Uniden Bearcat BC125AT Handheld Scanner, 500 Alpha-Tagged channels, Public Safety, Police, Fire, Emergency, Marine, Military Aircraft, and Auto Racing Scanner, Lightweight Portable Design

This is not a two way walkie talky as described.

Bought one of these to cover Military airband , as most scanners dont have this function, it also has close call, another function missing from most scanners,I have had many scanners over the years ,and I can honestly say this is the best yet,great sensitivity , easy to use. and has all the bands that are likely to interest you, not only that but its cheap as they go. plus it can be computer programmed , with free software, only problem is its hard to get in the UK

I bought this scanner because, according to data cited on RadioReference.com, my local police department is accessible with this scanner. TIP for the unaware: DON'T believe a thing that RadioReference.com tells you. I just got finished talking with someone in the communications department of my local PD and they changed over to digital communications TWO YEARS AGO!Since I live in a little po-dunk city, you can be sure that your local emergency departments have all changed over to digital as well. The only chatter this scanner picks up is the local cab company. If you download the available software, this scanner is easy to program. But that's a moot point when you can't tune in to any of the important channels broadcasting in your area.Be sure to note the date of any positive review for this product. Time has moved on. Due to advances in technology, this radio is useful only if you specifically want to listen to NOAA weather reports and the pedantic conversations of local amateur radio operators. Don't get me wrong, this is a nice scanner. But it's a total waste of money if your intent is to listen to your local emergency services.BUY A DIGITAL SCANNER. This one is WAY behind the times.

I had a 25 year old Radio Shack Scanner 10 channel (not ten bank) scanner and it was time to update. Living in the rural area of Northern California, and being an ex-volunteer firefighter, my wife and I depend on our scanner to keep alerted to local emergency events.I decided on the Uniden BC125AT after helping a friend program his. There were a number of things I found that helped me decide:THE GOOD• Good sound. The filtering in this scanner was able to filter out the static noise from the various electronics in our home.• Compact size and comfortable in the hand.• Alpha Numeric channel programming and labeling. The ability to add labels to each channel as it appears on the screen during a transmission makes it easier to know what is actually happening. I can instantly know what dispatch center is transmitting.• The free Windows software available from the Uniden website (link in the owners manual) allowed me to quickly and easily enter the frequencies I wanted along with a name for each channel, save it to a file on my computer, then upload the file to the scanner. With ten separate banks of 505 channels each, it was a simple matter to create separate banks for Fire, Police, Air Firefighting Resources, and even separate banks for local city emergency resources. After I programmed the friend's unit I received mine about two days later and it took just a few seconds to upload the data into my BC125AT.• The ability to lock out banks. It is very easy to lock out any of the banks so, for example, you can lock all out except one bank where you program local fire resources.• Scan all banks, scan one bank, or pick on channel to scan. In an emergency it is nice to be able to just listen to the main fire dispatch channel and it is easy to select that function.• The multi-function "volume knob." The rotary knob has many functions including setting the volume, adjusting the squelch, scrolling through the channels saved in banks.• Adjustable screen brightness and contractTHE BAD (or at least, not as good)• The included rechargeable batteries are decent but the charger in the Uniden is set by time only in hours. Insert a fully-charged pair of cells and plug the Uniden in and if the charger is set to charge for six hours, it will charge for that period of time. This overheats the batteries which can shorten their life. Thy get quite warm to the touch, but so far not dangerously so. I suggest keeping a spare set of batteries charged and switch them out as needed.• It charges through the USB cable, and only charges the batteries when the unit is turned off. If the BC125AT is on, the batteries will not receive a charge. When turned off the charge restarts and will run the full length of time you selected in the menu system.• When I purchased this, the Amazon link to the warranty information was to an old PDF page from 2010 from Uniden that stated the unit had a three (3) year warranty. THAT IS INCORRECT. The printed manual that came with the scanner (©2012) states it has a one (1) year warranty. I called Uniden today (8/6/2018) and that information was confirmed.• The owners manual could be better. This is a powerful unit and can do a lot of things. To access much of the menu system takes multiple button presses. The manual describes these is somewhat more complicated text than is necessary. Flow charts for each functions would have been MUCH better. I know- I have written owners manuals and created flow charts for similar programming and function systems.CONCLUSIONI give this unit 4 stars instead of 5 only because of the outdated battery charging system. Other than that, this is a very nice scanner for under $100. I do suggest purchasing the extended warranty so that you have more than one year's protection.NOTE: The linked PDF warranty file on the Amazon sales page when I purchased this scanner stated that the warranty was three (3) years. IT IS NOT! That PDF file was from 2010. The ©2012 owners manual that comes with the scanner states that the warranty period is one (1) year. I verified this with Uniden Customer Service.

This seems to be a very good scanner, but there is quite a steep learning curve. You do not just turn it on and start scanning. The radio requires extensive set up and programming before use which is rather difficult to understand for a novice like me. All of the frequencies and other specifics for what you want to listen to must be entered into the device's memory, which means you must know those things before you start. Luckily many of these are available online. The owner's manual is not terribly well written and somewhat confusing. Hint: go to the Uniden web site and download the USB drivers and programming software. It is vastly easier than programming the scanner directly. I bought the scanner primarily to monitor aircraft traffic and it works amazingly well. I can hear the local air traffic control tower from my home which is over 15 miles away!Do your research before buying. Make sure what you want to listen to is even accessible. For example, many local police, fire and other frequencies are now encrypted or carried over proprietary networks which are not accessible to the public.

Silly me. I cant tune into nothing here in my City. This radio was very expensive(for me). It's my fault. I know it seems like im being anal but truly im not. I just cant give this 5-Stars when Ive paid full price but I cant use it. Its totally useless to me. I've should've done my research. I dont know what it's like to enjoy this product thus the reason Im giving it such a low rating. Again, BEFORE YOU PURCHASE THIS, Research YOUR LOCAL Stations to see if you can even use this. I Can Not use it! It's not the Sellers Fault. It's Mine! The Seller and Sender gets 10 stars from me, but the Product Receives LOW stars from me because I can't Use it AT ALL. Try to Understand my Review if you Can. Thanks

This is a fantastic scanner. I've owned a few over the last 25 years, and this one is by far the most user-friendly. Don't get me wrong...my PRO-43 was legendary. But, I couldn't plug it into my laptop and program it. This Bearcat (my second bearcat) was purchased for VHF and UHF air bands. Not any other reason. Please don't complain about no 800mhz or whatever. That's not what this scanner is for, and It isn't advertised as being so. In stock form, I have 3 issues with it. Omission of 380-400 MHz, poor stock battery life, and a crappy antenna. So, since the scanner was so inexpensive, I purchased a set of Eneloop batteries with charger, a Diamond RH77CA antenna, and said 'oh well' to the 3 frequencies I can't get above 380 in milair. Problems solved. And now, this thing is phenomenal. Read the manual, download the free programming software, update the firmware to V1.03, and add the upgrades I mentioned above, and you will be happy.