Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Handheld Scanner, 500-Alpha-Tagged Channels, Close Call Technology, PC Programable, Aviation, Marine, Railroad, NASCAR, Racing, and Non-Digital Police/Fire/Public Safety.

Directions are confusing cant program it Im not tech savvy so I cant usebut its good quality and works fine so far.

I bought this scanner for NASCAR and IndyCar scanning as well as aircraft scanning and listening to Blue Angels and Thunderbird airshow chatter. This scanner works perfectly for this purpose. The BC125AT_SS software allows me to copy and paste Cup, Xfinity, truck and Indycar driver lists, frequencies and car numbers into the software, then load them into the scanner. Yes it is a little more involved than the Racing Electronics scanners they rent at the track but for the price of 2 rentals, its yours forever plus RE no longer supports Indycar. Ive used this scanner at the 2022 IndyCar TMS race, COTA for NASCAR, and the NASCAR All Star race and so far it hasnt disappointed. The Alphanumeric display is great. You can program in the drivers name and car # to quickly jump or scroll to the correct frequency. Heres a hint, use earbuds and earmuffs over your ears or an enclosed set of headphones (amplified headphones would be best). Another hint is to get a Diamond RH77CA BNC antenna for $18-$24 to improve your reception over the stock antenna. Doesnt matter at a short track but at a place like COTA where you could be a long way from the transmitters, it helps.

I am doing some work for our towns newspaper and wanted to know what’s going on in the area. The publisher gave me his scanner but we were to far from the sheriffs department in a valley to hear calls. I bought this Uniden and am surprised how far through mountains it picks up. What I don’t like is the horrible instructions. I was ready to return it and I decided to go on you tube to figure out how to unlock it. The instruction manual had different instructions than the web did to reset it. The web worked, instructions did not. When I got it, several channels where programmed and it immediately locked and nothing I could do to unlock it until I found the instructions on the web. I suspect this was returned and resold. The unit itself is easy to program once the kinks are worked out, which was nearly three hours. Go to YouTube for more clear instructions. We used one bank and were able to program EMS, Sheriffs department, and forestry in it and the best part, you can program with the frequency what each setting is. When police calls come over, it reads “”police” and so on. Once you use a scanner, you appreciate this feature. Before buying, be sure your area is not on digital broadcasting as this unit is analog. Any broadcast that starts with an “8” is digital. Our state police here use digital and those scanners are very expensive. There are many sites on the web that you can find all the scanner frequencies as so you can program the Uniden Scanner. Some list every single broadcast frequency’s being used in your area, most of which are construction companies. It comes with a charging cord to plug into a PC to charge it. If you have a USB wall plug, works that way as it doesn’t come with an AC adaptor. The battery life is about six hours which is disappointing. It’s pretty interesting to listen to the broadcasts. The unit it self is five stars, the instructions are two stars.

I mainly purchased this to monitor aircraft frequencies which it does well. I hear many airborne aircraft, but not much from the ground unless I am near an airport. Except for fire paging and ambulance to hospital comms, it does not receive police and fire services in my area for two reasons; 1. Most of those are above 512 Mhz, and 2. Those that are below 512 Mhz are mostly digital which sound like a loud buzz on this radio and any other radio that is not equiped to decode digital. The radio has 3 main modes to chose from; 1. Scan mode scans 10 banks of 50 frequencies each plus a close call bank. The active banks show up at the bottom of the screen, and pressing a corresponding number on the keypad turns each bank on or off. The two search modes allow searching for CTCSS (subaudible tones) and DCS (Digital Coded Squelch). Active frequencies can be saved along with the privacy code. 2. Service search allows searching for activity on 10 different pre-programmed frequency ranges / lists. Similar to the scan mode, the different ranges can be turned on or off by pressing a number. Service search bank 3 is ham radio and includes 6 and 2 meters and 440 Mhz. Service search bank 9 includes FRS / GMRS / and MURS frequencies (mostly UHF and a few VHF). 3. Search gives you 10 different frequency ranges that you can program yourself - low and high limits. The close call technology works in all 3 main modes and has three options; 1. Do not disturb turns off close call when the scanner is receiving a signal 2. Priority mode has close call turned on all the time, and will interrupt reception of other signals. However, unlike turning a priority channel on, normal reception is unaffected while receiving other channels. With a priority channel enabled, other channels are briefly interrupted every few seconds while the priority channel is checked. 3. Close call only listens only for close calls Temporary lockout is a nice feature. When the power is reset, all the temporary lockouts are reset. To permanently lock out a channel, press the lockout button twice. This also works for close call channels. Cons - there are a limited number of lockouts - 100 temporary and 100 permanent. If you decide that you do not want to monitor a permanent channel, it is easy to delete it. The weather alert is a nice feature if you do not have a dedicated weather alert radio. It even alerts you if it can no longer receive your local weather service channel. The computer interface works well which allows you to input information into a sheet similar to a spreadsheet. It allows you to read information from the radio or save information to the radio. Rows or blocks of rows can be copied and pasted to easily move frequencies around within a bank or put them into other banks (tabs).

