BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Just purchased BC436HP and questions

[N7JGN]

New here, but not new to HH radios.. I just purchased and received both the WS1080 and BCD436HP. I had the RS 668 and thought I would go with the WS1080 instead.. So, I opened the 436HP first. I turned it on and could hardly see the screen, I thought it was broke even with the Backlight on.. it was on high even..what a joke.. the 436HP screen in all positions tried reminds me of my 1995 BlackBerry phone. I immediately took off antenna and put it back in the box and scheduled a return from Amazon.. I can't believe Uniden would let such a inferior outdated screen on one of their products go to market.. I have Icon, Kenwood and Alinco etc HH's and they are far superior in screen resolution (even 10 yr old models) and brightness.. I agree to be able to read them all to their optimum, turning on the lite is a must.. however, when you turn on the light with the 436 it's still really, really, really bad.. just my two cents.. the WS1080 with light on is AWESOME! no comparison..
Doug..
N7JGN

 

[DataSquid]

It's funny because I'm a pretty satisfied 436HP user and former RIM employee. It's a shame you're disappointed by both, but it's also understandable (in the BlackBerry case at least). The precursor to the BlackBerry wasn't released until '98, and the first device branded a BlackBerry was out in 99. Either your time machine introduced some defects in the BlackBerry display, or you should expect a little less from a beta device 4 years before its release.

 

[N7JGN]

It's funny because I'm a pretty satisfied 436HP user and former RIM employee. It's a shame you're disappointed by both, but it's also understandable (in the BlackBerry case at least). The precursor to the BlackBerry wasn't released until '98, and the first device branded a BlackBerry was out in 99. Either your time machine introduced some defects in the BlackBerry display, or you should expect a little less from a beta device 4 years before its release.

Ok.. so I have the date off, sorry... LOL.. but it doesn't change the results and bottom line.. the 436 Screen is BAD, BAD and out of DATE.. big time.. I respect your opinion and glad you like the 436.. if it makes you happy and satisfied, that is the most important thing by far..

 

[sparklehorse]

New here, but not new to HH radios.. I just purchased and received both the WS1080 and BCD436HP. I had the RS 668 and thought I would go with the WS1080 instead.. So, I opened the 436HP first. I turned it on and could hardly see the screen, I thought it was broke even with the Backlight on.. it was on high even..what a joke.. the 436HP screen in all positions tried reminds me of my 1995 BlackBerry phone. I immediately took off antenna and put it back in the box and scheduled a return from Amazon.. I can't believe Uniden would let such a inferior outdated screen on one of their products go to market.. I have Icon, Kenwood and Alinco etc HH's and they are far superior in screen resolution (even 10 yr old models) and brightness.. I agree to be able to read them all to their optimum, turning on the lite is a must.. however, when you turn on the light with the 436 it's still really, really, really bad.. just my two cents.. the WS1080 with light on is AWESOME! no comparison..
Doug..
N7JGN

Weird. I have no quibble with the brightness of the 436 display. I find the medium brightness to be quite adequate, and the highest setting unnecessary. I do wish we had more display modes available though. The 436 alpha tags are hard for me to read while driving because they are so small. I'd love the option of bigger text at the expense of less information. It seems an easy enough feature to add in a firmware update. Otherwise I think it's an excellent radio with a lot of great features. Sorry you didn't take some time to get to know it better.

.

 

[seth21w]

New here, but not new to HH radios.. I just purchased and received both the WS1080 and BCD436HP. I had the RS 668 and thought I would go with the WS1080 instead.. So, I opened the 436HP first. I turned it on and could hardly see the screen, I thought it was broke even with the Backlight on.. it was on high even..what a joke.. the 436HP screen in all positions tried reminds me of my 1995 BlackBerry phone. I immediately took off antenna and put it back in the box and scheduled a return from Amazon.. I can't believe Uniden would let such a inferior outdated screen on one of their products go to market.. I have Icon, Kenwood and Alinco etc HH's and they are far superior in screen resolution (even 10 yr old models) and brightness.. I agree to be able to read them all to their optimum, turning on the lite is a must.. however, when you turn on the light with the 436 it's still really, really, really bad.. just my two cents.. the WS1080 with light on is AWESOME! no comparison..
Doug..
N7JGN

The 436 display is small and Harder to see with older eyes but it has to be because the 436 packs so much more info than any scanner before it. So for a handheld with all that information yes it will be a little smaller, but if you just turned it on then off and shipped back without adjusting contrast and backlight, and possibly using all caps. I'm sorry you missed out on a great scanner. Please don't buy a smartphone you won't be able to see it either. Maybe try the bcd325p2 it has half the info on the screen but it is easily viewed, but it shows very little info only holds 2 aa batteries and doesn't handle phase 2 like the 436...

 

[bryan_herbert]

So, I opened the 436HP first. I turned it on and could hardly see the screen, I thought it was broke even with the Backlight on.. it was on high even..what a joke..

Did you adjust the contrast setting in the sub-menu?

 

[darunimal]

Deleted

 

[N7JGN]

Did you adjust the contrast setting in the sub-menu?

Hi.. Yes, I tried everything, I think.. I will get it out and try it again, because I would really like to keep the scanner.. but readability is important.. Does the base model 546 have any dim screen issues?
Thanks,
Doug

 

[safetypro79]

Thanks was just going to order

Was just going to order a 436 from Amazon

looks they are stilling selling 436's with original defect issues. And no new buyer wants to return to Uniden for warranty repair.

Makes sense as their warehouse management and corporate buyers most likely don't know about defects. As it one of hundreds of thousands of products they buy.

they most likely deplete their stock or close to minimums prior to reordering from their suppliers.

