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

You can get setup and scanning in minutes. Scanning can be a huge project or with this unit it can be very easy. I highly recommend this unit. The record and replay functions are cool. It automatically found all the channels in my area that I wanted. Very nice system. The only thing is I am not sure about the charging....it seems to just have a timer and not a real check on the batteries...not sure...overall a GREAT unit.

This scanner works perfectly with our police stations new digital format. The touchscreen is very easy to use and navigate. The sound and radio display is excellent! I had some difficulty in entering the zip code and receiving any transmittion. The set up wasnt as easy as I thought it would be. I took it to a local ham radio operator and he had it working in 5 minutes. Not sure what I was doing wrong, but that was my only area I had issues with. I thought it was open box, put in zip code and your good to go. Not quite that easy. I researched lots of scanners and so glad I went with this model now that I had someone program it for me. The one negative is it does not come with a charger and need to order that separately.

Works very well. I was surprised to be able to hear so many local public service agencies as they have all gone to digital trunking systems, but fortunately they do not encrypt the dispatcher channels. It is fairly straightforward to use, worked straight out of the box after entering zip code and a few other parameters. I am especially impressed that it receives so well with the stock antenna. I figured it would be the standard crappy rubber duck and Id have to hook it up to a discone or other broadband reasonably efficient antenna to hear very much, but the stock antenna actually works so well I havent had to fool with an external antenna.

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 owned many scanner radios over the years, including Regency crystal type. I have a 396xt which has been THE scanner to receive most digital signals, in my county. Cincinnati Police are partially encrypted so most reception is Hamilton County Sheriff as well as surrounding counties. This is the scanner to own, for the majority of users. As to install, it literally took me 1 minute to getup and running. At this time, im going with the factory firmware and not connected to a laptop. The display is superb, finish and build quality very good, and the reception of digital signals very clear. The one thing I miss is the loss of search function. You cant set a lower and upper scan range looking for new frequencies. The signal strength meter is way to small in the upper right corner. Setup is very easy. Punch in your zip code.. The scanner will load all local frequencies from a 4 gig micro sd card, located under the right side batteries. 2300 Mahr nimh AA batteries are included. After loading your frequencies, you then can go into the meny and adjust distance from transmitters to your home and pick what type of freq. to load. When doing setup just go past the page asking for user info, either attach USB to computer to download Sentinel off Unidens web site. I did not use Sentinel. A better choice would be Scancat. Sentinel will not run properly in XPpro, especially if you have a lot of drivers loading. I strongly suggest you install into Win 7-8.1. I have seen issues involving corruption of the sd card, especially if nimh batteries are nit loaded. An AC failure seems to corrupt some cards. Honestly,the radio is fine with original firmware. So, if you have no laptop handy, use as is. The clarity of digital signals is better then on my 396. Now the bad- get an extendable whip antenna and toss the rubber duckie. Universal has a fine antenna with the correct sma connector and swivel. Consider getting a Uniden extension speaker, especially in autos. The gps option automatically changes freq. depending on location. Be gentle installing the two connectors to the radio. Jacks have been reported to fail when excessive presure is applied. The gps uses a very clunky interface needing a separate power connection. I would recommend not leaving scanner on dashboard in summer. I have not encountered any software bugs with original firmware. The ver. 2 has a charge indicator on the front panel. The scanner is currently overpriced. If you dont need it now, wait until the prices come down. For the average listener, the zip code feature issuperb. I had to pay to program previous Unidns. They were terrible even using scanning software. I wouldve given five stars, except for the price. ADVOCATE USE REPORT- after living with the HPII, I become more impressed everyday. The scanner was so easy to setup. No computer required. Tone quality superb even on APCO 25 phase one. The scanner also decode phase 2 being used in some large cities. This is first trunk tracking HP. Graphics in color are EXCELLENT. Sensitivity excellent. Setup SUPERB. If you use matching speaker, sound is fantastic. You can alter to exact mile away from transmitter that you will receive. Start with zip code. Then go into menu and fine tune distance. All the negative issues concerning jacks failing is not really correct, at least on my sample. You do not have to immediately use a computer. You dont have to enter your info. Bypass these screens and enjoy. I was particulary impressed by clear reception from other counties. I do recommend you dump the rubber duckie. Universal sells a superb telescopic whip that cones with a swivel sma plug. You can use and charge, if you AC adapter is rated 1 amp @5v. Next use test will be new uniden trunking five handheld.

Fantastic. First impression was when I opened the smaller than expected box. There were two complex cardboard shapes with everything slipped into carefully designed spaces inside the folds. (I am impressed when someone takes the time to design a simple thing like packaging. I believe this indicates an overall high level of quality that permeates down to the internals of the product.) I installed the four rechargeable AA batteries and found it to be pre-charged to a useable level. I fiddled for a while then plugged it into a USB charger overnight. (The red CHARGE light never did turn green, but the onscreen battery indicator was a solid green.) I got out the quick start guide and dove in. I plugged the included USB cable in my PC and selected NO on the Start Charging screen. This is clever: if you choose YES it accepts a charge current off the USB cable, as one might expect. If you select NO, the PC sees a flash drive with a SETUP folder! I went through the setup process and watched it load the scanners interactive software onto my PC, which downloaded the latest firmware and national+state frequency database. I read up on the use of this software and then loaded the profile from the scanner. I reset my location (zip code) and the services I wanted it to scan. I tweaked the volume, squelch, etc. and saved the profile back to the scanner. (All this can be done on-screen, but its much easier with the PC software.) I held down the power switch for a second or two and it came to life. Im too new at this product to judge yet, but I spent some time fiddling with the attenuation and range controls to get it to find what I wanted to listen to. Ive been learning the HOLD and AVOID functions by trial and error. Im going to read the owners manual (also loaded onto my PC) soon, but Im having too much fun for now. Overall, this is a really sophisticated scanner that comes with local PC software support, which uses an Internet connection to keep the frequency database up to date for me. Ive had scanners before. The early ones required me to use a book to keep my frequencies up to date. Later many of the radio systems went to trunk and digital modes that my little scanner couldnt handle. When the police and news helicopters were nearby over some incident, it was nearly impossible to find out what was happening. That scanner, as nice as it was, sat in a drawer for many years. This one, however, looks like it will prove to be a lot more interesting and informative. And when we go to the local small airport restaurant for lunch, we will be able to monitor aircraft and tower conversations while we watch the takeoffs and landings. The old scanner didnt support that mode.

Did not come with a USB cable. Scanner did pick up county and state traffic, but I wanted it for my city. My city is in the list and it would pick them up sometimes, but after comparing it with the free online phone app scanners, I was not getting 90% of the city traffic. I know it worked because it was picking up some traffic, but in order for me to keep it I would want it to pick up almost all.of it...for the price. Anyhow, the missing USB cable, antenna was odd as it didnt swivel to point in the direction I wanted, and inability to pick up the traffic is why I decided to return this unit. I would have kept it if it was cheaper, but for the price it needs to be better.

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).

I have owned several police scanners through the years, but this one is a whole new ball game. The best feature I think is the self programming. My only Cons is that I think its reception is kind of finicky for a pricey scanner as this one. And if it had came WITH their $50. upgrade features I would have given it a 5 Star rating. My honest opinion is that its a little over priced. But I still like the compact size & the Touch Screen features.

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.