Uniden HomePatrol-2 Color Touchscreen Simple Program Digital Scanner, TrunkTracker V and S,A,M,E, Emergency/Weather Alert, APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2! Covers USA and Canada, Quick Record and Playback

I havent had the Home Patrol 2 only for a few days and was surprised as the size and weight of it - a little bigger than I thought (thickness) and has a little heft. But, after installing the supplied rechargeable batteries, it didnt take very long even without reading the manual to set it up. As soon as it powers up, there are a series of questions that are quick and easy - the easiest is to input your zip code and it will load all of the surrounding channels automatically. I have an external antenna on my vehicle since Im always running to shoot video of fire scenes and it seems to work well with that (they include the adapter to connect to a typical BNC plug). Essentially, its giving me everything I was looking for. One problem that Ive already encountered was a ROM memory issue which a Google search turned up others with the same problem. Youll get an error message on a white screen and it locks up. I removed the batteries, then removed the micro sd card for a few minutes. After re-installing everything, the scanner came right back up and has been working fine. Not something youd expect from a scanner in this price range but something that Ill keep an eye on.

Following the start-up instructions, I had to find an old PC to plug into for what was supposedly a DB update. (We purged PCs from our home a few years ago.) Never got that to work. But it turns out the existing flash/ROM installed DB was just fine. The catch is, as a default it wants to scan EVERYTHING. So if you enter your ZIP code, it will give you ALL the frequencies you could possibly want... the entire state, your county, and your locals. With all that scanning, youll get nothing. So a quick trick is to use the FAVORITES option (easy to find and setup). Quick lookup online for your local and of-interest frequencies, manually enter them as favorites, and it finds the matching names in its database. Then youll have a nice, short list, of frequencies that you care about, and it will cycle through them quickly. And NOW youll enjoy all the features too. Very happy with this device. Sound quality is excellent. I wish the stand would lock in place though. Its a flimsy gravity-based shelf-type holder, entirely inappropriate for a $400+ device.

Works very well. I was surprised to be able to hear so many local public service agencies as they have all gone to digital trunking systems, but fortunately they do not encrypt the dispatcher channels. It is fairly straightforward to use, worked straight out of the box after entering zip code and a few other parameters. I am especially impressed that it receives so well with the stock antenna. I figured it would be the standard crappy rubber duck and Id have to hook it up to a discone or other broadband reasonably efficient antenna to hear very much, but the stock antenna actually works so well I havent had to fool with an external antenna.

I already have a HomePatrol 1 so set up and getting started was easy for me. I also got the Advanced options through Uniden because I do use those features. Original rechargeable batteries were first charged in a Panasonic wall charger. Last 8 hrs at medium level volume, which I consider very good. Alkalines last 7 to 8 hours.

This scanner works perfectly with our police stations new digital format. The touchscreen is very easy to use and navigate. The sound and radio display is excellent! I had some difficulty in entering the zip code and receiving any transmittion. The set up wasnt as easy as I thought it would be. I took it to a local ham radio operator and he had it working in 5 minutes. Not sure what I was doing wrong, but that was my only area I had issues with. I thought it was open box, put in zip code and your good to go. Not quite that easy. I researched lots of scanners and so glad I went with this model now that I had someone program it for me. The one negative is it does not come with a charger and need to order that separately.

Easy to get started and use.

This is my first scanner. Needed digital and analog for local police and fire. 22 miles from Boston and I can pick up Cambridge, Boston, MSP and local. Results may vary, its radio, and depends on line of sight and propagation. I really like the touch screen, if I want to lock on a channel when it is broadcasting, all I have to do is tap. Used Sentinel software to make favorites lists to cut down on scanning time. I was able to add my own custom FRS/GMRS channels including CTCSS tones. The home patrol unit has a quick frequency monitor feature that you can punch in manually via the touchscreen, or use Sentinel to edit your favorites lists. You can run it on power via microusb, or rechargeable battery. Battery lasts about 8 hours of continuous use, 14 hour recharge time, based on mAH entered into the options menu.

Awesome scanner. I have a portable scanner that I used for my house, but had to take it apart to take it with me since I keep it plugged in to keep the batteries charged. I decided to buy one for the house and one for mobile. My first impression was that I had the best scanner already and this would offer me nothing new. Boy, was I wrong. I get channels I never received before from all over the state. Its also mobile too, which means I can take it with me on trips if I want. Yes, its a learning curve to master all of the features that it offers, but the upgrade was well worth whatever effort I have to put forth to learn how to use all of the available features. Id definitely recommend this scanner to anyone looking for a permanent scanner for their home.

After several failures with other scanners, I struck gold! This Home Patrol is great. Easy to set up and scanning in minutes, without the complicated internet carp. Enter zip code and screen out unwanted freqs. I get all the nearby agencies I want clearly. Battery life is good so far, and with a mobile (after market) antenna I get even more range. Well worth it.

I really like how all the white noise is filtered out. You only hear the transmitters voice, nothing else. The 3 level display of system, department and channel with customizable font size gives you instant data on who you are hearing. So, when it is live and running, its not nearly as disruptive and intrusive as they were 20 yrs ago. This tech has definitely improved with age. Very neat and compact, with the stand you can place it anywhere convenient. Very easy to pick a channel or dept and lock on to it. The cons (personally speaking): - Batteries take forever to charge and do not last as long as advertised. This could be inferior batteries it came with. Am getting more and a charger. Will see if they last longer. Good idea to have extra batteries so you always have 4 charged up and ready to replace discharged batteries with. - Setting up. This was excruciating for me. Was a tough learning curve. We wanted local county police, sheriff, HP, Ems and fire. I made favorite list over and over till I realized I had to include state VIPER system to get all local departments. All in all, I spent 4 days off and on before I finally derived a fav list with everything we wanted on it. - Does not come with a standard power supply jack. At best you have to plug in usb cable and listen to it while you charge the batteries. Would be nice if it had a 6v power supply jack that you could bypass the batteries with. (I may be missing something here regarding use of usb charge port). - The onboard menu and functions available to manually program it are not intuitive at all to me. I am an engineering professional in CAD and network software for 30 yrs now. When I say it is not intuitive, it really is not intuitive. (but that is also my personal opinion). In summary. Its a very nice piece of tech. We are happy to have it. The pros outweigh the cons for sure. The price, well, like everything tech; if you want the best dont complain about the price. You make the decisions for your life, so dont blame others for your choices.