Customer Reviews

Uniden BC346XT Handheld TrunkTracker III Analog Police Scanner

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

**http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007T27H8/ref=ox_ya_os_product

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 [..]

A very elaborate and capable analog scanner at a great price. If you are a novice (like me) the complexity is a little overwhelming but with persistence you can overcome the complexity. The User Manual is on a CD and Website based so you need to be on your computer while learning how to program and operate the scanner. If you have experience with another scanner, I think you will find this one easy to use and full of features and a vast amount of memory...

I have had many handheld scanners over the years and this one tops the list. Sure everyons has been complaining about it being hard to program, well that is not true at all. You can either use the serial cable that comes with it or buy a the Uniden USB-1 cable which is what I have. You can copy and paste frequencies directly from the Radio Reference website. You can get the programming software online called FREESCAN, and it is free and very easy to use. One of the best features about this radio is it's reception and the Alpha Tagging, I like to know what I am listening to as well as the frequency. Straight stock it is simply great. Put an aftermarket antenna on it like the Diamond SRH77CA and you will be amazed. The reception is the best on any Uniden handheld model I have ever used. It also has room for 9000 channels which I think would be impossible to fill up. So to wrap up my simple but to the point review, if you are looking at a non digital scanner then please don't buy anything but this one.

As a new and very novice scanner user, this scanner once programmed works very well. Sound quality is excellent and reception is excellent.

I did quite a bit of research before purchasing this scanner. I still had no idea how involved scanner programming can be or how complex the systems today are. Decades ago the biggest problem was getting the correct crystals installed into the scanner to hear the local fire and police; today's radio systems are much more complex.


If you're a radio / scanner expert you may be able to program this scanner without a PC, I am not and highly recommend third party software ArcXT Basic and at least a temporary membership to radioreference [dot com]. Reason being this makes programming this system a breeze provided you have a serial port on your PC. If not get a USB to serial converter TRENDnet USB to Serial Converter TU-S9 (Blue) (less expensive option) or the Uniden USB cable Uniden USB-1 Scanner Radio PC Interface Cable. This scanner comes with the Serial connector for the PC. I did not even look at the software included on the CDROM, everything I read regarding the included software led me to believe it was much to complex and incomplete. I can say that using ArcXT Basic with the radioreference subscription allowed me to get the scanner up and running in less than 30 minutes for all my local fire and police and several other radio systems of interest in the area that never would have occurred to me to look for.

This scanner comes with rechargeable batteries and an AC adapter which will charge the batteries when the unit is plugged in.

I am very satisfied with the purchase and functionality of this scanner and highly recommend this scanner!

Very solid unit for those who don't need Digital Modes. This thing is easy to program using FreeScan or ProScan software and is a good sized unit. Enjoy!

First Of All The Picture Is A Little Misleading,,Amazon Has The Picture Of The BCD 396XT Pictured,,As The BC346XT..The 346XT Is All Black..and is Analog,,,the 396XT is the digital version..Back to the review,,,Ive had The 346XT Now 3 Weeks, Works Great..Has Lots Of Features That I Will Probably Never Use,But Good To Have For The Pro User..Ive Had Good Luck With Uniden Scanners In The Past,,Is Why I Got This One,,I Would Recommend Downloading (Freescan) By The Way it is Free Programming software. And Some Research from,[...].,,makes programming a breeze,,I Set Up,,County,City,State,& Utility's,,and uploaded them in less than 10 minutes,that is if you have a PC...Happy Scanning :)

This is my first scanner and I purchased it to listen to Fire Rescue in my local area. I needed a trunking scanner because of the system used in this area. The Bearcat BC346XT is a very good scanner but perhaps a little to advanced for me. I was able to program it using my computer, but I wish there was a printed manual that came with the scanner. The only instructions available are web based and to try to look something up you must be online and scroll through page after page to find what you are looking for.

Bottom line Radio great, instructions not so much.

I am definitely new to the world of scanners. I bought this to listen to info during the last shuttle launch. It worked great and would recommend it to anybody looking for a radio like this.