Uniden HomePatrol-2 Color Touchscreen Simple Program Digital Scanner, TrunkTracker V and S,A,M,E, Emergency/Weather Alert, APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2! Covers USA and Canada, Quick Record and Playback

Touch controls are excellent. Really like zip code programming off of my computer using downloaded s/w from Uniden. Having a computer is important. Charging and Non-Charging mode is harder than it needs to be… Mobile use needs a special mount.

The replacement unit is a very nice table top scanner that sets in my living room. Picks up 99% of what I wanted to listen to with just the zip code has a great reciver! I will go in and tune the channel list with the software when I get time. Im very impressed this is not my first scanner its the one that will set by my chair in the living room and will probly get more use then all the other radio equipment in my radio room upstairs! Great for a first time user or and advance user.

these work great for someone that cant program them. i had to add a preamp to it so i could get all the local sight towers to come in to work. once set up it does nice, i program and fine tune my scanners, but for someone who doesnt understand how or know what to put in these work good, data base in already on them, put a zip in and range and go, there is a lot of unused stuff but you can trim it down once get the hang of it. using the software it makes it so much better, or even some better software program it right from the beginning, clean, and it will pick up half way decent. i like it. battery will last about 8 hours, so i keep mine plugged in to usb power. it runs 24/7 no problem. if i could have the screen turn off and keep scanning the battery would last longer.

Nice to find a Smart scanner designed for the modern generation. Wanted something that was easy to program and update. Also portable. Was very easy to update and program with their software. I was using a Uniden BCD 996T I got from my grandfather who was no longer using it. That could not hold in its memory all the local stations/IDs. A pain to program. This HomePatrol 2 Model...completely different design than the normal DIN style scanners. The DIN style units are much more durable and metal construction. Those are meant to be mounted . This is a plastic portable unit and very much is like using one of those old portable car GPS units (like a Garmin or TomTom). It doesnt feel nearly as sturdy and premium product price worthy as the DIN style scanner. I think this could be a bit cheaper in price. The LCD itself is very much the type of screen u see on older portable car GPS units. Not at all like modern smartphones. Resolution is quite low. Colors are a bit washed out and the touch response is not as good as I would like. The power and volume controls are on top of the unit(the only physical buttons), causes me an issue as i normally kept my BCD996T slid under my computer monitor stand on my desk. All the controls on the DIN style unit are easy to reach, but this HomePatrol design, i have to slide the thing out to adjust volume or turn it off. No on screen volume adjust that i can find. The built in speaker is not that good. Quite tiny and trembley. Not as good and clear sounding as the speaker built into my BCD996T. The UI is ok. I do like how it displays the 3 lines of broadcast info...something i did not have before. Easy to lock channel by pressing the screen However, this UI seems to be missing the more precise features of the DIN scanner...like manual System/Service search. (It was easy to just have the scanner search one system or service on my 996T.) I can lock it on a system or service, but have to tap the arrow, then the Next option to go to the next station, but then it starts scanning. Miss the wheel on the DIN style That is much easier for manual control. The charging on this unit is not intelligent. In the settings, the Set Charge Time is based on the mAh u enter. The max u can enter is 2300mAh 14hrs. You plug it in...it asks do you want to charge, then it starts this countdown timer(from the Charge Time setting). The batteries I put in were already full. It still is counting down 14hrs until fully charged. You can use the unit while charging. It uses older MINI USB??? Havent had any device that uses mini usb in years. Micro is the the standard these days. Have to have a separate cable now...or just get a micro to a usb micro to mini adapter. Unlike the 996T, I had software that allows my PC to display and control the scanner. That doesnt seem to be possible with this Home PAtrol 2 unit. I guess if you want the more traditional and professional control on a scanner, get the DIN style models. But you want a easy to use scanner that pretty much is just on Auto(and is portable)....get this. The Antenna that comes with it is short range...suitable for portable or traveling use. But I recommend a better antenna if you want to use it at home on a desk.

well i got this after reading all the super reviews ,it took me a while to pull trigger because of high price tag yes its touch screen and all works real easy ,first of all the batteries took about 18 hours to charge dont ask me why ,i was beginning to think something was wrong ,but finally got it going ,i watched all the u tube videos about it ,its easy to use nice clear sound .and thank god i got one station of my local police dept. so i do have what i was looking for ,this scanner is a lot of scanner with a million channels but again you really can only listen to one channel at a time any way ,so to have it scanning and not locked in is nerve racking because you only are getting bits and pieces of scans, 1. the bad thing is batteries level icon in the upper right conner never shows the true level it shows fully charge all the time ,until you start getting a beeping noise that warns you your batteries are about to die ,so back to 14 hours of charging . 2. i had to buy ac charger to charge the batteries /rather than i believe is to leave plugged into computer as it suppose to be i quess. 3. ever time you turn it on you have to go look for your local station that you enjoy listen to ,it reloads all the entire base of stations in the zip code you loaded . 4. dont understand why there isnt a way to lock it into a fav station that it will go to when you power it up . so if i had to buy again i would never spend this kind money my old hand held scanner so much easier .

