Beware I purchased this scanner and it did not come with the sd card it’s very important it says that the cb function and weather will work without it but it’s false it’s locked without the sd card basically and I payed for this install and right as they were gonna finish can’t tune it so right now if I can’t get a sd for it and program it and put it in to make it function which is fine but if it’s not that then the receiver is bad and this one is a dud…. Very upset
C
Chad
★★★★★
So far so good
Awesome, I’ve had it for a week and it’s pretty crazy listening to the police scanner and the cb at the same time.
Armando Carvajal
★★★★★
Mala calidad
Solo duró 4 meses y en Colombia no hay soporte post venta
Serves You Right, LLC
★★★★★
Good radio, mediocre scanner.
Things I like about the unit:
Installation can be as easy or complex as you make it. I installed mine on the dash to be very clean with everything running out of site and hardwired in. Power is run to my up-fitter auxiliary switches so I don’t need the truck on to use the unit.
Size wise it is no bigger than any other CB on the market.
Tuning is very easy with the onboard SWR meter. Plenty of YouTube videos out there to help if you’ve never done it before. I got mine to 1.04 on Ch 1, 1 on Ch 20, and 1.46 on Ch 40. It works for me and I could get it lower on 40 if I keep messing with it but the channels I utilize are a 1:1 SWR so no need.
The radio works like any other radio with reception clarity only as good as your RX signal strength. TX is good but I have not been able to test distance between two units.
The onboard speaker isn’t as loud or clear as I’d like so I utilize and external speaker.
Things I dislike about the unit:
No SSB on the radio. On the radio, this is my only complaint.
Scanner:
The scanner card update is not available for Mac. I contacted customer service at Uniden and they told me to buy a windows computer to update the scanner card. Aside from being unprofessional on the phone and a long wait time, “Buy something else” is a terrible answer. They suggested I send the unit in for warranty work because I’m still within the one year warranty.
The scanner itself, as a scanner, is a great feature incorporated into the unit, when it works (more below).
Half the time the scanner will work amazing and sound clear. The other half of the time it will lock onto a static transmission, as if someone is hot-keyed without speaking, and stay locked instead of scanning for an actual transmission. You then get to listen to the lovely sound of static until you manually tell the unit to scan. When it is locking onto static and you scan, it returns right back to the static transmission. I have noticed this occurs more as the unit gets hot.
The unit itself gets hot. Hot electronics tend to not work as well or last as long as the same electronics with cooling options. I have yet to figure out how I am going to pull air from my my AC to my unit, but the incorporation of a 12V cooling fan may help with the overheating issues.
Synopsis:
As a radio, it works as advertised. As a scanner, it is a crap shoot. The BWS is good in theory but I don’t use it. If you need something to use while you run around town, this will probably work for you. If you run miles and miles every day and need something to work as a scanner, you’re better off buying a dedicated scanner.
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Seth E.
★★★★★
Works as advertised.
I haven't had it long but so far so good. I will be taking a road trip soon and can't wait to see how well the GPS is able to keep the scanner frequencies relevant. The display is awesome, I love that I can easily put it in night mode so it doesn't bother my eyes. The multiple color options are awesome. My only complaints are that the scanner function doesn't tell you specifically what you are listening to. The mic feels a little cheap and the writing on the buttons is a little small.
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Sammie
★★★★★
Bad display on mine...
Love the looks of this radio when it's cold. When it warms up, the display becomes unusable. Far too many complaints on the WWW addressing this issue. Uniden - please fix!!!
Craig defelice
★★★★★
Perfect unit love it must buy
This thing is perfect, I couldn’t be more happy. Not a single complaint. I do with the cords had more length so I could have a few more options for mounting. But it’s great love it!!!!
Mike C
★★★★★
CB/scanner combo. Simple and it works!
I am both a scanner enthusiast and CB user. I do a lot of long-distance driving for pleasure. This unit is perfect for those drives! Turn it in and go. Simple. It works flawlessly. It’s very basic which is what I want for in car use. You can choose from any of the four services to monitor, police, fire, ambulance and DOT. One of transmissions heard one of those forwards will show on the screen. No talkgroup or frequency info. I’m fine with that. If I wanted more detail I could hook up my BCD436HP but with all the distracted driving laws the 885 makes more sense and does the job well. From what I understand it was only supposed to monitor dispatch frequencies/talkgroups but I have also been hearing TAC and TALK as well. It seems to handle encryption pretty well. If it stops unencrypted frequency most of the time it will release within two seconds. Occasionally it will stay on for the entire transmission but that is only happened a couple times. Most of the time it’s 2 seconds or less and it moves on. The audio is crisp and clear and on digital it’s exceptionally great. It’s loud enough that even with road noise you’ll be able to hear it. The GPS unit locks on pretty quickly. The CB side of this combo works great! Good RX and TX. I have no problem following the chatter on the interstate and no problem being heard. The BTW works pretty good too. It can be pretty active in an urban environment but it works. If you want a simple unit for your vehicle that picks up all the action without having to program or edit anything this will fit the bill. IF you want to be able to tweak what you hear (other than being able to select between one or all of police, fire, EMS and DOT) then this is NOT the unit for you. For me, I like the fact that I have been able to keep my 436 with me and not have to keep installing/uninstalling it in the car. Overall I’m very happy with my purchase and can’t wait to take it on a 3000 mike road trip Friday!
J
Jason
★★★★★
Great for travel
This is the perfect radio for my wife and I. The cb is good. We love having the scanner. It is only for hearing police, fire, EMS and dot close to you only those things. You can’t control the freqs you hear, no banks, no freqs show up on screen it only displays fire, police or EMS,, it is a scanner for just turning on and hearing what u hear.. there is no programming.. which is great for us. When you travel all around you do not have you keep programming freqs. Everywhere you go the gps automatically does it for you, so that is great for us. It is just a turn on and hear what u hear close to you scanner.It does cover phase 2 and p25. Also you can use the sd card to update any freqs for free. We love this unit. But like I said if you are looking to listen to anything other than police fire EMS or dot you may wanna look elsewhere. If you do purchase this item , you must first plug the mic in , if you do not have the mic in -the volume and speaker will sound like it is messed up.
