BC125AT Full Review

[Xray]

Stellar review, props.
I just bought one primarily for an airshow scanner, going to break it in in 3 weeks at Selfridge ANGB, Angels will be there so should be plenty of activity.
Was sorely disappointed it only goes up to 380 mhz, as we all know there is alot of activity between 380 and 400, quite a drastic omission for a scanner advertised as milair capable.
Other than that it has a nice feel and look, easy to program and sounds pretty good [my local PO still uses analog transmissions].
I can picture it on my hip as I make my rounds at the shows, but already consider it hobbled by the lack of 380-400 and am actually considering sending it back over that, we'll see.

 

[pinballwiz86]

Stellar review, props.
I just bought one primarily for an airshow scanner, going to break it in in 3 weeks at Selfridge ANGB, Angels will be there so should be plenty of activity.
Was sorely disappointed it only goes up to 380 mhz, as we all know there is alot of activity between 380 and 400, quite a drastic omission for a scanner advertised as milair capable.
Other than that it has a nice feel and look, easy to program and sounds pretty good [my local PO still uses analog transmissions].
I can picture it on my hip as I make my rounds at the shows, but already consider it hobbled by the lack of 380-400 and am actually considering sending it back over that, we'll see.

There's not that much activity between 380-400 to send back the 125AT in case anyone else is wondering.

If you REALLY need that thin slice of mil air, check out the 346XTC. It costs about twice as much...

So, YMMV. I would not consider the 125AT as "hobbled" by any means.

 

[Xray]

I am a hard core military aviation enthusiast so yes, I consider that thin slice important - It is more than 1/10th of the entire military aviation UHF band. Saying "well, theres not that much there really" doesn't cut it for me - From our very own radioreferece wiki:

"A receiver for monitoring VHF and UHF Milcom must cover, at a minimum, the 225-400 and 138-144 mhz ranges. Mil flights sometimes also use the civil air band (118-136 mhz) range."
VHF/UHF Military Monitoring - The RadioReference Wiki

I already have at least 4 active uhf freqs from my local military air base that I won't be able to hear with this scanner.

The BC125AT partially covers the military aviation band, if it was advertised as such then I wouldn't have a problem, I would have known.
I know there are other scanners that don't have this handicap, I presently have 2 of them.

 

[oracavon]

I don't listen to mil air, but I have to agree with Xray. It would be like having a public safety scanner which leaves out the 470-512 portion of UHF coverage without making that omission clear to the buyer. If it's in use where you are, or if it's something you usually listen to, then it's important. This sounds like yet another example of Uniden leading buyers to believe that their radios have features or capabilities which they don't really have.

 

[Xray]

My sentiments exactly oracavon, thanks.
Bearcats own site makes no reference to this freq clipping, saying only " You can listen to both civilian and military bands," Uniden Bearcat Handheld Mobile Scanner Product Even clicking the specs tab gives no clue, I suppose one would have to comb through the owners manual. I got mine on amazon, where it says "Includes Both Civil & Military Aircraft Bands!" Amazon.com: Uniden Bearcat 500 Channel Alpha Numeric Hand Held Radio Scanner with CTCSS and DCS (BC125AT): Electronics [Yes, my review there will be coming shortly, with a max of 3 stars assuming it performs good].

To a casual listener, they probably would not even know whats missing, to a hard core aviation nut, a glaring omission. Tough to see why they clipped it like that, hell my decades old Pro 43 runs the band properly from 225-512 mhz. Why clip coverage at 380, why not 375 or 390, seems a bit arbitrary and unknowledgeable especially coming from a renowned, long time producer of radio receiving equipment.
I'd like to know the reason, couldn't be a cost cutting measure. I get people all the time at shows, amazed that I am hearing military comms and asking what scanner I recommend. This one, assuming good performance, would have been a no brainer at this price point to recommend, now I'd recommend that they ebay a Pro 43 instead due to this bizarre gap.
Almost as though someone there thought "Ok, this is a budget scanner, so we'll give them budget freqs - Those hard core aviation nuts who need the whole band can just go out and buy a 346XTC at twice the price !"

