BC125AT Full Review

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safetyobc

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I have posted a full review with pictures including my very first video review on my blog. Please excuse me if I seem to stumble in the video, it is a learning process.

http://monitoringreviews.blogspot.com/

Here is the text of the review:

Construction and Build Quality:

The BC125AT is Uniden's latest scanner. It is touted as an "event scanner" focused on being used at air shows and racing events. However, this scanner is much more than that! This is a great analog, conventional scanner for VHF-High band, Civil Air band and Mil-Air band.

The Uniden BC125AT feels solid in the hand and has a large LCD Display. The keypad buttons are well spaced and larger than most handheld scanners. The buttons have a soft rubber feel to them and give a nice tactile feedback when pressed. The keypad has a nice layout and is easy to remember for manipulating in low light (keypad is not backlit).

The BC125AT has a belt clip similar to the BC246T. The belt clip is rigid and does not hinge. It hangs on a pocket or belt as intended, but anything over 1/4" deep will have a hard time accommodating this style belt clip.

The sides of the scanner has grooves molded into the plastic which helps to grip the scanner in the hand. The plastic used on the case feels a bit cheap. I don't think the outer case would handle a direct impact from a fall very well. It's not terrible, but doesn't seem as solid as say a BC396XT or the Icom R6. It feels similar to the BC246T or Pro-97 (Pro-164) casing material. The BC125AT reminds me a lot of the BC246T even though they have different memory management systems. They are similar in size but the BC125AT has a larger screen and better keypad in my opinion. The BC125AT has banks and channels versus the Dynamic Memory or the BC246T but still incorporates some menu options for programming, setting LCD options, etc.

The BC125AT is well balanced when sitting upright on a desk, even with the Diamond RH77CA antenna, which is significantly longer than the stock antenna. The scanner doesn't tip over easily with the extended antenna. The BC125AT uses a BNC type antenna connection.

The battery compartment on the bottom, rear of the radio has a slide on/off door that snaps into place. The door fits tight and has no movement when in place. The batteries fit into the scanner very snug. Almost too snug at times because the batteries can be hard to remove. There is a switch on the inside of the battery compartment for selecting either rechargeable batteries or alkaline. This switch prevents the scanner from charging alkaline batteries in the scanner when plugged into AC power or USB. However, you do have to remember to slide that switch to the proper position. I never recommend charging batteries in a scanner but sometimes this can't be avoided.

The large LCD display is one of the best features in my opinion. On this large LCD display you can see your alpha tag, channel number, frequency, mode, PL Tone, and signal strength meter. Also on screen are active banks, close call and/or weather priority symbols, if activated. I wish I could dim the back light. It isn't overly bright but it would be nice to save the batteries. You can turn on/off the LCD backlight with the press of a button. Or you can set it to come on with squelch only, keypress only or both.

To access the LCD menu, press the Func button followed by the power button. This will allow you to set the backlight modes as mentioned above and set the LCD contrast from 1 - 15. I prefer contrast setting at 12. In this menu you can also set the time the scanner will charge the batteries when connected to external power. 1 to 16 hours of charge time is available for your choosing.

The Uniden BC125AT covers from 25 MHz to 512 MHz (Included coverage is: 25-54, 108-174, 225-380 and 400-512 MHz). You can set the mode on each channel that you program to FM, NFM, AM or Auto. On service search of Mil-Air it looks like the mode is preset to NFM between 138.0000 MHz and 143.9875 MHz and 148.0000 MHz and 150.7875 MHz. At 225.0000 MHz it changes to AM. These modes are not user changeable in service search. There is no 800 MHz coverage on this scanner. There is also no trunking or digital modes receive on this scanner. It is known as a conventional, analog radio scanner.

The Uniden BC125AT is a bank/channel type scanner. The scanner can hold a maximum of 500 channels in 10 banks. 50 channels per bank.

