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.

I purchased this product for use when I go out railfanning, to be able to listen in on where trains are located on my local rail line. The scanner works really well and is able to receive radio signals from a pretty far distance away when youre close to an active rail line. The build quality is good for the product, its mostly made of plastic. But thats not a deal breaker in my opinion, since the product feels very durable and doesnt feel like it will fall apart the second it falls onto a concrete floor. I found the interface very easy to understand, all the button functions are clearly labeled and are very easy to figure out all of the functions. The programming software was very easy to use as well, its very similar to using Microsoft Excel. I personally prefer the BC125 over the BC75, because the 125 can store a lot more frequencies and you also get the ability to add in custom names/alpha tags. The only drawback to the product is the range is not very good... But that comes with using the antenna that is provided with the scanner, since its not very long. The scanner can receive signals from channels I programmed as far as 10 miles away from my local railroad mail line, but that applies mainly frequencies that are used on my local railroad. Overall the scanner works very well for my uses, I am very happy with the product, and I would recommend any railroad enthusiast to purchase a radio scanner to use while railfanning. Since it will make your railfanning sessions a lot more fun, since you will know ahead of time whats coming in your direction.

UPDATE - 8/3/2020: If you buy a Newer Unit, DO NOT TRY TO DOWNLOAD THE FIRMWARE FROM THE UNIDEN WEBSITE, as it will reload an older version, if you have a Newly purchased Unit. Their Support Documentation, and every YouTube Video I looked at, directs you to the Uniden BC125AT Website/Webpage, which is outdated, and has at least one bad link (for the Driver downloads). I repeat DO NOT Download the Firmware update, if you have a version at or higher than 1.03.01. I know there at least Two firmware updates, after the download on their support page for the BC125AT. The documentation on their webpage does not tell you which firmware you are downloading, and after you update, there is no way to reload the previous (more current version) that you had, as I found no links to newer versions on Unidens website. or on the web. You can verify the firmware version on the unit that you have, when you power it on. This is absolutely POOR documentation and product support! The only reason I am not giving it a One Star, is that the programming software (which you should download) is a nice tool to be able to modify and save files, to load your on BC125AT. However, the process of spending a whole day (for someone who is not well versed in scanners) is tedious and time consuming, since the majority of info out there is outdated. This unit is fine for monitoring what I am looking to use it for (Analog Civil/Military Air Traffic), but I would not buy it for monitoring LEO/Police frequencies, as most are using Digital in the 800-900 mhz range. I would not buy this unit, if I had to do it again, being a newbie radio/scanner operator, because of the inaccurate and lack of support information available. It is probably fine for someone who has an extensive background in HAM or Scanning, however. All that said, I stand by my Original Review... ORIGINAL REVIEW: Not really happy with the information available on how to set-up this unit, even from the Manufacturers Webpage/Website and Unidens YouTube Videos, as both places need to be updated with current information. But they sure have no problems encouraging you to PAY for them to program it for you, which is Great for bottom line profits, but CRAPPY for customer service for the product, which is why this product is getting a poor review from this customer. Sure I could spend several hours reading the manual, and eventually I will, but I wanted to get some things programmed immediately, and expected their to be current information on the Web, but obviously my expectations werent met.

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.

I work in the digital LMR industry for first responders. I didnt have too much trouble figuring this radio out, but nothing about this radio is what you may be familiar with if youre used to working with analog scanners. All of the knobs and buttons are dual and triple use. For example, there is no designated volume or squelch knob. There is a single knob which serves several purposes, including volume or squelch. This is sort of a nuisance to me. However, I will live with its awkwardness for now. As far as a radio is concerned, it has good sensitivity and noise rejection.

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.

Antena potente

PROS: Its a lot of scanner for the money. Battery life is about 7-8 hours before it needs recharged. Audio quality is good considering the size of the speaker. Signal sensitivity with the supplied antenna is good. The alpha tagging is awesome. The fit and finish are excellent. The display is excellent. CONS: The owners manual does not do an adequate job of getting the new owner over the initial learning hump needed to setup the scanner. Im a ham radio operator with plenty of experience setting up new radios, yet it took me well over an hour before I became proficient at programming channels and tagging them. Once learned though its dead easy. Programming hints: Any channel that has not been assigned a frequency becomes, by default, locked out. New out of the box the scanner will display a all channels locked out message because you havent yet assigned a frequency to a channel. There is nothing wrong with your scanner. The hold button acts somewhat the same as a manual button on other scanner in that it stops the scanner on a single channel when it is scanning. Once stopped on that channel, use the volume knob to scroll through the channels. In that manner. press the hold button to access the channel you want to add the frequency to. Press Func followed immediately by the PrgE key. Use the volume knob to scroll to enter frequency. Press the PrgE key again. Enter the freq using the keypad numbers. Press PrgE again. Now the radio receiver has a frequency to scan. There is no Menu button. The menu of available actions is spread out among those keys that have secondary red lettering. To access that portion of the menu found on the red lettering keys you must push the Func immediately prior to pushing the red lettering keys. Then use the volume knob to scroll through the available actions, followed by the PrgE key to access that portion of the menu you wish to access. As clunky as my programming hints are they are more clear than the manual.

I bring this to all the NASCAR, IMSA and MotoAmerica races I go to. It’s great to hear what is going on on track and all the teams. I either plug in headphones or an external battery powered speaker. Make sure you have at least two sets of rechargeable batteries.

Manual is only for experienced radio operators.This scanner is incredibly tricky to learn and operate.Dont count on Uniden for support,they longer offer phone support.When I called thats what they told me.They also told me that someone would contact me via email.Ive never heard a thing.I might have done better if I was lost in the desert and someone handed me a book of matches.Im just blown away by Uniden/Bearcat.If you like Japanese stuff that is impossible to figure out.Buy this one!

Will not hold a charge more than a hour. Rechargeable batteries are anything but.