People Complaining About 436/536's

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blackcloud08

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I've read a lot of info on here and I'm very thankful for the ones more knowledgeable than me on the 436/536s. That being said, so many members on here have done nothing but complain, complain, complain about these scanners... In my opinion I think they're quality built scanners that like any other product in mass production have some issues from time to time. Yes it's annoying to have problems but I think Uniden has done a pretty good job at addressing most issues in a somewhat timely manner. Some of you guys scream NXDN, DMR, SIREN APP etc. etc. etc. but how do you expect a company to fix/offer everything at once? The siren app is working good on my end, DMR has arrived, we suspect NXDN is next but some of y'all will still complain about all this or something else. Again, I stand behind Uniden's products as I think they're of quality but I know some won't agree and that's fine, that's what makes the world go around. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest. Happy New Year!
 

garys

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We really need a like button on this forum.
 

jonwienke

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Some people aren't happy unless they are whining about something.
 

blackcloud08

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Some people aren't happy unless they are whining about something.

Just read comments about the speaker not being "vented" as the scanner didn't come with feet... That's why you turn the mounting bracket upside down...
 

RFI-EMI-GUY

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I've read a lot of info on here and I'm very thankful for the ones more knowledgeable than me on the 436/536s. That being said, so many members on here have done nothing but complain, complain, complain about these scanners... In my opinion I think they're quality built scanners that like any other product in mass production have some issues from time to time. Yes it's annoying to have problems but I think Uniden has done a pretty good job at addressing most issues in a somewhat timely manner. Some of you guys scream NXDN, DMR, SIREN APP etc. etc. etc. but how do you expect a company to fix/offer everything at once? The siren app is working good on my end, DMR has arrived, we suspect NXDN is next but some of y'all will still complain about all this or something else. Again, I stand behind Uniden's products as I think they're of quality but I know some won't agree and that's fine, that's what makes the world go around. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest. Happy New Year!

I agree; these radios are truly a marvel. You have to recognize they are being designed for a very limited and niche market and they operate over some pretty diverse radio technologies. I just got mine after waiting over 2 years for Santa to deliver it.

I am one of those who complained about the speaker in the 536. I have plugged in a Motorola Spectra speaker and it sounds just like it should.

Kudo's to Uniden
 

blackcloud08

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I agree; these radios are truly a marvel. You have to recognize they are being designed for a very limited and niche market and they operate over some pretty diverse radio technologies. I just got mine after waiting over 2 years for Santa to deliver it.

I am one of those who complained about the speaker in the 536. I have plugged in a Motorola Spectra speaker and it sounds just like it should.

Kudo's to Uniden

Glad to hear!
 

Timmeh-31

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Just read comments about the speaker not being "vented" as the scanner didn't come with feet... That's why you turn the mounting bracket upside down...

A quick search on Amazon for items called "bumpons" would alleviate this complaint. They're little self-adhesive plastic/rubber feet made expressly for this purpose. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes and are dirt cheap (you typically buy dozens or hundreds at a time and they usually run $6-10.)

Or, you know, folks can come here and kvetch about it instead. Whatever works. :roll:
 

garys

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You don't even need to do that. The scanner comes with four rubber feet that go on the bracket. Attach them and put the bracket on upside down.

Or you can complain about it.:roll:



A quick search on Amazon for items called "bumpons" would alleviate this complaint. They're little self-adhesive plastic/rubber feet made expressly for this purpose. They come in all shapes, colors and sizes and are dirt cheap (you typically buy dozens or hundreds at a time and they usually run $6-10.)

Or, you know, folks can come here and kvetch about it instead. Whatever works. :roll:
 

Ubbe

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Whats the purpose to have a forum where everyone praise the product and have no complaints?

Forums are mainly made for people to complain and write about defects and bugs and hopefully get them sorted out either by the community or hopefully by the manufacturer who maybe sold you a $600 product with defects.

Let this Tavern subforum be the repraisel forum and let the other subforums carry the constructive critisism.

/Ubbe
 

K2KOH

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When I first got my 536, I was not happy about the microSD card being a PITA, as it was noy working on my virtual machine on my Mac. However, with some patience, I managed to isolate the VM altogether from the Mac OS, and now use my MacBook for programming. I still have one complaint, and that is with the Siren App for iPhone. It will not work turn favorite lists on and off properly. Other than that, I am extremely pleased with my two 436 and my 536, which has a damned hot receiver. Hopefully the Siren app will be completed one of these days.
 

garys

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There is a difference between constructive criticism, and the incessant whining that some people engage in. An example is the recent thread where someone complained that the developer of "Freescan" had abandoned his users because he's concentrating on school and flying instead of updating the program to support DMR.

Or the several threads discussing legitimate concerns about the x36HP scanners where the same people told us that Uniden had abandoned the product line and would never fix the dongle, headset jack, RTC, dim display, release Siren, and any other issue. In each case, they were wrong, but you'll never find the post where someone acknowledged that they were wrong.

