Quick Look: Uniden BCD996P2 and BCD325P2

Check it out!  New video is up.  Taking a quick look at the new BCD996P2 and the BCD325P2.  I hope you enjoy!

Home Patrol II Review and How To Video

Uniden Home Patrol - II First Look

Check out my first look at the new Uniden Home Patrol-II.

Uniden Home Patrol II Announced

The Uniden Home Patrol II was just announced last week.

So what is different from the HP-1?

The Home Patrol II adds P25 Phase II compatibility and USB charging.  It is also a darker color.

If you aren't familiar with the Home Patrol I, the Home Patrol 1 and 2 feature a touch screen color display.  P25 digital trunking.  Also pre-programmed information by location.  You just type in your zip code and what types of agencies you want to monitor and you are scanning in no time!

You can check out the full specs on Uniden's website.

Quick Review: BCD436HP by Uniden

Here is my quick review of the Uniden BCD436HP Digital Trunking Scanner.

Video Review of BCD436HP

Enjoy!

Uniden BCD536HP manually save Unit ID's.

Saving Unit ID's (UID) manually with the Uniden BCD536HP.

Uniden BCD436HP First Impressions

The BCD436HP was just released and it is one of the best handhelds I have ever used.  With the large LCD displaying tons of information, the replay and recording features, full US and Canada frequency database stored on board, Location programming, and so much more this is a very nice radio!  Enjoy some pictures and a video of my first impressions.  I hope to have a full review very soon.  Thanks for looking!

Uniden BCD536HP Initial Impressions

The BCD536HP is Uniden's flagship scanner.  And it is awesome!  With the large LCD screen, playback and recording as well as the WiFi (future as of 2-5-14) app.  This is a very nice scanner.  Here are some pictures and a video of my first impressions.  Enjoy!  Please excuse the smudges and dust, I will have better pictures and a full review soon!

LARGE LCD compared to the BCD996T below it.

New Uniden BCD436HP coming January 2014

• The BCD436HP is the first scanner to incorporate the HomePatrol-1's ease of use in a traditional handheld scanner. Simply enter your zip code, and the BCD436HP will quickly select and scan channels in your local area. Here is a quick rundown of the BCD436HP's major features.
• 4 Gigabyte microSD card holds the entire USA and Canada database of radio systems, plus leaves room for hundreds of hours of audio recording.
• Programmable Alert LED lets you set a specific color to alert you when a channel becomes active.
• TrunkTracker V with support for APCO Project 25 Phase I and Phase II, X2-TDMA, Motorola, EDACS, and LTR Trunked Radio Systems
• Quick Key access to 100 Favorites Lists, 100 Systems per Favorites List, and 100 Departments per System.
• Discovery Modes help you find new channels on trunked systems and frequency ranges.
• Analysis Modes include Band Scope, RF Power Plot, Trunked System Analysis, and EDACS/LTR LCN Finder.
• Flexible Easy Channel Selection using Zip Code or GPS and Service Types — just pick the kinds of channels you want to hear and tell the BCD436HP where you are and let it do the rest.
• Easy Scan Control using the dedicated System, Department and Channel Hold buttons.
• Complete Front-Panel Programmability — create custom Favorites Lists either using systems from the main database as a starting point or program your systems from scratch.
• Temporary Avoid lets you quickly silence unwanted systems, departments, or channels while allowing you to restore them by cycling power.
• Backlight-on-Squelch option allows the backlight to remain on during an entire transmission.
• Date/Time indication on display with time stamping for recordings.
• Trunked and Conventional Channel Priority with Priority Do-Not-Disturb
• Close Call® RF Capture with Do-Not-Disturb automatically tunes the scanner to nearby transmissions without interrupting reception in progress.
• NOAA Weather Alert with SAME
• Two-Tone Paging with up to 32 tone slots
• Flexible Scanning — scan from any combination of the main database and Favorites Lists
• Included Sentinel Software makes database and firmware updates simple. Also allows you to create, edit, and manage your Favorites Lists.
• USB PC Connectivity - Serial GPS input for location-based scanning using the Uniden GC-GPSK or other compatible GPS receiver.
• 3 AA Battery Operation provides up to 8 hours of operation.
• SMA-type antenna.
• 192 x 160-Pixel Dot-Matrix Display
• Select/Volume/Squelch multi-control
• Side-actuated Function and Menu controls
• Backlit Display and Keypad
• Rotating Belt Clip
• Rugged construction with Rubber Side and Bottom Impact areas to improve impact resistance.

Current discussion on this scanner can be found at RadioReference.com  More information is available at http://info.uniden.com/NewScanners including the Uniden launch video, pdf of the owners manual, and a link to download the Sentinel software to start playing with.  

GRE PSR-500 Review

GRE PSR-500

I have heard it said in the past, "If you want features, buy Uniden. If you want performance buy GRE." That statement is no longer true. Now GRE has features and performance all in one package with the PSR-500.

