The 8 Best Police band radios (2023 reviews)

If you often find yourself scrambling for good radio, this should be your first option for buying. The SDS100 is also the first scanner that allows you to decide what to display, where, and in what color. It's a must to get the Remtronix antenna, the extra battery and external charger. This scanner can listen to digital and encoded transmittions. It picks up digital and analog equally well.

Though this is a feature rich scanner and is fully customizable right down to the display colors. It comes with a large rechargeable battery. The Sentinel software makes it pretty easy to manage frequencies and talkgroups and gives you a wealth of options. It's a little easier to use at first than trying to program from the scanner itself.

Why We Like This:

Pickes up very well and the battery at least latest 6 hours
Keeps your wife out of the rv
Performs at its peak with an upgraded antenna
Great p25 phase 2 trunked system reception with the stock antenna

Best With FM Radio: Uniden Weather Channel

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If you often find yourself scrambling for convenient and suitable radio, this product is your solution. This all-in-one scanner features a fresh design that's attractive on your desktop and easy to read at night through its clear lcd backlit display. The channels are preprogrammed and you use the arrow keys to scroll through them. This scanner has lots of great features such as a priority channel, FM radio, clock/alarm clock functions, lighted display, and battery back-up for programmed frequencies/clock in case of power failure.

This is a really good scanner, simple to use after you read the instruction manual. It is easy to set up and program. The radio is in clock mode and it is constantly monitoring all the weather channels. You are going to run across quite a bit of digital traffic, but this can easily be locked out by the press of one button so those frequencies are skipped in the future.

Why We Like This:

Plenty of sensitivity and the sound from the built-in speaker is decent
Works well, and fast, for analog
Reception excellent for in door back antennae

Best For Analog broadcasts: Uniden Police Scanner

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Uniden has been making great radio for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials. It is great for home use. If you get tired of scanning, it also has am/fm radio. It has an attractive design that compliments your home or office. The antenna connection is a BNC, but the antenna has what looks like a standard TV/Video connector on it, so it doesn't stay installed. It comes with snooze and sleep. It is easy to read and the display is at the perfect angle. It is good to have an easy one to use. The easy to operate system allows you to store your favorite channels.

Why We Like This:

Features like priority, delay, and weather are great
Comes in very handy due to the fires in oregon
Great way to start a hobby
Works really well, especially when storms are coming in

Best For Railroad: Uniden Ham Radio

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Compared with other products by Uniden, the uniden ham radio has a convenient design. This unit only needs batteries rather than the old 4 battery which is a major plus because the unit is easyer to stand up and carry. It does everything you want a scanner to do. The Bc75xlt covers the bands used by amature radio operators for emergency reporting including noaa weather broadcasts, as well as frequencies used at other events such as auto races, local events, and more.

It features, the orange backlight display is easy to read, even in low light conditions. It can also be downloaded for easier reading. The single knob is also the squelch adjustment. It includes a sturdy belt clip as well. It looks really nice and comes with an ac adapter.

Why We Like This:

Excellent scanner at a low cost
Programable channels in a convenient compact design with loads of features
Good brand reputation

Best For North America: Uniden USB Cable

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Uniden makes beautiful and great radio with classic and smartly choosen materials. This scanner is specifically for newbies, even the "extreme upgrade" is blah for anyone who already knows what they're doing. It has a built in database and tons of options you can easily set through the touch-screen. It has a Mini USB port, Mini Line out port, Ear phone jack, and Mini GPS port. The power source is a USB plug that you need to plug into and wall plug like a cell phone uses or into your computer USB. This needs a telescopic antenna, if you want to receive the lower frequencies with clarity.

The battery management or charging system is very rudimentary/basic. The database is loaded into the Sentinel software, which can be downloaded through Uniden or by accessing the setup on the scanner's SD card. It is great for a first time user or advance user.

Why We Like This:

Very easy to set up using zip code
Excellent, interface means novice can use and then progress in usage sophistication
Works great in the car as well
Has a large national database that you can update with home patrol sentinel software

Best For price: Uniden Good Scanner

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If you are currently in the market looking for a popular radio for your daily purpose, you cannot go wrong with this pick. It is an excellent aircraft scanner that is compact, effective and rewarding if you invest a little time in mastering the programming. It features “close call rf capture technology, which instantly tunes to signals from nearby transmitters. It is much clearer than the older one and picks up much more without running an outside antenna. The system works great and you can lock out what stations you do not want temp. It picks up quite a few channels.

The Bc355n comes complete with a backlit display, making it easier to read in low light conditions, along with ac adapter, a dc power cable and an automotive power outlet plug, giving you more options for supplying power at home or in your car. It is perfectly for intended purposes.

Why We Like This:

Great simple scanner for analog am/fm
One of the new comers and featured product

Best With Emergency calls: Uniden Bearcat Handheld Radio Scanner

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The uniden bearcat handheld radio scanner's superior materials makes sure that it ages well with use. It feels solid like a quality made product. It's sturdy, with a surprisingly good sound quality and clarity for its compact size. It also allows you to program the scanner via your computer which is extremely helpful and easy to use.

It is compact and features weather alert technology and is capable of attaching to civilian and military air bands. This makes it easy to find channels that interest you. It also has the abilty to lock out channels on a temporary basis as well as being able to scan for nearby signals. This allows you to choose only those services which you're interested in, and removes scanning of frequencies to speed up what do you do hear.

Why We Like This:

Give you the flexibility to choose what you want to tune in to
Scans all the frequencies you could dream of
Works great, easy to program, and sound is clear
Works great for train and plane spotters

Best premium: Police band Radio

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The radio is a must have addition for your regular usage. This pre-programmed search makes it easier to find active frequencies and helps you stay on top of local happenings and emergencies in your area. It includes the most interesting "action" bands where you can hear police, ambulance, fire, amateur radio, public utilities, weather, and more. It measures 2-3/4" x 4-1/2", and comes with a swivel bracket. It includes 300 channels, close call rf capture technology with do-not-disturb, and temporary lockouts.

The BCC355n comes complete with a backlit display, making it easier to read in low light conditions, along with ac adapter, a dc power cable and an automotive power outlet plug, giving you more options for supplying power at home or in your car. This gives you quick access to the frequencies you want to hear.

Why We Like This:

Good brand reputation
One of the new comers and featured product