Programming

The scanner is very easy to program by hand. I have yet to break out the Owner's Manual. I programmed about 250 to 300 channels with tags and PL tones by hand before downloading the free Uniden software (more on the software later). It is tedious to program by hand, but not hard at all. It is just a little time consuming.

To program a new channel manually simply press the Hold button (if you aren't already in hold mode). Scroll to an empty channel using the multi function knob on top. Press the Func button followed by the Pgm/E button. From here select the Enter Frequency option by pressing E (or pressing down on the multi function knob. Input the desired frequency. (Note: If the frequency is already programmed into the scanner, it will give you an alert telling you of a duplicate entry.) Once you have the frequency entered, for instance 122.8000 press the E button. You are returned to the Program Menu screen where you can Edit Tag, Set CTCSS/DCS, Set Modulation, Set Priority of the Channel and/or set the Delay time. You also have the option of deleting the channel from this menu or clearing the entire bank. To edit the alpha tag simply select the Edit Tag and press E. Use the multi function knob to select the character desired and use the 4 and 6 key to move the cursor on the screen. Press E to save the text. You can press the . / clr button to clear the text entry completely. Once you have saved the text you will be back at the program menu screen. You can either set the other options or scroll to exit to move on. Very simple to program the scanner. There are several button clicks and knob turns involved but all in all I think Uniden made it easy to program their scanner.

The scanner is also PC programmable. I downloaded ARC125 demo. It is a great piece of software and would be very handy if I wasn't such a tightwad and didn't want to spend $25 on something that, in all likelihood, I would use only one time. Uniden does provide programming software free of charge. It doesn't provide RadioReference import like the ARC software but it may be a better solution than trying to program the scanner by hand. A trick you can use instead of the radioreference import is if you do have a premium subscription to RadioReference (which you have to have for the import feature as well) you can download CSV files of the counties, agencies, or systems, open them in a spreadsheet program and copy/paste them into the Uniden Software. This is the method I chose to go with! Not to say that the ARC software isn't great. I have ARC software for the BC396XT and PSR-500. ARC makes excellent software. However, I use the ARC396 and ARC500 a lot. And I knew that I wouldn't use the ARC125 as much. Your mileage may vary!

Main Features:

ALPHA TAGGING!!!!! I am not sure I could use a scanner without it anymore. I am glad Uniden put in the feature on this sub $140 scanner! It makes all the difference in the world. It would be very difficult to remember what 500 channels are without the text tags.

Close Call DND and Priority DND are awesome! I have gotten several hits on Close Call. The DND (Do Not Disturb) feature checks for signals only when the scanner isn't actively receiving signals so it doesn't interrupt a transmission. On some other scanners you will hear a pause in the audio every 2 seconds while the scanner checks for the Priority or Close Call. To enter the Close Call Menu, press the Func key then the Hold (CC) key. From there you can select Close Call Mode, Close Call Bands, Close Call Alert, Scan Hits, Set Delay, CTCSS/DCS Search, Review Lockouts or Exit the menu.

The Close Call Mode menu is where you can turn Close Call on/off, activate the Close Call DND, Close Call Priority or select to use the scanner in Close Call Only mode. Close Call Only mode will scan only the close call bands selected and not any programmed channels.

Close Call alert menu allows you to set the scanner to alert on any close call hits. You can set the LCD to illuminate or not and have the scanner give an audible beep or not. These two alerts are independent of each other so you can have the light alert on and the beep off or vice versa. You can have them both set on or off.

Close Call Bands menu allows you to turn on or off the included bands: 25-54 VHF - Low, 108-137 CIV-Air, 137-174 VHF-High, 225-320 MIL-Air, and 320-512 UHF.

The BC125AT also has Close Call Temporary Store which stores and scans the last 10 Close Call hits in the Close Call Hits system.