The PSR-500 is an excellent scanner for the beginner and the advanced user alike. This scanner is revolutionary in its programming and feature set. There are so many great features in this scanner it seems impossible to list them all in this article.

Simply stated, the scanner is ingenious. It is obvious that GRE put a lot of thought into this scanner. What is most evident is that the designers have listened to the hobbyist wants and desires from beginning to end of production on this scanner.

I had my doubts that some of the noted features would work as stated. However, everything has worked perfectly. GRE put a lot of time and effort into this scanner and it shows. I am so impressed with this scanner!

I used the PSR-500 to monitor Arkansas' AWIN P25 9600 bps Statewide System, several Motorola Type II 800 MHz analog systems, Motorola 900 MHz analog system, LTR Systems, Airband, and a ton of VHF-High traffic. I took a small road trip with the PSR-500 in hand and the scanner was awesome. Changing towers, etc. on the AWIN Statewide system with ease.

The owner’s manual is very well written. It is easy to understand when trying to learn the functions of the scanner. Something to note is that there is not a printed version of the manual included with the scanner. There is an included CD-ROM that contains the manual. Also, you can download the manual in as a PDF file from www.greamerica.com. A lot of users were upset about this move, but I personally rarely use the manual once I get to know a scanner. And being able to print your own copy or print only the pages you want or need is a nice advantage in my opinion. Keep an eye on the GRE website for updates to the manual, as they could update it if changes are needed.

I was happy to see that GRE packaged the scanner nicely in a box versus a blister pack, which was used in earlier productions of the Pro-97. The box makes it feel like you are truly getting a quality product versus some toy in cheap packaging. The Pro-97 was a top of the line receiver that performed well, but not many people were fans of the blister packaging.

Construction quality of the scanner is equal to that of the Pro-96 and Pro-97 models. The look and feel of the scanner is second to none. The buttons are very responsive and are much like those used on the Pro-96 but do seem to be a bit stiff, which could prove to be a pain if you program a lot of information by hand. The keypad also felt a bit cramped to me, but that is the sacrifice you make for slimming the scanner down.

The belt clip is definitely my biggest complaint on the scanner. It is flimsy and hard to use compared to the BCD396T. It really could have used updating to a more professional style belt clip.

The volume/squelch knobs work and feel good. The knobs work much better than those used on the Pro-97, which were a bit cramped.

Program Screen

The antenna connection is BNC type. It works well and I prefer it to the SMA used on the BCD396T and my Icom IC-R5. At first I liked the SMA on the 396, but as time has past it is frustrating when you want to change antennas quickly. BNC is a good standard for the scanner market in my opinion.

The scanner is physically larger than it’s competitor, the BCD396T, however there is very little weight difference. The PSR-500 fits nicely in the hand and wears nicely on the belt (or clipped to the pocket, as I prefer).

The LCD screen and keypad are bright and easy to read in every lighting condition. The LCD seems to be the perfect compromise between size and readability.

Overall the scanner is constructed well and should endure normal punishment during everyday use for quite a long time.

Object Oriented programming is the greatest thing since sliced bread! This is the feature that scanning hobbyist has been waiting for. Uniden made a valiant effort, but GRE showed them how it is done with this scanner! UNLIMITED TGIDs need I say more! I love the fact that I can have the same "Object" in multiple scanlists.

I found that the Menu system, navigation and keypad are well laid out. I like the instant access to Fav, Weather, Priority, ATT, V- Folders, Searches, SWPR, and many other features on the keypad to be a welcome feature. On the Uniden BCD396T you have to go through Menus to access many of the features or at least use both hands. Which reminds me, ONE HANDED OPERATION! This is great, especially when traveling.  The 5-way navigation key is much easier to operate than the VFO found on the BCD396T, in my opinion.  The 3 soft keys are very clever.  There are a few changes I would have preferred on the keypad.  Meaning I would have liked to have some buttons in different locations, but this is a personal preference and they work well in their current configurations. 

Programming new TGID, TSYS, and Conventional channels was easy to do, right out of the box.  Everything seemed self explanatory when using the PSR-500. And for the beginner, the help menus will be a great tool. 

The LCD and Keypad backlight is very good.  I like that you can set to either light the keypad only, LCD only, or both.  LCD display contrast is good, easy to read and very clear.  Information displayed on the LCD is very useful.  I like the signal meter, trunking indicators, battery low indicator (thank you for no beeping on low battery), being able to see the frequency, text tag, and CTCSS/ DCS code! I would like to see the backlight be just a bit brighter under certain lighting conditions but at its current state, it works very well.

Keypad

Size and Physical Construction. While I prefer the smaller profile of the BCD396T. I found that the size of the PSR-500 was decent. It is easier to hold in your hand and isn't as heavy as I had expected. It is essentially the same size as the Pro-97, and they appear to share the exact same case (except the front of course). Having the Volume and Squelch knobs on 1 post doesn't bother me on this scanner. The Volume knob sticks up far enough that it doesn't interfere with the squelch. And the squelch is made in such a way that you don't adjust the volume when adjusting squelch. I like the dark gray color of the scanner. It sort of reminds me of a “black chrome.”

