Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Handheld Scanner, 500-Alpha-Tagged Channels, Close Call Technology, PC Programable, Aviation, Marine, Railroad, NASCAR, Racing, and Non-Digital Police/Fire/Public Safety.

This is just an average scanner for an average price, which is what I should have expected. The item was introduced around 2012, so its already old technology. It works, and it scans pretty fast, but theres nothing outstanding about it. One disappointment is the relatively short battery life. Im sure that I dont use it for more than an hour per day, but it seems that I have to charge it at least once per week. I have another scanner that this was supposed to replace (the LCD screen is dying on that one), and Im sure the batteries last twice as long between charges.

Way better on analog VHF and UHF Airbands than my Uniden SDS100.

I bought this scanner because, according to data cited on RadioReference.com, my local police department is accessible with this scanner. TIP for the unaware: DONT believe a thing that RadioReference.com tells you. I just got finished talking with someone in the communications department of my local PD and they changed over to digital communications TWO YEARS AGO! Since I live in a little po-dunk city, you can be sure that your local emergency departments have all changed over to digital as well. The only chatter this scanner picks up is the local cab company. If you download the available software, this scanner is easy to program. But thats a moot point when you cant tune in to any of the important channels broadcasting in your area. Be sure to note the date of any positive review for this product. Time has moved on. Due to advances in technology, this radio is useful only if you specifically want to listen to NOAA weather reports and the pedantic conversations of local amateur radio operators. Dont get me wrong, this is a nice scanner. But its a total waste of money if your intent is to listen to your local emergency services. BUY A DIGITAL SCANNER. This one is WAY behind the times.

Had this setup after a dozen attempts. Let it scan 2 frequencies i wanted to start with and the low battery lights up and beeps. Seriously had it actually running for MAYBE 2 hours and the NEW batteries supplied were basically dead. Now lets wait 14 hours until they recharge to use the thing again .... not happy with this at all

The interface is very complicated, but its a good scanner, and works for my needs (monitoring Airband).

I got a BC72XLT a couple years ago, and never regretted that purchase. I saw the features of this radio and decided it was worth the upgrade. I think its definitely worth it for someone looking for a few more features. Alpha Tags - so you know what youre listening to, you dont have to memorize what frequencies are USB programming - MUCH easier to program new frequencies. You can also back up everything to a file, so you can change the entire setup of the banks really quickly. Nice if you go on vacation, because you can enter all the new frequencies on the computer, back up the old setup and apply the new setup. When you get back, it takes less than a minute to put the old setup back on. USB charging - you dont need a special AC charger for the radio, it can charge from a computer or USB charger. If you plan on using it at home or in one place a lot, I would definitely suggest getting a USB charger (maybe with a mini USB plug already on it). This helps to get it away from the computer, which can cause interference. It comes with 2 rechargeable AA batteries, which seem to last maybe 8 hours on a charge. Backlight and frequent transmissions could reduce this, but I have been very happy with battery life. Military Frequencies - one of the main things that convinced me to get this radio. I have to admit I havent heard anything except the UHF from airport towers, but I will be around more UHF traffic soon and I expect to get a lot more from this. Better Programming - you can set delay specifically to each channel. You can also set a temporary lockout, which only locks a channel out until you turn off the radio. Useful for localized interference. Backlight Options - you can set the backlight to come on only with squelch, so it is off until it picks up a signal. DND Mode - this stands for do not disturb. This means that the close call or priority modes will only do their checks when scanning. Once it picks up a channel, it will not interrupt the channel to do those checks. This is really nice, because even the short pauses to do those checks can make you miss key information in a transmission. Close Call memory - you can store the frequencies found in close call mode to a small bank for later review or scanning. Large banks - 50 channels in each bank. Sometimes I have to combine smaller categories into one bank, but overall it is good to have plenty of space in a bank. Also good to have more frequencies overall. Dedicated Weather Function - Fn-3 accesses weather radio modes, nice to have when there is bad weather. There is also a weather function to scan weather radio in the background for alerts. Easier service search - When in service search mode, each service is treated like a bank and can be turned on or off. This is much more intuitive and lets you only choose the ones you are interested in. These are: Police, Fire/Emergency, Ham, Marine, Railroad, Civil Air, Military Air, CB Radio, FRS/GMRS/MURS (handheld civil radios), and Racing. You can also set custom ranges. There are other features, but these are the ones I found most useful.

It really is a amazing scanner!! The battery life is awesome, along with way its built!! But it does require before hand knowledge...if a person has never used it before!!

The user interface is very confusing until you fiddle with it and practice a lot. I wanted to just key in a frequency, save it, and then tell it to pull that up. Yes, this is possible, but not intuitive. However it’s a solid unit, comes with rechargeable batteries and a charge cable, and does everything I need, so I’m keeping it. Best value for sure!

Some reviews on this radio bash it for being unable to listen in on local police department, etc. These users need to do more research. This is an excellent analog receiver, NOT A DIGITAL RECEIVER. Check your local law enforcement radio frequencies and equipment as digital transmissions cannot be picked up by this radio. For where I live this is not an issue. I can hear my local law enforcement clearly and was easy to find their frequencies online. Another invalid complain many users had was how difficult it is to program and use the radio. Seriously, read the manual. There are three different scanning modes, not including Close Call or any of the Priority Scanning functions. I read the manual once and understood their operation and function. I mostly Hold on a single channel but occasionally scan a few banks I programmed from my computer with the included USB cable. Again, follow the directions that came with the radio and you can easily program the radio from a PC. Others have said that the program is similar to Excel, and they are not wrong. Its very simple, it shows you the banks you can program you just fill in the form. My only complaint is the battery life. One one hand, the receiver is relatively compact as it only takes 2 x AA batteries. As a result though, I am averaging about 4 and half hours of listening time before the low battery warning. I wish they would make the receiver a little bigger to accommodate a larger amount of batteries. In summary, I like this scanner a lot. Its relatively small, light, picks up my local frequencies quite clearly, and has decent listening times. Research which frequencies you will want to be listening to to avoid disappointment. I would recommend this to someone as a first time purchase of a police scanner.

I’ve been using the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT 500 channel handheld scanner with Alpha-Tags for five months and I have to say, this is the best handheld scanner I used so far. The BC125AT is equipped with a stronger receiver than the BC75XLT 300 channel conventional scanner, which I also operate. The BC125AT enables me to listen to both airports in our area as well as all of Fire/EMS, Police frequencies, Rail, marine, NOAA Weather/All Hazards and miscellaneous frequencies in our area and also in the surrounding parishes as well. Now, if law enforcement in your are, uses the 800Mhz-900Mhz band, this scanner will not receive those frequencies, but, it will, however, receive low band VHF, UHF and high band VHF, which includes NFM and AM transmissions. If you enjoy listening to (ATC) air traffic control (airport and ARTCC) communications than the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT 500 channel scanner with Alpha-Tags is what you need! The BC125AT also allows one to monitor ham radio communications as well as Auto racing and GRS communications. Also, I’ve discovered that the BC125AT and the BC75XLT both Have greatly improved reception when the RH77CC Diamond Antenna is connected to the BNC jack instead of the supplied duckbill stock antenna. In conclusion, I highly recommend the Uniden Bearcat BC125AT for anyone who enjoys listening to airports or ARTCC communications, police or Fire/EMS as a hobby or an occupation.