 

[sparklehorse]

Was just going to order a 436 from Amazon

looks they are stilling selling 436's with original defect issues. And no new buyer wants to return to Uniden for warranty repair.

Makes sense as their warehouse management and corporate buyers most likely don't know about defects. As it one of hundreds of thousands of products they buy.

they most likely deplete their stock or close to minimums prior to reordering from their suppliers.

I just bought mine a month ago from Amazon and it works perfectly.

.

 

[mancow]

Don't buy a Yaesu FT2 then.

 

[kb8rvp]

BCD436HP: Just purchased BC436HP and questions

If you take the time to pull it back out of the box in the settings menu you can darken the print with the contrast setting. I think mine is at 11. You can change the backlight and the contrast to make it easy to see. I will be interested to see what you think. I've had every scanner on the market and for me the BC436HP has one of the best receivers for 800 digital.

Mike

 

[buddrousa]

Dear MrDoug I think you have let the few cry babies on here persuade you into thinking the 436 is no good buying from amazon you may have a unit that has been sent back several times as the 436 is alot more scanner than the 1080 I have a 668 not the 1080 but my 436 and 536 both running 24/7 for the last 11 months with no issue my 436 with 3 batteries last longer than my 668 with 4 batteries, my 668 is tinnie sounding and only decodes 80% the TACN system on the samr antenna system as my 436 and 536 no with that said my pro18 is about 95% on the same system on the same antenna system.
I am 58 and run mine on low light and contrast of 9 and see it just fine.

 

[Bearcatman911]

Display IS sad

Weird. I have no quibble with the brightness of the 436 display. I find the medium brightness to be quite adequate, and the highest setting unnecessary. I do wish we had more display modes available though. The 436 alpha tags are hard for me to read while driving because they are so small. I'd love the option of bigger text at the expense of less information. It seems an easy enough feature to add in a firmware update. Otherwise I think it's an excellent radio with a lot of great features. Sorry you didn't take some time to get to know it better.

.

The display is horrible on the 436 extremely difficult to see. I can't believe anyone would use a 436 as a mobile radio in a vehicle...no way you can see it. Besides that it's not a mobile radio it's a HH unit...buy a mobile radio you can see before you crash trying to look at the horrible display the 436 has. We are in the age of HD screens my smart phone has 1440x2560 full QHD resolution why can't we get a scanner with a decent display??

 

[buddrousa]

Bearcatman911 Why don't you ask Whistler about remote control and color screens like the HP1 and HP2 have. You bought a scanner not a cellphone to see pictures on.

 

[Bearcatman911]

HA!

Bearcatman911 Why don't you ask Whistler about remote control and color screens like the HP1 and HP2 have. You bought a scanner not a cellphone to see pictures on.

I've had scanners since 1968 I have more than 180 now. Don't even attempt to tell me about scanners. The display on the Home Patrols is not bad buts it's not that good either. Those two models are nothing but toys.

 

[sparklehorse]

I can't believe anyone would use a 436 as a mobile radio in a vehicle...no way you can see it. Besides that it's not a mobile radio it's a HH unit...buy a mobile radio you can see before you crash trying to look at the horrible display the 436 has. We are in the age of HD screens my smart phone has 1440x2560 full QHD resolution why can't we get a scanner with a decent display??

If I wanted to install a mobile radio in my car I would. I don't want to give thieves any unnecessary reasons to break into my car as I work in a high crime area, often at night. With a bit of creativity I can get my 436 positioned so I can read it OK. With just the RS800 duck it does a great job receiving my local 800 MHz system while I commute, better than my BCD396XT. So it's a good solution for me. It would be easier if the text were bigger, but it's quite doable. It's easier to read than a cell phone screen.

.

 

[Bearcatman911]

Agree

If I wanted to install a mobile radio in my car I would. I don't want to give thieves any unnecessary reasons to break into my car as I work in a high crime area, often at night. With a bit of creativity I can get my 436 positioned so I can read it OK. With just the RS800 duck it does a great job receiving my local 800 MHz system while I commute, better than my BCD396XT. So it's a good solution for me. It would be easier if the text were bigger, but it's quite doable. It's easier to read than a cell phone screen.

.

You're right the fonts are way too small and the contrast not dark enough, and led's too dim. Sad thing is if the 436 did everything it was suppose to do it would be the best HH ever made. But it doesn't. The display gives you more information than any other scanner in history, however all the information on the planet is useless if you can't see it.

 

[N7JGN]

Dear MrDoug I think you have let the few cry babies on here persuade you into thinking the 436 is no good buying from amazon you may have a unit that has been sent back several times as the 436 is alot more scanner than the 1080 I have a 668 not the 1080 but my 436 and 536 both running 24/7 for the last 11 months with no issue my 436 with 3 batteries last longer than my 668 with 4 batteries, my 668 is tinnie sounding and only decodes 80% the TACN system on the samr antenna system as my 436 and 536 no with that said my pro18 is about 95% on the same system on the same antenna system.
I am 58 and run mine on low light and contrast of 9 and see it just fine.

Hi to all, and THANKS for your comments, opinions and input.. I will get it out of the box and give it another CHANCE for a good home.. Also try all recommendations. How is he screen on the 536HP? I was thinking of getting one as well if I liked the 436..
Doug

 

[sparklehorse]

How is he screen on the 536HP? I was thinking of getting one as well if I liked the 436..
Doug

Personally, I like the screen of the 536 better than the 436. It's mostly the same info as the 436, but it's presented differently. I like that the alpha tag for the current channel or talk group is considerably bigger than the rest of the info. I like that. But I also wish we had a lot more options available for customizing the display for both models. For instance, I'd like to see the frequency in use on a trunked system. I would rather use the Service Type field for that piece of data as it's more important to me than Service Type. Give me options. Let me customize. Please!

.