The audio on this scanner is unbelievable! Super loud, and crystal clear on all types of transmissions. But this wasn't unexpected from GRE! .

Multi-Color LED lights are great. This feature is one that I wanted for a long time and I am very glad that it made it to this scanner! I used it on several TGID's and conventional channels. There is an infinite number of ways to use this feature. It is particularly handy when the scanner is on your belt (or across the room) and you can glance down and instantly know who (or at least what agency or type of agency) is transmitting. Being able to "tune" these LED's is a cool feature as well. Also being able to change the blink times for the LCD backlight and LED is a neat feature that I had fun playing around with.

I really like the text entry method of this scanner. I have aPro-97 and have always found it annoying that I have to push the FNC button each time for a lower case letter. With the PSR-500, the function holds so that the lowercase letters are readily available. THANK YOU for QuickText. This is a lifesaver when programming the scanner by hand! I love this feature! QuickText is a feature that allows you to enter 10 commonly used words for instant recall when entering text by hand. For example, POLICE, FIRE, DISPATCH, etc. This keeps you from having to type these in over and over and over.

As with other newer GRE scanners I like the feature that is incorporated on the SWPR and SRCH ranges when you press the # to turn on a particular band, the band is displayed on the screen. For instance on SRCH Aircraft, you can turn on/off bands with the 0 - 3 keys. Pressing 3 turns off a band and when pressing 3 again it displays 225-400.

LCD

Being able to use SWPR and SRCH along with scan is a huge plus. I love this feature and use it on a consistent basis.

I like the fact that the 700 MHz bands were included in the Public Safety and SWPR searches! Also I love that Mil-Air was included in the Airband search.

Reception! Reception! Reception! The darn scanner just receives. I mostly used the stock duckie, which works great. Add the RS800 MHz antenna and the 800 signals roll in. It picks up transmissions like none of my other scanners. VHF-High, 800 MHz, Airband, etc. I didn't find a weak spot in the scanner. I picked up a City PD using VHF-High that I have never picked up on a handheld before at a distance over 40 miles away. This happened consistently, which is very impressive to me. Maybe the conditions were “just right?” I tried "parking" theBCD396T (using a specialized VHF antenna) and the Pro-97 on the same frequency and got nothing, while the PSR-500 was pulling the signal in crystal clear. I was easily pulling in several towers from AWIN that I have trouble (if not impossible) to pull in with the BCD396T and Pro-96 using 800 MHz antennas. I connected the PSR-500 to my Scantenna (external antenna) and it worked great. The Pro-97 and Pro-2055 would overload on this antenna causing me to have to use the attenuation, but the PSR-500 handled the extra antenna load great, pulling in those even hard to find signals with very little overloading.

The SWPR works great. It seems to be as good, if not better than the one on the Pro-97. I have picked up several transmissions using the SWPR feature, but this is something I rarely use. I like having it, but seldom search for new frequencies.

Multi-Site Trunking in a handheld scanner, YES!! I love this feature as well. With all of the large Statewide and Mulit-Site systems going up around the country, this is a welcome addition for us. It worked well on my small trip across Arkansas.

I have found that intermod and interference is almost non-existent in this scanner. Only a few times has the scanner caught interference from something that caused it to break squelch. Pressing the ATT button quickly solved this issue.

I-Calls are something that has been missed on the GRE scanners. They work great using the wildcard. I picked up several on a local business type TRS that I monitor.

Priority! I love being able to have Priority TGID's! This is a feature that "some" have said would NEVER happen on modern trunking scanners. All I have to say is, "HA! GRE SHOWED YOU!" I also like being able to have multiple Priority channels and not be limited to just 1 to 10.

More than 250 TGID's per system. Again, a feature that so many people have said would NEVER happen because of x number of reasons. Again, GRE's thinking outside the box made it happen. Thank you for unlimited TGIDs per system (at least up to 1800 memory limit anyway)!

Auto LTR. This is a great feature that I found to work on the systems I tested it on. I didn't have a chance to monitor them at great length as I was just passing through, but the time I did monitor, the systems received flawlessly. I was pleased with the performance.

Tune mode is a feature that I have enjoyed on my Pro-97 and I am glad to see it on the PSR-500. Being able to directly tune to a specific frequency is very useful to me, and others I am sure.

CTCSS/DCS works flawlessly. Search is instant. Easily stored to the frequency if you wish. CTCSS/ DCS search was always correct, even on weaker signals.

I love temporary lockout. It works as advertised on this scanner. This is a great feature on the handheld. I was begging and pleading, wishing and hoping for this feature. This is one of the most handy (and often overlooked) features to include on a scanner!

I like my backlight on 100% of the time. That is just my preference. So I was pleased to discover that you can set the backlight to be on when you power on the scanner using the Global menu. HOWEVER, it would be nice to be able to press the light button and turn the light off, even when you have it set to "On" in the Global menu. Also being able to set the backlight on each individual object is awesome. I almost overlooked this feature (I told you there were too many features to list). I noticed one of my channels would be active and the backlight would be on, then it would start scanning other channels and the backlight would be off. Too cool!

