and it seems to work great. I now regret paying extra for the home patrol version as I only used the zip code function for the first hour or so while I figured out how to use the software to create favorites lists from the database.

Typing in your zip code to start scanning is very easy, but this scanner picks up so many transmissions from so far away that it is overwhelming. There is no easy way to bypass the transmissions you dont want or select only the transmissions you do want. The scanner itself is very good, with clear sound and long range using just the included antenna. If you are willing to pay extra the company offers to sell you a new sd card with your choice of county options, but after paying so much for the scanner in the first place it shouldnt cost extra to be able to program the scanner correctly. If you want an easy to program scanner to listen to only the agencies you want to hear, this is NOT 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.

Programing needs the manual. It was nice that they include a separate paper manual. Manual is a must read to get more then 60 percent of the features. Last scanner was a 1999 Radio Shack top of the line. Did a lot, but not any thing like this one. A lot for the money and a computer is needed to make the most of it. This is a desk top, does not use internal batteries. All needed wiring comes for house and car.

Top of the line digital scanner including phase 2 digital, with a corresponding top of the line price. Have a lot of phase 1 and 2 systems in the area and the radio has clear p25 reception. The benefits of the HP-1 in terms of loading systems but still having the control over the system like the 966xt with a very similar menu system. Appears to be at least as sensitive as both of those radios (have both). Can create your own favorites listings of frequencies, systems etc regardless of whether they are in the downloaded regularly updating database. Have been using scanners since crystals and have a dozen of them. This is one of my favorites. Still waiting to find out what they do with the Wifi, which connects to my home network but doesnt do anything yet.

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!