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.

Just put my zip in and was ready to go. It’s got allot more ability then me for sure

This was supposed to be the greatest ever. Ive had to have two people help me with this. Apparently, all we can do is select my county and I only can get a 30 mile radius reception. It downloads the common frequencies and so far we have not figured out if we can add other ones. It doesnt look like it. I was hoping to have the record function up and working. I first took it to a technician, and he got it sort of configured and set it to record. When it was unplugged and brought to my home everything was lost, I had to get someone else come and configure it again. And we didnt get the record feature operational. Im afraid to do anything to it for fear of losing where it is set to listen to the things I can. I should have bought a much less expensive unit that I could program myself.

Great scanner, easy to use with zip code based HomePatrol feature is great. Setting up your own lists with the software is a little tricky the first time but I was successful in completeing the task. It Has good receiver sensitivity even with antenna attached to rear of receiver. While I dont use the feature a lot the Siren App for my iPhone works great for monitoring the scanner within my Wifi network. The use of the app is very easy to understand. Wifi setup of the scanner was very easy and straight forward. Maintaining the frequency database and loading updates into the radio is very easy and straight forward, as are firmware upgrades. There have been two firmware upgrades that I have done so far in the last few weeks that I have.owned the scanner.

The BCD536HP has all the the makings of the top of the line scanner...except inexplicably Uniden fell asleep at the wheel. The units build quality is top of the line...sturdy and rich feeling. The advertised features...who could ask for more?! The problem is they dont deliver on some of the features (at least not as of yet...as I am hoping a few firmware updates down the road they will). No App and no Analyze Mode feature even though those are two of the selling points . Worst of all if you buy this unit and are not located near the hub of what you are trying to receive...you absolutely will need to buy a better antenna. This is unforgivable. How is it possible that my 1980 Bearcat 210 can pull in clear stations that just show up as noisy scratchy inaudible transmissions on the 536???! Not sure if this is a bad antenna or worse poor sensitivity internal to the scanner. Either way...think external antenna unless your transmission source is close by. One would think that shelling $600 for this would get you a decent antenna. I want to love this unit...it has the makings of a great scanner...I just cant understand why Uniden skimped on the antenna / reception sensitivity and did not deliver a product that has the advertised features working ...unbelievable! For now I just like it and hope that firmware updates will deliver what was promised and then may be I will love this after all.

Overall this is a great scanner. The Siren app has me frustrated however. It is not completely functional, as promised. I knew this before purchasing the scanner, but I wanted a mobile scanner with the Provoice option, and this was one of two choices. The app is supposed to work, but with very limited function. I would like to see that, as I cannot even get my wifi dongle to connect. All of my other wifi devices connect, just not the 536. Also, there are a few things I dislike about the scanner. I wish you could turn systems on in the database by selecting a drop down menu. This works well in Sentinel (although the way this program is written is also frustrating), but it would be nice to be able to make database selections when a computer isnt available. All in all its a great scanner. But I cant give it a higher score because the Siren app is not functional even though it has been repeatedly promised.

Looking at some of these reviews, you cant tell which Uniden product the reviewer bought. Theyre all bundled together. Mine is the Uniden BCD536HP. First of all I noticed it was heavy. Dont know if thats good or bad, but I like it like that. As soon as you get it turned on, keep your finger close to the avoid key, because youll be using it a lot, until you get some of the items weeded out. This is by far Unidens top of the line scanner. It will take some getting used to, but its the best sounding, and the best overall functioning scanner Ive ever owned, and this one makes number thirteen. This police scanner hobby is kinda like chocolate, you always just want another. You can get by with just a zip code to get started, if thats what you like. but you will have to spend some quality time later with your 536, but you have all the tools with sentinel software, and the cable included in this package.If you just want to plug and play the Uniden Home Patrol is the way to go. Everything you ever wanted to know about a frequency shows up on the Home Patrol screen, but I wanted a challenge so I bought the 536. I know my way around a computer just a little, but I can read and look at you tube. There are a lot of videos that will help, and you might as well get a subscription to Radio Reference as well. Its a great help, and has tons of freqs if you need them. Spend the money, you cant take it with you. .