As stated previously, I get Close Call hits quite regularly. I have gotten them from my home as well in the car when mobile. I'm not sure the exact sensitivity of Close Call, but I have found it to be quite nice. I am sure that something like an FRS radio isn't going to activate Close Call without being very close. But a repeater pushing 100 + watts would get picked up by Close Call at some distance. Don't expect to get Close Call hits over about 1/4 to 1/2 mile though. I picked up my local PD repeater about 1/2 mile with Close Call. Police mobile radios in their cars, a few hundred feet and handheld police radios even closer than that. So the sensitivity of the Close Call is determined by the power output of the radio it is picking up I would assume. However, Close Call has picked up local businesses as I passed by their locations on the highway.

Temporary Lockout is one of the greatest features of this scanner in my opinion. This is a great feature since the scanner does not have an attenuation function. When you press the L/O button 1 time, the scanner will temporarily lockout the frequency that you are currently on. Pressing 2 times in rapid succession will lock it out permanently, requiring you to either scroll to the channel or go into the menu and unlock that channel. However, all channels that were locked out using temporary lockout will be restored (unlocked) after the next power cycle.

The BC125AT has CTCSS and DCS Squelch modes. This provides rapid search for CTCSS/DCS tones/code used on some channels. The scanner has 50 CTCSS tones and 104 DCS codes available. It's a great feature for reducing interference as well as some agencies use the same frequencies but different CTCSS/DCS allowing for multiple uses. The 125AT search option for CTCSS/DCS is very fast. I would say it near instantly displays the tone/code when you have search activated on a programmed channel or Close Call.

SAME weather alert codes would have been a nice feature to have, unfortunately they are not included on the BC125AT. However, the general weather alert (which picks up the 1050 Hz tone) is available on this scanner. When activating the weather menu, simply press Func button then the #3 / Wx key. You can select from Weather Scan, Alert Standby, Alert Priority, or Set Delay. To enter any of these options, simply scroll to the option using the multi function knob on top and press the PGM / E button or press down on the multi function knob.

Weather scan will do just that, scan the 7 US NOAA Weather channels. The scanner will stop on an active channel or you can hold on any 1 of the 7 channels.

Weather Alert Standby will scan the weather channels and stop on the weather channel with an active signal. At that point the scanner will stop on that channel, remaining completely muted and wait to receive the 1050 Hz tone from the NOAA Weather Station so long as you have a receivable signal from NOAA. When a tone is received, the scanner will produce and audible alarm and the station will open so you can hear the message.

Weather Alert Priority can be set either Off or On (Set to off by default). If you set the Wx Alert Priority On, when scanning your programmed channels the scanner will check the for the 1050 Hz tone every 5 seconds, which will cause you to hear a pause in the audio if a channel is being received. I have noticed that if a Weather Channel signal cannot be received the scanner will automatically turn off the Weather Alert Priority. This could be a safety issue if you are using this to alert you to potential severe weather, so just be aware of that fact. Of course, if you can't receive the channel, you aren't going to hear the tone anyway. However, I think that it would be a nice feature if the scanner would continue to look for an active NOAA frequency rather than turning off the Weather Alert Priority. It could be that you move the scanner from one room to the next and during the transition signal is lost and the alert priority is turned off. Then you go to bed thinking its on with severe weather approaching. For more information on the weather operation refer to page 65 of the Owner's Manual.

Direct Access feature allows you to directly access any channel with a few presses of the buttons. For instance if you have your local police stored on channel 200. To go directly to that channel press the Hold button, then 2 0 0 then Hold button again. Boom, you are on channel 200, holding waiting on a transmission!

Service Searches are separated in 10 preset banks. 1. Police, 2. Fire/Emergency, 3. Ham, 4. Marine, 5. Railroad, 6. Civil Air, 7. Military Air, 8. CB Radio, 9. FRS/GMRS/MURS, and 0. Racing. These can come in handy for just skimming a specific range of common frequencies. To enter the service search feature of the scanner press the Func button followed by the Srch/Svc button. Then you can press the number keys 1 - 0 to activate/deactivate the 10 preset searches.

