Uniden Bearcat BC75XLT Handheld Scanner, 300 Channels, 10 banks, Close Call Technology, PC Programable, NOAA Weather, Aviation, Marine, Railroad, NASCAR, and Non-Digital Police/Fire/Public Safety

I bought the Uniden BC75XLT after doing a lot of research on scanners. I bought it to use at NASCAR events. I have never used a scanner before purchading this one. It was very easy to use and set up. I felt like a pro in no time. I was listening to weather, police, fire within minutes due to the presets in this scanner. I got a list of frequencies for nascar and was able to easily program and store each frequency to correspond with the car number. I took it to a race a week ago and it worked flawlessly. I recommended it to a lot of people who are looking for scanners.

Ive had mine perhaps a year or two. Bought it to listen to railroad chatter on trips. The first time I traveled, I wound up putting it away because I couldnt figure out how to use it at all and I was pretty annoyed. The second time I traveled, I figured out that watching YouTube videos helped (especially when adding the word railfanning to the search), as did writing the Uniden tech support, where an employee really went the extra mile to try to be helpful. An individual named Charles explained things in plain English and was patient with my ignorance. I still had a little trouble, frankly. Then I learned that I could use it easily enough at home with a bit of a shortcut--pressing the function key (which is orange) and then the Svc button. By pressing those two buttons, I did not have to program anything but I automatically got to hear transmissions within range of us. That is all I had to do. So this is something like simply playing movies on ones VCR, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, etc., without even trying to use all the extra functions. The manual isnt all that useful as a guide even though it does label buttons and so forth. I had to acquire somewhat of a knowledge base before I understood what the manual meant (this is not the first time I had this experience with a manual). To be fair, I just didnt know anything about scanners, electronics, ham radios, etc. As far as I could tell at the time, this seemed to be the highest rated radio of its kind (in its price range) and the most talked about, and apart from the expected updated model of this same unit, that still seems to be the case. At the same time, there is a bit of a hurdle when it comes to entry into this type of hobby. We do not receive police transmissions. It seems that those in our area are encrypted now, so we wont be getting them. In a fairly highly populated city, there is still a limited amount to listen to (I am using the stock antenna) but we do get weather reports and a few other things. If I expected nonstop talking and wanted to listen to it for an extended time, I would have been disappointed (but that wasnt my particular interest). We turn it on around dinnertime and listen to the weather, etc. for ten minutes or so. Realistic expectations all around may be the key to enjoying this radio, which we now do. Now that I finally know more about how to use it, I am hoping that I will be able to listen to railroad chatter on our next train trip. That is the real reason I got it and I havent been able to do that yet. There are a number of YouTube videos that explain how to listen--which I didnt know when I bought this. Its helpful but still not a straight path to success. As for the unit itself, it seems fairly durable and it appears to work as intended. The buttons do require some pressure when you push them to get a response but that seems more or less like a good thing. Be aware of the button you need to slide inside the unit to indicate whether your batteries are rechargeable or not (its not hard). I am not a patient person and usually return electronics that I cannot quickly figure out. So it has been a bit strange that I have picked this up from time to time and tried again to use it. All in all, would probably buy the same unit all over again. Knowing that all I had to do was pick it up and press the two keys I mentioned earlier would have been of considerable help. But, from my experience as a novice, this isnt really an easy hobby to get started with, and if one wants to, some trial and error, with a considerable amount of non success, may be called for enroute to this goal. Up until now, I sort of regretted buying it. Reading the Dummies on two-way radios and scanners (this is not a two-way radio but the book has some content on scanners) helped me understand some of the backstory that eventually helped me use this. So, I wouldnt say dont buy it but I would say understand what the path may be like if you dont have related expertise, and go from there.

Nice little unit, worked as expected. The only comment is the programming of the unit was a pain in the a*&. I ended up using the computer / USB interface to program it. I had to learned the hard way to save my work on my computer before sending it to the scanner, and remember every time I added new channels I had to work off of the old setup / profile or I lost the channels I had already setup. Nice little option for the money. I would have given it five stars if the programming was easier. I never did get one channel programmed off the units keypad itself, and the instructions really didnt help me.

quick frequency install via internet radio frequencies list for owners( 80 mile area.) antenna provided 5 inch is fine but i put it to my old analog scanner one foot long multi element (at peak of rooftop antenna )and got so much going on at s c a n mode. get one of these and you can quickly hear that police emergency vehicle transmitt clear speech going tothat location ( of your curosity.) offers options like 200 lock out channels that made noise when scanning. buy two each 2300 mh aa batteries and listen for a couple of days current draw very low.these go for twice the cost elsewhere , see you tube reviews and how to plug and play . enter scanner bc75 xlt at search space.