As a lifelong rail fan, I am always looking for ways to improve my rail fan experience. One thing that I thought would advance my experience trackside was a scanner, which would allow me to listen to railroad operations in real time. When deciding on a scanner, I chose the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT because it was within my price range and had a good amount of useful features. I use my scanner almost exclusively to listen to railroad activity, but there are many other uses for the BC125AT. A scanner can be used to receive many different bands and activities; therefore, this product would be ideal for someone who is interested in listening to a variety of radio transmissions. The BC125AT is particularly good for those who are interested in storing their commonly used frequencies and taking their scanner into the field. Many Ways To Listen The BC125AT offers many different options to scan and listen to your desired channels and frequencies. There are nine channel banks with 50 presets each, which means you have the ability to store 450 channels in the scanner’s memory for later use. The BC125AT also comes with Uniden Bearcat programming software, which allows each channel to have an alpha tag or name so memorization of channels is not necessary. You are able to scan your saved channels to check for activity or scan all frequencies. Scanning all frequencies can be done by bank (in order of frequency) or by service. The BC125AT includes Police, Fire, HAM, Marine, Railroad, Civil Air, Military Air, CB, RRS/GMRS/MURS, and Racing frequencies, organized into banks. The BC125AT allows you to turn each bank of frequencies on and off individually, allowing for a very narrow scan if needed. I have found this very helpful, as I can scan only railroad frequencies when I am in unfamiliar territory. The only downside is that one knob controls almost all of the scrolling features, as well as the volume. This sometimes makes it difficult to adjust the volume or proper channel. The BC125AT also comes with a separate NOAA weather radio scanner and can be programmed to turn on in an emergency. Excellent Range For Size The range of the BC125AT is very good for the size of the antenna. Like most scanners, its range depends upon the strength of the output signal. In my current location with my scanner on the railroad frequency, I can listen to transmissions coming from locomotives about a mile away in either direction. I can always hear the dispatcher, due to repeaters along the tracks and a stronger signal. However, I have been able to receive spotty railroad transmissions from about 30 miles away in other locations, and I can receive a very strong signal from a police department in a county at least 30 miles away. Given the BC125AT’s size and large range of channels, the range is excellent and better than I expected. The range of the NOAA weather radio scanner is excellent. My previous weather radio only picked up weather in towns or locations that are at very high elevations. The BC125AT picked up a weather station in every single location I have tried it in, including some very remote canyons. Be Ready To Take Your Scanner Anywhere You Want The BC125AT is a very portable scanner. I have no problem taking it trackside or anywhere else. It is already a very small scanner, but the secret to its success is its detachable antenna. Once the antenna is detached, the size is comparable to that of a digital camera. The BC125AT can easily fit in any standard-sized pocket, and I routinely put my scanner in my pants pocket while riding the bus or shopping. The BC125AT fits comfortably in your hand or on your belt. It also comes with a headphone port, so it is possible to listen to your scanner in public areas without others knowing. Overall, the BC125AT is a great starter scanner for anyone who is interested in listening to radio traffic, whether that is railroad, police, HAM, or something else. It is an excellent portable scanner with ample range and options to make your scanning experience more enjoyable. Please reply to this review if you have questions about my experience with the BC125AT.

Im a little stunned by the bad reviews. I couldnt disagree more. This is a great scanner. For the roughly 100 bucks, you really get a lot. Its handheld, which means it travels nicely. Its great for road trips and can keep you in the loop on weather, accidents, and umm, other police activities. It scans CB, FRS/GMRS/MURS and HAM bands which covers pretty much all of the individual use bands. The first two (CB, FRS/GMRS/MURS) are pretty useful on trips too. Its rechargeable, and uses standard AA Ni-MH batteries (included) and you can recharge the batteries right in the scanner from a USB port. You can charge while its on. Also, just in case it matters, you can run it directly from the USB port without any batteries installed at all! Of course, in a pinch you can always use regular non-rechargeable AA batteries which are pretty much the most common batteries in America. Theres a switch inside the battery compartment to tell the scanner what kind of batteries you have so that it wont try to recharge regular batteries. (I know, too much time on batteries but I cant help it. A scanners no good if you cant turn it on!) There are some nice storage features for storing found stations and you can program them in manually too, if you know the frequency. You can name all the stations as well. Additionally, theres are banks of per-programmed frequencies for different uses (fire, police, CB, etc.) to allow you to get started right away. (If youre looking for frequencies just google scanner frequencies and the city or area you live in. Pretty simple...) But really, its connecting to the PC that has me won over. *All* of the settings can be accessed through the PC software available from the website. (The website also includes the *manual* <ahem>, drivers, and firmware updates. The software isnt all that sexy to be sure, but its plenty functional! Its a lot easier to use than typing into the scanner itself. It allows you to save different configurations in separate files so you can have, for instance, a file for Topeka, and another one for Miami. Again, a really nice feature if youre on the road and have a laptop. Cons: You cant actually control the scanning itself from the computer. Not a big deal but the function might be kinda cool. My biggest complaint is that there is not a standing battery indicator. You only get notification when the batteries get low, but you have no idea when that might be. Its just a minor annoyance... maybe itll get fixed in a firmware update? Overall, totally useful.

