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.

It is a great scanner. I bought it in June of 2017 as an upgrade from my old scanner. Now it is two years later and I can say: the Sentinel software which was updated four months ago is pretty good but could still use improvement. The Siren app on my iPhone is ONLY good for listening and viewing call information from the scanner within the bounds of my home WiFi, but it has not been updated in four years. The 536 WiFi is hard to setup as you must enter your WiFi password via twisting the front knob around to select letters and numbers, and then it takes several retries of the same process to get it to stay set. The radio is prone to dropping its connection to the WiFi network, it shows as still being on the network router but no longer responds to port scans which means you must go to the radio and turn it off then on again before it will work on the network again. There is a steep learning curve in using the front panel to switch modes etc. I really doubt we will ever see an update to this radios firmware as a new model scanner has replaced this one and as many may realize that all new effort will be targeted towards the new radio. That said, some changes to the new radios may trickle down to the older models firmware, phone app and software.

Programing needs the manual. It was nice that they include a separate paper manual. Manual is a must read to get more then 60 percent of the features. Last scanner was a 1999 Radio Shack top of the line. Did a lot, but not any thing like this one. A lot for the money and a computer is needed to make the most of it. This is a desk top, does not use internal batteries. All needed wiring comes for house and car.

Goes offline at least twice a day. Unplugging and reinserting the dongle usually fixes it but occasionally the scanner has to be rebooted.

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.

Good scanner but as with any radio Id suggest to use an external speaker for better sound quality. I just received it so Im still learning how to use it. But so far its a good scanner. The one thing they should add to it is an ignition wire for it for when installed in car since they say not to wire it to your vehicles ignition since I could corrupt the SD card when it shuts off if you dont shut off manually first.

I can only say, if you want a quality scanner IE Police, fire, air, etc. Look no further than this! There is a small learning curve but for what all you get and can do it would be silly to think there would not be. However with the easy zip code option, you can turn it on enter zip code and do nothing else and you are up and running. The sound is great and clear too! The only con (and not a big con) is I wish for the price they would send a quality antenna with it. Dont get me wrong, the antenna that comes with it is fine but there are better antennas that will give you much better range. On the fence? Dont be.. Do it! Do it now! You know you want it.. Why wait lol. All kidding aside, I would buy again. Its a great scanner!!!

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.

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.

Typing in your zip code to start scanning is very easy, but this scanner picks up so many transmissions from so far away that it is overwhelming. There is no easy way to bypass the transmissions you dont want or select only the transmissions you do want. The scanner itself is very good, with clear sound and long range using just the included antenna. If you are willing to pay extra the company offers to sell you a new sd card with your choice of county options, but after paying so much for the scanner in the first place it shouldnt cost extra to be able to program the scanner correctly. If you want an easy to program scanner to listen to only the agencies you want to hear, this is NOT it.

Works awesome, great product, thank you