The x36HP radios have had some issues, and each time, Uniden has fixed them. It might have taken longer in some cases than was ideal, but they never stopped working on fixes and new features. Now, we have Phase 2, DMR, Pro Voice in one scanner. Uniden has done exactly what people wanted for years. They've released a scanner with upgrade options for different types of signals.

I expect we'll see NXDN in the near future and it will have real trunk following, not "handshake" following.




Whats the purpose to have a forum where everyone praise the product and have no complaints?

Forums are mainly made for people to complain and write about defects and bugs and hopefully get them sorted out either by the community or hopefully by the manufacturer who maybe sold you a $600 product with defects.

Let this Tavern subforum be the repraisel forum and let the other subforums carry the constructive critisism.

/Ubbe
 

blackcloud08

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When I first got my 536, I was not happy about the microSD card being a PITA, as it was noy working on my virtual machine on my Mac. However, with some patience, I managed to isolate the VM altogether from the Mac OS, and now use my MacBook for programming. I still have one complaint, and that is with the Siren App for iPhone. It will not work turn favorite lists on and off properly. Other than that, I am extremely pleased with my two 436 and my 536, which has a damned hot receiver. Hopefully the Siren app will be completed one of these days.

I agree with you, the receiver is very hot! A lot of what I'm talking about is people have/had problems like you and instantly condemning Uniden and labeling the brand as garbage. Most problems have been worked out and all is well. I think Uniden has put the Siren App. on the back burner with the focus going to DMR and maybe NXDN. It's not like Uniden is sitting back and not offering anything new but I too hope the app. will be 100% soon.
 

blackcloud08

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There is a difference between constructive criticism, and the incessant whining that some people engage in. An example is the recent thread where someone complained that the developer of "Freescan" had abandoned his users because he's concentrating on school and flying instead of updating the program to support DMR.

Or the several threads discussing legitimate concerns about the x36HP scanners where the same people told us that Uniden had abandoned the product line and would never fix the dongle, headset jack, RTC, dim display, release Siren, and any other issue. In each case, they were wrong, but you'll never find the post where someone acknowledged that they were wrong.

The x36HP radios have had some issues, and each time, Uniden has fixed them. It might have taken longer in some cases than was ideal, but they never stopped working on fixes and new features. Now, we have Phase 2, DMR, Pro Voice in one scanner. Uniden has done exactly what people wanted for years. They've released a scanner with upgrade options for different types of signals.

I expect we'll see NXDN in the near future and it will have real trunk following, not "handshake" following.

I had a long reply typed out but this said it as good as I could have so I deleted it. Couldn't agree more!
 

wbswetnam

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Amateur radio equipment is even more specialized than police scanners, yet I see very little whining or complaining about ham equipment on their forums. I see whining and complaining about lid operators, and sometimes the "demise" of ham radio since the FCC dropped the code requirement, but not much moaning about equipment. Maybe hams are just more accustomed to experimentation and work-arounds than scanner enthusiasts, but often, scanner enthusiasts are also hams.
 

garys

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I'd like to see more development of Siren, but I'm not sure it needs major work. I'd like to see a persistent mute on the phone and a display of PL, NAC, DPL results of search on the phone.
 

blackcloud08

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I'd like to see more development of Siren, but I'm not sure it needs major work. I'd like to see a persistent mute on the phone and a display of PL, NAC, DPL results of search on the phone.

I think it just needs some fine tuning. It works very good for me so I've not put much thought into it.
 

SteveSimpkin

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Amateur radio equipment is even more specialized than police scanners, yet I see very little whining or complaining about ham equipment on their forums. I see whining and complaining about lid operators, and sometimes the "demise" of ham radio since the FCC dropped the code requirement, but not much moaning about equipment. Maybe hams are just more accustomed to experimentation and work-arounds than scanner enthusiasts, but often, scanner enthusiasts are also hams.

That and hams have other outlets to vent their frustrations on. See:
eHam.net Reviews
Uniden BCD436HP Handheld Scanner Product Reviews
Uniden BCD536HP Product Reviews
 

kmi8dy

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how quickly you all forget. remember when uniden had to be sued over the siren app, when they grossly lied and kept lieing, hoping it would just "go away". when those units first come out they were not ready to hit the market. they had not been tested enough to get the big bugs out. they took their customers for granted, didn't give two cents about them, but the customers did not let it " just go away " instead of uniden making it right themselves, the customers rebelled and had to sue them to make them whole again. i do believe they have learned there lesson. it is us the consumer that can make or break a product. and yes sometimes unfairly but most of the time very fairly. thomas jefferson made what now you can call i guess a quote. " if you let the wolves enter your home, they will eat you " . or something close to that effect. of course at that time he was talking about the red coat's. it seems today that we have more sheep running around then we do of americans sticking up for ourselves. those people usually end up with unfair descriptions as renagade, non-compliant, un-american. it might suprise you all that i own 5 uniden's, among them, 396xt, 996xt, 996p2, 325p2, but i will never, ever own a 536 or a 436. it's just my way of " not letting the wolves in ".
 
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