Hi I have notice the prices of Uniden scanners dropping on the BCD 436HP, 536HP AND THE 996P2 Any one know why???
I'm looking to get a Bcd 436hp portable
are they a good radio???. Yes I did watch the scanner guys and there 2 new scanners comming out soon
Ron
The are great radio's... But depending where you are at and what you intend to monitor. you could have
problems with Simulcast Distortion...
You would need to post what you intend to monitor... Unless you know how to use RR's database to determine
for yourself if the Systems are Simulcast or not...
Just a note: The SDS series are the only scanners that can handle Simulcast Distortion...
I agree with Randy that the 436HP, 536HP, abd the 996P2 are good radios. (So is the 325P2, though it's short battery, life because of only two cells. means it's not as good as a 'grab & go scanner' compared with it's predecessor, the 396XT, though the 325P2 can handle P25 Phase II, which is beyond what the 396XT can do.)
Read through threads in the forums, in both the Uniden Tech Support forum, as well as many of the state forums. You will see a large number of comments that users were unable to find a strategy to deal with simulcast on systems they want to monitor. The various antenna suggestions, and location gymnastics as to exact placement of the scanner, as mentioned in the
Simulcast Wiki page could not resolve their issues, so many are posting that they have sold, or intend to sell, their x36HP & P2 series scanners and replace them with one of the SDS scanners in order to hear systems in their area. That does not mean that the scanners they are selling are somehow defective, just that they are not scanner for one or more simulcast systems.
That creates a favorable market members who do not have simulcast issues to pick up a very capable scanner at a lower price than would normally be expected.
Also, if your looking at USED BCDx36HP scanners...
I would want proof (Depending how old they are) that they were sent in for the Repair Campaign for the internal clock and
dimming backlight issue... Or it will cost you to have that repaired... The free repair campaign is long gone and over...
That would be an excellent suggestion. Verify that the x36HP being sold has already had the RTC & display dimness issues addressed, or that the serial number is outside of the range where the problem existed. That, of course, does not positively guarantee that nothing will ever go wrong with your purchase, but at least known issues have been addressed, or the scanner was built past the time period where these problems were prominent.
The only chronic issue that I've seen in the 996P2, from some prchasers, was an issue with receiving Vhf frequencies in the ~170 to ~174MHz range. But that was addressed some time ago via a firmware update. So if that crops up, the fix is already in place via a no cost firmware application, which only takes a few minutes of your time to employ.
