BCD436HP/BCD536HP: Opaque Instructions, Bizarre Software, Faulty Controls

[SCPD]

delete

 

[SCPD]

Sorry you feel that way.
NO ONE IS FORCING YOU OR ANYONE ELSE to avoid things.
You can either scan the Full Database with your zip code (And have not to subscribe to the Database here and save some $) or spend some Time setting it up to your liking.
Use what you Have and spend some Time re-creating what you have already spent some $ on it.
I'm not trying to bust your Balls/ Brains.
I do not have the luxury to travel between east and West Coast anymore.
Please ABUSE some poor Dealer for there return Policy to give it a try /Run.
SORRY DEALERS................

 

[JoeyC]

Its funny. Most of the people with most of the gripes don't even own the thing or haven't had it more than a couple days.

I don't know where people have come up with the idea that in order to enjoy this scanner you have to AVOID more stuff than you care to think about. Its not that way AT ALL! Get a clue people, stop making stuff up or listening to people who haven't played with the thing. You can program it to EXACTLY what you want IF YOU TAKE THE TIME to make a Favorite List and tweak it. Nothing any different than any other scanners programming.

Regarding the EASE (or lack thereof) of programming that some of you harp on. Yes, it is VERY easy to get this thing chattering with all kinds of stuff. No it is not easy to get this thing to function precisely like a real police or fire radio and exactly to your own personal specifications. Frankly, I feel the novelty of the HP-style of programming-by-included-database is geared towards new and casual users that just want radio transmissions to come through the speaker with minimal work. On the other hand if you expect perfection in channel layout and operation and you don't care to learn and experiment with various configurations with these radios, you are better off returning them and looking at a less complicated option in scanners. The radios do work as advertised, have a steep learning curve for OPTIMUM setup and at the same time are very easy to get up and running in a pinch.

 

[AK9R]

Anyway, I too really enjoy the ability to put in what I WANT, as opposed to spending ages telling my scanner NOT to scan things I DON'T WANT.

Create a Favorites List. Manually enter the systems and frequencies you want to hear into your Favorites List. Download your Favorites List to the scanner. Listen to your Favorites List. Problem solved.

Of course, if you actually owned one of these scanners, you'd understand how this process works.

 

[AA6IO]

I agree completely with JoeyC (Comment #5 above)
I live in the very center of the Los Angeles basin. If I set my 436HP or 536HP with my zip code and set the range to 0 (zero) miles, with all the "service types" enabled, I get over 5700 (that's five thousand seven hundred) channels and TGs entered. Now try and scan through all of that. The "full database" is worthless here. FLs and targeted scanning are the only way to go in a large area like this.
I know Uniden advertises these as pretty easy to use, but I think even Paul (UPMan) would agree that they are far from easy to use. Yes, if you want to play with a scanner, just enter a zip code, and listen to something, you can do that far easier than on a 396XT/996XT, but if you want to do serious monitoring, the learning curve is just as great, perhaps even more.
Steve AA6IO

 

[K2KOH]

Its funny. Most of the people with most of the gripes don't even own the thing or haven't had it more than a couple days.

I don't know where people have come up with the idea that in order to enjoy this scanner you have to AVOID more stuff than you care to think about. Its not that way AT ALL! Get a clue people, stop making stuff up or listening to people who haven't played with the thing. You can program it to EXACTLY what you want IF YOU TAKE THE TIME to make a Favorite List and tweak it. Nothing any different than any other scanners programming.

Regarding the EASE (or lack thereof) of programming that some of you harp on. Yes, it is VERY easy to get this thing chattering with all kinds of stuff. No it is not easy to get this thing to function precisely like a real police or fire radio and exactly to your own personal specifications. Frankly, I feel the novelty of the HP-style of programming-by-included-database is geared towards new and casual users that just want radio transmissions to come through the speaker with minimal work. On the other hand if you expect perfection in channel layout and operation and you don't care to learn and experiment with various configurations with these radios, you are better off returning them and looking at a less complicated option in scanners. The radios do work as advertised, have a steep learning curve for OPTIMUM setup and at the same time are very easy to get up and running in a pinch.

