BCD325P2/BCD996P2: New BCD996P2; Not impressed

[TailGator911]

I'd venture to say that Broadcastify was invented just for you. Get a refund on the scanner. Don't worry, be happy.

 

[donc13]

1) I bought this directly from Uniden, so they should know how to program their own scanners
2) For $400, I shouldn't have to program my own scanner and I don't have the time or patience
3) I'm not going pay $700 for an SDS scanner.

I can get 10 yrs of scanning as a premium member of Broadcastify for the same price as I paid for the scanner I did buy.

Understand, that where ever you are, where your antenna is located can have a huge effect on what you can receive.

Learn about range and zip code scanning.

Also.. How did you buy directly from Uniden? They have been sold out of everything for months and last I looked... They didn't offer custom setups. If you bought from Bearcats Warehouse, they are not Uniden employees.

 

[doctordialtone]

Learn about range and zip code scanning.

The 996P2 doesn't do "Zip Code Scanning" .

 

[hiegtx]

Understand, that where ever you are, where your antenna is located can have a huge effect on what you can receive.

Learn about range and zip code scanning.

Also.. How did you buy directly from Uniden? They have been sold out of everything for months and last I looked... They didn't offer custom setups. If you bought from Bearcats Warehouse, they are not Uniden employees.

I suspect that the actual seller was Bearcat Warehouse. While Uniden does have a programming service available (see my post #9 above), it's one that is tailored for programming done once the scanner has been purchased & delivered. You have to ship the scanner to Uniden for programming,

I think some of the confusion may be how programming is 'promoted' on web pages. If you Google "Uniden Scanner Programming", this is one of the results you get:

As you can see, this is offered by Bearcat Warehouse, but their description of having "Uniden Experts" do the programming might be misconstrued as Uniden itself programming, not BCW.

 

[donc13]

The 996P2 doesn't do "Zip Code Scanning" .

Whoops!

Also... Where does cfrank01 live in relation to Oklahoma City vs wherever who is hosting the Broadcastify feed lives.

 

[JoeBearcat]

1) I bought this directly from Uniden, so they should know how to program their own scanners
2) For $400, I shouldn't have to program my own scanner and I don't have the time or patience
3) I'm not going pay $700 for an SDS scanner.

I can get 10 yrs of scanning as a premium member of Broadcastify for the same price as I paid for the scanner I did buy.

1. I seriously doubt that since Uniden does not sell scanners directly.
2. That is between you and your dealer.
3. If you don't want to purchase a simulcast compatible scanner, you should not expect similar performance on simulcast.

 

[GMB951]

50 Miles range

 

[baune]

I just got this scanner today and ordered it with Oklahoma County frequencies pre-programmed. I can actually get more signals by going to Broadcastify than I do from my scanner.

I recently picked up a 996p2 a couple months ago and am very satisfied with the performance, even with the simulcast in my area. I programmed it myself using the Freescan software and it was very easy. A couple minutes and I was up and running with the full database. You'll eventually want to learn to program it yourself anyways to apply updates in your area so it would be wise to learn how to do that.

You could try this before ditching it... Download Freescan and get it connected to your scanner. Once you do that, perform a total backup of the unit so you can revert to it (the pre-programed profile) if needed. Save that profile somewhere on your PC. Then wipe the scanner clean, back to factory defaults and an empty database. Use Freescan to import everything from RR database for your area into Freescan. it's as easy and clicking a few button in the program. It uses your RR login info to access the database, downloads it into the program. Once you have the database in Freescan, it should be organized well enough to get you going. Make adjustments as necessary or organize the systems and favorites into quick keys as wanted. Once you have it all set in Freescan, send that profile to the scanner and give it a try. If you're not happy with that, you could re-wipe it and load the pre-programed profile that it came with.

The 996P2 is a very capable scanner, but does require the user to have a basic understanding of how to modify the features and options. If you're looking for one you just turn on, and let it go and don't want to learn the features or how to program it, well, I've never heard of one that that doesn't require at least a basic understanding of how to adjust or program it. With broadcastify, your "phone" is not the scanner. It's just piping in the feed that someone with a scanner is providing to the system. If they go down, or discontinue providing the feed, you're out of luck there. With your own scanner, you can also pick up tons of other stuff besides the single feed from the app.

 

[cfrank01]

Thank you for all the responses, both constructive and critical. I have decided to return this scanner at this time. Maybe I will try this again with the suggested SDS scanner for my area.