Uniden BCD996P2 Digital Mobile TrunkTracker V Scanner, 25,000 Dynamically Allocated Channels, Close Call RF Capture Technology, 4-Line Alpha display, Base/Mobile Design, Phase 2, Location-Based Scanning

This unit is an upgrade to Unidens BCD996XT. A feature I really like about this P2 unit is that a written owners manual was provided in the shipping box. Both of these units, which I own, are top-notch scanners. The P2 model will pick up some of the newer systems/channels that many agencies are now using. I strongly recommend that users consider purchasing subscriptions to Radio Reference and Pro Scan so that programming their scanners can be made so much easier by using a computer, although they can be programmed manually if one desires. External outside antennas also add to users ability to pick up distant broadcasts.

So I am a newbie to this hobby and decided to buy a scanner just to see what was going on whenever the city fire alarm goes off and to listen to police chatter in my free time. After a few days of research I settled on this model even though there were a lot of people saying it was extremely hard to program....Yes it is without help but I programmed all the local ones I needed thanks to a few you tube videos, freescan and radio reference . Took a few hours to learn how to block unwanted channels and other useful things but wasnt too bad. You can pretty much throw away the directions Uniden sent with it and just you tube or google everything. Product came early and as described.

Have one and bought one as gift. Good radios. Im barely scratching the surface regarding the use of all the features. I programmed both using FREESCAN and buying a short term subscription to RADIOREFERENCE. Just watch some tutorials on youtube and bookmark the ones that help you the most. When you read about these radios and they talk about trunking and other things you may not understand just look it up online to try to become familiar with those terms. Dont worry if you never quite understand those terms, you really dont have to and you can still program it by studying the youtube vids, as i said. Youll need a special cable to hook up to your computer. Dont buy a cheap immitation get the brand name. Poke around on amazon or online it will pop up for you.

I got this scanner to replace a very old Radio Shack analog scanner because one of the police stations I listened to changed to P25 Digital. The scanner is complicated and time consuming to set up, but with the help of RadioReference.com to get the frequency information and a video on youtube.com titled UNIDEN BCD996P2: Programming Conventional Systems by The Erod1944 Channel, (all the channels i wanted to scan are Conventional), I was able to figure it out. I was only interested in setting up 4 channels, so I found programming them manually was far easier for me to do rather than trying to download software to do it. Im enjoying the higher sound quality vs. the old analog scanner and am very happy with it.

Recieved in the mail quickly and the scanner works well. Sound quality of the radio is good. It is however a bit tedious programing the scanner via the menus but have downloaded the radio reference free software and the scanner is now up and running with all of my local frequencies. I am getting good reception from PDs 30 miles from my home with the stock antenna. I am however going to give this product four stars, not because the radio lacks quality but because I did not recieve the mounting hardware. Am planning to mount this scanner in my vehicle but the package seems to be missing the twist nuts for the mount and mounting screws. It wont be hard to drive down to my local hardware store to pick up to screws that will work, but at the price point of 350, it is disappointing not to have recieve the radio with all of its intended contents.

nice scfanner to use

While the unit works very well, with band searches finding almost everything; transferring what it finds to memory functions is rather more complicated than earlier scanners. It is well worth it to have it programmed by a service that does this in most cases, especially with the trunked systems; unless the system users themselves will supply the information to you. Finding ALL the information yourself can be time consuming. Personally, I politely ASK for the needed information from municipalities, in writing, and supply easily filled out forms FOR the information; and I find that some are helpful while others give you a bunch of BS, assuming you know nothing about FCC rules and regulations and/or the fact that licenses are required for their communications equipment; (which makes the needed information readily available to them, IF they would supply it on the provided forms.)

Our local cops switched to P25 digital radios. I thought I was sunk. This scanner saved my hobby. The build quality is very good. Sound quality is good but could be better. Im not used to digital scanning so it may be normal for this technology. Programming is a bear. I purchased ProScan software to help me use the BCD996P2. Once I saw the interaction between the software and the front panel Im confident that I could program it. BUT... trying to use it out of the box without the software is a very steep learning curve. All in all, a good purchase that I would buy again.

This is a great desk top scanner. It does have a learning curve, which means you can expect to do some learning! My experience with software called FreeSCAN and RadioReference.com made set-up SO much easier. A 1-yr subscription to RadioReference is $60 at this time, well worth it as it does make set-up using FreeSCAN much easier! All in all, No Regrets, as the scanner price on Amazon is VERY good. Im in a low spot, still reception has not been an issue. The sound quality is good, but there is always room for improvement. Otherwise, no complaints. It is complex, yet doable with some patience and flexibility.

These things have come a long way over the years. This scanner is definitely high quality and is what I was looking for. The only downside to it, is that there is quite a learning curve, specifically on programing it. There are YouTube videos out there on how to program and operate it; some are more helpful than others. Overall I am pleased with it.