I’ve owned the Uniden BCD536HP for almost 3 years, purchased the DMR upgrade and enjoying it ever since. I had the RTC issue and finally decided to send it in for repair; it was at their facility for 8 days to include the Thanksgiving holiday and surprised they accepted it after so long. Thank you, Uniden!
I picked up the Whistler TRX-2 2 days before shipping the Uniden off and quickly determined the BCD536HP was the better choice thus far. This is the third day using them simultaneously since getting the BCD5360HP back and my decision still stands. I'm debating on returning the TRX-2 and getting a BCD436HP instead; even that handheld has a larger screen.
BCD536HP
• Screen is larger and displays more details about target; has 32 larger font characters across another 4 for HOLD status.
• Boots up much faster than the TRX-2, even with the RTC error I had asking me to reset the clock and letting it time out. Starts scanning 16 seconds after turning knob to power on after RTC repair.
• Speaker is louder; listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands and has natural sounding audio.
• GPS scanning capability for those interested although I haven’t purchased or used the unit.
• Support for third-party software like ARC536.
• The Sentinel programming software is basic and not as polished as Whistler’s; need to manually find updates to it on their website.
TRX-2
• The Digital Trunking Scanner Programming System is more polished than Uniden’s and makes it easier to upgrade all components from a single interface.
• The ability to store different configurations via V-scanner is a nice function.
• The NXDN system upgrade was offered for free.
• Speaker isn't as loud and listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands, sounds hollow.
• Feels like a tin can and the detachable head (something I don't care for) feels light and cheap; even the mount is thin.
• Screen is small and belongs on a handheld, not mobile/desktop scanner; has 16 characters across with smaller font.
• The supplied Whistler USB cable is way too short unless you're using a notebook on the same desk as the scanner.
• Only two of five white keys have lights and all other keys don't appear to have any lights behind them.
• Noticed backlighting display flickering and reported by others as well. Reached out to Tech support e-mail and responded on the third day saying they never heard of this issue and to try a new AC plug which didn't make a difference.
• Scanning shows top level lists instead of actual targets names.
• Paging system intermod on 2m Ham and 150-160MHz bands but not present on BCD536HP, receivers, SDRs or Ham gear. Tech support still hasn't responded about this issue.
• Too easy to accidentally edit config since clicking on something will automatically save config.
• Copying initial Library was extremely slow and stuck at 42%; clicking in the window appeared to wake it up as it looked like it was freezing. The same cable used with the BCD536HP updates the database much faster.
• Push button pad stiff and have to push harder to make it register
• Where's the manual frequency entry?
• Starts scanning 3 minutes and 7 seconds after holding button (for about 3 seconds) to power on.
• Every time you go into the Menu and back out, the lists reload again and you have to wait!
• No third-party software support.
I picked up the Whistler TRX-2 2 days before shipping the Uniden off and quickly determined the BCD536HP was the better choice thus far. This is the third day using them simultaneously since getting the BCD5360HP back and my decision still stands. I'm debating on returning the TRX-2 and getting a BCD436HP instead; even that handheld has a larger screen.
BCD536HP
• Screen is larger and displays more details about target; has 32 larger font characters across another 4 for HOLD status.
• Boots up much faster than the TRX-2, even with the RTC error I had asking me to reset the clock and letting it time out. Starts scanning 16 seconds after turning knob to power on after RTC repair.
• Speaker is louder; listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands and has natural sounding audio.
• GPS scanning capability for those interested although I haven’t purchased or used the unit.
• Support for third-party software like ARC536.
• The Sentinel programming software is basic and not as polished as Whistler’s; need to manually find updates to it on their website.
TRX-2
• The Digital Trunking Scanner Programming System is more polished than Uniden’s and makes it easier to upgrade all components from a single interface.
• The ability to store different configurations via V-scanner is a nice function.
• The NXDN system upgrade was offered for free.
• Speaker isn't as loud and listening to people I talk with locally on Ham bands, sounds hollow.
• Feels like a tin can and the detachable head (something I don't care for) feels light and cheap; even the mount is thin.
• Screen is small and belongs on a handheld, not mobile/desktop scanner; has 16 characters across with smaller font.
• The supplied Whistler USB cable is way too short unless you're using a notebook on the same desk as the scanner.
• Only two of five white keys have lights and all other keys don't appear to have any lights behind them.
• Noticed backlighting display flickering and reported by others as well. Reached out to Tech support e-mail and responded on the third day saying they never heard of this issue and to try a new AC plug which didn't make a difference.
• Scanning shows top level lists instead of actual targets names.
• Paging system intermod on 2m Ham and 150-160MHz bands but not present on BCD536HP, receivers, SDRs or Ham gear. Tech support still hasn't responded about this issue.
• Too easy to accidentally edit config since clicking on something will automatically save config.
• Copying initial Library was extremely slow and stuck at 42%; clicking in the window appeared to wake it up as it looked like it was freezing. The same cable used with the BCD536HP updates the database much faster.
• Push button pad stiff and have to push harder to make it register
• Where's the manual frequency entry?
• Starts scanning 3 minutes and 7 seconds after holding button (for about 3 seconds) to power on.
• Every time you go into the Menu and back out, the lists reload again and you have to wait!
• No third-party software support.
