Uniden Bearcat BC75XLT Handheld Scanner, 300 Channels, 10 banks, Close Call Technology, PC Programable, NOAA Weather, Aviation, Marine, Railroad, NASCAR, and Non-Digital Police/Fire/Public Safety

Once you figure out the tricks, it works quite well. We use it for Train Spotting. Update, Nov 2018. This little unit still works great. Have had no problems with it at all. Once you learn how to select you frequency ranges, it works very well. We have had this for maybe 3 years.

This thing works perfectly. Im using it to feed a scannerradio.com feed for a local PD. Yes, its an incredible under utilization for a scanner like this, but Im providing a service to my neighbors and thats okay for me. Either way, its one of the least expensive scanners that can do what Im doing, and I find it works great. Word of caution, scanning correctly can actually be kind of difficult to get setup correctly. Its not really meant for people that dont have some computer-type skills, or someone available to them that can help set it up.

This is my seventh hand held scanner and tenth total, and I must admit, even for a seasoned user, programming frequencies in this scanner is not as straight forward as others I have owned. The good news, great news actually, is that Uniden provides a free download for both the drivers to connect the scanner to a PC and a FREE software package that is super easy and fast to use. I use this type of scanner mainly for listening at auto races, and after ham thumbing the first three of about sixty frequencies I needed to load I figured it would be easy and quicker to download the driver and software and go from there. The programming software is super intuitive, will run on anything from Windows XP to 8.1, and you can save the frequency package as a file, which means you can have multiple files of frequencies at the ready. It uses a standard USB cord, included. The only reason I did not give this unit five stars is the somewhat cumbersome method of manually loading frequencies, and I have not yet been able to determine how (or if) you can page through your frequencies one by one, versus having to use the hold, channel number, hold method. A little awkward, but no big deal. Amazons shipping was stellar as usual, and the unit was mint fresh new! EDIT: I have changed my score from four stars to useless. I am very careful with my equipment. I used this radio a dozen times at most, and the display became erratic, showing only half the characters. I did further review, and discovered this is a constant complaint regarding this specific model. I disassembled it, and it is not in any way a user repairable item because of the way they connected the ribbon cable to the chassis. So this is now a piece of junk. Do not buy!

Scanner works great, we bought it since we were going to a NASCAR race and wanted to listen to the driver and crew radios. Bonus was we also got to listen to the race broadcast (less commercials...it was great hearing the announcers tell what they really thought during the commercial breaks). The problem is PROGRAMMING the thing. While I could get 3-4 channels programmed into the thing, it seemed to be more by luck than by following the directions. I also couldnt really get it to prioritize the crew channels over the broadcast channel (since the broadcast was nonstop) even using the priority mode (at least Im pretty sure I had the channel I wanted on priority. I havent used it since the race (and I plan on using it to monitor police, fire, and railroad) mainly because I want to find either a video or instructions that make more sense.

For the price, this thing works great. I am a rail enthusiast, and this thing works great for use in the car when Im out looking for trains. The only thing I will say to detract from it is that the antenna that comes with the unit is not the best for any one frequency range just because of the design. An antenna designed to pick up such a wide range of frequencies is just not going to receive as well as one cut specifically for that frequency. Id recommend investing in an antenna more specifically attuned to the frequencies youll be scanning, but other than that, this is an excellent little scanner for the price!

Looked at all the reviews before buying. 1. The manual is almost useless. 2. I am in central NJ and those that say the scanner will not pick up police are incorrect. Only 1, which is out of my range anyway was encrypted. Was able to pick up virtually everything. Didnt matter about 800mhz. At first, I looked at the manual, turned the scanner on and DID get frustrated, All lock out and just static...You just need to start entering the channels you want! How to do it, you go to the INTERNET-Google: Program scanner (and your model),... mine was UnidenBC75XLT. Click video, which I like, or anything you like and you will see it is so easy. I now programed in to start 35 frequencies(police dispatch, fire, EMS, etc. which you, again, can find/search online frequencies in your area. I now am hearing things going on around me in real time that I would not have otherwise known about...Things like in my area yesterday...male shot in the face and chest, all units respond, MERCY respond, cancel MERCY, B and E broken sliding glass door, burglary in progress, car accident with vehicle upside-down and occupant still inside, etc. Good to know whats going on around us. (for my Uniden scanner which uses AA batteries,...better to get recharge batteries and charger because with continuous use they only last at the most 6 hours). But I always have fully charged batters ready to replace.

The scanner works, but I still dont know how to do somethings on it without reading the manual closely.

I should have done my due diligence BEFORE buying this item. The equipment works well enough BUT the laws have changed dramatically since I was a kid. Most police agencies now use only encrypted vehicle-to-vehicle transmission. Seems like many emergency crews (fire and rescue, marine and air too) are going the same route. So not much traffic to pick up. No longer possible to listen in on the day-to-day chatter among police or fire crews in my area. (Southern California). Before YOU buy this unit, Google the frequencies in your area so you know how many are encrypted ... its likely that you wont be able to pick up much real-time emergency chatter anymore either.

Nice unit! Though, I am disappointed that it seems that everything these days is made of plastic. I feel if this were to drop onto the floor, it would crack very easily. We bought this because recently crime in our area has been on the rise, which is so sad being this neighborhood was very quiet. This actually alerted us when a break in was occurring in our neighborhood, and we were on the look out when we heard it come over the scanner. What I like about this unit, is that it is very easy to set up, and instructions are included. You will also receive a charging cord and this does take batteries so you can take it with you. The buttons and screen light up when you press and hold the lower left button. No two way communication with this one. This arrived on time, and well protected. If you feel that my review has helped you in any way, please hit the yes box below this review. I never know if I am actually helping others. I have posted a picture of the unit and hoping Amazon will keep it here.

It is the best scanner for your money.