My fault, I should have dug deeper into specs before clicking, I'm an impulsive buyer. I read it covers milair and that was all I needed to hear, I know better now.

 

[oracavon]

The 380 cutoff is a Uniden thing, as far as I can tell. I'm not sure what prompted them to do this, but originally Uniden considered the full 225-400 to be mil air, all AM mode (as indicated in the 780XLT manual). Somewhere along the way, Uniden changed their mind and now considers only 225-380 to be mil air, with 380-400 being listed as NFM mil land mobile (as shown in Uniden's current scanner manuals). So Uniden now considers 380-400 to be a different band, separate from mil air. That doesn't explain why they didn't include it in the radio, but it seems to explain why the cutoff is at 380.

 

[Xray]

Sounds like as good an explanation as any.
If there has been any official rebanding, I'm not aware of it, milair has always been 225-400 AFAIK.

So far I think its a neat little scanner, I like its form factor, audio seems decent, display is attractive. I've heard upwards of 8 hrs can be expected on a full charge, I'd be thrilled with that for my purposes. For this price I'm keeping it, I always have multiple scanners with me at shows anyhow and my other scanners have no restrictions.
I think this was built and marketed more towards train chasers and race fans, milair was probably an afterthought.

 

[Blackink]

I get about 8 hours on rechargeable batteries.
I have the backlight set to come on only when squelch is broken, works great for my needs.

 

[nanZor]

The milair 380 coverage has been discussed ad nauseum for years. Maybe take your complaint filled with marketing buzzwords and subtle consumerism threats to the Uniden forum.

The pdf of the manual which shows the coverage is one click away straight from the manufacturer. Any serious milair user would be absolutely clueless not to do this in the first place.

Trying to make Uniden change their ways in this subforum is useless, and handhelds at this price range are quite useful for milair even if the coverage doesn't fit *your* needs.

One solution which would solve your frustration would be for Uniden to remove ANY sort of milair coverage whatsoever from their entire line.

 

[wheels63]

I got my BC125At yesterday and had it programmed in about 10 minutes.500 channels are way more than what I need.I have about 150 channels programmed in it now.I see a lot of reviews about how hard it is to work.Even from people that said they have been in to radios for over 20 years.I watched every video on you tube and when I open the box I knew what to do to get it up and running.The only thing I did to make it better was use an antenna from my Pro-197.I think I got a great deal on it.$100.99 from Amazon and it was for a brand new unit not a refub one.My favorite thing on it is I can name the channels,That makes it a lot more useful at my local race track. I think Uniden did a great job with this one.

 

[Xray]

The milair 380 coverage has been discussed ad nauseum for years. Maybe take your complaint filled with marketing buzzwords and subtle consumerism threats to the Uniden forum.

The pdf of the manual which shows the coverage is one click away straight from the manufacturer. Any serious milair user would be absolutely clueless not to do this in the first place.

I obviously haven't seen thread #1 about it, guess us clueless guys have some catching up to do on you savvy pros ! I am not about to go pursue & scrutinize the manual of every electronic gizmo I buy before purchase, sounds like you got too much time on your hands.
I repeat - It said it was milair capable on amazon where I bought it, it said it was milair capable on unidens own site, that was all I needed to know - "Milair capable" means one thing, 225 to 400 mhz, simple as that.. I've had half a dozen milair handhelds over the years, and they used to be as rare as hens teeth. Never have I seen one clipped at 380

Trying to make Uniden change their ways in this subforum is useless, and handhelds at this price range are quite useful for milair even if the coverage doesn't fit *your* needs.

One solution which would solve your frustration would be for Uniden to remove ANY sort of milair coverage whatsoever from their entire line.

You are reading a bit too much into this pal, "Trying to make Uniden change their ways in this subforum" never crossed my mind. I was venting after a disappointment over a matter that borders on false advertising [not a 1st for a uniden radio], am well within my rights to do so, and I will not recommend this radio to any aviation nuts - Not a threat at uniden, its a simple fact to whoever cares to listen. If you don't then move on.
You are sounding a bit bitter, own stock in uniden or something ??

