Uniden HomePatrol-2 Color Touchscreen Simple Program Digital Scanner, TrunkTracker V and S,A,M,E, Emergency/Weather Alert, APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2! Covers USA and Canada, Quick Record and Playback

10 reviews for Uniden HomePatrol-2 Color Touchscreen Simple Program Digital Scanner, TrunkTracker V and S,A,M,E, Emergency/Weather Alert, APCO P25 Phase 1 and 2! Covers USA and Canada, Quick Record and Playback

1. 

   5 out of 5

   Patty – January 23, 2020

   I am very happy with this scanner. I debated purchasing it for a few months due to the cost. Seriously, this thing is expensive! We moved to Galveston recently and I thought it would be great to know what is going on and it is. This is the type of scanner that I had to have to hear the broadcast here. I was a little disappointed in the beginning because I was only getting a few channels but I discovered it was user error. I needed to make some adjustments like making sure EMS-Talk and the other “Talk” options were highlighted. It is now giving me what I expected.We were full-time RVers and I wish we would have had it when we were traveling because it is so easy to change the location.It is easy to use. My only complaint is the price.

2. 

   5 out of 5

   Navin – February 22, 2020

   This is my first scanner. Needed digital and analog for local police and fire. 22 miles from Boston and I can pick up Cambridge, Boston, MSP and local. Results may vary, it’s radio, and depends on line of sight and propagation. I really like the touch screen, if I want to lock on a channel when it is broadcasting, all I have to do is tap. Used Sentinel software to make favorites lists to cut down on scanning time. I was able to add my own custom FRS/GMRS channels including CTCSS tones. The home patrol unit has a quick frequency monitor feature that you can punch in manually via the touchscreen, or use Sentinel to edit your favorites lists. You can run it on power via microusb, or rechargeable battery. Battery lasts about 8 hours of continuous use, 14 hour recharge time, based on mAH entered into the options menu.

3. 

   5 out of 5

   S. P. Hulse – February 22, 2020

   If you are not interested in becoming a self-taught radio engineer or working through complex radio system hierarchy programing, then the HomePatrol II scanner is for you. It’s as easy as it gets and is a radio scanner for the rest of us.The HomePatrol II is simple to operate and you’ll be listening in minutes. Just follow the Quick Start-Up instructions and you will hear everything you buy a scanner for. ZERO painful manual programing required. Plug it into your PC, install the Sentinel software, let the unit automatically update its firmware, follow the touch screen instructions, allow it to charge, put in your ZIP Code and voilà, you’re listening to what’s going on around you. You can pick and choose the services you want to hear.Take it with you when you travel, load in the ZIP Code of your destination, choose the services you want to hear, and you’re listening to the local radio traffic. All via touch screen menus.I also own the BCD325P2- which I like, but it requires complex manual programming or third party software to program. I learned to use FreeScan to program it and can get the Systems, Sites, Groups and Talk IDs that I want to hear loaded into the scanner but it takes some time and effort even after the learning curve. My BCD325P2 and BC245XLT Trunk Tracker III are great scanners and learning them made me more technically savvy. But if simplicity and actual listening is what you seek, you’ve found it with the HomePatrol II.However, if the actual journey towards scanning is just important to you as the destination; then I recommend the BCD325P2 or one of the high-end Uniden scanners.No malfunction issues with the HomePatrol II yet. I put it in a padded carrier then inside my backpack when I travel and have had no problems.

4. 

   5 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – March 25, 2020

   Bought this to listen to local police/fire, as my old Bearcat scanner seemed like it was a thing of the past and I was intrigued with the HomePatrol product line and its user friendliness.Took it out of the box, plugged it into my PC for quick freq updates via Sentinel, punched in my ZIP code and I was up and running in no time. Getting analog 800MHz trunked traffic from my local PD well along with some P25 Phase I. The P25 Phase I I could only get with help of a cheap Tram 1094 external antenna which I mount outside. P25 Phase II TDMA (which is used by one local precinct in my area) is still a challenge as I believe this unit does not handle it well – I can pick this traffic up but not well and antenna has to be in a very specific spot (believe this is due to “Simulcast Distortion” Going to try a directional antenna eventually to handle that. Overall the P25 Phase II TDMA is a small subset of what I want to listen to so I’m ok for now.I love the touch screen display on this thing and how it displays channel/precinct info on the screen in layman’s terms. Works well mobile in the car as well even with the stock antenna. The USB charging interface is a great idea as I can use same charger I use for my phone.Note that others have complained about not being able to charge and listen at the same time – all you need to fix this is a $10 USB charger that is capable of the higher 2.1 Amp capacity instead of the lower 0.5 Amp – these 2.1 Amp chargers can be found for less than $10 from Anker, etc.Bought it refurbished here and saved a good chunk of money , the unit works just fine. It did have to run to Wal Mart to get some rechargeable AA batteries but otherwise all is good.

