After extensive familiarization with my new radios making sure setups are correct, the BCD436HD and BCD536HD (at least the two that were shipped to me) are definitely buggy and I am not happy about it.
THE 436:
On the first charge of the 436's supplied brand-new batteries (14 hours) via a USB port, "Normal Charging" was properly diplayed and switched to "Charge Complete" after 14 hours. I then used the scanner on battery power, testing its service time. Much to my dispappointment, scanning only one system (in battery save mode) the batteries only lasted 3 hours before the 436 generated a "Low Battery" warning. This is not good. In comparison, my BCD396T lasts for days with casual use.
In any case, concerned and curious, I re-charged the batteries. I expected a 14-hour cycle as before with their initial charge. As of this morning, the 436 has been showing "Normal Charging" for 30 hours straight. No "Charge Complete."
I nor anyone else have any use for a portable scanner whose batteries discharge so fast and then, insult to injury, don't re-charge on the second attempt where upon the first they did. And unlike my 396, there is no option (at least yet anyway) to work around the battery stuff by powering it with anything but a USB.
THE 536:
The 536 randomly mislabels some transmissions. I've monitored my local systems for quite some time — I know who's who (for example, I can tell the Green channel dispatcher apart from the fire department's Red channel — and I shouldn't be sporadically and suddenly hearing fantastically different communication contents on a completely unrelated Talk Group ID. I double-checked the database; the TGIDs are correct there. Also, those TGIDs are not linked. This, while occasional, is still annoying.
The display information is thus unreliable. When a small town out in the middle of nowhere, 233 miles away, comes up on the display and it's my region's metro tactical communications, something's not right.
Worse in the unreliability area is the tendency for departments with previously active comms not but 30 minutes prior just dropping off, gone. One example: High-traffic, 24-7 paramedic dispatch and support channels. Poof. Gone until one turns off the radio and then turns it back on.
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I had, up until now, complete faith in Uniden products. I have used them for nearly 40 years since the company's initial incarnation as Electra Bearcat (1975's BC-101) along with other manufactures, and for reliability in my view Uniden's line has only ever been rivaled by one single other particular model (Radio Shacks's old PRO-2006).
That said, I realize there are bound to be glitches with these two new products, the 436 and 536, and hopefully they will be quickly addressed in future downloads of the firmware/software.
There my good faith ends. If these issues are not resolved in future downloads of firmware/software, though, and this uncharacteristic mediocrity is what one can expect from Uniden these days for this kind of money, I'll be shipping the 436 and 536 back as the defective items they currently are and demanding a refund under warranty.
