Old School Uniden Scanner Still In Regular Use?

[ridgescan]

I'm curious about how many of you here still have the older Uniden scanners in regular use. I bought my BC785D way back in 2004 and it has been in use almost daily here since new and I think it deserves an attaboy for longevity and reliability.
Here in San Francisco, our agencies still use the old 800mHz APCO P25 and my BC785D still gets every transmission in every "conversation" with no missed transmissions, even though they were supposed to go 700mHz they apparently never got around to that.
I did have to go inside the rig and tweek the lone variable cap enclosed within this Faraday box on the main board which clarified and strengthened the "capture" in 800...as I think it seemed to fall a little out of tolerance after all this time.
I was considering buying a new Uniden of some kind but after doing that, I'm too happy with this old Uniden rig.
I may still buy a new one, maybe a 996?...or whichever model you guys might suggest, to use as my base rig in the house so I may then install the old 785D into my Lexus as that SUV is woefully void of any radio fun.

 

[mass-man]

My BC101 is my NOAA radio! I just reach over n turn up the volume(not much) to hear current conditions and forecasts! There’s very little VHF left around here other than NOAA!

 

[mule1075]

I'm curious about how many of you here still have the older Uniden scanners in regular use. I bought my BC785D way back in 2004 and it has been in use almost daily here since new and I think it deserves an attaboy for longevity and reliability.
Here in San Francisco, our agencies still use the old 800mHz APCO P25 and my BC785D still gets every transmission in every "conversation" with no missed transmissions, even though they were supposed to go 700mHz they apparently never got around to that.
I did have to go inside the rig and tweek the lone variable cap enclosed within this Faraday box on the main board which clarified and strengthened the "capture" in 800...as I think it seemed to fall a little out of tolerance after all this time.
I was considering buying a new Uniden of some kind but after doing that, I'm too happy with this old Uniden rig.
I may still buy a new one, maybe a 996?...or whichever model you guys might suggest, to use as my base rig in the house so I may then install the old 785D into my Lexus as that SUV is woefully void of any radio fun.

I still use a original Electra Bearcat 350 from time to time when it wants to work. Just picked up a pro 2045 with the tone board installed(Both Uniden made). Also have a 796d still in use as well.

 

[spdfile1]

I still use many old scanners (actually have quite the collection of them) but I'm a Realistic/Radio Shack guy although I'm not opposed to Uniden Bearcat. My very first was a tabletop BC140 10-channel with wood grain and all!!!!! I managed to pick up another one about a year ago along with the 16-channel BC145XL (Check out my QRZ page for my collection under N4SYR). Anyways on those older scanners I monitor Ham Radio, Railroads, GMRS/FRS, Marine, sometimes Aircraft & Business's like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, etc. So much to monitor with an old non-trunking scanner!!!!!!!!!

 

[tvengr]

Surprisingly, my BC796D works better on some P25 systems than a number of the newer scanners. including my local simulcast system.

 

[TailGator911]

I use a few older scanners in the mix of things, my favorite being the old reliable Pro-2006. Also run a Pro-2035 (mostly for milair), a BC895XLT which I dedicate to frs/gmrs/murs, and an old Regency Executive with the light display (just because it looks cool) I like incorporating the old with the new for a good variation. They sure don't make 'em like they used to! I love the new SDS scanners with the nice tech display screen, the bells and whistles, the computer interface, etc, but they just seem to be missing that toughness, reliability, and solid reputation that the old school scanners are known for. Like barrel whiskey and fine wine, the older scanners are to be savored and appreciated

 

[ridgescan]

I still use many old scanners (actually have quite the collection of them) but I'm a Realistic/Radio Shack guy although I'm not opposed to Uniden Bearcat. My very first was a tabletop BC140 10-channel with wood grain and all!!!!! I managed to pick up another one about a year ago along with the 16-channel BC145XL (Check out my QRZ page for my collection under N4SYR). Anyways on those older scanners I monitor Ham Radio, Railroads, GMRS/FRS, Marine, sometimes Aircraft & Business's like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, etc. So much to monitor with an old non-trunking scanner!!!!!!!!!

I too feel the same about RS scanners as I have an even older Pro 2006 in my other vehicle (been in that truck since 2007!) that does as well in 800 as the 785D. And it will pick up San Francisco 800 up to about 15 miles away on an old cellphone glassmount antenna on the side glass of my truck shell that I fabbed a Larsen Tribander whip onto. That 2006 is quite a good rig for its age and does even better in VHF/UHF than the 785.
I also have an old Pro 62 handheld I use occasionally around the shack.

