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

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.

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.

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.

I was under the impression that this was a two-way device, but thats okay. I can delve into that technology later. I purchased this particular model with some apprehension after reading third party reviews saying that it would be difficult to program...then charging $100s to program. Thankfully I didnt solicit any of that help, but instead performed my own internet research and read the owners manual. The software that can be installed onto a computer to communicate with this scanner via USB is easy to understand and intuitive enough for the basic/advanced computer user. I still have a lot to learn about the different uses and technologies in general, but thats part of the fun.

This scanner is an upgrade from my old hand-held. Since I have all the frequencies, it was extremely easy to manually key them in. The top nob lets you advance the channels so you can set up the banks as you wish. Tried to do it with the software, but it seems my computer does not recognize the scanner. So think about this - you have to type the frequencies into your computer; but you can just as quickly input them directly into the scanner. For a first time user, I would recommend to take it easy, let the scan and search find frequencies or best, input channels you seriously want and then study the instruction manual. It can also be downloaded for easier reading. Happy scanning.

This is my seventh hand held scanner and tenth total, and I must admit, even for a seasoned user, programming frequencies in this scanner is not as straight forward as others I have owned. The good news, great news actually, is that Uniden provides a free download for both the drivers to connect the scanner to a PC and a FREE software package that is super easy and fast to use. I use this type of scanner mainly for listening at auto races, and after ham thumbing the first three of about sixty frequencies I needed to load I figured it would be easy and quicker to download the driver and software and go from there. The programming software is super intuitive, will run on anything from Windows XP to 8.1, and you can save the frequency package as a file, which means you can have multiple files of frequencies at the ready. It uses a standard USB cord, included. The only reason I did not give this unit five stars is the somewhat cumbersome method of manually loading frequencies, and I have not yet been able to determine how (or if) you can page through your frequencies one by one, versus having to use the hold, channel number, hold method. A little awkward, but no big deal. Amazons shipping was stellar as usual, and the unit was mint fresh new! EDIT: I have changed my score from four stars to useless. I am very careful with my equipment. I used this radio a dozen times at most, and the display became erratic, showing only half the characters. I did further review, and discovered this is a constant complaint regarding this specific model. I disassembled it, and it is not in any way a user repairable item because of the way they connected the ribbon cable to the chassis. So this is now a piece of junk. Do not buy!

I needed a three band scanner for use at the Reno Air Races. Did some looking and found this one to be the best value of those that would serve the purpose. Installed a set of NiMH batteries which would last about 5 hours on a full charge. Rather than rely on battery power I connected it to a 30000mAh power bank and was able to use it all day long. Software was a little difficult to find but once I had it downloaded it was simple to program the frequencies I needed to monitor and setup the scan function to walk these channels. Only real downside is that the scanner will not charge the NiMH batteries while its on. Im pleased with the purchase and would recommend this scanner to any Reno Air Races attendee or volunteer whod like to be a bit more aware of whats going on behind the scenes.

They need to make the antenna NOT be detachable. Mine fell out of my pocket and then when I sat down, I lost the antenna. Like - gone. Where did it go? Well the answer came 4 months later when I had my colonoscopy. Doctor removed it but it was half digested and no longer functioned as intended.

I do like my scanner..I have been a Scanner enthusiast for 40 years, back when they took crystals you had to buy for an additional 5 bucks..I am from Chicago and its great if you live in a big city, Now I am in a different state, in a rural area and travel in a 150 mile radius as a 24/7 service technician so I like to catch the action...Its a little different out here as the bigger municipalities use a trunking system on a higher frequency then this particular scanner..However the stuff I can pick up is clear and I LOVE how you can hook up to you PC and program it...!

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.