I love the Fav scanlist. I have a few channels that I love to monitor when the $#*@*% hits the fan. This is an awesome feature. One button access and I am scanning those “Fav” channels!

Battery life was great. I typically get 10 to 12 hours out of a set of Duracell 2650 mAh batteries using100% backlight, heavy LED use, and fairly busy radio traffic including P25. I like that I can go into the global menu and see my Battery information and set it to the type of battery I am using!

Hit count is a great feature. I love that I can see how many times the scanner has received a transmission. This feature is great for several things, such as frequency hunting, and if I were still a member of my local FD, I would use the hit count and Latch LED as a make shift pager while I was away. I could set the scanner on the page out frequency with hit count and Latch LED activated so if something happened while I was away, I would know about it by glancing at the scanner. I could walk in and immediately see the LED on if there had been a call and looking at the LCD could show me how many times the call(s) were paged.

Being able to see my memory usage is also very useful. Not only can you see in % how much memory you have, it is nice to be able to see how many Conv Channels you have. How many TGIDs, TSYS, Search Ranges and SWPRs you have set up in the working memory. I can tell I will have a hard time finding 1800 TGID's and frequencies in any one area. ha ha. The expansive memory along with 21 V-Folders may make this scanner the only one you'll need on a trip!

SAME and Weather Priority are features I use a lot on my scanners. I don't have a dedicated Weather Radio (I know I should but I have several scanners with SAME). I typically use the Pro-97 as my SAME receiver when weather is threatening. The SAME and Weather Priority features work on the PSR-500 as they should. I like how I can lockout unwanted alerts. And I like that I can see the displayed message (as on the Pro-97). The SAME feature was easy to program, for the most part.

The Signal Strength Meter is something that I missed on my Pro-97 and am glad to see it made it in the PSR-500.

The FIND feature is another awesome innovation in scanning. It is great to be able to search for the TGID or Conventional channel you want using this feature. This is a very welcome feature in my book.

Default options in the menu are great for beginners (and us experts who screw up, ha ha). This is a feature that I think will be widely used by a variety of users and I am glad to see that it was included with the scanner.

"Expert" menus are another feature I enjoy. Being able to tweak some major settings within the scanner is a great feature. Most users will probably never "tweak" these settings, but a power user will love the fact that they can have a scanner set up EXACTLY how they want it!

Thank you for providing a scanner that has upgradeable CPU and DSP capability. This is huge! And with continuing support from GRE, features and performance can be "tweaked." Keep an eye on the GRE website for updates!

Included Accessories! GRE finally included a PC programming cable and an AC adapter. Also included are the usual 2 battery holders, antenna, and instead of a printed manual, you get a CD-ROM with the manual in PDF format. On the Pro-96, the programming cable and AC adapter had to be purchased separately which could cost you upwards of $40 to $50 extra. I was proud to see GRE step up and include these necessary accessories.

As stated earlier, this scanner is packed so full of features it is unreal. Being able to set each individual object up with different settings such as backlight, alarms, delays, Audio Boost, LED options, Attenuation, AGC, Supertrack, etc. is a great bonus on this scanner. There are so many features available it is unbelievable that they squeezed them all into this scanner!

I have definitely put the PSR-500 through the paces. I turned on every possible feature all at once; Priority, Wx priority, LED's, SWPR, SRCH, Numerous TSYS with hundreds of TGIDs, Conventional with and with out (and searching) CTCSS/DCS, etc. and have found that the scanner performs great! I have done everything possible to make the scanner hick-up but the scanner just works great! Kind of like my Mac, it just works! Ha Ha Ha.

The scanner is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There are some areas that could use improvements in both hardware and firmware. However, I feel that this is the best digital scanner on the market at this point considering features and quality. Not that the BCD396T doesn’t hold it’s own. The 396 is a great scanner, but with the added features and memory you get more “bang for the buck” with the PSR-500.

The PSR-500 is easy to use, but it does take a little while to get the hang of this new memory management system. Some users can pick it up right away but for some it can take a little more time and effort. But using the menu driven programming and on screen help menus will aid in your learning.

•With the expansive memory available on this scanner, buying programming software will greatly assist you. I haven’t used any software at this point so I cannot recommend one over the other. The 3 that I am aware of at the time of this review are as follows:

•Win500 www.starrsoft.com  

•ARC500 www.butel.nl

•PSREdit www.psredit.com.

All 3 versions have screenshots

Demos available for download at their respective websites (ARC500 due out December 2007). You will have to buy an activation key for the full versions of each. I am certain there will be others as this radio becomes more and more popular. For now, I think all programming suites are for Windows only. All three mentioned currently here have, or will have, free demos available. Hopefully a skilled programmer will get some software developed for the Mac!