Priority features abound on this little radio. Priority scan with Do Not Disturb lets you program up to 10 channels as Priority (1 in each bank) and the scanner will check the channels marked as priority every 2 seconds. Priority Do Not Disturb works just like Close Call Do Not Disturb in that the scanner will not interupt an active transmission and will only check for activity on the priority channels when the scanner is not receiving audio from another channel.

Priority plus allows the BC125AT to scan only the priority channels.

To enter the Priority Menu, press the Func button followed by the 1 / Pri button. This gives you the Priority menu. From there you can select Priority Off, Priority DND, Priority Scan, and Priority Plus.

Delay time can be set on each channel, Close Call Search, Custom Search, and Service search. This controls whether the scanner pauses at the end of the transmission for the set amount of time. You can set the amount of time it holds on that channel before resuming up to 5 seconds or a negative delay to -10.

Custom searches can also be set up in the scanner. You can set up to 10 custom search ranges. To enter the custom search press the Srch/Svc button. To program a custom search, enter the custom search by pressing the Srch button then press Func followed by E / Pgm button. From there you can set the limits of the search bands, delay times, CTCSS/DCS search, review any lockouts and you can save a frequency form the search function to the programmed channel scan.

You can also do a quick search. While the scanner is scanning programmed channels, press the Hold button. Then input the frequency and press the Srch button and the scanner will start searching from the entered frequency frequency.

Pressing the number keys during a programmed scan, service search, close call, or custom search will turn on/off bands, banks, or search ranges just like all other bank/channel type scanners.

Performance

I am running the BC125AT beside the Icom R6 and the PSR-800. The BC125AT and Icom R6 are using the Diamond RH77CA antenna, I can't tell a difference on the signals they are pulling in on civilian air band. They seem to be pulling in the same signals at the same signal strength. That is very impressive to say the least! The 125AT seems to be keeping pace with the Icom R6, which is well regarded as a great receiver. I am actually very impressed by the BC125AT. I think that on VHF-High band the R6 edges the 125AT by a slight margin. The R6 will pick up fringe signals where the 125AT won't. However, the R6 also picks up a ton of interference whereas the 125AT isn't affected by it as bad. The BC125AT vs the PSR-800 on VHF-Air, is no comparison. The 125AT seems to win hands down in my unscientific tests. The PSR-800 is excellent on the 800 band, but the 125AT doesn't cover that band.

Mil-Air receive seems to be quite good as well. I have picked up several programmed Mil-Air frequencies. I am not in a high traffic Mil-Air area (South Arkansas). However, there is an airforce base about 100 miles to my north. I have heard several Mil-Air comms as they fly in my area.

VHF-High band has great receive as well. I regularly pick up a police department about 20 miles to my west with good audio and good signal strength. As well as a county SO about 20 miles to my south and one that is about 15 miles to my north. I think that is decent for a hand held scanner with a duck antenna. I am pleased with its performance in this area.

UHF receive seems to be pretty decent as well. A local fire department uses UHF Band and it sounds great. I do not have enough low band in my area to test this.

Audio is very good on this radio. The speaker has a clear tone and loud enough in the car to be heard over road noise. Comparing to the R6, the 125 has a cleaner sound to me. The R6 has a teeny sound in my opinion, although it can get loud the smaller speaker doesn't give as good of a tone. VHF-Air audio is comparable to the PSR-800 as far as tone. Cranking the audio all the way up to 15 on the BC125AT causes a little distortion, but not so much that it is unintelligible. Typically sitting on my desk, I find that having the audio set between 6 and 8 is a comfortable listening volume.

The BC125AT uses batteries very quickly. I am scanning using back light on all the time. I am only getting about 4-6 hours out of a set of fully charged (and fairly new) Energizer 2300 mAh, as well as the supplied generic 2300 mAh batteries. These batteries are always charged in a MAHA C9000 Charger. Usually it is closer to the 4 hour mark. Compared to my little R6 which runs for 10 + on 2 of the same batteries with back light on full time. Of course, the R6 has a much smaller LCD and speaker to power. This isn't a huge deal since I have a backpack full of charged batteries with me most of the time. The BC125AT has a low battery beep that becomes audible when the scanners batteries are almost exhausted. On my 125AT the scanner will beep for about 1 to 2 minutes before the scanner powers itself off. Not much warning, so if you hear the beep, you might want to start looking for those extra batteries or plugging your scanner into external power.

