Uniden BCD536HP HomePatrol Series Digital Phase 2 Base/Mobile Scanner with HPDB and Wi-Fi. Simple Programming, TrunkTracker V, S.A.M.E. Emergency/Weather Alert. Covers USA and Canada.

WEVE ONLY HAD TWO SCANNERS IN OUR 50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE. THE SECOND ONE HAS NOW DIED, AFTER HAVING BEEN ON DAY AND NIGHT. THIS ONE WAS PRICEY BUT BEARCAT IS A GREAT REPUTATION AND, NOT KNOWING IF OUR CITY IS GOING DIGITAL OR NOT, WE TOOK THE JUMP. TOO TECHNICAL OF COURSE FOR US (75+ AGE), BUT WE HAD A TECKIE GUY PROGRAM IT FOR US. HERES TO ANOTHER 50 YEARS. . . . .OR THE ESTATE SALE.

Confession: Im BRAND NEW to the scanner hobby. There, now that thats out of the way. The 536HP is an absolute TOP OF THE LINE product! After spending quite a bit of time learning how this darn thing really works, the results are pretty darn amazing. Initially I was quite frustrated at the lack of channels that I could listen to in my immediate area even though I live in a major metropolitan area. A little research helped considerably so I purchased a much better antenna, placed it outside, spent a few hours reading over the manual and watching some youtube videos and actually found some listenable local channels. Spent some more time researching and learned some of the actual features of this scanner and how they work. There are an AMAZING amount of things that can be done with this scanner. If I had to do it again, I would start by doing more research, especially about antennas and proper placement for better reception. This is an unbelievably powerful scanner that quite honestly, with the right antenna, is plug and play right out of the box. FWIW I live in an Apartment with a lot of RF interference. After putting a decent antenna outside it really opened up the reception for me. I can understand the reviews that say that this is a complicated scanner and agree to a point. Ive spent quite a few hours getting this thing to where I understand it.

Uniden has always made great products and this scanner is no different. Be prepared for a bit of a learning curve. I found some helpful videos on YouTube. Once you get it down though it works great! But its definitely more complicated initially than the traditional scanners. The speaker is on the bottom of the unit so you have to use the mounting stand (reversed) in order to hear it. While its not terrible I would have rather had the speaker on the side or top. I am considering an external speaker.

It has been almost 50 years since I owned a police scanner and man have things changed. In my first scanner, you had to add crystals for stations you wanted to receive. A later version was programmable. And now its as simple as typing in your zipcode and letting the scanner determine what channels are available in your area. I love the Uniden BCD536HP but you have to understand that these days there are a lot of frequencies that you cannot listen to anymore. One reason is that many of the state and local agencies are now using ENCRYPTED channels. These cannot be monitored with ANY public scanners. I would also suggest that you consider an external (outside) scanner antenna to increase reception.

July 23 update: After reading several posts at the radio reference website, I have found out why the unit is always asking to set the date and time. It seems that it has an internal battery for just this and it must be shipped dead from the factory. To charge it, you must leave the scanner on for several days. The magic number of days posted there seems to be three. So, turn on the scanner, and leave it only for several days in a row. The battery only charges while the unit is actually on. A constant power supply to the radio, while it is turned off will not charge the battery. Once I did this, the constant nagging for me to set the date and time has finally gone away. I will be adding back one of the removed stars as this is a great scanner but I am holding back one because UNIDEN should have made this CLEAR in the manual on the setting up section. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ July 2014 update: Now this scanner is asking me to set the date and time every time I turn it on!!!!!! Uniden, fix this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Because of this, Im removing two stars! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ And now, I really like it. Like all Uniden scanners, documentation is to be desired. It is/was written for those that have been aboard with Uniden from the get-go. Im sure they get it! But, if you are not an aged veteran of Uniden, then you are not alone and the manual that comes with it is of little help. With that said, this unit does offer help for the novice. LIKE ME! The sentinel software really helps, but it also ASSuMEs a lot. Do as I did; take a day off, sleep good and then try it again with an open mind. With this, you can figure out how to make your scanner work best for you. yes, it uses stupid words like append for what most would call add and other stupid Chinese to English translation errors. The feature I like most is the simulcast. I can now listen to all the local police cars as they broadcast. With my old scanner, this was not there. The reason I got this new scanner was that I often saw police and emergency vehicles zoom by my home with no chatter at all on my old digital scanner. Now, when I see them, I actually listen to them and know exactly where and why they are in a hurry.

