Customer Reviews

UNIDEN BC-246T Compact Hand Held Scanner

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The bc246t is one of the most intelligently designed radios I have ever owned. It is compact, light, and equipped with a friendly keyboard. It is a technological leap forward in its features, including a large number of programming menus with keyboard hotkey alternatives. I cannot vouch for the many conventional scanning features, because I trunk scan exclusively, but they look good on paper. As for trunk scanning, this scanner does what I have missed in many other choices-it allows me to switch between talk groups by direct access rather than by frantic scanning until I hit the target talk group. The design of the bc246t is user-flexible: the non-techie can take advantage of the PC Control and cloning features to have the frequencies, talk groups, and alpha-tags (i.e. display name tags identifying the broadcast source) programmed into the radio for him or her; the old-school techies like me can grab a bottle of aspirin and do it all by hand. The small size of the bc246t requires a smaller speaker and a slight loss of sound quality which is acceptable in return for all the other advantages this unit offers. You can be lazy and like this radio, but if you put the work into learning how to run it, you'll admire the thought that went into its design. Uniden includes a belt clip, wrist strap, PC cable, an AC adapter/charger and 2 AA batteries, and of course, a manual and frequency list. Demo software is available at Uniden's website. Be sure to download the firmware update if nothing else.

Manual programming and manipulation of the menus is not difficult.
Display is easily readable.
The "extra" charge for a usable PC interface software is a way for uniden to squeeze an extra $30 from buyers. This was the ding to the rating. The Demo software is useless.
The dual battery (standard or rechargeable) & charger settings are convenient.

I think if you are looking for a scanner this is the one to have. I had a little difficulty with the instructions for the programming but i figured it out. I give it 5 stars still but the instructions could be a little more user friendly. Alot of fun with this toy. I think they fail to mention it does come with rechargable batteries. I am realy impresseed!!!

Been using the BC-246T for a couple weeks now. We love 'true crime' and this is our first scanner. I got it working within a few minutes thanks to additional purchase of compatible ARC software [...].However, using the software, I spent a few additional hours grouping things just the way I wanted them for my local area (Charlotte, NC).

This scanner is ideal for my area. The Charlotte, NC area is completely analog trunked system and digital is not on the immediate horizon, so I expect at least a few years of complete service from this scanner. We live in the nothern part of the city and I'd say the range is about 15-20 miles, which pretty much covers all of metro Charlotte. I've set it up so that the first 3 systems are local police, with local fire and EMS in separate systems. I have a system for the airplane to tower communication and get some hits, but don't find it all that interesting.

One of the most impressive things we've experienced so far is a stakeout and the following of a suspect in an undercover pursuit that lasted a couple hours and ranged from about 10 miles north of us to about 15 miles south. We caught all the conversation mong the 6 or 8 cars involved. We also enjoy SWAT hits and pursuits that involve Helicopter and K-9 units. Most of the conversation is mundane, but it doesn't take long before interesting stuff pops up.

I tried a Radio shack 800Mhz antenna to see if it helped the range, but it did not seem to so I returned it. We tried it once in the car, but it does not seem to have much range there at all. So my next research is to find a compatible car antenna.

The rechargeables seem to last through about 2 nights of constant use with backlight always on.

Only gripe for me is that I'd really like backlit buttons. Also, I can't seem to get any hits using 'Close Call'. So my actual rating is 4.5 stars, but giving it 5 here since no 1/2 star option.

Thanks,
John

UNIDEN BC-246T Compact Hand Held Scanner
I was so new to scanners I was afraid to get my first scanner. This scanner is beautiful. Easy to carry around. It has great reception, at least in Chicago. It comes preprogrammed with many police and fire frequencies so you can hear it right away..right out of the box..... The manual was a bit confusing, and programming right from the manual was difficult at first. Join a yahoo scanner group...and Get freescan(scanNow.org) or ARC software(butelsoftware.com). Freescan is shareware, but it will make your life soooooo much easier for a beginner...It is logical, even if you screw it up you can put it back quickly. ARC software by Butel was $39, also a good product. Now I am putting in fequencies and tweaking here and there and I LOVE SCANNING. This scanner is great! So many features I didn't even know I needed!

Okay, it is everything I could want for a scanner. I'm sure someone might want something more. There is another model that receives Digital Signals. I didn't need that, especially for almost double the price. The range of this unit's reception is different for different types of signals. With a standard conventional signal, single frequency only, I have been able to pick up calls from as far away as 25 miles. This was the police HQ and the cars. You may not hear everything though. To make programming easier I would buy the software and subscribe to radioreference.com. From there you can download the frequencies right into the scanner. I would recommend you buy the warranty. You are going to want to take this unit with you everywhere. This traveling makes it more likely that you will drop the unit. Make sure the warranty covers accidental damage.

Which is, don't use the keypad to program, buy the software! Once you get past that and setup your individual systems and play with the different features, it's great. I like being able to just touch one button and turn off a system I don't want to hear or vice versa. I like the backlight on squelch feature and reception with the provided rubber duck is pretty good. I upgraded the antenna, but only noticed a small improvement. Wish the speaker was a bit louder, but that is the only negative thing I can think of.

This model is great for scanning trunked systems (800mg). It has an unbeliveable amount of power included. I am picking up freqs over 30 miles away. It is easy to mix conventional and trunked systems. It has a steep learning curve however, you need to use it for a while before settling on what and how you will enter the systems. You need to do the planning they suggest. Suggest you use radioreference.com(free) to get data, you don't need to subscribe to anything else. This model is half the size of my old Bearcat with 30 conventional channels. You won't be disappointed.

If you are looking for a handheld scanner without digital, this is as nice as they get in my mind. Yes it is not very intuitive to program, I did my homework, and purchased the Butel ARC246 software, and after learning that I can make my scanner be configured exactly how I want it to function. I am also looking now at purchasing the BCT15 for the vehicle. The ability to have Dynamically Allocated channel, is the best thing anyone has come out with, allows you to have complete flexibility on what you scan and how you use the scanner. Only gave a 4 cause it has a learning curve for newby's especially to trunking. but the software made that much easier.

Great performance but programming learning curve is a little long for novices like me, due to product manual complexity. I bought the ARC 246 software which has its own learning curve but is quite helpful in the long run. The stock antenna is good but the Austin Condor all-baud portable antenna from ScannerMaster is even better. In the final analysis, the 246T is certainly worth the investment of time to learn and the fair price from Amazon.