Uniden BCD996P2 Digital Mobile TrunkTracker V Scanner, 25,000 Dynamically Allocated Channels, Close Call RF Capture Technology, 4-Line Alpha display, Base/Mobile Design, Phase 2, Location-Based Scanning

This radio works well for both standard and trunked frequencies that don’t use simulcast. Be sure to research the area you live in and the channels you want to scan. More and more of the country is using integrated P25 systems. While this can handle P25 Phase 1 and 2, it doesn’t work well if those are simulcast-same frequency from multiple towers. Simulcast exists in many if not most metro areas that use P25. The SDS100 or 200 are needed to properly listen to those sites.

I like it very much

I was expecting a bit more for the $$$ its only flaw I can find is the audio drop outs when Priority scanning is active and or Weather scanning is active, Apparently the unit needs a lot of time to check for activity in the background to the point that it makes listening almost unbearable, I would hope in the future Uniden can do this fast enough in the background without the 1 second dropouts, It would be almost perfect otherwise. Yes this scanner is difficult to program buying software and a Subscription to RadioReference for the frequencys is a must! or you could be programming it for days or weeks depending on were you live. were I am there is a proprietary 800 system that is close to impossible to program manually.

This is an excellent scanner, as you would expect from Uniden Bearcat. Ive been using scanners for 35 years, and this is a good one. It has plenty of options and can store more frequencies than most people will ever use. This scanner is not organized in the traditional way (e.g. banks of frequencies); it is ordered in Systems/Sites/Groups, which handles memory better but that appears to be the only advantage. The major limitation of this unit is the owners manual. It was clearly written by engineers with no editing or useful organization. It looks like about 30 people wrote different sections of the manual, and none of them coordinated with the others. The manual is difficult to follow, and presumes the reader is a tech-head engineer. The manual contains less-then-helpful comments such as if you really want to confuse yourself - no kidding thats actually in there! As you read along, trying to figure out how to program a simple frequency, you will find headings that say refer to Creating Sites and Creating Groups. Finally, refer to Programming Frequencies/IDs. Great, but it doesnt tell you where those sections are in the manual, and to make sure you cant find them, the section headings are repeated over and over and over and over and over again in multiple contexts that are nearly impossible to follow. The manual is and absolute stream-of-consciousness. I was a software engineer for 12 years, so I will get this unit programmed, but I would most definitely not buy it again. If Id known the manual was such a disaster, I would have purchased a different unit.

nice scfanner to use

Box includes: Scanner, telescoping antenna, dc harness for direct wire, a.c. plug, car adapter plug, mounting bracket and instruction booklet. This is a great scanner does as advertised and more or less is equal to Amazon reviews, but.... FIRST!! This scanner WILL NOT play audio on fully encrypted systems at all... Period. You will see it key up but hear nothing. SECOND!! This scanner WILL NOT descamble or unencrypt a system. If you hear a static hum when a channels keys up then it is encrypted. There is no way to decode it. THIRD!! Does do ProVoice and DMR systems AFTER a PAID upgrade from Uniden. ProVoice is $45 and DMR is a whopping $60. Check the systems you will be using to see if any of this will apply to you. Best way is to use Radio Reference.com FOURTH!! PROGRAMING IS A PAIN IN THE ASS!!! Probably most important thing I can tell you and best advice I can give here would be pay for a Premium account on RadioReference.com. Your paying over $350.00 for a scanner it would be WELL worth it to fork out $15 more for 180 day subscription. This makes programing... better... still will take a while for most to figure out all the features like Systems, Groups, Channels and Quick Keys. The scanner comes with a usb programing cable. The reviews saying the speaker is low or muffled is accuratish. I think some reviews were a little harsh, but it could for sure be better. After all we are paying ALOT for this machine. I did order an external Uniden speaker for $16, 2 days After I got the scanner. Overall review is 5 stars. The updates, encryption and things mentioned above arent the scanners fault. Thats the Uniden company. This is as much machine as I need and I would recommend it to anyone. Im picking up transmissions from up to 60 miles away with the antenna that came with it. Im going to include a picture from the booklet showing trunking systems this will cover as well as a few more. !!REMEMBER!! CHECK THE SYSTEMS YOU ARE GOING TO SCAN TO SEE IF THEY ARE DMR OR ProVoice (expensive updates available) ALSO..IF ITS ENCRYPTED.. YOU WONT HEAR IT!!

I’m sure this is really a great product, but it’s defiantly NOT easy to set up. Lots of add-in’s to pay for. Apparently so difficult to set up, they offer an option to send your new scanner into the service shop to have it programmed by the experts. I don’t see that as a plus.

Love this scanner. Havent had one for a while but since I retired I decided jump back in. I didnt even attempt to program it manually. I used the FreeScan software from the Radioreference.com site and it worked perfectly. Was up and running in less than a half hour.

While the unit works very well, with band searches finding almost everything; transferring what it finds to memory functions is rather more complicated than earlier scanners. It is well worth it to have it programmed by a service that does this in most cases, especially with the trunked systems; unless the system users themselves will supply the information to you. Finding ALL the information yourself can be time consuming. Personally, I politely ASK for the needed information from municipalities, in writing, and supply easily filled out forms FOR the information; and I find that some are helpful while others give you a bunch of BS, assuming you know nothing about FCC rules and regulations and/or the fact that licenses are required for their communications equipment; (which makes the needed information readily available to them, IF they would supply it on the provided forms.)

Our local cops switched to P25 digital radios. I thought I was sunk. This scanner saved my hobby. The build quality is very good. Sound quality is good but could be better. Im not used to digital scanning so it may be normal for this technology. Programming is a bear. I purchased ProScan software to help me use the BCD996P2. Once I saw the interaction between the software and the front panel Im confident that I could program it. BUT... trying to use it out of the box without the software is a very steep learning curve. All in all, a good purchase that I would buy again.