Couldn't have said it better myself. I have thirty six favorite lists. Since I run the 536 in GPS mode, I leave them all on and they come on as I travel. I love it. Make the radio work for you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[nr2d]

I agree completely with JoeyC (Comment #5 above)
I live in the very center of the Los Angeles basin. If I set my 436HP or 536HP with my zip code and set the range to 0 (zero) miles, with all the "service types" enabled, I get over 5700 (that's five thousand seven hundred) channels and TGs entered. Now try and scan through all of that. The "full database" is worthless here. FLs and targeted scanning are the only way to go in a large area like this.
I know Uniden advertises these as pretty easy to use, but I think even Paul (UPMan) would agree that they are far from easy to use. Yes, if you want to play with a scanner, just enter a zip code, and listen to something, you can do that far easier than on a 396XT/996XT, but if you want to do serious monitoring, the learning curve is just as great, perhaps even more.
Steve AA6IO

Until now I had no experience with a Home Patrol scanner. My previous scanners were a BCD996T and a BC796D. On the 796D I bought and used the Uniden software to first program it. When I got the 996T I bought a 3rd party software package to program it.

When Sentinel was released I downloaded it and played with it for about an hour. I was able to create my Favorites Lists with no problem. This was the first time I had created a Favorites List. even though I think the original owners manual was of no help to working in Sentinel I was able to figure out pretty quickly how the software worked and how to control the Favorites List in the BCD536HP.

I am by no means a software guru. My experience is limited to mostly hardware. I install a software package I play with it for a while to learn how to use it.

Sentinel was very easy to figure out and use. With just minor operator error it has worked great for me. It is a lot easier that the software the software for the BC796D.

I admit that there are people that are very computer illiterate but Sentinel was very easy to use.

As for faulty controls all the buttons and knobs on my 536 work great. The layout is OK with me. I don't and will not use the scanner in my vehicle. So maybe this is where some users are seeing that the controls are faulty.

It would have been nice if Uniden had mentioned in the manual that the RS-232 jack in the rear could be used to control the scanner. It only mentions the jack in a blurb about using GPS for location scanning.

If you live in a major metro area and have all of the services turned on I don't know how you could even think that you wouldn't get more systems/frequencies than scanner can handle. This is when I would think that user common sense would kick in. And remember the database is not created by Uniden, I think I'm correct, but by this web site.

I am quite happy with my 2 BCD536HP scanners. Even though the P25 Phase II decode isn't as clear as the old analogue audio I am 100% better off than I was on 1/23/2014. On 1/24/2014 with this scanner I was able to monitor my local FD again. I can't monitor my local PD but they are encrypted.

Yes $600 for the 536 is expensive and I don't get 100% great audio on P25 Phase II systems it sure beats trying to buy and program a $5000 Motorola or what ever handheld radio.

I don't think that the 536 or 436, which I don't have, were released too early. I don't think I am a "beta" tester for Uniden. I think they released the scanners when they were ready. Uniden I'm sure conducted beta testing but I will saw that they could not have tested every single user situation that exists.

As I have said before I have had almost every iPhone since the 3G. Within days or a week Apple seems to put out a firmware revision so It happens I'm afraid to say. As devices get more advanced there may be a few problems after the initial release. Users don't like this but because of the complexity and trying to cram so much capability into a small packages this is going to happen. I have the Apple iPhone 5S. Stood in line on a cold september day to buy it. I really like the phone but I was having problem with the finger print ID system. Posted my problem on an 3rd party Apple web site. I had about 50% of the commenters state their ID scanner worked great and the 50% were also having problems. After about 3 weeks of playing around with it I returned the phone and got a replacement. Had the same problem with the new one. Decided just to live with it. Low and behold when Apple released it's IOS 7.1 update they addressed the problem and so far it has work perfectly, knock on wood.

If you don't like the 536 or 436 then return it. Get your money back. Enough said.