Very nice unit. The AC charger was nice on the HomePatrol-1 (doesnt come with this one). However, you can take the USB cord and plug it into any USB wall charger you may have (like for iphone). It self detects whether the charger has enough current to power the unit & charge at the same time. If not, its one or the other. If you plug it into a computer, it is one or the other (at least on my MacBook Pro). Of course, this unit doesnt support Apple and Safari, so thats another problem. Luckily, I had another Windows computer to do the firmware/database updates. If it had an AC adapter and Apple support it would be a 5 star.

Did not come with a USB cable. Scanner did pick up county and state traffic, but I wanted it for my city. My city is in the list and it would pick them up sometimes, but after comparing it with the free online phone app scanners, I was not getting 90% of the city traffic. I know it worked because it was picking up some traffic, but in order for me to keep it I would want it to pick up almost all.of it...for the price. Anyhow, the missing USB cable, antenna was odd as it didnt swivel to point in the direction I wanted, and inability to pick up the traffic is why I decided to return this unit. I would have kept it if it was cheaper, but for the price it needs to be better.

I got it because it was on sale, Im sorry I did.

I have had many scanners over the years, but this by far is the best. I have it a few weeks now. You get what you pay for. It took a little while (very little) to get used to how it works, but it is really good. Just using the antenna that comes with it I do get a good deal of contacts further then I expected. If you want a good scanner mainly for local info, you cant go wrong. As a bonus, you will get info out of your general area. If you use regular batteries, expect about 5 3/4 hours before the screen comes up saying that the batteries are low. I am available for any questions. By the way - this is the very first feedback that I have written. I have ordered items for many years from Amazon and while I never had a complaint, I never felt the need to write about a product until now.

I have owned many scanner radios over the years, including Regency crystal type. I have a 396xt which has been THE scanner to receive most digital signals, in my county. Cincinnati Police are partially encrypted so most reception is Hamilton County Sheriff as well as surrounding counties. This is the scanner to own, for the majority of users. As to install, it literally took me 1 minute to getup and running. At this time, im going with the factory firmware and not connected to a laptop. The display is superb, finish and build quality very good, and the reception of digital signals very clear. The one thing I miss is the loss of search function. You cant set a lower and upper scan range looking for new frequencies. The signal strength meter is way to small in the upper right corner. Setup is very easy. Punch in your zip code.. The scanner will load all local frequencies from a 4 gig micro sd card, located under the right side batteries. 2300 Mahr nimh AA batteries are included. After loading your frequencies, you then can go into the meny and adjust distance from transmitters to your home and pick what type of freq. to load. When doing setup just go past the page asking for user info, either attach USB to computer to download Sentinel off Unidens web site. I did not use Sentinel. A better choice would be Scancat. Sentinel will not run properly in XPpro, especially if you have a lot of drivers loading. I strongly suggest you install into Win 7-8.1. I have seen issues involving corruption of the sd card, especially if nimh batteries are nit loaded. An AC failure seems to corrupt some cards. Honestly,the radio is fine with original firmware. So, if you have no laptop handy, use as is. The clarity of digital signals is better then on my 396. Now the bad- get an extendable whip antenna and toss the rubber duckie. Universal has a fine antenna with the correct sma connector and swivel. Consider getting a Uniden extension speaker, especially in autos. The gps option automatically changes freq. depending on location. Be gentle installing the two connectors to the radio. Jacks have been reported to fail when excessive presure is applied. The gps uses a very clunky interface needing a separate power connection. I would recommend not leaving scanner on dashboard in summer. I have not encountered any software bugs with original firmware. The ver. 2 has a charge indicator on the front panel. The scanner is currently overpriced. If you dont need it now, wait until the prices come down. For the average listener, the zip code feature issuperb. I had to pay to program previous Unidns. They were terrible even using scanning software. I wouldve given five stars, except for the price. ADVOCATE USE REPORT- after living with the HPII, I become more impressed everyday. The scanner was so easy to setup. No computer required. Tone quality superb even on APCO 25 phase one. The scanner also decode phase 2 being used in some large cities. This is first trunk tracking HP. Graphics in color are EXCELLENT. Sensitivity excellent. Setup SUPERB. If you use matching speaker, sound is fantastic. You can alter to exact mile away from transmitter that you will receive. Start with zip code. Then go into menu and fine tune distance. All the negative issues concerning jacks failing is not really correct, at least on my sample. You do not have to immediately use a computer. You dont have to enter your info. Bypass these screens and enjoy. I was particulary impressed by clear reception from other counties. I do recommend you dump the rubber duckie. Universal sells a superb telescopic whip that cones with a swivel sma plug. You can use and charge, if you AC adapter is rated 1 amp @5v. Next use test will be new uniden trunking five handheld.