I knocked off 1 star only due to the high price. This seems like a very high quality product and it seems to work great. I now regret paying extra for the home patrol version as I only used the zip code function for the first hour or so while I figured out how to use the software to create favorites lists from the database.

Appreciate the unit; however sound and voices are not consistent. Varies from county to county, station

12/15/17 Update I’ve owned the Uniden BCD536HP for almost 3 years, purchased the DMR upgrade and enjoying it ever since. I did have the RTC issue and finally decided to send it in for repair about a week ago; I’m surprised they accepted it after so long. Thank you, Uniden! I picked up a Whistler TRX-2 about 2 weeks ago and can say the BCD536HP was the better choice thus far. Once I get my BCD536HP back then I’ll have time to use them simultaneously more. BCD536HP • Screen is larger and displays more details about target; has 32 larger font characters across another 4 for HOLD status. • Boots up much faster than the TRX-2, even with the RTC error asking me to reset the clock and letting it time out. Starts scanning 16 seconds after turning knob to power on after RTC repair. • Speaker is louder; listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands and has natural sounding audio. • GPS scanning capability for those interested although I haven’t purchased or used the unit. • Support for third-party software like ARC536. • It’s about $10 cheaper; HRO has it for an additional $5 less today. • The Sentinel programming software is basic and not as polished as Whistler’s; need to manually find updates to it on their website. TRX-2 • The Digital Trunking Scanner Programming System is more polished than Uniden’s and makes it easier to upgrade all components from a single interface. • The ability to store different configurations via V-scanner is a nice function. • The NXDN system upgrade was offered for free. • Speaker isnt as loud and listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands, sounds hollow. • Feels like a tin can and the detachable head (something I dont care for) feels light and cheap; even the mount is thin. • Screen is small and belongs on a handheld, not mobile/desktop scanner; has 16 characters across with smaller font. • The supplied Whistler USB cable is way too short unless youre using a notebook on the same desk as the scanner. • Only two of five white keys have lights and all other keys dont appear to have any lights behind them. • Noticed backlighting display flickering and reported by others as well. • Scanning shows top level lists instead of actual targets names. • Paging system intermod on 2m Ham and 150-160MHz bands but not present on BCD536HP, receivers, SDRs or Ham gear. • Too easy to accidentally edit config since clicking on something will automatically save config. • Copying initial Library was extremely slow and stuck at 42%; clicking in the window appeared to wake it up as it looked like it was freezing. The same cable used with the BCD536HP updates the database much faster. • Starts scanning 3 minutes and 7 seconds after holding button (for about 3 seconds) to power on. • Every time you go into the Menu and back out, the lists reload again and you have to wait! • No third-party software support.

Top of the line digital scanner including phase 2 digital, with a corresponding top of the line price. Have a lot of phase 1 and 2 systems in the area and the radio has clear p25 reception. The benefits of the HP-1 in terms of loading systems but still having the control over the system like the 966xt with a very similar menu system. Appears to be at least as sensitive as both of those radios (have both). Can create your own favorites listings of frequencies, systems etc regardless of whether they are in the downloaded regularly updating database. Have been using scanners since crystals and have a dozen of them. This is one of my favorites. Still waiting to find out what they do with the Wifi, which connects to my home network but doesnt do anything yet.

As I expected, this was complicated scanner to set-up, but I have another one, the BC346XT which is also very complicated. You cant have a very serious and capable scanner and push one button to make it all work wonderfully. After hours of learning a new language and learning to run the software that programs the scanner, then programming the scanner, the thing works wonderfully well and is very versatile. This is NOT for the faint of heart but for serious scanner enthusiasts that dont mind learning a lot about programming, software, and the language of the receiver. However, once programmed it does some amazing things like on a certain channel you ask it to -- it will pause on it, increase the volume while there is voice, and flash any number of light colors that surround the control knob to alert you that a certain radio channel is on. It follows the new and old digital trunking system that Nashville, TN uses and handles all the agencies very well. Overall it is an excellent product. I knew it would be complicated, so should you. Go into the purchase with that in mind and you will be amazed. Do not try and program it without a computer either, not even sure it is possible.