Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner. TrunkTracker V, Simple Programming, S.A.M.E. Emergency/Weather Alert, Covers USA and Canada

It’s a weird feeling to spend so much money on a handheld scanner. I can recall buying them for around $100, and knowing they’d be quality. Now, $300 doesn’t guarantee that you’ll love the product.But sometimes it does.I absolutely love this scanner. I truly thought that some of the features were gimmicky, and might not work well. For example, one function allows you to search for nearby frequencies. On older units, this was a guaranteed way to find the nearest drive-through, since the radios they use tend to be highly powered, and stomp other frequencies. This unit has changed the way the function works, and without explaining it in detail, I can say that I’m ecstatic with the functionality.”Why is this better than an app on your phone?”I have a scanner app on my phone, and I use it regularly. I also have an old Radio Shack handheld unit, and this new unit. The app is amazing, truly. However, the app is limited to your cellular signal, and it doesn’t give you the control to fine-tune your frequencies. You’re locked into a bank of nearby channels, pre-selected for you. The Uniden gives you an incredible amount of control, as well as thorough information on the channels.”OK, but it’s going to take weeks to program properly!”Not at all, actually! The included software has the majority of channels, organized by state and county, and allows you to pick and choose. Learning the software can be a bit tricky at first, but I found a video online that helped me to figure it out in minutes. Once I knew the functions, I was off to the races, and had my scanner working and receiving traffic within 15 minutes. I have since fine-tuned, and even added my own channels. There are some great online resources for frequency lists, and you can find some great and obscure channels.I carry this scanner everywhere with me, which is not typical. I don’t like carrying things with me all the time, and do it with very few items. This has become one of those, because it is a wonderful piece of technology.I have gone to rechargeable batteries, however, because this unit can eat batteries if you run it constantly.”Is it worth it?”Without question, if you have the money to spend, you’ll love this unit. It has quirks – I’m not a huge fan of the squelch/volume control, since you have to press a button to change the mode of a single rotary switch, rather than having dedicated switches. That said, I don’t change the squelch every 5 minutes, and it isn’t enough to make the unit terrible. I’d buy it again without hesitation.