GRE has broken away from Radio Shack a bit on these scanners. I’m not sure if you can find one at Radio Shack or not? They are being sold through numerous retailers both brick and mortar stores and online. A few places that I have heard you can find the PSR-500’s are: Universal Radio, Ham Station, Scanners Unlimited, Scanner Master, and Grove.

If you prefer a base/mobile version of this scanner, keep an eye out for the PSR-600. I would guess it not be far behind the PSR-500.

Also an analog trunking scanner is coming in the form of the PSR-300 handheld and PSR-400 base/mobile. These will be much like the Pro-97/2055 scanners.

If I had to recommend a digital scanner to someone at this point, I would direct them to look closely at the PSR-500. It is the most advanced, easiest to use digital scanner that I have had the pleasure of owning. My hat is off to the entire GRE team for creating an amazing product!

BCD396T / PSR-500 / Pro-96



Uniden BC125AT Full Review

Uniden BC125AT Full Review

Video review of the BC125AT:

Construction and Build Quality:

The BC125AT is Uniden's latest scanner.  It is touted as an "event scanner" focused on being used at air shows and racing events.  However, this scanner is much more than that!  This is a great analog, conventional scanner for VHF-High band, Civil Air band and Mil-Air band.

The Uniden BC125AT feels solid in the hand and has a large LCD Display.  The keypad buttons are well spaced and larger than most handheld scanners.  The buttons have a soft rubber feel to them and give a nice tactile feedback when pressed.  The keypad has a nice layout and is easy to remember for manipulating in low light (keypad is not backlit).

The BC125AT has a belt clip similar to the BC246T.  The belt clip is rigid and does not hinge.  It hangs on a pocket or belt as intended, but anything over 1/4" deep will have a hard time accommodating this style belt clip.

The sides of the scanner has grooves molded into the plastic which helps to grip the scanner in the hand.  The plastic used on the case feels a bit cheap.  I don't think the outer case would handle a direct impact from a fall very well.  It's not terrible, but doesn't seem as solid as say a BC396XT or the Icom R6.  It feels similar to the BC246T or Pro-97 (Pro-164) casing material.  The BC125AT reminds me a lot of the BC246T even though they have different memory management systems.   They are similar in size but the BC125AT has a larger screen and better keypad in my opinion.   The BC125AT has banks and channels versus the Dynamic Memory or the BC246T but still incorporates some menu options for programming, setting LCD options, etc.

The BC125AT is well balanced when sitting upright on a desk, even with the Diamond RH77CA antenna, which is significantly longer than the stock antenna.  The scanner doesn't tip over easily with the extended antenna.  The BC125AT uses a BNC type antenna connection.

The battery compartment on the bottom, rear of the radio has a slide on/off door that snaps into place.  The door fits tight and has no movement when in place.  The batteries fit into the scanner very snug.  Almost too snug at times because the batteries can be hard to remove.  There is a switch on the inside of the battery compartment for selecting either rechargeable batteries or alkaline.  This switch prevents the scanner from charging alkaline batteries in the scanner when plugged into AC power or USB.  However, you do have to remember to slide that switch to the proper position.  I never recommend charging batteries in a scanner but sometimes this can't be avoided.

The large LCD display is one of the best features in my opinion.  On this large LCD display you can see your alpha tag, channel number, frequency, mode, PL Tone, and signal strength meter.  Also on screen are active banks, close call and/or weather priority symbols, if activated.  I wish I could dim the back light. It isn't overly bright but it would be nice to save the batteries.  You can turn on/off the LCD backlight with the press of a button.  Or you can set it to come on with squelch only, keypress only or both.

To access the LCD menu, press the Func button followed by the power button.  This will allow you to set the backlight modes as mentioned above and set the LCD contrast from 1 - 15.  I prefer contrast setting at 12.  In this menu you can also set the time the scanner will charge the batteries when connected to external power.  1 to 16 hours of charge time is available for your choosing.

The Uniden BC125AT covers from 25 MHz to 512 MHz (Included coverage is: 25-54, 108-174, 225-380 and 400-512 MHz).   You can set the mode on each channel that you program to FM, NFM, AM or Auto.  On service search of Mil-Air it looks like the mode is preset to NFM between 138.0000 MHz and 143.9875 MHz and 148.0000 MHz and 150.7875 MHz.  At 225.0000 MHz it changes to AM. These modes are not user changeable in service search.  There is no 800 MHz coverage on this scanner.  There is also no trunking or digital modes receive on this scanner.  It is known as a conventional, analog radio scanner.  

The Uniden BC125AT is a bank/channel type scanner.  The scanner can hold a maximum of 500 channels in 10 banks.  50 channels per bank.

Programming

The scanner is very easy to program by hand.  I have yet to break out the Owner's Manual.  I  programmed about 250 to 300 channels with tags and PL tones by hand before downloading the free Uniden software (more on the software later). It is tedious to program by hand, but not hard at all.  It is just a little time consuming.

