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

The battery icon is useless; it either has power or its battery low. Im not sure if the battery icon was ever intended to show status like on your phone. Also, it takes 14 hours or more to charge and the useful battery time you get out of it is way less then that before you have to charge again. Unlike a phone you charge for an hour and can use for a day or two. The radio itself is very useful and is fantastic. Just keep it near a live power source at all times.

Number one, you dont just enter your zip code and away you go unless you just want to listen to every possible transmission source. I received a lot of transmissions i didnt want to hear so i had to make favorite lists and only have those scanned. Included instructions werent that detailed so i played with it until i figured it out myself. (Yes i know i can go online and find a manual). Number two the included antenna is almost useless. Im in a large suburban area but i usually have 0 bars lit up. Now i have to buy a larger antenna. I read a number of other people have the same problem and are buying the same antenna as me. They should include a good antenna for the $400+ dollars this unit costs. I also had a Uniden BCD996XT I programmed operating nearby and it received many more transmission signals with its larger antenna than did this HomePatrol. Hopefully when my antenna gets here Ill find i no longer own a $400+ paperweight.

This scanner is great. Very easy user interface with colored touch screen. It literally took me less than 5min to set it up and start listening. Im new to scanners and this is the 4th one Ive tried. The previous ones were all too complicated to setup & get working and even once I did get them set up, I couldnt pick-up the channels I wanted because the scanner didnt support it. The HomePatrol 2 picks up EVERYTHING. The antenna could be better but depending on where you are at you can get a wide variety of channels. I think this is 1 of the best scanners out there right now unless youre a pro and like to have full control over your scanner and do a manual setup. I prefer to let the technology do the work for me. Ha!

I have been using scanners for almost 40 years, first when each frequency was added by placing a crystal in a socket, and later when there was a keyboard to manually enter each frequency. I was happy with my old analog scanner, but since most of our local radio channels have changed to digital, I was unable to hear the channels I wanted to hear. This Uniden HP2 is great since I have experience with scanners, but might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. The screen menu is straightforward and easy to use, and the only buttons to push are the on/off and volume controls on top of the unit. For me, just entering data on a touch screen is more convenient than on a keyboard. I found that selecting area code rather than city for listening area is best because it restricts the number of unusable fringe area channels that are unreadable and just cause static. An outside antenna would probably improve range and reception, but the stock antenna picks up all the local channels that I want to hear. The Sentry computer program is very helpful, but again might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. Overall, this scanner is exactly what I wanted, and I would recommend it to either experienced or inexperienced scanner users.

It is an awesome awesome scanner once you get through the learning curve and the software its an Breeze highly recommended

The HomePatrol-2 scanner is well worth the investment. The build quality is solid, and the audio crisp and clear. There are several options for customizing your listening experience by specific county, specific service, such as police,fire, or public works, by zip code, or even an option to set a specific radius (in miles) from your current location. Ability to lock out unwanted channels, either temporarily or permanently. There are numerious menus and screens to navigate through, and it takes a while to familiarize yourself with all of the many options this scanner has to offer. Curiously, there is an auto-detect feature which can be used to detect your current location. This would seem to indicate that the unit has built in GPS, but I dont believe it does. There is an optional GPS device available for mobile use, which detects any available channels as you travel across the state, or across the country. There is the ability to save specific channels to a custom bank, as well as the ability to manually enter specific frequencies. You can also hold on a specific channel if so desired. When you first activate the scanner, it gives you the option to download the software onto a P.C. but my unit would not complete the process. I will be contacting Uniden for guidance on this. You will also need to update the software version to 2.0, even though the scanner is brand new. There is now an optional power pack available for home use so you can leave the scanner plugged into the wall instead of having to charge the batteries off of a USB port.

I have been using scanners for almost 40 years, first when each frequency was added by placing a crystal in a socket, and later when there was a keyboard to manually enter each frequency. I was happy with my old analog scanner, but since most of our local radio channels have changed to digital, I was unable to hear the channels I wanted to hear. This Uniden HP2 is great since I have experience with scanners, but might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. The screen menu is straightforward and easy to use, and the only buttons to push are the on/off and volume controls on top of the unit. For me, just entering data on a touch screen is more convenient than on a keyboard. I found that selecting area code rather than city for listening area is best because it restricts the number of unusable fringe area channels that are unreadable and just cause static. An outside antenna would probably improve range and reception, but the stock antenna picks up all the local channels that I want to hear. The Sentry computer program is very helpful, but again might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. Overall, this scanner is exactly what I wanted, and I would recommend it to either experienced or inexperienced scanner users.

I don’t know if it’s the nationwide database update that’s not getting loaded or this scanner is too weak to pull in the signal for the regional phase 2 agencies, but So far I am only able to get the same old frequencies that I can get on my 15 year old scanner. Thinking about sending it back! So far NOT worth the price.

Did not come with a USB cable. Scanner did pick up county and state traffic, but I wanted it for my city. My city is in the list and it would pick them up sometimes, but after comparing it with the free online phone app scanners, I was not getting 90% of the city traffic. I know it worked because it was picking up some traffic, but in order for me to keep it I would want it to pick up almost all.of it...for the price. Anyhow, the missing USB cable, antenna was odd as it didnt swivel to point in the direction I wanted, and inability to pick up the traffic is why I decided to return this unit. I would have kept it if it was cheaper, but for the price it needs to be better.

Works great, easy to use and fun listening to whats going on around the neighborhood.