As far as programming per wheels63's post, I agree its not hard at all. Most of the negative reviews on amazon are over how allegedly terrible difficult it is to program and what a pain it is to install and use the programming software.
I had my firmware updated and dozens of airshow freqs programmed in no time with the software, then entered a few manually just to see if I could do it, nice to be able to program a scanner on the fly.
Could hardly be any easier, and I'll include that in my coming review at amazon.
I think some folks have a mindset that something is going to be difficult and they are determined to make that happen.

 

[nanZor]

.. Never have I seen one clipped at 380

Pretty much standard these days. The RS Pro106 clips it at 380, at least for AM modulation.

At any rate, I just hate to see a good review thread get hijacked, where personal opinion really belongs somewhere else.

It is just that your comments read like those from a disgruntled former employee, distributor or competitor when red flag buzzwords like "hobbled" and whatnot are thrown around.

So the 125at isn't for the .0001% of the scanning population that needs the 380+ mhz milair coverage. Should have come here first instead of going to Amazon.

 

[Xray]

You are a sassy brat hertzian - Only one hijacking anything is you with your whining.
I can tell you just have to have the last word, so go ahead and [hopefully] leave it at that, your opinion means less to me that toenail clippings from last week.

 

[oracavon]

Pretty much standard these days. The RS Pro106 clips it at 380, at least for AM modulation.

At any rate, I just hate to see a good review thread get hijacked, where personal opinion really belongs somewhere else.

It is just that your comments read like those from a disgruntled former employee, distributor or competitor when red flag buzzwords like "hobbled" and whatnot are thrown around.

So the 125at isn't for the .0001% of the scanning population that needs the 380+ mhz milair coverage. Should have come here first instead of going to Amazon.

As a person who was interested in the 125AT, I consider Xray's opinions and feelings about a radio that he purchased to be perfectly legitimate components of a review. It's not reasonable to belittle a reviewer because he's in the minority and you don't like his choice of adjectives, and it's not reasonable to criticize a buyer because he was misled by an incomplete product description. His comments are valuable information for anyone else who is considering buying the radio. The only hijacking going on here is the personal attacks against an honest contributor.

 

[nanZor]

The fact of the matter is that the 125AT is milair-capable, despite not providing coverage above 380mhz.

Would you then say that a scanner is "not 800mhz capable" due to the old cellphone freq lockouts and advise others to buy something else?

Anyway, enough of this foolish drama over what is basically a non-issue for most people.

 

[Xray]

Fact of the matter is the milair band is 225-400 mhz, so this scanner partially covers milair, albeit the majority - But you know that yet keep stammering out the same drivel. I have already stated that there are at least 4 milair freqs at my local military base that this scanner will not receive - Blue Angels have a freq of 381.0000, good luck listening to that. The very definition of "hobbled". You've made it clear you could not care any less about this, I have made it clear that I, and anyone serious about milair monitoring, do care.
Lets leave it at that, I don't think Unidens sales will peak or fall by anything either of us says.

 

[KD4UXQ]

Fact of the matter is the milair band is 225-400 mhz, so this scanner partially covers milair, albeit the majority - But you know that yet keep stammering out the same drivel. I have already stated that there are at least 4 milair freqs at my local military base that this scanner will not receive - Blue Angels have a freq of 381.0000, good luck listening to that. The very definition of "hobbled". You've made it clear you could not care any less about this, I have made it clear that I, and anyone serious about milair monitoring, do care.
Lets leave it at that, I don't think Unidens sales will peak or fall by anything either of us says.

I'm sure the BC125AT is excellent for many that have it, but it is unfortunate it does not cover the full MilAir band. I would certainly own one if it did. Pointing this out is the hope that Uniden will insure they include the entire 225-400 coverage in future models. I recall UPMAN in an older thread talking about it was not included as 380-400 was being re-purposed for trunking. That is an incorrect assumption. Trunking is done there of course, but DISA is not to the DOD as the FCC is to everything else. Spectrum management is done by need and not hard in stone band plans. If there were a future version of the BCT15x that ended coverage at 380 MHZ, it would kill that radio as being an extremely popular MilAir scanner. And prices of used and old stock would go out the roof! Anyone remember the BR330T! Had one, regret selling it!