No ATT button? That is about all that is missing on this great little radio. Some channels, especially when I place the scanner near my computer or driving around in the car, will receive interference. Attenuation would be great in these instances but the temporary lockout works to block those channels. Out of the 300 to 400 channels I have programmed in the scanner, 1 maybe 2 or 3 channels actually get plagued by interference regularly near my computer. So I don't think it is a huge problem. The scanner seems to handle strong nearby signals fairly well. But if the channel being plagued by interference is a channel you really want to monitor, this is a problem.

You cannot rename the bank names. This would be very handy. As it is now, the banks are named Bank1, Bank2, etc. I am quite sure being able to name the banks would be possible via a firmware update, but I am unsure if it will ever happen. Being able to name the banks would allow a better memory management and easily recall what you have programmed in a specific bank.

At the time of this review (3/23/12) having 7.5 kHz steps is not possible. However, Paul Opitz (Uniden Product Manager) posted on radio reference that this option is coming in a future firmware update.

I have a dedicated 800 MHz P25 scanner. The 125AT makes a great 2nd (or 3rd, 4th, or 5th ) scanner if you need the 800 MHz, digital coverage. I don't miss 800MHz coverage on this scanner because I am using it for Air band and Mil-Air mostly and some local VHF-High public safety.

I would definitely opt for the Diamond RH77CA antenna to replace the stock duck antenna. The RH77CA is longer but pulls in signals so much better. I wouldn't throw away the stock antenna, but if I lost it in my junk drawer somewhere, it wouldn't bother me much. I do use the stock antenna from time to time just to cut down on footprint of the radio. If I clip it to my pocket or belt, then the stock antenna comes in handy. Other than that, the BC125AT has the Diamond antenna on it and they work very well together! Pairing the Radio Shack RS800 Mhz antenna on the BC125AT does cut down on the civil air band receive somewhat. It seems to be only slightly better than the stock antenna in this band. That is to be expected since the RS antenna is tuned for 800 MHz. I used an extendable antenna from a GRE base/mobile scanner on the BC125AT and had very good results. The extendable antenna performs similar to the Diamond antenna. The extendable antenna is about 24" in length vs the Diamond that is 16" in length.

If you only need coverage below 512 MHz, non-digital, non-trunking scanner, I don't think you can go wrong with this little radio. Especially at the price that Uniden released it at. ($139.99 at most dealers). I picked mine up from Amazon for $139.99 with free shipping. ScannerMaster or Grove are also good dealers. All in all I think it's a great deal for $140 (and possibly cheaper online).

Matt Outlaw
 
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nanZor

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Wow - now that's a review!

In my excitement to get the Uniden drivers and software running, I think I blew it when trying to install the drivers on my Win7 box. When I plugged my 125 into the computer, I never got the prompt to manually search for drivers. Sooo, I just went into the Control Panel > Device-Manager, found the BC125AT, and then right clicked to allow it to Update Driver Software, directed it to the unarchived driver files and bingo. Up and running. Easy - must have been too much coffee at the time. :) I also like the Uniden software, but will probably take a peek at the ARC125 later.

Not having to use an external serial-adapter and just use the included standard usb cord is a big plus.

I have to agree completely about audio. Hissy audio in some of my other handhelds, despite their additional featues, relegates them to the closet or ebay. I'll take performance over features any day.

Small stuff:
Even though the keys aren't backlit, I do like the high-contrast black-on-white lettering, and also the white-on-black lettering. Larger buttons are a plus compared to the 396. Instead of the red function lettering, I'd make it actually orange like the function button for a higher contrast. Small beans for sure. But like your experience, with only two batteries on board, heavy use of the display does eat into battery time - although just having two more ready to go is no big deal if you want the display on all the time.

