Uniden HomePatrol-2 Color Touchscreen Simple Program Digital Scanner, TrunkTracker V and S,A,M,E, Emergency/Weather Alert, APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2! Covers USA and Canada, Quick Record and Playback

UPDATE February 2020: Tried to get it to work after we moved from NC back to Florida. It scans the Ocala area data base, but only brings in a couple of weather channels. Only transmit static on all 100+ stations in the area. Too much money to spend for a device that lasts only 3 years. ORIGINAL REVIEW: I received and set up my Uniden HP-2 scanner yesterday. Let me tell you, after trying out a couple of scanners 15 -20 years ago, this one is so easy by comparison. You just put in the zip code, or the name of your town, or your coordinates, and any stations within 10 or 20 miles will be scanned. Then you can easily weed out the less useful ones. I got this model to use as an appliance, not a as a hobby. I will use it as an info gathering tool so I can know what is going on around me in the event of a local or regional disaster, be it an ice storm or forest fire (the most likely disasters in this area) or something worse. I wont be spending weeks and months honing my skills on it. I got it so I can make it useful in the least amount of time. Its perfect for that.

If you are not interested in becoming a self-taught radio engineer or working through complex radio system hierarchy programing, then the HomePatrol II scanner is for you. Its as easy as it gets and is a radio scanner for the rest of us. The HomePatrol II is simple to operate and youll be listening in minutes. Just follow the Quick Start-Up instructions and you will hear everything you buy a scanner for. ZERO painful manual programing required. Plug it into your PC, install the Sentinel software, let the unit automatically update its firmware, follow the touch screen instructions, allow it to charge, put in your ZIP Code and voilà, youre listening to whats going on around you. You can pick and choose the services you want to hear. Take it with you when you travel, load in the ZIP Code of your destination, choose the services you want to hear, and youre listening to the local radio traffic. All via touch screen menus. I also own the BCD325P2- which I like, but it requires complex manual programming or third party software to program. I learned to use FreeScan to program it and can get the Systems, Sites, Groups and Talk IDs that I want to hear loaded into the scanner but it takes some time and effort even after the learning curve. My BCD325P2 and BC245XLT Trunk Tracker III are great scanners and learning them made me more technically savvy. But if simplicity and actual listening is what you seek, youve found it with the HomePatrol II. However, if the actual journey towards scanning is just important to you as the destination; then I recommend the BCD325P2 or one of the high-end Uniden scanners. No malfunction issues with the HomePatrol II yet. I put it in a padded carrier then inside my backpack when I travel and have had no problems.

Very nice unit. The AC charger was nice on the HomePatrol-1 (doesnt come with this one). However, you can take the USB cord and plug it into any USB wall charger you may have (like for iphone). It self detects whether the charger has enough current to power the unit & charge at the same time. If not, its one or the other. If you plug it into a computer, it is one or the other (at least on my MacBook Pro). Of course, this unit doesnt support Apple and Safari, so thats another problem. Luckily, I had another Windows computer to do the firmware/database updates. If it had an AC adapter and Apple support it would be a 5 star.

I have been using scanners for almost 40 years, first when each frequency was added by placing a crystal in a socket, and later when there was a keyboard to manually enter each frequency. I was happy with my old analog scanner, but since most of our local radio channels have changed to digital, I was unable to hear the channels I wanted to hear. This Uniden HP2 is great since I have experience with scanners, but might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. The screen menu is straightforward and easy to use, and the only buttons to push are the on/off and volume controls on top of the unit. For me, just entering data on a touch screen is more convenient than on a keyboard. I found that selecting area code rather than city for listening area is best because it restricts the number of unusable fringe area channels that are unreadable and just cause static. An outside antenna would probably improve range and reception, but the stock antenna picks up all the local channels that I want to hear. The Sentry computer program is very helpful, but again might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. Overall, this scanner is exactly what I wanted, and I would recommend it to either experienced or inexperienced scanner users.

