Reccomended BCD436HP Accessories

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sfsigo

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Apr 3, 2014
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I am strongly considering buying a 436 in the very near future. With that being said several posts I have read have mentioned recommendations for various accessories that range from nice to have to must haves. I was wondering what everyone's opinion is as to what must have accessories exist that really add to the 436 experience. I would be grateful if those with experience could let me know your thoughts, and as I am new to the world of scanners and radios please be detailed in your recommendations (for example rather than just saying get a better antenna I would appreciate it if someone said get Model XYZ antenna for mobile use). Thanks in advance for any information you are willing to share.
 

SCPD

QRT
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Feb 24, 2001
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Virginia
I just bought one .. but it has yet to arrive. I am using a friends 436HP til it gets here.

But overall .. this is a fantastic scanner. I so so love it.

However .. I have a tiny reservation, that is that I pretty much only monitor an Edacs system with it. I don't do anything fancy .. and because of that it just works very very well as Edacs is old news now and the scanner manufacturers have long resolved any issues in receiving it.

But .. you will not be disappointed in this scanner. It is well designed overall. Is it perfect .. no but almost.

I would strongly recommend a new microSD card though .. fast class 10 is good here. They are cheap so that is not a big deal.

I am also using a 2m/70 cm Diamond SRH519 sma ham antenna on it .. it works overall very well. But my signals I am receiving are very strong and I could use a paper clip.
 

scannerbuff999

Completely Banned for the Greater Good
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Sep 1, 2014
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frenont calif
get a usb wall plug adator

i have one and i love it works great get i have a type two system close and it works great on it
the only thing wrong i found was you can charge and run the radio with the battery in it
like all the other uniden radios , and when you try to run off the USB power
if you have the battery in it it will not work and they is no AC unit with it when you buy it if you what to run it off of ac get something like this they are everywhere wall mark radio shack everywhere

4-Port USB Wall Charger - Other Items
 

Jay911

Silent Key (April 15th, 2023)
Feed Provider
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Bragg Creek, Alberta
As was said by others.. get a good memory card. I don't know where you are so I can't suggest a store, but I use the red-and-grey SanDisk 32GB microSDHC card, and it has never ever let me down.

For antennas, I have always used the Diamond SRH-789 antenna which has a hinge in it (for positioning it whichever way you desire) as well as a telescoping segment to let you "tune" it. Mine are currently several years old and feeling their age - I've broken a couple just below the hinge. The SRH-789 has the SMA connection; the RH-789 (no S) is a BNC version which you could use with the BNC to SMA adapter, if you choose.

Other than that I don't have accessories, unless you count the batteries. I use the black and silver Sanyo eneloop XX batteries and charge them in a Powerex MAHA charger, outside of the radio. The batteries last me about a regular workday (10-18 hours), and you will get better range from them if you plug the radio into a power source during the day. At my desk at work I have a spare powered USB hub, and that powers the scanner - and I can plug the hub into my laptop in order to program the scanner. It will power off virtually anything - PC USB port, USB hub, or any of the smartphone or tablet chargers. The only problem I've ever had was when I plugged the scanner into the USB port in my vehicle - the electronic navigation/media system completely spazzed out, nearly bricking the car stereo - apparently it didn't like whatever the radio said to it in serial mode when the media system said "hi, what are you and can I get your songlist?". :)
 

giant22000

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Jun 5, 2011
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78
The RadioShack 800Mhz antenna is certainly a good choice and does a descent job at VHF as well.

Sent from my Nexus 5
 
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