Uniden BC350C 800 MHz Mobile Scanner Review

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(More customer reviews)I bought my first scanner from a local Church sale about two years ago. It was a crystal based Regency brand, that luckily had all of the correct crystals for the St. Louis area. I was hooked.
To this day I would never consider myself an afficionado or an expert, but I dabble around a bit, so take this review in that context.
I bought this Bearcat BC350C scanner as a birthday present to myself just a few days ago and it's a blast. Parts of the interface are undeniably clunky. Selecting to listen for just the Police or EMS/Fire bands is easy, but programming stuff is a bit icky. It's not complex, just slow - I'd rather be able punch in a frequency and store it, but this requires you to find a frequency first, THEN store it in the "Private" bank.
Anyway, for something you want to pop right out of the box and have work as advertised? Well . . .
Within minutes I was listening to a helicopter overhead ("What's the radar look like ... garble, garble"), picking up the local bus service ("She said she put a $20 bill in the box but I wasn't looking"), and hearing the local gendarmes being dispatched to quell a domestic dispute ("Subject is a white female, attempting to break into the house. Lots of shouting, both are unarmed"). I even picked up one of our neighbor's child monitors!
This really is best used while sitting down, rather than as a mobil unit; nonetheless, I dragged it into my car (hook up was trivial with included DC lighter plugin) and tooled down the rainy highways on a Monday, listening on the police band for reported accidents (I could make out about half a dozen).
From my reading, I know there are better scanners, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the BC350C for other beginners like myself. Sit down and read the manual while you're playing with it, and you'll get the hang of things pretty quickly. If you've never listened to scanners, give yourself a little bit of time to develop an ear. I also recommend that you keep a pad and pencil nearby to jot down interesting frequencies you can usually look up on the Internet later (search for your state and the phrase "scanner frequencies").
You might move up and onward in scanner-dom, and this nifty little gadget is likely to just be your introductory toy to the exciting world of the electro-magnetic spectrum!

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Get in on all the action with the Uniden BC350C, a powerful radio scanning and searching unit. In search mode, The BC350C can search 13 bands to find active frequencies. This differs from scanning in that the unit searches for frequencies that have not been programmed into the scanner's channels. The scanner automatically chooses between two speeds (Search and Turbo Search) while searching. During search mode the scanner will search 100 frequencies per second, while in Turbo Search Mode the scanner can achieve up to 300 frequencies per second in bands that have 5 kHz steps.
In scanning mode, The BC350C scans programmed channels at the rate of up to 100 channels per second until it locates an active frequency. When scanning stops on an active frequency, it remains on that channel as long as the transmission continues. When the transmission ends, the scanner stays on the channel for 2 more seconds, waiting for another transmission. If no response is detected, the scanning cycle resumes until another transmission is received.
The BC350C monitors these communication types:
Police and fire departments (including rescue and paramedics)
NOAA weather broadcasts (10 pre-programmed channels, 2 are Canadian Marine Weather Channels)
Citizens Band (CB)
Business/industrial radio
Motion picture and press relay
Utility
Land transportation frequencies, such as trucking firms, buses, taxis, tow trucks, and railroads
Marine and amateur (ham radio) bands
Air band
Many more in the 25-54 MHz, 108-174 MHz, 406-512, and 806-956 MHz ranges, excluding the cellular telephone band

The BC350C ships with a DC power connector and a cigarette lighter adapter, making it ready for permanent or temporary vehicle use.
What's in the Box BC350C scanner, telescoping antenna, fixable mobile antenna, AC adapter, cigarette lighter adapter plug, DC power cord for hard wiring power from your car to your scanner, operating guide, registration form, frequency guide, warranty card, and other printed materials
Note The installation, possession, or use of this scanning radio in a motor vehicle may be prohibited, regulated, or require a permit in certain states, cities, and/or local jurisdictions. Your local law enforcement officials should be able to provide you with information regarding the laws in your community.

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