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Reviews For: Uniden Home Patrol

Category: Receivers: Scanners

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Review Summary For : Uniden Home Patrol
Reviews: 36MSRP: $500
Description:
The Uniden Home Patrol is a new scanner that includes the scanner database preprogrammed into its memory. This allows local programming via zip code or city county state locations. Updates can be downloaded. Easy setup and start scanning all services or just select law enforcement or others.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.uniden.com
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00363.6
N2DY Rating: 2021-08-02
Great potential but horrible audio Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I actually own three of these little guys. One I bought at full price just after it came out and two others were picked up for a song when Radio Shack was going out of business.

The Home Patrol is a very capable scanner in a small package. I have not experienced any sensitivity problems as others have noted. It is easy to use with your zip code if you aren't great at programming. I programmed dozens of favorites lists that meet my needs.

By far, my biggest complaint is the lousy audio that comes out of the microscopic tinny speaker that Uniden put in this thing. I have Uniden handhelds that are smaller that sound 1000% better. Not sure what they were thinking. Since the radio does not have a true external speaker jack, the only way to solve for the issue is to use an amplified external speaker with the earphone jack or use the line out feature. Thus, I have two Uniden amplified speakers for base use (they got more money out of me) and I use the line out jack to feed the stereo system for the one in my car (sounds fabulous).

That same small size that results in a micro-sized speaker is an advantage in the car where it can be placed just about anywhere.

Overall, the Home Patrol was a scanner with great potential that fell just a bit short of being a great scanner. Otherwise, it's just pretty good.
W9DAZ Rating: 2017-05-04
A Digital Scanner For Me Time Owned: more than 12 months.
After giving up trying to understand and program a Pro-106, I lost interest in digital scanning for awhile. Then, a year or so after the Home Patrol was introduced, I saw refurbs on eBay for well under what they were selling for new. Mine arrived and appeared to be brand new.
After charging the batteries and punching in my zip code, I hooked it up to the Comet discone antenna mounted on the roof of my house. I was stunned. Signals came pouring in. Digital, analog, you name it, I was listening to everything.
I soon built a RAM mount and put it in my car. It worked so well that I bit the bullet and bought the GPS. That thing just flat works too. Everywhere I go, the scanner keeps up.
I'm not sure how many years later it is now, but it sits in my car in sub-zero northern-Indiana winters and hot, humid, summers, and it just keeps chugging along.
I do have a couple little complaints:
1. The GPS connection on the side of the radio is abysmal. It's weak, poorly located, and easily damaged. It needs to be a mini USB, but for heaven's sake, at least make it a right angle!
2. Sometimes different departments in the same area use the same frequency. One volunteer fire department's main frequency (on VHF/UHF) is another nearby county department's backup. When the department whose main frequency it is uses that frequency, the radio will display it as the other department. This happens frequently.
3. Two times since I have owned it, I have turned the radio on and there has been an error message on the screen. Both times I have simply removed and replaced the memory card and it has booted right back up.
Other than that, smooth sailing.
So why five stars? I hesitated. If I could have given it 4.5 or 4.7 I would have, because it's not perfect.
But I love this thing. Just plug it in, turn it on, and it does everything that I want it to.
It works.
AD5TD Rating: 2014-11-29
best scanner I have ever had Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
This is what scanners should be. I have had many over the last 40 years all the way from a clunky, but attractive Craig that you had to have a crystal for every one of the 16 channels to a more modern programmable Radio Shack model. This beats them all hands down. I used it by programing the Zip code for about a month and then ordered the GPS unit which is the only way to go with this rig mobile. The ONLY nit pics I have is the volume is a bit low for my truck and the speaker output is just not up to par. When I use my "AUX IN" for my audio system in my truck the hiss is really bad. The GPS unit is a TOTLAL after thought, It is the most KLUNKY hook up I have ever seen. My OLD garmins had 12 sat amplified antennas WAY back when. This thing uses old and outdated DP-9 plugs to hook it up and a separate 12V (cig plug) to run the damn thing!)It should be able to power it from the unit. The only other nit is that my Sheriffs department is encrypted. Other than that, I love this little rig.
SIERRAHOTEL Rating: 2014-11-29
Great idea, very badly done! Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
I bought this for traveling, it seemed like a great idea. When it arrived, I was impressed. For a while. I had it in my car, and went on a short trip. It didn't take long to figure out that it wasn't receiving much of anything. A friend of mine had brought his Uniden 396XT, and it was chattering away, but my HP wasn't. I tried putting my 2M/440 antenna on it, and it still wasn't picking up much. Off to Uniden "service" it went. I put the quotation marks around service because it appeared they didn't find anything wrong with it, and sent it back as deaf as it was in the first place. I found that pressing the "reset" in the back in the battery area sometimes restored the unit to full sensitivity for a while. I finally got frustrated and sold the HP, good riddance. I also paid $100 for the "extreme upgrade", which was overpriced by $75, and made useless due to the poor performance of the unit in general.