The HomePatrol-2 scanner is well worth the investment. The build quality is solid, and the audio crisp and clear. There are several options for customizing your listening experience by specific county, specific service, such as police,fire, or public works, by zip code, or even an option to set a specific radius (in miles) from your current location. Ability to lock out unwanted channels, either temporarily or permanently. There are numerious menus and screens to navigate through, and it takes a while to familiarize yourself with all of the many options this scanner has to offer. Curiously, there is an auto-detect feature which can be used to detect your current location. This would seem to indicate that the unit has built in GPS, but I dont believe it does. There is an optional GPS device available for mobile use, which detects any available channels as you travel across the state, or across the country. There is the ability to save specific channels to a custom bank, as well as the ability to manually enter specific frequencies. You can also hold on a specific channel if so desired. When you first activate the scanner, it gives you the option to download the software onto a P.C. but my unit would not complete the process. I will be contacting Uniden for guidance on this. You will also need to update the software version to 2.0, even though the scanner is brand new. There is now an optional power pack available for home use so you can leave the scanner plugged into the wall instead of having to charge the batteries off of a USB port.

I purchased a bearcat scanner a few months ago not knowing how radio scanners worked. I wanted to get police transmissions but it only picked up fire and EMS. Turns out there is a new digital signal type called P25, which the HomePatrol 2 picks up! Check the radio reference website (google it) to see channels in your area. If your police has P25 next to it, this scanner will pick up those signals. If it says P25E next to it, then your police use encrypted radio signals and no scanner out there will pick it up. HomePatrol 2 is extremely easy to use. It picked up over 300 channels automatically on first boot. I modified my channels down to about 10 (police/fire/EMS) and Im a happy camper.

Easy to use and good design. It did not work for my area however with simulcast. Make sure it will work for your area before buying.

I got this because my local police recently upgraded their radio system to an unencrypted Project 25 Phase 1 system. This raised my awareness to how many local systems are now digital, and I was looking for a quick solution. The HomePatrol 2 is a nice solution. It was very easy to get going using the ZIP code location setting. The connection with the RadioReference.com database works nicely--it automatically pulled up a LOT of frequencies, and the ability to select by service is very handy. It takes some getting used to if youre an old-school scannerist like me because Im so used to doing all the work! Be aware that, for amateur radio use, this receiver will only decode AM or FM signals in the VHF and UHF amateur bands. If you need something for HF amateur work, this is NOT the unit for you, but it WILL automatically load local repeater frequencies for you. Im not keen on the landscape device format, but the color touch screen and included desk stand are very nice. I also like the ability to pause reception by System, Department or Channel with a single touch. This is great for limiting the scanned channels on-the-fly, but you can also set up favorites for doing this more permanently, The right-angle antenna is a slight annoyance, especially being SMA, but the included SMA-BNC adapter will allow you to connect your favorite scanning antenna. In that case, youll need a right-angle BNC elbow (NOT included) if you want to use a vertical antenna directly on the unit. Although this unit is pretty nice, I decided to return it and get the Uniden BCD436HP instead, which is very similar in functionality to the HP-2, but in a more conventional handheld format with a few extra features (and slightly less expensive). I still recommend the HomePatrol-2 as a great general modern scanner with plenty of capabilities, especially if you like a desktop format (and it can be mounted mobile as well).

Own a dozen or so scanners including every Phase 2 digital made. This scanner does as good as any of them and I think is easier to program what you want to program and listen to as any of them. The BCD536 and 436 have a few more esoteric options such as quick keys etc, but if you pop for the extreme software upgrade after you get it, you can do just as much and in some cases more. It receives and decodes digital as good as other unidens or Grecom (Whistler now) radios. Update 11/21/15 Still the best radio out there for both the beginner and expert in the scanning hobby. The HP2 does better decoding of phase 1 and 2 digital than anything else I own. Rarely if ever robotic digital voice. Using the software, it is easy to build scanning favorites lists that are exactly what you want to here. Own two of them purchased thru Amazon and they are both home and mobile work horses. Update 11/18/16 No change in my review but just a note that most of the reviews showing under this radio are not for this radio.

Been into scanning as a kid in the early seventies, and have quite the collection. Few scanners Id consider hallmarks, and this is one of them. With the evolution of trunking and digital technologies, scanner programming became a shareholders dream for Bayer aspirin investers. Now, not so much. Type in your zip code and its up and running. Pricy, but well made and outstanding audio for such a compact unit. Caution: Its battery hungry; it chews up 4 alkaline batts in 5 hours, so add ac wall adapter and automotive dc adapter or go broke.