Make sure you read the review item next to the name of the user. Amazon mixes reviews of different units in one.Before I get into the scanner I would like to address some complaints in general on scanners and the frustration of programming and using them and resulting in a bad review and complaints about a scanner be it a simple scanner or a complex one. Radio systems (simplex, trunking, digital, etc) and all the frequencies assigned worldwide is a complex matrix. It’s not a simple as scanning every frequency under the sun to find some activity, its more complex.And truth be told 95% of scanner enthusiast like the complexity as it adds to the hobby. Learning and gaining knowledge and always figuring out new tricks, etc. If it was simple it would not be a fun.But there are some who want quick and easy. So you must to 1 of 2 things. 1: Make sure any scanner you purchase you can hook up to the computer (some use serial so be patient) and use FreeScan software (free) and subscribe to a frequency database. It’s cheap and worth it. I paid 30 a year that’s pennies a day to have an awesome database at your fingertips. This will load and label all the systems in your area and put them on the scanner.2: Purchase a more expensive with a built in database and other features (like this Uniden 436HP). Even if you do #2 it’s always good to do #1 also. And be patient. While watching TV or hanging out, mess with the scanner nightly and learn little things as you go. Watch some videos on YouTube like Scanning 101, etc. Enjoy the process and do not get frustrated.On to my quick review of the BCD436HP. I had purchased the BC346XTC and used it for a week. Great unit highly recommend if you want analog with trunking. I wish the display was bigger so you can see more of the 3 areas system, dept and channel. But it worked great and I rated it 5 stars. But I wanted something digital with a larger display so I plunked out more than double the price of the BC346 for the BCD436HP.Love the large display, it really shows a lot. A separate line for the system, department and channel which you can hold each one and scan subs of them. When I first turned it on I entered my postal code and was scanning in minutes. The BC346 I had to manual scan or load it with FreeScan to get it really working. I have not hooked the BCD436HP to the computer yet but will this week to load detailed databases.This has a ton a features and essentially has unlimited channels (no cap). Firmware will future proof this unit. It pretty much does everything (trunked, digital, etc). The Micro SD card is a great feature to load a ton of databases and this unit will record and playback transmissions.Some users commented on the cheap feel of the unit. That’s a slippery slope with a lot of opinions. Its light weight and feels good to me, the plastic is not super tough industrial but Uniden most likely weighed the pro and cons.Example: A Motorola VHF 2 way 99% of the time will be used in a work environment and be dropped, thrown on a dash or ledge, etc. That is why they also do not put displays on most of them for durability. Now a scanner is typically a hobbyist device and I can imagine 95% of the time it would not be used in a rugged work environment, so to me Uniden chose well with light weight plastic.The display screen plastic seems like it may get scratched easy but I have not had it long enough determine that. Some people do not like the Uniden clip on the back since it sticks out, but if you see why they did that it nice. It’s basically the same CB mic mount to when you take the clip off it slides real nice into a CB mic mount. I bought a CB mic mount and use it in my van. Very nice feature.Battery life is dependent on processing, led, etc. I have not used it long to determine but if I had to charge it every night no big deal.Bottom line with anything you buy there is always things some people like and others do not. Is this unit a little pricey, probably but then it has a lot of R&D in it and they do not sell tons of them so there has to be a price point to make money. So I am ok with the price. You basically have a little computer in your hand ready to scan the RF Spectrum and should be future proof for a long time.If your trying to figure out if you like scanning buy a smaller Uniden or Whistler and program it via your computer and check it out. If you want to move up into the full spectrum (trunking, digital, etc) then you need something like this. I would recommend this to someone who knows what they want and ready to shell out a few bucks. For a beginner maybe start smaller.I had a chance to mess with hooking this up to my computer. Turns out the FreeScan does not support this unit. BUT Uniden makes free software for this called Sentinal which has a real good database with it. Its all installed on the 436 already so you really do not need to use the software unless you want to make easy edits or import stuff from freescan, etc. Sentinal software may not be as in depth for the hard core seasoned scanner users but for me its good.So in reality the BCD436 is a unit that will have you scanning in minutes with little to no programming and has the capability for the seasoned users to program till the cows come home.Update: I love this scanner. The screen showing all the info is great. The hold for each area is awesome I cannot say enough about that.I have NOT needed software like on other scanner I have used. Maybe I will one day but Uniden shipped this will ALL the frequencies in my area and nationwide for the most part!

With over 700 reviews of this product, there is a lot of material out there. If you’re like me and have limited time to read reviews, let me sum this product up for you:1. It is plug & play. Enter your zip code and it knows what frequencies to scan in your area. Game on!2. If you travel, buy the Uniden-brand GPS unit available on Amazon (Uniden BC-GPSK Serial GPS Receiver for Scanner and Marine Products). The reason to buy the Uniden unit is A) As you travel, the GPS feeds your location into the scanner and the scanner updates the frequencies it is scanning to those near you and B) because it is also plug & play. Mine arrived with the necessary cords to plug directly into the scanner, and it worked from that moment. Perfect!3. You can connect the scanner to your PC to update the firmware and the frequency database from Uniden. It is easy. No need to buy a third-party web database. Uniden regularly updates their database. I purchased my unit in 9/2014 and used it nine months before performing updates. It works fine out of the box.4. The scanner has two batteries, a main battery for scanning and a secondary battery for the clock. Charge the main battery first, then turn on the scanner to charge the secondary battery. Oddly, the clock battery charges when the unit is on.5. On trips, an external antenna will extend your range. I purchased a magnetic mount antenna on Amazon for about $30 (ASIN B004HM9RHE) and it works great. Almost a plug & play device, you do not need an SWR meter as it is pre-tuned. Plug & play caveat: You will need a BNC Female/SMA Male Adaptor (ASIN B00CLFFM4G) to plug the antenna into the scanner.6. When using in a vehicle, know the law. States may have laws restricting scanner use in a vehicle. UPDATE: As of May 1, 2006, a permit from the Michigan state police is no longer required to have a scanner in your vehicle on Michigan roadways. I have been told by the Ontario Provincial Police it is legal to have a scanner in a vehicle in Canada but have not been able to find the law on the books. UPDATE: March 7, 2021: A Spectrum Management Officer of the Canadian Innovation, Science and Economic Development department (Canada’s equivalent to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission) wrote me that an amateur radio operator’s license is required to use a scanner in a vehicle in Canada. Canada recognizes U.S.-issued amateur licenses, so if you’re a licensed ham operator, you’re set.7. That’s it. This scanner is as simple or complex as you wish it to be. For a busy dad, the simplicity is welcome and the Plug & Play No Fuss Ready-to-Use attributes actually let me enjoy the thing without brushing off my kids to learn how to make it work. It reminds me of the original Apple MacIntosh computer: A product so smart you can turn it on and use it without devoting hours of study to get it to function 🙂

