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

Fortunately, I have had a lot of experience with police scanners. This one worked right out of the box once I programmed it and put batteries in it. Was easy to program using the keypad on the unit itself. I have heard that it can be programmed using a computer, but I haven't tried that yet. But it works fine and was easy to set up. For those reviewers that did not seem to be able to figure it out, all I have to say to that is you actually have to be smarter than the box the unit came out of. It is so simple. I didn't even read the owners manual when I set it up, and I was able to do it. There is nothing wrong with this unit and it is easy to set up, and yes, it works great. UPDATE: I just installed the software from the Uniden website to program this scanner using my computer, and I have to say programming the scanner using my computer is so much easier, especially when adding a new bank of frequencies. Anyone that has trouble programming this, Uniden does have a good YouTube video that will walk you through it, which you can also get from the Uniden website. I found it by using Google. Way to easy.

I needed a three band scanner for use at the Reno Air Races. Did some looking and found this one to be the best value of those that would serve the purpose. Installed a set of NiMH batteries which would last about 5 hours on a full charge. Rather than rely on battery power I connected it to a 30000mAh power bank and was able to use it all day long. Software was a little difficult to find but once I had it downloaded it was simple to program the frequencies I needed to monitor and setup the scan function to walk these channels. Only real downside is that the scanner will not charge the NiMH batteries while it's on. I'm pleased with the purchase and would recommend this scanner to any Reno Air Races attendee or volunteer who'd like to be a bit more aware of what's going on behind the scenes.

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. Amazon's 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!

This unit eats batteries. AA alkaline do not last more than 6 hours. I will try rechargeable batteries. Another "negative" is, as others have said, it is not easy to program. I have some experience with scanning radios and bluffed my way through it but have a hunch I still don't understand all its features. It works for my limited purposes. Lastly, the clip is not very strong and the unit frequently falls from my best. So far, no breakage. On the good side, the reception is stronger than either a paging radio or the scanner I have. It seems to filter out some noise. I use it to monitor two (only) fire frequencies, as I work part time in a fire house with no in-house alarm system and I like to know when the troops are going to converge. It has good range and for a user who must keep track of many frequencies yet be able to set one as a priority, this works just fine. I would buy it again...four starts despite the shortcomings.

The Bearcat BC75XLT is a great starter scanner for the beginner. I am finding this device to be a huge asset when it comes to knowing what is going on around me. Search my name, the make and model of this scanner on Youtube for a complete in-depth video presentation. Features I like about this radio: * Searching through the VHF/UHF frequencies is very fast. * 300 Memory Channels * Priority Channel mode. * Close Call mode. * Great reception when compared to my other HTs. * Customized Search feature that can be done directly on the radio. * Ten Service Bands, makes finding certain frequencies that much quicker. * Delay...oh how you need this. * Good build quality. * Uses 2 AA batteries, either Alkaline or NiMH. * Smart Charger built in for the NiMH batteries. * USB power can supply the radio enough power to run without battteries. * USB connectivity to the computer for downloading and uploading data to the scanner. Free software download. * Included USB cable. * Headphone jack is excellent, no noise, clean sound. * Nice and evenly lit LCD display. * Scanning stored channels is a breeze, and can be customized. * Temporary and Permanent lock out feature. * Informative Manual, lots of detail. Features that could be added or improved on: * A separate squelch knob would be fantastic. * A monitor button. * A full stop on frequency when searching. This would be nice so you don't have to have your finger resting on the hold button all the time. Overall, for the cost of this portable scanner, I am very impressed and recommend this as a first scanner to purchase and learn with. Just enough to keep you busy for months. I am surprised by the amount of analog activity that still exists around me.

