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.

I mainly purchased this to monitor aircraft frequencies which it does well. I hear many airborne aircraft, but not much from the ground unless I am near an airport. Except for fire paging and ambulance to hospital comms, it does not receive police and fire services in my area for two reasons; 1. Most of those are above 512 Mhz, and 2. Those that are below 512 Mhz are mostly digital which sound like a loud buzz on this radio and any other radio that is not equiped to decode digital. The radio has 3 main modes to chose from; 1. Scan mode scans 10 banks of 50 frequencies each plus a close call bank. The active banks show up at the bottom of the screen, and pressing a corresponding number on the keypad turns each bank on or off. The two search modes allow searching for CTCSS (subaudible tones) and DCS (Digital Coded Squelch). Active frequencies can be saved along with the privacy code. 2. Service search allows searching for activity on 10 different pre-programmed frequency ranges / lists. Similar to the scan mode, the different ranges can be turned on or off by pressing a number. Service search bank 3 is ham radio and includes 6 and 2 meters and 440 Mhz. Service search bank 9 includes FRS / GMRS / and MURS frequencies (mostly UHF and a few VHF). 3. Search gives you 10 different frequency ranges that you can program yourself - low and high limits. The close call technology works in all 3 main modes and has three options; 1. Do not disturb turns off close call when the scanner is receiving a signal 2. Priority mode has close call turned on all the time, and will interrupt reception of other signals. However, unlike turning a priority channel on, normal reception is unaffected while receiving other channels. With a priority channel enabled, other channels are briefly interrupted every few seconds while the priority channel is checked. 3. Close call only listens only for close calls Temporary lockout is a nice feature. When the power is reset, all the temporary lockouts are reset. To permanently lock out a channel, press the lockout button twice. This also works for close call channels. Cons - there are a limited number of lockouts - 100 temporary and 100 permanent. If you decide that you do not want to monitor a permanent channel, it is easy to delete it. The weather alert is a nice feature if you do not have a dedicated weather alert radio. It even alerts you if it can no longer receive your local weather service channel. The computer interface works well which allows you to input information into a sheet similar to a spreadsheet. It allows you to read information from the radio or save information to the radio. Rows or blocks of rows can be copied and pasted to easily move frequencies around within a bank or put them into other banks (tabs).

It’s a descent scanner. Battery life is about 3-4 hours (rechargeable). Could be better. Lastly, I feel Uniden could have spent literally $3 dollars more and put in a 200% much much better speaker.

This scanner works great no issues!

Son says this unit is just as good as the high-priced units that the RRs use.

As a former firefighter I like to keep up with the calls thru out my county, Im still a first responder if needed. Glad to be retired.

After unsuccessfully trying to program it manually for over an hour, I finally got online, downloaded the software and programmed it that way. Took about 10 minutes... then I was all set up and ready to listen to local, county and state agencies while out doing crimes. (Note: pictured with long-range crime-spree antenna.)

Initially hard for me to figure out how to program. Instruction manual didn’t have simplified step by step directions but I eventually figured it all out mostly by trial and error. I had to call Uniden Support for help with custom search programming. Loads of features that I will never use but others may have need for. Ideal size and easy to use once you get the hang of it. The AA 2300 mah NiMH batteries last about 4 hours before needing recharged in an Energizer NiMH charger. I have a pre charged pair standing by so I never need the USB charge cord. AA alkaline cells can be used by flicking the selector switch in the battery compartment but they have a shorter life. Many law enforcement groups are going to the trunked systems but scanners for those systems sell for $375 to upwards of $700.

I recommend finding a good you tube video to learn how to program the scanner out of the locked channels mode.. I spent hours trying to figure it out. You need to get on a computer, download a file to your computer, then go to Radioreference.com to program. The channels stay locked until you enter a frequency.... it was very confusing. I have a friend that was only able to figure out putting the police frequency in it... Once you do watch the video and figure it out its quite simple just time consuming. I also had to watch about 4 or 5 videos to find the right one that actually showed me how to program it.... once programmed, its a great scanner... would have given it a 5 star if it hadnt have been so time consuming to find out how to program and get out of the locked mode....

Not so user friendly

The scanner has been all around good. The small size and computer programming was what sold me and really no complaints from either of those after buying. The battery life indicator is basically just a beep when the battery is out so be prepared to carry an extra set. One thing that bothers me a bit is not having control over the squelch. Especially with the poor antenna you may be scanning for a long time and be missing nearby signals that you could detect if you were able to manually back the squelch down temporarily. Coming from an old desktop scanner this is a bit annoying but maybe I just need a better antenna. Its understandable that concessions were necessary to fit in the small size so maybe not a dial but at least some way to adjust this would have been nice. One other thing I would change is to be able to label the banks somehow in the programming. It would help to remember what is in each one.