This is a fun and Can be as easy or challenging as you want to program. The Zip feature is great! As it programs by zip code. You can also program by favorite lists. I would suggest using the software it came with makes it easier to program within minutes!

May 2015 update:Uniden has finally updated the firmware to somewhat solve the “set the clock” issue. Now, when it asks you to set the clock, if you do nothing, in five seconds it will continue to scan. Still not a perfect fix, but better than nothing.*****************************July 23, 2014 update: I finally solved the “constant asking for me to set the date and time”. After reading numerous post at the radio reference web site, I arrived at the conclusion that this scanner has a second battery in it that “keeps the clock” current. The only problem with this battery is “it only charges while the scanner is on”, and must have been shipped dead. So, to fix this problem, plug in the USB cable, tell it you are NOT charging, and then turn on the scanner. When it asks you if you want to connect as a serial port or mass storage, select Serial Port. Then, leave the scanner on for several days. I’ve read that three days is the magic number, but I never left mine plugged in and on while not at home. After a while, you will be turning the volume to zero. 😉 After this, you should never see the set date and time again.******************************Update to the update: I decided to put the scanner on charge and left it on until the unit said it was fully charged. After that, no more asking to set the date and time each time I turned it on. I’m not sure why, but it seems that a low batter will cause this. Also, why a $500 scanner DOESN’T have a battery level indicator is beyond me.*****************************May 28 update. One “very” annoying part of this scanner is that you are constantly being asked to set the date and time. I hope Uniden fixes this with a firmware update. This is the only complaint I have had with the scanner since purchase.*****************************If you already own the BCD536HP then you are familiar with this unit. It’s the exact same scanner; just more portable.Also, you can use the same USB cable to connect it to your computer. Also, you can use the same Sentinel Software to program it.This unit does come with a USB cable, and the software is included on the micro SD card that is also included with the unit. The SD card is in the battery compartment.Having already owned the 536 version, setting up this unit was real easy. I just connected the USB to my computer, opened the Sentinel software and it automatically detected this scanner. Then, since I have already programmed my 536 the way it wanted, all I did was write to the 436 all of my saved preferences. Took less than two minutes and this included checking for a firmware update.Then, the real test. I turned them both on and to my surprise, they were almost alike. The 536 would pick up a conversation slightly quicker than the 436 but also the 436 (this unit) would pick up a conversation quicker. For the most part, they were on an even keel.You can use either rechargeable batteries or non-rechargeable batteries with this unit. When you plug in the USB cable, it will ask you if you have rechargeable batteries or not..The box also includes a belt clip and a hand strap. It also includes an adapter for a larger antenna if you feel the need for one.This scanner is probably more scanner than the average user will ever need but if you are really into keeping tabs on what’s going on in “your neck of the woods” then this is the scanner for you.