To program a new channel manually simply press the Hold button (if you aren't already in hold mode).  Scroll to an empty channel using the multi function knob on top.  Press the Func button followed by the Pgm/E button.   From here select the Enter Frequency option by pressing E (or pressing down on the multi function knob.  Input the desired frequency.  (Note:  If the frequency is already programmed into the scanner, it will give you an alert telling you of a duplicate entry.)  Once you have the frequency entered, for instance 122.8000 press the E button.  You are returned to the Program Menu screen where you can Edit Tag, Set CTCSS/DCS, Set Modulation, Set Priority of the Channel and/or set the Delay time.  You also have the option of deleting the channel from this menu or clearing the entire bank.  To edit the alpha tag simply select the Edit Tag and press E.  Use the multi function knob to select the character desired and use the 4 and 6 key to move the cursor on the screen.  Press E to save the text.  You can press the . / clr button to clear the text entry completely.  Once you have saved the text you will be back at the program menu screen.  You can either set the other options or scroll to exit to move on.  Very simple to program the scanner.  There are several button clicks and knob turns involved but all in all I think Uniden made it easy to program their scanner.

The scanner is also PC programmable.  I downloaded ARC125 demo. It is a great piece of software and would be very handy if I wasn't such a tightwad and didn't want to spend $25 on something that, in all likelihood, I would use only one time. Uniden does provide programming software free of charge.  It doesn't provide RadioReference import like the ARC software but it may be a better solution than trying to program the scanner by hand.  A trick you can use instead of the radioreference import is if you do have a premium subscription to RadioReference (which you have to have for the import feature as well) you can download CSV files of the counties, agencies, or systems, open them in a spreadsheet program and copy/paste them into the Uniden Software.   This is the method I chose to go with!  Not to say that the ARC software isn't great.  I have ARC software for the BC396XT and PSR-500.  ARC makes excellent software.  However, I use the ARC396 and ARC500 a lot.  And I knew that I wouldn't use the ARC125 as much.  Your mileage may vary!

Main Features:

ALPHA TAGGING!!!!! I am not sure I could use a scanner without it anymore. I am glad Uniden put in the feature on this sub $140 scanner! It makes all the difference in the world.  It would be very difficult to remember what 500 channels are without the text tags.

Close Call DND and Priority DND are awesome! I have gotten several hits on Close Call. The DND (Do Not Disturb) feature checks for signals only when the scanner isn't actively receiving signals so it doesn't interrupt a transmission.  On some other scanners you will hear a pause in the audio every 2 seconds while the scanner checks for the Priority or Close Call.  To enter the Close Call Menu, press the Func key then the Hold (CC) key.  From there you can select Close Call Mode, Close Call Bands, Close Call Alert, Scan Hits, Set Delay, CTCSS/DCS Search, Review Lockouts or Exit the menu.  

The Close Call Mode menu is where you can turn Close Call on/off, activate the Close Call DND, Close Call Priority or select to use the scanner in Close Call Only mode.  Close Call Only mode will scan only the close call bands selected and not any programmed channels.  

Close Call alert menu allows you to set the scanner to alert on any close call hits.  You can set the LCD to illuminate or not and have the scanner give an audible beep or not.  These two alerts are independent of each other so you can have the light alert on and the beep off or vice versa.  You can have them both set on or off.

Close Call Bands menu allows you to turn on or off the included bands:  25-54 VHF - Low, 108-137 CIV-Air, 137-174 VHF-High, 225-320 MIL-Air, and 320-512 UHF.  

The BC125AT also has Close Call Temporary Store which stores and scans the last 10 Close Call hits in the Close Call Hits system.

As stated previously, I get Close Call hits quite regularly.  I have gotten them from my home as well in the car when mobile.  I'm not sure the exact sensitivity of Close Call, but I have found it to be quite nice.  I am sure that something like an FRS radio isn't going to activate Close Call without being very close.  But a repeater pushing 100 + watts would get picked up by Close Call at some distance.  Don't expect to get Close Call hits over about 1/4 to 1/2 mile though.  I picked up my local PD repeater about 1/2 mile with Close Call.  Police mobile radios in their cars, a few hundred feet and handheld police radios even closer than that.  So the sensitivity of the Close Call is determined by the power output of the radio it is picking up I would assume.  However, Close Call has picked up local businesses as I passed by their locations on the highway.

Temporary Lockout is one of the greatest features of this scanner in my opinion.  This is a great feature since the scanner does not have an attenuation function.  When you press the L/O button 1 time, the scanner will temporarily lockout the frequency that you are currently on.  Pressing 2 times in rapid succession will lock it out permanently, requiring you to either scroll to the channel or go into the menu and unlock that channel.  However, all channels that were locked out using temporary lockout will be restored (unlocked) after the next power cycle.   

The BC125AT has CTCSS and DCS Squelch modes.  This provides rapid search for CTCSS/DCS tones/code used on some channels. The scanner has 50 CTCSS tones and 104 DCS codes available.  It's a great feature for reducing interference as well as some agencies use the same frequencies but different CTCSS/DCS allowing for multiple uses.  The 125AT search option for CTCSS/DCS is very fast.  I would say it near instantly displays the tone/code when you have search activated on a programmed channel or Close Call.

