The Uniden BC250D scanner is a good all around scanner for conventional and trunking alike. It is almost identical to the BC296D except the 296D can decode 9600 bps digital whereas the 250D can only decode 1600 bps digital signals. The 250D I had didn't have a digital card and would cost an extra $100 dollars to purchase one from Uniden.com.
The BC250D came with AC adapter, battery pack, demo software, PC programming cable, manual and other literature.
Audio on the 250D is nice and loud. It is a rugged scanner that is built like a brick. This thing is heavy. It really isn't practical to carry around on your belt (or clipped to your pocket like I do).
Battery life on the BC250D is 6 hours MAX. At least on mine. Sometimes only 4 hours. And with the 250D having a battery pack and not AA batteries, this meant that you had to plug it into the wall to charge the scanner. This sucks! Having rechargeable AA batteries is a much better approach in my opinion. There is a battery pack with higher capacity available online but I never took advantage of this option.
The LCD display is easy to read even in direct sunlight. The backlight is more than adequate for this scanner and makes it easy to operate at night. I programmed almost all of my 1000 channels by hand. However, there is a software offered from both Uniden and Butel. I would recommend the software for this scanner. Entering text and frequencies is fairly easy following the menu option and using the VFO knob (which is that cylinder looking thing between the HOLD and RESUME buttons). I found the scanner easy to operate and navigate it's functions. This was my first "advanced" scanner. I only had a BC80XLT before this one.
The 250D features things like SAME Weather Alert, Priority channels and TGIDs, 16 character text, and many other features. This scanner was top of the line model at one time. Now it is hard to find as it is not sold new anymore. New it was nearly $300 without the digital card. Used, you can pick one up between $150 and $250 depending on who is selling. This scanner will NOT decode 9600 bps digital systems. It will only decode 3600 bps. All in all this scanner is an okay scanner. It is outdated in my opinion with Uniden's Dynamic Memory setup that can be purchased on the BC246T, BR330T, BCT15, BCD396T and BCD996T. I would recommend passing up this scanner unless you can get a great deal on it. I saw one sell for $100 on eBay and was tempted to take advantage myself but then remembered the aggravating battery life. I would rate this scanner a 5 out of 10.
This is only my opinion but based on newer technology and the battery issue, that is my rating.
date written: 03/20/06