Bought this to use at NASCAR races. I thought Id need to spend hours figuring out how to upload a new software to the radio, but no, I didnt! All I had to do was research the driver and MRN radio frequency channels before the race, and I was able to listen to the radio over my headsets with no issues! For the 400 mile Darlington race in Spring 2022, it had plenty of battery left over. Only downsides: max volume is still a bit quiet when trying to listen over a NASCAR engine, but you can still hear it fine overall. Also, initially learning how to quickly go to certain frequencies and flip between them can take a bit of time, but it is in the instruction manual. Overall, this is a robust radio that will let you listen to the MRN broadcast and driver channels at a NASCAR race, which is what I wanted.

From Pittsburgh PA I can hear transmissions as far away as Interstate 80!!! And this area is full of hills and valleys, but this little radio was still able to pull those signals in. Scanning through the channels I hear a whole new world of conversations I didnt even know existed. I especially like the ability to scan for strong transmissions close by. It locks on and lets you know what is in your area. This feature can be turned off so that you can just run up and down a frequency range without being interrupted by strong signals you would rather ignore. A bunch of namable programmable channels means I wont lose interesting signals I may find while roaming through the hundreds of frequencies. A word of warning to you guys who like to just pick up a new toy and run with it... Read the manual!!! It will save you time and frustration! Once I understood the way Uniden had their menu scheme laid out, working with this radio was easy. This is my first real professional scanner and it took me a little bit of time to understand what I had purchased. But once I got the hang of it, I didnt want to put it down! Im still learning all the features, (havent tried to connect it to my computer yet), and can hardly wait to take it out to a sporting event. I know it is almost trivial, but the detachable antenna makes for easy travel. That was a nice touch. I can put it in my pocket with no worries about breakage. Uniden packed a lot of good things in this little radio for a fair price. I’m very happy with this purchase.

This purchase was made when the display on my old PRO-95 quit working. I decided I didnt need the 800MHz channels or trunking capability since I mainly use the scanner for listening to railroads. I was very happy with the BC125AT and the software that you can download for free. The first two banks I programmed in all the railroad frequencies and then the remaining ones used for police, fire, HAM, and CB frequencies. The software makes it easy to replace the frequencies with only railroad frequencies with one railroad occupying one bank. I like the fact that it uses standard AA rechargeable batteries that can be charged in the scanner. Seems to hold the charge for a long time, but am considering ordering batteries with higher mAH capacities for extra batteries. I havent had a chance to use the scanner with my railroad frequency tuned antenna on my vehicle, so I dont know how sensitive it is to pick up trains calling out signals from a good distance away. Overall, I am very happy with this replacement for my old scanner.

This is my first venture into scanning, so I didnt want to spend to much out of the chute. After reading many reviews here this seemed a safe bet. This is a durable unit with a clear readable screen and wait for it...........fairly darn easy to use. Well, my experience with it was fairly easy. Dont think for a minute if you have never used a scanner you are going to popped the batteries in and turn it on an be amazed, there is some leg work up front. Other reviews here warned me the manual would be useless, cant confirm this as I never bothered to open the manual. Went right to the Uniden website for the programming software and the usb driver. Here is where things got a little rough, the programming software was a breeze to install, when I plugged my scanner into the usb port I never got a driver prompt screen. Soooooo, some google searches and youtube searches and I managed to directly drop the driver ini file in the right spot. Still could not connect the programming software to the unit, another search and I found under the tools menu in the software a button for device manager and made the connection. A little convoluted, but not overly bad if you are a tad computer savvy. Found all my local frequencies on the radioreference site, started filling int he columns on the software and sent them to the scanner. Hit the scan button and I was off to the races. Volume is ample, locking out is quick and easy if needed. If you want to manually program this unit without the software, plenty of helpful people on youtube have posted some great tutorials. This has been a very positive first experience with a very nice unit, I would recommend to anyone interested in dabbling.