Uniden BC72XLT Handheld Scanner (Black)
by Uniden
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List Price: Our Price: $74.99 You Save: $5.00 (6%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $66.88 (click here) Category: Car Audio or Theater See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Uniden BC72XLT Handheld Scanner (Black)
Customer Review: Good First Scanner
Summary: 5 Stars
This was my first scanner to purchase for myself. I've played with them before, having a friend in a voluntary fire dept. I have had some experience with two way handhelds, CBs, and even company radios. My main interest is the aircraft band as I'm an aviation enthusiast so I wanted a scanner that picked up that band but wasn't too complicated. After reading reviews of many products, I chose this one. Of scanners that are equipped to pickup the aircraft band, this one was the most affordable. It is made for NASCAR fans, so its ease of use is superb. If you've used radios before, you'll figure this thing out pretty quickly. A quick read of the manual about channels, banks, functions, and tuning and you'll be looking for nearby broadcasts. Anyone who's had a scanner before probably won't even need to read anything.
For the price, it picks up quite a few bands and I am very satisfied with what I can hear on it. If you're into police and emergency radio, it's not for you though. It does not get 800Mhz frequencies or trunked systems. For that, it's bigger brother, the BC92XLT is the answer. But for an amateur wave surfer like myself, or a particular enthusiast of something, this is a perfect first scanner. It gets all major bands (citizens, company, air, marine, etc) and service bands (WX, HAM, etc), and can provide you with plenty of listening entertainment.
The only downside, as with most scanners, is the tiny mobile antenna that comes with it gets pretty poor reception. If you really want good range, I recommend you hook it up to a CB mobile antenna, or if you're really hardcore, a custom mounted outdoor antenna. Most likely you will need a "PL259 to BNC" converter for that, so keep that in mind.
Customer Review: Great little scanner
Summary: 5 Stars
Picked this up for my parents, since my dad is a firefighter and wanted to hear what's going on in the next county over, and my mom can hear what's going on while he is out on a call.
Few things:
-Took a bit to get familiar with how to program it, but I got the hang of it before too long. Not very user friendly to set up, but the manual is decent and explains things pretty well.
-Reception is great with the included antenna. Our area is quite hilly and I can get broadcasts from at least 10 miles away. Broadcasts from a few miles out/local county are crystal clear.
-A quick google search found a website with all the local frequencies. Do some investigating before you buy this, many areas are going to trunked radio systems which require a better model then this one. Since our area is pretty rural I had no problem finding and receiving local police/fire/EMS.
-The price went up $30, so the 92 model is now cheaper. Only difference is that this one cannot do the 800mhz band. Seems like most current systems don't operate in the 800 band anyway.
The unit is very easy to use once programmed, I put all the police on one "bank", all the EMS on another, all the fire/EMS for our county only on another one, etc. Very easy to turn on/off banks and hold on certain channels/frequencies. Rechargable Ni-MH AA batteries work great with this unit and charge while it is plugged in(no using a seperate battery charger!)
Bottom line: Very impressed with unit's performance for the price. Would definetly recommend if your local police/fire/EMS use standard, older, non-trunked frequencies.
Customer Review: Great product for an excellent price!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this scanner for listenig the police and Emergency Service in my hometown, the reception its AWESOME, I own a profesional portable scanner, the Yaesu VR-500, and the sound and reception indoors are far better in this UNIDEN Scanner, the unit its light and easy to learn how it functions, the scan speed its also very good, and the Close Call function its very convenient, (if you have it activated, the scanner will tune any strong signal close to the unit, but if you are listening another frequency, you will hear a blank noiseless gap every second while the function its on) and its very easy to activated it or disable. The memory banks are easy to store, this unit doesnt handle nametags, or dual frequency watch, and the frequency plan its somewhat limited, but still its a good unit for AirTraffic, Police, Ambulance, Local Deputy, Electricity and water services and Taxis, I have listen all those services on this scanner, ITS DIRT CHEAP BUT VERY GOOD
Other good features:
- Charges NiMh Batteries,
- Includes Charger
- Long Lasting battery usage
- Screen backlight
- Belt Clip
- Easy to learn, easy to Use
CONS:
Limited frequency range
NO PUBLIC BROADCAST FM / AM / SW / TV
No nametags for memories (If you have a lot stored memories)
No computer programming option
Customer Review: small size, big performance
Summary: 5 Stars
As they say, "a little bit of knowledge goes a long way..." If you live in or near a big city, this scanner will do absolutely no good because large metropolitan police forces use a trunk communication system due to the large number of units at work at one time. These systems aren't actually scrambled, but due to high volume of calls, it would be hard of a single scanner unit to keep track of them so while you might be able to hear one end of the converstaion, you won't necessarily be able to hear the other.
This unit is perfect for smaller cities which use frequencies betweem 153.0000 and 169.0000 for their police communications. The unit is also good for tracking airport traffic and, as you know by now, NASCAR events. The best thing to do when scanning for new frequencies is to have access to a code book for your area so you'll know what you're listening to at the time.
If you're technologically-challenged in any way, you're better off letting someone who knows what they're doing program the basic channels for you. I like the fact that's it's a lot smaller and not as heavy as its predecesors. It's a conspicuous as a mobile phone and a lot easier to carry on your belt without it getting in the way.
Customer Review: Not the scanner for you - if you're a Geek!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an awesome scanner. Compact, powerful, and loaded with features. Easy to use right out of the box. Scans police frequencies, too! Crisp and clear sound quality. This is my 4th scanner I've had (I'm a Fire-medic)and it's wonderful. But if you're so freaking inept that you can't function without using a computer to find your front door or if you're so nieve that you don't even know if your local PD scrambles their radio signals or if you think programming this unit is more difficult than dialing a cellphone or if you're so stuck on yourself that you can't have a miniature Nascar logo on your scanner (which, by the way, is in every picture ever produce of this unit), then this unit is NOT the one for you! (I believe they still make play-doh.) My guess is your cousin and your wife are one in the same. But if you want a quality product that you'll be happy you bought, this IS for you. Once you take it out of the box, just go to [...] and click on your state and city and you'll have all the frequencies you need. Experiment with different frequencies, as well. Enjoy!