Customer Ratings & Reviews

Set up was a little confusing even after purchasing the third party software but once set up its great. They could have used a few more instructions on how to use the software with the scanner.. ie in the software you might have to program/ identify the computer port you are connected to. But after a few hours and lots of googling we figured it out.

Having programmed my Radio Shack scanners by hand for years this was very simple to program. Not being able to decode P25 Phase II digital is not a big deal to me since that’s what my Uniden SDS200s are for. I am using this scanner to decode control channel data with Pro96Com.

I like this radio very much but I consider it difficult to understand for those not familiar with radio terminology or those with limited computer skills. Fortunately my son who is both an IT person as well as a ham radio operator programmed my radio for me. You will definitely want to program the radio using the website suggested in the owners manual. I think this scanner is really great, but in my opinion the manual should be expanded and further simplified. For some the radio may be intuitive and easy to operate but I do not find it to be. I find the owners manual usable but limited. I would like to see more programming options explained in the manual or made available online.

Difficult to program. Unable to pick up local and state frequencies.Poor quality speakers. Mounting bracket to large.Had to shim with washers to attach to radio. Need to include frequencies for peoples areas. Also need to include how to program. Would not buy this radio again unless they fixed these issues

This is a great scanner. Being a newbie in scanner technology, I started with a hand scanner from Uniden and was very disappointed with the clarity of the sound with or without a mobile antenna. Not with this unit,, which has great sound with its own antenna and mobile. one con is the fact that it doesn't go to near broadcasts which the hand held did. I have not tried to program this unit as I have a Mac and not a Microsoft PC but it can be done with the unit itself with no problem. Hope this helps.

Got this for my mother, a bit difficult to program and find videos on, but was able to manage. Great product

Love this my wife always wanted a scanner just cannot learn to program it since everything is digital

Did work no sound came from the police scanner ams I was not able to program it.

Good unit for the price. However if you are in a simulcast area this unit does not perform the best. It has trouble decoding the multiple similar signals. Uniden sds100 or sds200 are the units you want to look for to achieve the best quality simulcast decoding

We are able to get fire and ambulance calls. unable to get police calls.

Bought this as a present, it was a terrible present, worked on trying to program it for a week, impossible to program. Plus you can also use a computer to program. I don’t have a computer so I can’t program it that way. Geek squad couldn’t even help out. Returned!!

Scanner is great now that I got it programmed. I purchased it because it said pre-programmed and not knowing anything about it I thought it would come ready to use. Not so, and Best Buy was of no help getting it programmed. Geek Squad said NO as soon as I mentioned it. Best Buy could not tell me even where to start to get it done. I really wanted to send it back but had got it as a gift for someone who really wanted it. I finally had to call the company and they finally helped me get it done. Best Buy or their Geek Squad should have recommended this to me, but they didn't. It was like they didn't care I bought it and it was my problem.I would recommend the item, just don't depend of Best Buy helping you with it.

It states that it will pick up fire and police and that it goes up to well over 800mhz. I crashed my hard drive when I tried to download the frequencies. It said I needed a different usb driver so I downloaded one. $120 dollars later for the computer to be fixed and programed, after I bought a subscription from Radio Reference, and I can get some ambulance and police traffic. NO fire department traffic which is the main reason I bought this.

Had it professionally programed, but was told by the programmer that this model has trouble deciding which transmitting tower to pick up. Very intermittent reception. After 2 years I'm going to a different brand.

I use this scanner to receive a combination of Police, Fire and general public service agencies. In addition I separate agencies by memory bank so I can quickly expand my monitored systems for situations that arise, bad weather, aircraft comms etc. Programming is extremely easy with internet access. This unit monitors local emergency systems 24/7/365 without a problem. The ability to receive P25 Phase 1 systems was a requirement when I purchased it.

Easy to program once you download the software. I paid $15 for a subscription to find all the frequencies in my zip code. Made programming really easy.

Works great, a little hard to get programmed but picks up all channels we needed,

Be forewarned, this scanner does NOT pick up Phase II conversations, which is what most Police/Fire departments are switching to. I truly enjoyed it for what it could pick up but, it just couldn't pick up what I wanted/needed it to. I couldn't find a scanner that Best Buy would offer that could pick up Phase II. Best Buy is on the cutting edge of technology, on pretty much everything electronic they sell, except scanners. Hopefully someone at Best Buy reads this and, goes in search of some newer technology in the scanner department.

The scanner scans but you can’t understand what they are saying people talking over one another!!

A little hard to program but after a time was able to do so