SAME weather alert codes would have been a nice feature to have, unfortunately they are not included on the BC125AT.  However, the general weather alert (which picks up the 1050 Hz tone) is available on this scanner.  When activating the weather menu, simply press Func button then the #3 / Wx key.  You can select from Weather Scan, Alert Standby, Alert Priority, or Set Delay.  To enter any of these options, simply scroll to the option using the multi function knob on top and press the PGM / E button or press down on the multi function knob.  

Weather scan will do just that, scan the  7 US NOAA Weather channels.  The scanner will stop on an active channel or you can hold on any 1 of the 7 channels.  

Weather Alert Standby will scan the weather channels and stop on the weather channel with an active signal.  At that point the scanner will stop on that channel, remaining completely muted and wait to receive the 1050 Hz tone from the NOAA Weather Station so long as you have a receivable signal from NOAA.  When a tone is received, the scanner will produce and audible alarm and the station will open so you can hear the message.  

Weather Alert Priority can be set either Off or On (Set to off by default).  If you set the Wx Alert Priority On, when scanning your programmed channels the scanner will check the for the 1050 Hz tone every 5 seconds, which will cause you to hear a pause in the audio if a channel is being received.  I have noticed that if a Weather Channel signal cannot be received the scanner will automatically turn off the Weather Alert Priority.  This could be a safety issue if you are using this to alert you to potential severe weather, so just be aware of that fact.  Of course, if you can't receive the channel, you aren't going to hear the tone anyway.  However, I think that it would be a nice feature if the scanner would continue to look for an active NOAA frequency rather than turning off the Weather Alert Priority.  It could be that you move the scanner from one room to the next and during the transition signal is lost and the alert priority is turned off.  Then you go to bed thinking its on with severe weather approaching.  For more information on the weather operation refer to page 65 of the Owner's Manual.

Direct Access feature allows you to directly access any channel with a few presses of the buttons.  For instance if you have your local police stored on channel 200.  To go directly to that channel press the Hold button, then 2 0 0 then Hold button again.  Boom, you are on channel 200, holding waiting on a transmission!

Service Searches are separated in 10 preset banks.  1. Police, 2. Fire/Emergency, 3. Ham, 4. Marine, 5. Railroad, 6. Civil Air, 7. Military Air, 8. CB Radio, 9. FRS/GMRS/MURS, and 0. Racing.  These can come in handy for just skimming a specific range of common frequencies.  To enter the service search feature of the scanner press the Func button followed by the Srch/Svc button.  Then you can press the number keys 1 - 0 to activate/deactivate the 10 preset searches.

Priority features abound on this little radio.  Priority scan with Do Not Disturb lets you program up to 10 channels as Priority (1 in each bank) and the scanner will check the channels marked as priority every 2 seconds.  Priority Do Not Disturb works just like Close Call Do Not Disturb in that the scanner will not interupt an active transmission and will only check for activity on the priority channels when the scanner is not receiving audio from another channel.

Priority plus allows the BC125AT to scan only the priority channels. 

To enter the Priority Menu, press the Func button followed by the 1 / Pri button.  This gives you the Priority menu.  From there you can select Priority Off, Priority DND, Priority Scan, and Priority Plus.

Delay time can be set on each channel, Close Call Search, Custom Search, and Service search.  This controls whether the scanner pauses at the end of the transmission for the set amount of time.  You can set the amount of time it holds on that channel before resuming up to 5 seconds or a negative delay to -10.  

Custom searches can also be set up in the scanner.  You can set up to 10 custom search ranges.  To enter the custom search press the Srch/Svc button.  To program a custom search, enter the custom search by pressing the Srch button then press Func followed by E / Pgm button.  From there you can set the limits of the search bands, delay times, CTCSS/DCS search, review any lockouts and you can save a frequency form the search function to the programmed channel scan.

You can also do a quick search.  While the scanner is scanning programmed channels, press the Hold button.  Then input the frequency and press the Srch button and the scanner will start searching from the entered frequency frequency.  

Pressing the number keys during a programmed scan, service search, close call, or custom search will turn on/off bands, banks, or search ranges just like all other bank/channel type scanners. 

Performance

I am running the BC125AT beside the Icom R6 and the PSR-800.  The BC125AT and Icom R6 are using the Diamond RH77CA antenna, I can't tell a difference on the signals they are pulling in on civilian air band.  They seem to be pulling in the same signals at the same signal strength.  That is very impressive to say the least!  The 125AT seems to be keeping pace with the Icom R6, which is well regarded as a great receiver.  I am actually very impressed by the BC125AT.  I think that on VHF-High band the R6 edges the 125AT by a slight margin.  The R6 will pick up fringe signals where the 125AT won't.  However, the R6 also picks up a ton of interference whereas the 125AT isn't affected by it as bad.  The BC125AT vs the PSR-800 on VHF-Air, is no comparison.  The 125AT seems to win hands down in my unscientific tests.  The PSR-800 is excellent on the 800 band, but the 125AT doesn't cover that band.