There is nothing wrong with the actual device. Im using it to listen to railroad communications. I live about 3.5 miles from the rail lines and I get a decent signal after adding a different antenna. Its easy enough to carry in my car when Im at the tracks taking video or photos. The instructions are a little vague so I watched some YouTube videos and that helped out a lot. Im using regular Amazon brand AA batteries and am getting a decent run time. I also live next to a small airport so I can listen to some of the communications from the small aircraft. The issues I have are that most of the police/fire departments around my area have gone digital and thus, this wont work for them. So again, there is nothing wrong with the actual device. Just know what your area has before you get caught up in the Police, Fire advertising/description and avoid disappointment. I havent really had any good luck with weather info and quite frankly its just easier to use my smartphone to get actual weather information. So I dont see that as a selling point either. I do wish there was a way to have the back-light of the screen to be on longer than it is. Too often its hard to see what the station is when Im using the search mode to then lock in that station. Overall, its a decent enough first time scanner for me.

I purchased this model to replace an aging Radio Shack scanner I have to listen to military aircraft. I bought it in Nov, but didnt get to opening it until Jan. Upon trying to load the higher UHF frequencies I found out this model doesnt handle those frequencies. It was on the box, but I wish it was called out in the details here on Amazon. The fact I waited so long to open my return window had also close. And because most Police Departments have gone digital I cant even use it to listen to them.

FIrst usage at the track as a corner worker and Im somewhat impressed. Battery life was pretty good, with a set of AA batteries lasting about 12 hrs (1.5 days) before it needs to be changed. Controls are not intuitive, so youll need to spend some time with the manual just to turn it on. Unfortunately the manual spends a lot of time discussing scanning scenarios, but as a track worker I know the frequency I want to monitor, and the manual doesnt give many hints as to how best to handle that situation. Picked up transmissions without issue, and was as clear as the high-end track issued radio our station captain was assigned. Belt clip worked well and kept the unit on my belt even when jogging to respond to things. One issue Ive had is getting decent volume into my headset (a Racing Electronics headset), but that may very well be a function of the headset as opposed to the scanner as when I unplug the headset then the volume of the scanner through its own onboard speaker is plenty loud. Id recommend this my fellow corner workers.

The overall quality of this Radio is excellent. Controls for volume etc. are good and intuitive with practice. VOLUME IS CLEAR and Adjustable. I am not satisfied with the instructions on how to program this radio, consequently, Ive not programmed the radio because the instructions are not clearly described. Instead, I just rely upon the existing frequencies (Channels) that are pre-set at the factory (out of the box). Probably, most disappointing is that fact that in this region, theres just not that many open channels broadcasting, and that is likely due to the encrypted frequencies or just so little or no traffic. Once in a while, I might be able to pick up periodic conversation lasting several seconds for FIRE or MARINE but thats about it. Only WEATHER (NOAA) has a consistent and prolonged broadcast anouncement. POLICE, AIR RACE HAM, OTHER (GMRS etc), RAIL, and CB channels are basically quiet or full of Static. HAM channels may occasional pick up local chat between two HAM operators certain time of the early evening, but nothing else. Any disappointment with this scanner isnt the scanner itself but with the lack of hearing life action other than on weather or marine frequencies.

I bought this to replace my old Bearcat scanner with 200 channels. I am a crew chief for a race team in SCCA so I need a scanner that I can lock down a channel and adjust the volume with out looking at it. This unit has volume, squeak, and SEL all on one knob, just last week on Homestead I had to adjust the volume and it change the channel not the volume. Bottom line if you use this to list to the track in one ear and your driver in the other ear, this is not the unit for you.

Nice little unit, worked as expected. The only comment is the programming of the unit was a pain in the a*&. I ended up using the computer / USB interface to program it. I had to learned the hard way to save my work on my computer before sending it to the scanner, and remember every time I added new channels I had to work off of the old setup / profile or I lost the channels I had already setup. Nice little option for the money. I would have given it five stars if the programming was easier. I never did get one channel programmed off the units keypad itself, and the instructions really didnt help me.