I like the 125 so much, that if there was ever a model change for the 396 series to use the same display, keyboard, case, usb port, etc, I would have no problem upgrading to it. Of course an aluminum case instead of plastic would put me into nirvana. :)
 
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737mech

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Bc125at

I was going to review this scanner but after reading this post I see it was already done. I agree with the review and really like this little scanner! I tried a Diamond rh77ca, not bad at all, didn't blow me away vs. the stock antenna on Milair. The RS 800 antenna no big gains there either vs the stock antenna. Tried the RS racing stubby antenna and lost almost everything but the 400's range. The RS VHF/UHF Deluxe did a great job on VHF and not awesome on UHF. The Larson Triband did a great job with the scanner probably the one I'll use for mobile use. I also tried a homebrew basic 1/4 wave magmount and it did ok on VHF, better on UHF. The last setup I tried was on my desk with a feeder coax to my DPD LP 118-1000. The scanner keeps pace with my BCT-15X and does a great job on MILAIR/ VHF air and everything it was designed to do.
Bottom line of you want a little handheld airbander to take with you to airports and airshows this will get the job done. No trunking or digital but we already knew that.
I bought the BC125AT at AES Las Vegas. I could have got it a few dollars cheaper online but I am one of the guys that wants stores like AES to survive and feed our hobby needs. Customer service cannot be had better without a face across the counter to ask questions and get expert advise. In my book it beats a chat room anyday. Worth a few extra bucks in my opinion.
Overall rating on the BC125AT thumbs up!!!
 

chgomonitor

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Jan 27, 2003
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Wondering if anyone has tried the close call feature on this radio on transmissions in the civil and/or uhf military aero bands? I've found the GRE signal stalker system superior to close call on these bands (only) but I had high hopes for this model. I'm casually starting to look for replacement for my aging Pro-97 for the air shows. Thanks, and Happy Scanning! - Ted
 

scannersnstuff

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Wondering if anyone has tried the close call feature on this radio on transmissions in the civil and/or uhf military aero bands? I've found the GRE signal stalker system superior to close call on these bands (only) but I had high hopes for this model. I'm casually starting to look for replacement for my aging Pro-97 for the air shows. Thanks, and Happy Scanning! - Ted

i can't say that i've ever got a portable close call hit from an aircraft. my gre base and portables do knock the snot out of close call in general. i receive a ton of civil air hit's on the gre base. the close call feature on the bc125at is pretty good though. seems a little more sensitive than other uniden's. i highly recomend this scanner. it's few shortcomings do not seem to offset all the good point's.
 

nanZor

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I took my 125 to the tarmac at March AFB airshow today, and must say that the only close-call hits I observed were only very close by - that is only the program audio announce radio a few hundred feet away kicked it off. Basically it is working the way it is supposed to. :)

I also brought too efficient of an antenna - a 6 inch thin whip, when I couldn't find my 2 inch dummy load. :) I was getting desensed so I really missed my bullet antenna. I think a standard 20db attenuator would have been too much - even though the 125 doesn't have one. Just use a less efficient antenna for such things.

Audio at first was a problem as I was driving my noise-isolating Klipsch earbuds too much - clipping the audio. At first I thought it was the pilot, then they all started to do that, so I had to back the audio off a few clicks. Granted, this is a worst-case scenario being right under the roar of afterburners going off in all directions, and the general mayhem of the show audio itself.

I'd have to say not to be disappointed if you are directly underneath in the middle of all that, and try to find a side away from the fenceline if you want to concentrate on audio quality.
 
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maalox

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isaw your scanner reviews matt. cant wait for u to review the gre 800 and others. imight by that 125 0r trade for one..
 

avguy7

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Jan 9, 2010
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Great Review !