 

[k3hal]

I'm curious about how many of you here still have the older Uniden scanners in regular use. I bought my BC785D way back in 2004 and it has been in use almost daily here since new and I think it deserves an attaboy for longevity and reliability.
Here in San Francisco, our agencies still use the old 800mHz APCO P25 and my BC785D still gets every transmission in every "conversation" with no missed transmissions, even though they were supposed to go 700mHz they apparently never got around to that.
I did have to go inside the rig and tweek the lone variable cap enclosed within this Faraday box on the main board which clarified and strengthened the "capture" in 800...as I think it seemed to fall a little out of tolerance after all this time.
I was considering buying a new Uniden of some kind but after doing that, I'm too happy with this old Uniden rig.
I may still buy a new one, maybe a 996?...or whichever model you guys might suggest, to use as my base rig in the house so I may then install the old 785D into my Lexus as that SUV is woefully void of any radio fun.

love my bc785d! still crankin along side of my bc15x and bcd536hp!!!!...and bc8500xlt!

 

[NuthinFancy]

I still have some older Radio shack as well as Uniden scanners, one being the Radio Shack Pro-2034 that I still use to listen to analog channels I also have the pro-94 handheld. great little scanners the BC345CRS is a nice scanner for analog as well. speaking of analog I like my BC355N. all great scanners to have besides the HP and SDS radios.

 

[StoliRaz]

I bought a 246T off of Ebay last year for $30. It has physical damage to the case that I covered with Zip Tape and is missing the battery cover but works fine. Still lots of analog near me, I listen to it regularly on my drive to work and around town. I sold my old bc92XLT for more than what I paid to buy it. Way more memory, alpha tags and trunking, in basically the same body. Nice upgrade imo

My old PRO-433 that I bought new in 2006 is set up in my basement. It doesn't have alpha tags but that's ok, I use it for background noise while working in my shop.

Lastly I leave a BCT7 in my car, use as a weather radio or if I don't have my 246T. Still a lot of PD/FD/DPW stuff to be heard with it too. It has a nice loud speaker and is in new condition, it's hard for me to get rid of it.

Those are my oldest. I power the car-bound ones with a black and decker cheapo inverter, works fine.

 

[SurgePGH]

One neighboring county is still analog VHF and a couple UHF frequencies while another neighboring county is all UHF analog. Older scanners can still be used with great results around here. Our county is P25 700/800 so I use a mix of scanners depending on what I’m trying to hear.

 

[w4amp]

Use an old BC780XLT for Aviation and a a handfull of other analog frequencies.

 

[ltginrage]

Idk if its considered old but my 75xlt is a backup daily. Ive literally beat the crap out of that thing and its still nice to use. Im gonna switch it over to railroad and aircraft only eventually.

 

[fjc0653]

I have a BC560XLT stashed in a kitchen cabinet for my first-thing-in-the-morning weather report. I also have a BC9000XLT that I rescued from a swap table ($20!) and enshrined in the bedroom for occasional use.

 

[marlin39a]

I’m sitting next to a BC895XLT right now listening to train comms. I also have one in my home office. Everything is analog here.

 

[N9JCQ]

Use an old BC780XLT for Aviation and a a handfull of other analog frequencies.

Same here, my 780XLT is humming along as I type this monitoring Chicago O'Hare, Chicago Center and any Midwest Milair that I can pick up. One of the perks of working from home. The 780XLTY is the finest aviation scanner I have ever used. It still beats it my Yupiteru 7100 and old reliable RS Pro-43.

 

[KA9MGC]

I have a BC895XLT here, it has to be close to 20 years old. Still works great, just no digital.

I get aircraft, hams, fire and sometimes even Chicago PD which is around 50+ miles away from me. Some of the smaller, sparsely populated counties near me still use analog so I hear them as well.

 

[Jay911]

One of my relatives/fellow firefighters has a BC235XLT handling analog conventional comms at his house.

 

[gldavis]

I'm still using a couple BC785D's for searching, and a Bearcat 300, cause it looks cool.

 

[mc48]

I have a BC-250 in my basement that I use when I'm down there, purchased in 1986. My RS PRO-9 from 1976 still works as well.