I like this police scanner. I can get calls from many miles away and close to my home. Its nice to hear all the calls and sometimes hear the outcomes of calls. It has good sound but we wanted more so we added a speaker for better sound and quality to hear in other rooms of the house too. It is hard to get the programming just the way you want it, but with persistence it is workable. It came tightly wrapped and in perfect condition. We have been listening to this radio for up to a year now and no problems. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to hear the calls digitally.

I have listing to a police scanner for many of years and when my county went digital then i went a bought a bran new radio shack digital police scanner gave close to 500 hundred dollars for it but unfortunately Once again my county made some more changes where they went to the Tenn Advance system and you had to have a phase one and phase two scanner to be able to pick up my frequencys so once again i had to pay big bucks for another police scanner and i bought the BCD536HP off Amazon i have got to say with out a doubt this is a very nice and up to date police scanner very easy to learn that the radio shack pro 197 I had .but the down side of it all is i have put in to close to 1000 dollars in two scanners in the last 4 years so hopefully that my county want change anything else around because what they did the last time costed them over 20 million dollars what i herd and also herd that before it is all over and done with everybody will eventually have to have a phase 1 and phase 2 scanner because they are suppose to upgrade all counties to that in the near future but like i said this is a very nice scanner i love it have not learned ever thing on it yet but i am getting there Good Luck Scanner World

Works Great:I have had this for 3 months without a glitch. If you need to listen to a Motorola or Harris P25 public safety system this is the best way to go for most people. Previously I was using a Motorola Spectra to listen to this system in analog mode (I have skills). But the county switched to P25 and shut me out. So this Christmas after a long delay I treated myself to a BCD536HP. Pros: Very sensitive receiver Receives analog and P25 digital and capable to upgrade the common digital modes Provoice and DMR at small cost. Small, well appointed controls, WiFi connectivity for Android and IOS. Powerful audio (when used with an external speaker) Easy to upgrade firmware and channels using Sentinel. Cons; You will have to get latest firmware and channels using Sentinel to get started. Not hard to do, it requires a PC and a USB cable (supplied). Ditch the internal speaker, plug in an external communications speaker 3 or 4 inch diameter. Getting Started Programming can be somewhat frustrating for the newbie. I am used to programming commercial LMR radios and understand all the parameters. So I would say I am expert, however this experience turns out to be unneeded and perhaps misleads me. This radio is quite different in that Sentinel will download a fire hose full of nationwide channels. Your radio will require you to provide your Zip code (or connect optional GPS) and it will activate all the systems in a radius you provide. This will probably be way more than you need. The solution is to use Sentinel to create a Favorites List and use Quick Keys to activate only the channels or systems you wish. Otherwise you will spend a lot of time pressing the Avoid Button to ignore the dog catcher (no kidding). The database comes FREE from www.Radioreference.com Visit that site, the forums etc, and learn about the system you wish to monitor. Simulcast Systems You will hear a lot of favorable and unfavorable things about this receiver. The largest complaint is the reception of P25 simulcast systems. It is true that the scanners available today (Both Uniden and Whistler) use a discriminator to decode the P25 signal. This is not the best way to decode P25 in a simulcast system. The best way is a DSP receiver, and you can only obtain that by buying a Motorola, Harris radio (which you cannot legally program properly), a Pricey Unification Pager, or set up a software defined radio (for geeks). Personally my experience is that my radio works fine on my local simulcast system and I am in an overlap area. Occasionally the bit error rate is high and the audio garbles. P25 itself is not a perfect mode and you will find dispatchers and officers sound like the have marbles in their mouths. It is the nature of P25. If you have any concerns contact local users and ask them their experience with this scanner in your area. Encryption If your local agency uses encryption on some or all of their talk groups you will NOT be able to decode them. The radio lacks an encryption card and even if equipped you would NEVER be able to obtain the lengthy 256 bit key. It would be illegal as well. If I havent scared you off, you will be very pleased after you get it up and running. Uniden also makes a portable version of this radio, the BCD436HP. I bought the mobile/base version as then I do not have to worry about batteries and the BCD536HP has better shielding and so receives with less noise.