Uniden BC355N 300-Channel Base/Mobile Scanner, Close Call Capture, Pre-programmed Search “Action” Bands to Hear Non-Digital Police, Ambulance, Fire, Amateur Radio, Public Utilities, Weather & more

I got this scanner to listen to the local emergency channels as well as the storm spotter stations. It is always nice to know what is going on in the area as I am a first responder. There are days I like to follow big fires as some times we are called in for mutual aid, so it gives me a good snap shot of what to expect if a MABAS is called.I do believe that the location for this is good to note as well. I live in a semi rural area surrounded by a lot of forestry land and bluffs, my scanner is by my desk in the basement with just the basic pull out antenna attached. So far it has had no issues getting very good signal, even in snow, rain, heavy winds, and summertime tree cover. Some days I actually hear the calls paging us for a fire on the scanner before my actual pager picks up the page and sounds off.The programming is not hard, I had absolutely no issues getting the local frequencies programmed into the private selection. The little instruction booklet that came with it was pretty fairly easy to comprehend when it came to setting frequencies into the private section, not really sure why this particular function had so many negative reviews about it being confusing. This is my first scanner and from unboxing to being up and running with all the local frequencies installed it took maybe an hour, this includes assembly, running the cord, attaching the antenna and looking up and saving the 15 or so local frequencies.It comes with the power and antenna capabilities to use in the house or while on the road. It is pretty nice using it on long road trips to hear about what is going on in front of you. The weather channels are nice too as you can follow the weather alerts from the NWS in real time. We get frequent tornadic weather, so this is nice to have in the basement to have a decent heads up in the event of natural disasters.Overall I am pleased, my kids love to listen in when we get a fire call, it gives me the alerts that I want. It is pretty easy to operate. If you are looking for a basic analog (not digital) scanner. It has ran daily since I got it and I have not had any issues at all. If I had to throw a negative in there, it would be a stretch with saying the sound gets a bit crackly for a few seconds, but then I have to remember where it is and it is pulling in analog.I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a basic scanner.

This is a no frills basic scanner that works great for anyone in an area that has police and fire still on analog frequencies. Really simple to program; don't believe the naysayers that say it isn't. A simple 3 minute youtube video showed me how to do it. Its a bit time consuming and repetitive but very very easy once you know how. If you plan to listen to over 25 or so frequencies right of the bat, you might want to invest in a programming cable and download programming software. Also, it does have a TOTAL of 300 slots to program frequencies BUT 200 of these are under the Air/Marine slot. It is a bit confusing and if you want to listen to more than 100 frequencies and have to spill over to the Air/Marine presets, you will have to set the scanner to scan your "private" frequencies along with both the "Air" and "Marine" band presets. Its confusing I know, but it DOES have 300 memory slots. If some folks read the free downloadable user manual before purchasing, they would have known that. If you are listening to that many frequencies though, you should probably invest in a better, higher end scanner that has a larger custom memory bank.Its pretty small and takes up very little space on my nightstand and workbench. Worthwhile if you are like me and only listen to around 15 or 20 of the local police/fire/EMS frequencies. If that is all you are looking for out of your scanner, this will do the job. Upon arrival, the box included the scanner, a base telescopic antenna that plugs straight into the back (works well for me, your results may vary with location), a mobile mounting bracket with several feet of fused power wire, a DC cigarette power adapter for quick "plug and go" mobile installation, and finally a second antenna. The second antenna is basically a copper wire with suction cups on both ends and several feet of coax attached to it. According to the directions, you basically suction cup the antenna to the inside windshield on the passenger side of the vehicle or to the rear widow if you drive a standard cab truck. I currently use it in my basement window to gain better reception during the evening when I am working downstairs in my concrete surrounded shop space. Having an additional antenna stuck up in the window really helps improve the reception.Overall, its simple, it works, and its not crazy expensive because of too many bells and whistles I won't use.

This is a solid device, and I’ve had no issues with it since I purchased it in May 2024. It works great for non-digital scanning, picking up police, fire, ambulance, and other analog signals.Programming can be a bit tricky as there’s no keypad to manually enter frequencies—you have to scan up and down, which takes some getting used to. It also doesn’t support digital frequencies or P25 systems, so it’s limited to analog use.One great thing about this scanner is its price. It’s typically $129 on Amazon, but I’ve seen it go on sale for as low as $90, which is quite a bargain for a scanner from Uniden. If you’re looking for an affordable analog scanner, this is a great choice!

I'm sure these worked at some point in the past, but don't waste your money. These are analog scanners and most agencies have gone completely to digital and trunked systems, which makes this scanner useless. It's old technology. I've tried to pick up signals on the miriad of antennas I own, and can't pick up a signal at all, except weather channels and the occasional CB bands. Even those come through horribly. I have several wideband antennas, including my main discone antenna 30ft above my house. I've but the bullet and invested in an SDR scanner, specifically the uniden sds200 (not cheap but worth it's weight in gold) and it works flawlessly. I'll hold onto this solely for weather, but I wish I could return it at this point I don't even know why they still sell them...