Pros(When it works):
1. Good display. I wish it would work like my cell phone and rotate when the HP is set on end, but it's very bright. Allowing colors to be changed would be a nice change for future products. Making the "bottom" flat so it was more stable when in vertical orientation would be great too.
2. Nice audio. Easily could be heard in my loud car.

Cons:
1.Deaf everywhere, but really deaf on VHF. I don't understand why Uniden is having this problem on all their recent scanners. This problem alone made me sell the HP eventually, as I got tired of resetting constantly when the HP would get deaf.
2. SD card issues. The cards "die" in the HP, but work fine in my old camera, and PC. If I used a "bad" SD card in my camera for a while, it somehow would be cured and would work in the HP again, for a while.
3. The software is very clunky, and annoyed the hell out of me. I use Win500 on my GRE made radios without any problem, but I had a lot of odd things happen with the Uniden program.
4. Touch screen seems to be a little unresponsive compared to most others I've used, including the one in my car. I would have given it a "O", except it did work, sometimes. Uniden should never have released it. Judging by their 3 new scanners, they don't care if they work or not. I'm done. A couple of friends have had similar issues with their HPs, so I'm not alone.
N8ZEE Rating: 2014-11-17
Great Scanner Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I have had many scanners over many years, and this one rates at the top. I have used it traveling from Michigan to Alabana, using the GPS setup and could not ask for more.
Turn it on in another state, iit is ready to go. Here in south east Michigan, it is as good or better than any I have had. I know giving a device a 5 is rare, but to me it fits the bill. I am also a ham operator, n8zee, and use it all the time scanning repeaters. I recommend it highly.
W2UIS Rating: 2014-11-04
WOW Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
The unit arrived this morning. Up and running within the hour following the quick guide instructions (you need to update the software using a pc). I assume the radio would function out of the box.

Don't know if you can update the software using a Mac.

Purchased from HRO for $400.

Programing is simple just enter a zip code. Stock antenna works well at my rural location.

Display is fantastic.

Rechargable batteries are included making this a take everywhere scanner.

I'm monitoring services I was never able to receive with other scanners I've used at this location.

TUMEGPC Rating: 2014-07-09
One of the best Time Owned: more than 12 months.
Absolutely the best display. Technology today is all about touch screen so operating the HP-1 only requires one finger. So it's the safest scanner to operate while mobile.Audio is clean and reception is pretty good in all bands.Having the US database on microSD card eliminates the need to have a computer available to program while traveling.
With the Extreme upgrade you to get several features not found in other scanners. Analyze mode gives you Trunk Analyzer,Band Scope, RF Power plot, & Raw data out. And Discovery mode gives you the ability to find new trunk systems and conventional frequencies while recording the audio for future playback .
W4PIG Rating: 2014-06-17
JUNK Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
SUMMARY SAYS IT ALL A PIECE OF JUNK !!!!!!
AA0CW Rating: 2014-03-01
Very good Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I picked this up used for $200.00, along with the GPS for mobile use. After one month I am impressed with the ease of use. The software makes it easy to program in favorites lists and delete channels you don't want to scan. As a mobile, along with the GPS, the Home Patrol automatically finds and scans the cities you're in. I have no complaints about this scanner.
KB9TZQ Rating: 2014-02-04
stay away from Time Owned: more than 12 months.
I own this a gre psr 800 and the pro 106, this radio dose have a great display and the format is really nice, but the receive on this scanner is bad my sheriff department is 15 miles away and it is static on this scanner the psr and pro hears it like its right next to me even on 800mhz it a little deaf I hear about two sites where a live ( starcom 21 in illinois) on the psr and pro 6 sites this thing is junk. I hope the bcd436hp is better but if its not you will be seeing one for sale soon on eham