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

After having the Whistler which received from 5 to 10 miles out, the Uniden is great! It receives from at least 50 miles and more with the stock antenna. Unlike the Whistler, the Uniden is not as easy to use. But after programming who cares. I would give a 5 star if it was more user friendly. When it really comes down to it I want performance. It easily receives as well as my 2 way radios.

So Far so Good! Listening to my local Tower almost right out of the box (with some reading of the directions)

This little scanner offers a lot of features at a decent price, and gives you the option of convenient portability. Not much to say, other than that it works like its supposed to. The only thing to keep in-mind, particularly if you are not already experienced with scanners, is that you will not get great range or reception with the included antenna. If you need range, be prepared to install and use a larger/outdoor antenna, which is not difficult to accomplish.

Lots of one star reviews by people who refuse to read the instructions. You need to save every frequency you want the scanner to listen for, its not automatic. Most areas have dozens per agency so download the free software and use the usb cable and a computer to do it.

I am really enjoying this police scanner. The only thing that I am not happy with it is that normal radio stations can not be programmed in to it (they are capable of being programmed in this unit) like my old table top scanner. More features than I expected especially for the price. Sound is great, size is great, easy to use and it is truly portable with rechargeable battery power and car battery power. I like using the close call option to capture frequencies. For me the 300 channels are way plenty. It also can be used as a back-up charger for AA rechargeable batteries for use in other devices. Bottom line, very happy.

There’s nothing like the original bearcat scanner. This one is a little difficult to program too many steps. I always have to look up on you tube when I’m going to program it.

Very nice scanner. I had an older Uniden scanner before for more than 10 years but it definitely bit the dust. It was used in the car with a plug-in charger and just kept going until the buttons and screen just gave out. With batteries, this one goes maybe a day or 2 at the most. Will look into the plug-in charger options as I use it more in the car than out in the field. Still early to tell about reliability but if it lasts like my old brick scanner, Ill be a happy camper. Another great experience using Amazon Warehouse Used-Like New for the buy.

I’ve received two defective units. One was knew one was like new. Neither worked. I contacted customer support the first time and there was no resolution. 2nd one I just sent back. Would not scan straight out of the box and said All Cannel Lock. Going with a different make this time.

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.

We bought this to take to a Nascar race for the ability to tune into the racers channels and hear what is being said. This was a pretty easy device to program. I simply looked up the Nascar line up, found a YouTube video to show me HOW to turn this, and then input the correct numbers as needed. It worked just fine and doesnt seem to use much battery usage at all.