The Uniden BC346XT is a handheld scanner that’s packed with features. Program up to 9,000 channels or 500 trunked systems in dynamic memory. GPS support gives you location-based scanning, location alerts, and crows-flight navigation with a compatible GPS unit. Fire Tone-Out Alerts you when fire pages are issued, Band Scope gives you a graphic representation of signal activity. Close Call RF Capture tunes to nearby signals with no programming needed, and so much more. Plus, PC programming and con
$ 186.88
Great scanner, but…..,
This is a great scanner, with very good specs, has a nice, small form-factor, and works reliably.
I concur with the positives in the other, previous reviews.
But I’ve got a couple of gripes, for which I knocked one star off the rating: (these are not deal-breakers, but just things to be aware of)
1. The included rechargeable batteries are just a bit too large in diameter for the battery cover to fit properly (the cover sort of “bulges” out). More of an annoyance at this point, but I’m concerned that it could possibly break eventually, requiring me to find a replacement cover. (Using AA batteries does not cause this problem, the cover fits just fine with them).
2. The arrangement and organization of the owner’s manual is very poor in my view. It’s not printed, which may surprise some buyers, personally I’d prefer it printed, but I understand the economics of releasing it only online/on included CD. But sorry, the manual is VERY POORLY arranged. I’m an experienced radio guy, just not with Uniden brand products. But I still am getting frustrated trying to find stuff. I would much prefer a PDF style manual, where typefaces, spacing, white space, etc. can be combined to communicate point much more effectively. Is this a big deal? Well probably not a deal-breaker, once you/I figure out how the various features work, we won’t need the manual much, but it’s a royal pain until then. You may have friends who can help you out on this, which may make this irritation not too big a deal for you.
3. This scanner does have a LOT OF CAPABILITY, including some really cool features, as a result, most keys have multiple functions, some (again, my personal opinion) are not as well thought out as I would prefer, ie not intuitive.
But overall, it’s a good unit. My gripes are probably not deal-breakers, and keeping in mind the price, it’s a worthwhile purchase. If you’re experienced with Uniden products, you might not have any trouble at all figuring out how to use it, perhaps even not needing the manual, but if you’re like me, just be prepared for a learning curve longer than you might otherwise expect.
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|Difficult at first, but great once you get the hang of it.,
I was given this model as a free upgrade due to the one I ordered being out of stock. At first it is a little hard to program since I didnt buy the software, but I read some help forums I got from google searching the model and it was a breeze. Now that I have all my locals programmed I love it. I pick up police units that are 40 miles or more away from me at times. It is kind of funny though when the close call feature pick up drive thru windows and you can hear what everyone around you is ordering. I gave it four stars because the manual is only on disk and is very confusing. Google search for help and your set. Also I use this site to get all the freqs I could ever need and they are very accurate [..]
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|At first, I was uncertain…,
When I was shopping for a new portable scanner, I was looking at the GRE PSR-300 and this Uniden BC346XT. Both are great scanners as far as reviews and features go, but I ultimately settled on the higher priced BC346XT (obviously) because it had some features that I absolutely wanted which the GRE scanner lacked. The only downside(s) so far is that this scanner is up to $70 more in price than the GRE and that Amazon dropped the price by $18 AFTER I got it shipped to me. Hehe… so frustrating! I could have gotten it for a better price locally, but then the sales tax comes in and Amazon was just cheaper overall.
Anyway, back to the scanner.
This thing is amazing. I’ve had it for going on 3 days now (since 5/28/2010) and after a short learning curve (scanners have sure changed), this thing is just wonderful. Its size is great. I honestly thought it would be bigger than it really is judging from the images I have seen online, but it is REALLY compact. The audio is perfect with perfect tone and loud output even when set to low.
I have not played with every feature of this scanner yet, but I am sure it is all as good as what I have toyed with so far. I have been using FreeSCAN to program it and that program has been good to me so far.
Pros:
– Clear audio
– Comes with rechargeable batteries (I have gotten 11 hours out of them with the backlight on infinity)
– Comes with a really sturdy belt clip. I was shocked it was as nice as it is
– It is easy to program through your computer with FreeSCAN (no Mac support for this) or through the keypad
– The display is informative. Signal strength and 3 different modes are just 2 of the pros of the screen
– Rebanding support and upgradeable firmware (obviously) help a lot.
Cons:
– Price – More expensive than its direct competitor the GRE PSR-300, but you do get slightly better features
– Comes with a SERIAL cable instead of USB. Save your money here, folks, I bought the TENDnet TU-S9 Serial-to-USB** (uses same chipset as Uniden USB-1 uses) and it has worked flawlessy for only $15
– Does not come with programming software and it probably should for the price
– Doesn’t make sandwiches for me
You can’t go wrong with this scanner. Those of you having a very hard time programming it are probably just over complicating things for yourselves. It really is not hard at all.
**https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007T27H8/ref=ox_ya_os_product
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