I've had mine perhaps a year or two. Bought it to listen to railroad chatter on trips. The first time I traveled, I wound up putting it away because I couldn't figure out how to use it at all and I was pretty annoyed. The second time I traveled, I figured out that watching YouTube videos helped (especially when adding the word 'railfanning' to the search), as did writing the Uniden tech support, where an employee really went the extra mile to try to be helpful. An individual named Charles explained things in plain English and was patient with my ignorance. I still had a little trouble, frankly. Then I learned that I could use it easily enough at home with a bit of a shortcut--pressing the function key (which is orange) and then the Svc button. By pressing those two buttons, I did not have to program anything but I automatically got to hear transmissions within range of us. That is all I had to do. So this is something like simply playing movies on one's VCR, DVD player, Blu-Ray player, etc., without even trying to use all the extra functions. The manual isn't all that useful as a guide even though it does label buttons and so forth. I had to acquire somewhat of a knowledge base before I understood what the manual meant (this is not the first time I had this experience with a manual). To be fair, I just didn't know anything about scanners, electronics, ham radios, etc. As far as I could tell at the time, this seemed to be the highest rated radio of its kind (in its price range) and the most talked about, and apart from the expected updated model of this same unit, that still seems to be the case. At the same time, there is a bit of a hurdle when it comes to entry into this type of hobby. We do not receive police transmissions. It seems that those in our area are encrypted now, so we won't be getting them. In a fairly highly populated city, there is still a limited amount to listen to (I am using the stock antenna) but we do get weather reports and a few other things. If I expected nonstop talking and wanted to listen to it for an extended time, I would have been disappointed (but that wasn't my particular interest). We turn it on around dinnertime and listen to the weather, etc. for ten minutes or so. Realistic expectations all around may be the key to enjoying this radio, which we now do. Now that I finally know more about how to use it, I am hoping that I will be able to listen to railroad chatter on our next train trip. That is the real reason I got it and I haven't been able to do that yet. There are a number of YouTube videos that explain how to listen--which I didn't know when I bought this. It's helpful but still not a straight path to success. As for the unit itself, it seems fairly durable and it appears to work as intended. The buttons do require some pressure when you push them to get a response but that seems more or less like a good thing. Be aware of the button you need to slide inside the unit to indicate whether your batteries are rechargeable or not (it's not hard). I am not a patient person and usually return electronics that I cannot quickly figure out. So it has been a bit strange that I have picked this up from time to time and tried again to use it. All in all, would probably buy the same unit all over again. Knowing that all I had to do was pick it up and press the two keys I mentioned earlier would have been of considerable help. But, from my experience as a novice, this isn't really an easy hobby to get started with, and if one wants to, some trial and error, with a considerable amount of "non" success, may be called for enroute to this goal. Up until now, I sort of regretted buying it. Reading the Dummies on two-way radios and scanners (this is not a two-way radio but the book has some content on scanners) helped me understand some of the backstory that eventually helped me use this. So, I wouldn't say "don't buy it" but I would say "understand what the path may be like if you don't have related expertise," and go from there.

I bought this with the intention of listening to the ATC frequencies at the airports near me. I programmed all the frequencies into this so now it will scan through them automatically until one has a signal. I can also manually switch through them as well. It worked very well while I was at the airport and I was able to pick up everything I had programmed into it. I'm still not entirely sure how to use this. I know there has to be a feature to manually key in a station, I either haven't figured it out, or the channels I keyed in weren't broadcasting at the time. I like it and think it works very well. It does take a little effort to set up, and your computer won't recognize it when it's plugged in. When you're in the program on the computer to program the channels, there's a command to send the presets to the device. This works regardless of if the computer has recognized it or not. I also like that I can save the file with all the presets. Since I have other friends into plane spotting, I can send them the file with all the ORD frequencies programmed already.

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.

Amazing reception ,and good performance (inside / outside ) , ,very nice product :) This scanner also includes Uniden's incredible Close Call technology for rapidly finding active channels, service searches, priority and more. It operates on two AA batteries and can be powered and re-charged using USB cords (adapters available).

Muy buen producto, fácil de programar y usar, con buen alcance y facil montaje, he quedado muy satisfecho por la compra.