5. 

   5 out of 5

   michael chad cleary – April 23, 2020

   This is the first digital scanner I have owned but I have used all kinds of VHF analog scanners. Over time most of the departments have switched over to VIPER or other digital systems and I could not hear them without an online app. Online apps suck! They are delayed and often don’t have anything broadcasting. The homepatrol is fairly expensive so I put off buying for a long time. It has a lot of nice features but some of them are difficult to use such as the favorites. Be prepared to update the unit right out of the box because it doesn’t have a current database. This in itself was a bit of an undertaking because of some feature in windows that had to be turned on in the system settings. Luckily there was an online tutorial on how to do this. The stand is really nice and the playback feature is awesome. The best way to learn about it is to sit down and explore what it can do. I usually set mine to Viper NC which gives me most everything of interest in my area.

6. 

   5 out of 5

   Thadius Pigman – May 22, 2020

   Expensive … maybe … but you do get your monies worth. I have had this radio for about 2 years now and have showed it to many people in my area who tell me they wish they could listen to police channels again. They tell me that the police now encrypt everything and you can’t listen to them anymore. Well imagine their surprise when I say “Oh really?” and turn on my HP2! Yes LEO folks do encrypt some channels and this unit will not of course decrypt them. What it will do is digital trunking and do it well with very easy programming. I enjoyed adding the “Extreme Upgrade” software upgrade that because I am a ham radio operator I found easy to use and worth it.I would suggest that before anyone buys the Extreme Upgrade they review some Youtube videos showing you what it does because not everyone would need it or perhaps even understand what it does.One thing that EVERYONE should have is the Sentinel program software that is free and requires no additional cable or hardware.That software makes creating favorite lists easy and will even let you modify the Alpha names of the frequencies you have in your favorites list.If you have any doubts about performance you can find plenty of HP2 owners who have put videos on Youtube.

7. 

   5 out of 5

   Juppy015 – June 27, 2020

   I was going to return this scanner until I replaced the original antenna with the Diamond Original SRH789 95-1100 MHz Telescoping Handheld SMA Antenna on Amazon. This made all the difference in the frequencies I can now pick up. This antenna is a little expensive, but worth it.

8. 

   5 out of 5

   PPG Golfer – January 11, 2021

   Takes a lot of learning to get it set up to my liking. It’s probably 1000% more scanner than I needed but I needed the ability to “channel” it My locals went “digital” but now I like the ability to follow the crews when they go to “Ops Channels”.I did replace the stubby antenna for improved country side coverage. 15 to 25 miles range.

9. 

   5 out of 5

   robert Young – January 18, 2021

   I have been using scanners for almost 40 years, first when each frequency was added by placing a crystal in a socket, and later when there was a keyboard to manually enter each frequency. I was happy with my old analog scanner, but since most of our local radio channels have changed to digital, I was unable to hear the channels I wanted to hear. This Uniden HP2 is great since I have experience with scanners, but might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. The screen menu is straightforward and easy to use, and the only buttons to push are the on/off and volume controls on top of the unit. For me, just entering data on a touch screen is more convenient than on a keyboard. I found that selecting area code rather than city for listening area is best because it restricts the number of unusable fringe area channels that are unreadable and just cause static. An outside antenna would probably improve range and reception, but the stock antenna picks up all the local channels that I want to hear. The Sentry computer program is very helpful, but again might be a challenge for the first time scanner user. Overall, this scanner is exactly what I wanted, and I would recommend it to either experienced or inexperienced scanner users.

10. 

    5 out of 5

    Pam – February 18, 2021

    This scanner works perfectly with our police stations new digital format. The touchscreen is very easy to use and navigate. The sound and radio display is excellent!I had some difficulty in entering the zip code and receiving any transmittion. The set up wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I took it to a local ham radio operator and he had it working in 5 minutes. Not sure what I was doing wrong, but that was my only area I had issues with. I thought it was open box, put in zip code and your good to go. Not quite that easy. I researched lots of scanners and so glad I went with this model now that I had someone program it for me.The one negative is it does not come with a charger and need to order that separately.