Mil-Air receive seems to be quite good as well.  I have picked up several programmed Mil-Air frequencies.  I am not in a high traffic Mil-Air area (South Arkansas).  However, there is an airforce base about 100 miles to my north.  I have heard several Mil-Air comms as they fly in my area.

VHF-High band has great receive as well.  I regularly pick up a police department about 20 miles to my west with good audio and good signal strength.  As well as a county SO about 20 miles to my south and one that is about 15 miles to my north.  I think that is decent for a hand held scanner with a duck antenna.  I am pleased with its performance in this area.

UHF receive seems to be pretty decent as well.  A local fire department uses UHF Band and it sounds great.  I do not have enough low band in my area to test this.  

Audio is very good on this radio. The speaker has a clear tone and loud enough in the car to be heard over road noise.  Comparing to the R6, the 125 has a cleaner sound to me.  The R6 has a teeny sound in my opinion, although it can get loud the smaller speaker doesn't give as good of a tone.  VHF-Air audio is comparable to the PSR-800 as far as tone.  Cranking the audio all the way up to 15 on the BC125AT causes a little distortion, but not so much that it is unintelligible.  Typically sitting on my desk, I find that having the audio set between 6 and 8 is a comfortable listening volume.

The BC125AT uses batteries very quickly. I am scanning using back light on all the time. I am only getting about 4-6 hours out of a set of fully charged (and fairly new) Energizer 2300 mAh, as well as the supplied generic 2300 mAh batteries.  These batteries are always charged in a MAHA C9000 Charger.  Usually it is closer to the 4 hour mark.  Compared to my little R6 which runs for 10 + on 2 of the same batteries with back light on full time.  Of course, the R6 has a much smaller LCD and speaker to power. This isn't a huge deal since I have a backpack full of charged batteries with me most of the time.  The BC125AT has a low battery beep that becomes audible when the scanners batteries are almost exhausted.  On my 125AT the scanner will beep for about 1 to 2 minutes before the scanner powers itself off.  Not much warning, so if you hear the beep, you might want to start looking for those extra batteries or plugging your scanner into external power.

No ATT button? That is about all that is missing on this great little radio.  Some channels, especially when I place the scanner near my computer or driving around in the car, will receive interference.  Attenuation would be great in these instances but the temporary lockout works to block those channels.  Out of the 300 to 400 channels I have programmed in the scanner, 1 maybe 2 or 3 channels actually get plagued by interference regularly near my computer.  So I don't think it is a huge problem.  The scanner seems to handle strong nearby signals fairly well.  But if the channel being plagued by interference is a channel you really want to monitor, this is a problem.

You cannot rename the bank names.  This would be very handy.  As it is now, the banks are named Bank1, Bank2, etc.  I am quite sure being able to name the banks would be possible via a firmware update, but I am unsure if it will ever happen.  Being able to name the banks would allow a better memory management and easily recall what you have programmed in a specific bank.  

At the time of this review (3/23/12) having 7.5 kHz steps is not possible.  However, Paul Opitz (Uniden Product Manager) posted on radio reference that this option is coming in a future firmware update.

I have a dedicated 800 MHz P25 scanner. The 125AT makes a great 2nd (or 3rd, 4th, or 5th ) scanner if you need the 800 MHz, digital coverage.  I don't miss 800MHz coverage on this scanner because I am using it for Air band and Mil-Air mostly and some local VHF-High public safety.  

I would definitely opt for the Diamond RH77CA antenna to replace the stock duck antenna.  The RH77CA is longer but pulls in signals so much better.  I wouldn't throw away the stock antenna, but if I lost it in my junk drawer somewhere, it wouldn't bother me much.  I do use the stock antenna from time to time just to cut down on footprint of the radio.  If I clip it to my pocket or belt, then the stock antenna comes in handy.  Other than that, the BC125AT has the Diamond antenna on it and they work very well together!  Pairing the Radio Shack RS800 Mhz antenna on the BC125AT does cut down on the civil air band receive somewhat.  It seems to be only slightly better than the stock antenna in this band.  That is to be expected since the RS antenna is tuned for 800 MHz.  I used an extendable antenna from a GRE base/mobile scanner on the BC125AT and had very good results.  The extendable antenna performs similar to the Diamond antenna.  The extendable antenna is about 24" in length vs the Diamond that is 16" in length.

If you only need coverage below 512 MHz, non-digital, non-trunking scanner, I don't think you can go wrong with this little radio.  Especially at the price that Uniden released it at. ($139.99 at most dealers).  I picked mine up from Amazon for $139.99 with free shipping.  ScannerMaster or Grove are also good dealers.  All in all I think it's a great deal for $140 (and possibly cheaper online).

Matt Outlaw

Uniden BC125AT vs Icom IC-R6

BC246T vs BC125AT vs BC346T

Thanks to DaveIN from RadioReference for this pic!