I am daily impressed by the BCT15x immunity to anything outside of 225-400, and even 118-143.975 and 148-150.8. I have only found 3 birdies in the VHF MilAir region and none from 118-137 and 225-400. Interference immunity is impressive. Kudos to the RF engineers for this fine scanner. I hope they do it again in future models.

As Xray points out, the Blue Angles use 381.000 so it would be useless at such air shows. Many Command posts are still on frequencies in the 383 range. There is quite a bit of activity in the 380-400 range off the Atlantic coast of Georgia and Florida that I monitor every time I am down there.

For the MilAir fan it would be like ending the UHF band at 470 and not including UHF T band because public safety is going to trunking in other bands. Then the radio would be useless in much of the northeast US, especially in Massachusetts where there are so many local police and fire departments on UHF T.

 

[KD4UXQ]

The fact of the matter is that the 125AT is milair-capable, despite not providing coverage above 380mhz.

Would you then say that a scanner is "not 800mhz capable" due to the old cellphone freq lockouts and advise others to buy something else?

Anyway, enough of this foolish drama over what is basically a non-issue for most people.

In the case of cellphone lockouts, there is nothing we can monitor there. Analog was abandoned a long time ago regardless of ECPA laws. As Xray tried to point out, there is plenty of MilAir to monitor between 380 and 400 MHZ so leaving out the assumed trunking area of 225-400 because the BC125AT is not a trunk tracker was an unfortunate mistake for MilAir fans. For many you may as well have left out 225-380 since we cannot monitor a lot that happens from 380-400.

 

[oracavon]

The fact of the matter is that the 125AT is milair-capable, despite not providing coverage above 380mhz.

Would you then say that a scanner is "not 800mhz capable" due to the old cellphone freq lockouts and advise others to buy something else?

Anyway, enough of this foolish drama over what is basically a non-issue for most people.

Using that reasoning, a radio that received only 225-230 would also be "milair capable", and therefore the term "milair capable" would be essentially meaningless. My original point is that any potential buyers should be aware of what they are actually getting. For several decades, the term "milair" always meant 225-400, so it's important that potential buyers be aware that in the minds of some, it now suddenly means something different. They should be aware that they might not be getting what they were reasonably expecting, based on decades of experience. I don't see how any reasonable person could object to that. I'm not advising anyone to buy or not buy anything. I just think that they should be aware of what they are buying, so they can determine if it will meet their needs.

As far as 800 goes, that's not a valid analogy for two reasons: 1) No one expects a new radio to do something illegal, and 2) those radios are clearly marked "less cellular". So no one is being misled. If the new radios said something like "milair (225-380)" or "milair (less 380-400)", then there would be no issue.

Just because something is a non-issue for most people does not make it any less important for those people who are affected by it. Let's show some respect for their needs and expectations and not dismiss their concerns just because they're in the minority.

 

[Xray]

I agree KD4UXQ, this is a nice little radio and am trying my hardest to like it, but I'll never get past the hobbled milair coverage. I'm going to write an amazon review, which alot of manufacturers indeed pay attention to, and to be fair I am going to wait until after 3 days or airshows coming up in a couple weeks.
Even it is performs stellar in other aspects, I can't see the rating going over 3 stars for a scanner advertised as milair but clipping out 1/10th of the UHF band. Its no use for a train guy, NASCAR fan or taco bell monitor to say it doesn't matter, to milair enthusiasts it matters a whole lot.

As far as old scanners I still have my trusty Pro 43, great for milair but the battery cover is missing and can't be sued without it until I can improvise something else ,,, Used to have an AOR 1000, I think that was the first handheld put out by anyone that covered milair, paid about $700 new, sold it a few years ago for $100 and I definitely regret that.