Thanks Matt for a useful, comprehensive review !!!
I've been seriously considering this scanner since finding out about it a few months ago.
I currently have a GRE-500 that I use for local digital and a BC246 that I use primarily for
amateur monitoring when I don't have a portable handy.
I was looking for something similar to my 246 to keep permanently in an additional location
and the BC-125 is perfect EXCEPT for one thing.
My BC-246 (as well as the current 346) covers 220-225MHz which allows monitoring of the local
1.25 meter repeaters. Uniden stops the BC-125 at 174MHz and continues at 225MHz AM.
Why they didn't include 220-224MHz is beyond me. I called them and they said it was not
outside the realm of a firmware upgrade to modify the band coverage, but didn't know if it would
ever be done. We do have a number of 220 repeaters in the area and I would hate to lose that
capability. Maybe if enough folks out there interested in that part of the VHF band call them and
request it, they'll put out an update to cover it.
 
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One13Truck

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Great review! I'm currently looking at the PSR-120 and the BC125AT as a replacement to the Pro-94 I use for my scanner feed on here. The Alpha Tags are a nice feature that right now is pulling this one ahead of the PSR-120.
 

questnz

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Nov 18, 2009
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I just about to get BC125AT as a additional Air scanner but I am concerned about short battery life comments? ps. I am using Enelopes in all my scanners.
Can someone please expand on 125AT battery life subject please, assume that back light will be off

regards Chris
 

scannersnstuff

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gre psr-120 GARBAGE

DO NOT GET THE PSR-120. BE FOREWARNED. see all of the negative comments on the gre forum, and my mini review. what a total piece of *hit. the battery life is somewhat shorter on the bc125at. carry a set of extra batteries. if you do decide to buy the other pos, don't say i did'nt WARN you.

the bc125at does both civil and milair. the other pos does not.
 
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nanZor

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Can someone please expand on 125AT battery life subject please, assume that back light will be off

No problem. I got just around 9 hours with the backlight always off with freshly charged Eneloops, and light airband traffic monitoring. The unit was always in scan mode, so it never had a chance to go into power save. Audio was up about 9. The eneloops were well-cared for in a Maha Powerex analyzer, and matched in capacity. Yes, I'm a battery geek. :)

Not bad - especially for only a 2-AA radio. Of course more audio traffic would mean less time overall, so of course it all depends, but this is a rough idea.

I'll do the same test with the backlight always on, always scanning and see, but that's a bit unrealistic for my operations.
 

questnz

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Thank you, I am using Enelopes, always using the same sets of 4x or 2x. Looks like 125AT coming my way soon. I was bit worried about comment above from one of our friends using Energizers with short battery life?
The BC125AT uses batteries very quickly. I am scanning using back light on all the time. I am only getting about 4-6 hours out of a set of fully charged (and fairly new) Energizer 2300 mAh, as well as the supplied generic 2300 mAh batteries. These batteries are always charged in a MAHA C9000 Charger. Usually it is closer to the 4 hour mark
 

nanZor

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I just did the test with the backlight on all the time, and get about 5 hours too, so I think that having it enabled just for keypress or when the squelch breaks won't drag it down too quickly. I think it's reasonable.

With the 5v usb power port, I tend to do more opportunity-charging for a half hour here and there much more often than with my 396 since I'm not having to hunt down the charger. It's hard for a battery geek like me to admit charging in the radio, but with only two to deal with in the 125, not so bad really.
 
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pinballwiz86

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One of the best reviews I've ever read. Great job OP!

I love my BC125AT which I bought back in February of this year thanks to your review.
 

potbellyperch

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May 25, 2009
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Great post Matt
thanks
but I own one & love it
about the battary going south

I use the cvs drug stores brand recharge batt... & I use a charger I found if I got the battarys hotter I can get more out of them per charge like 2.80 on the meter
 

wheels63

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Jul 29, 2006
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Wisconsin Rapids,Wi.
After that great review of the BC125AT, I sold my BC75XLT and just ordered a BC125AT from Amazone ($100.99) I look foreword to playing with it.Thank You Safetyobc.

Tom
 
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