The PoPo is Out to Get you 5 Best Police Scanners for the Car and Home

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If the standard FM radio doesn’t cut it for you and you are looking for something more sophisticated then a police scanner is what you are looking for. A good radio scanner will have a strong battery, multiple memory banks to store preset values and a quick way to change between high and low frequencies.

It should be built solidly and above all, it should be priced nicely. There are a lot of options available in the market and to help you choose the right one, we will review the 5 best police scanners available in the market.

BaoFeng UV-5R Dual Band Two Way Radio:

Great battery life and the ability to switch between high and low power modes are some of the great features you will find on this radio. It is built solidly and has great features such as auto locking keypad and a dual line display.

The channel names can be customized to your like using the programming cable which makes it easy to toggle through the presets.

The only issue you will face is that it has a very steep learning curve and the accompanying manual is skeletal at best and offers very little help, but the internet is a great resource and there are plenty of hands-on tutorials available to get you up to speed with this radio. If you are willing to put in that extra effort, then you won’t regret buying this scanner especially considering its great price. Read the reviews from customers who purchase it.

Price: See the updated price here
Durability: 4.5/5
Battery life: 4/5
Reception: 3.5/5
Features: 3.5/5
Ease of use: 2/5

Uniden BC365CRS 500 Channel Clock/FM Radio Scanner with Weather Alert

Sometimes it is the little things that make a product great and that is the case with this police scanner. Featuring great reception and pretty decent speaker, it also comes with an inbuilt headphone jack. It has 500 channels spread across 10 banks for saving presets. It is also pretty easy to use the multiple functions available on this scanner.

The build quality and battery life are decent too. It features an alarm clock that will allow you to wake to the sounds of a predefined radio station. The USP of this product is the weather scanner that you can use to get weather alerts. It is a bit pricier but all the extra features make up for it. Read the reviews from customers who purchase it.

Price: See the updated price here
Durability: 4.5/5
Battery life: 4/5
Reception: 5/5
Features: 4/5
Ease of use: 4.5/5

Baofeng UV5RA Ham Two Way Radio 136-174/400-480 MHz Dual-Band Transceiver

If you want the most features in a limited budget, then look no further. It is a transceiver which means that you can use it to transmit radio signals, just make sure you have the proper license according to the local regulations. It has a 128 memory locations to save presets and other features include a compact design, battery saver function and an inbuilt flashlight.

The only negative with this unit is that it is perhaps the most complex scanner to use. It has amazing features but you will have to spend a considerable amount of time to get a hang of it. Again the internet is a great help in this regard and if you are okay with that then this will be a rewarding investment. Read the reviews from customers who purchase it.

Price: See the updated price here
Durability: 4/5
Battery life: 4/5
Reception: 3.5/5
Features: 4.5/5
Ease of use: 1.5/5

Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner

If you want the absolute best scanner that money can buy you then this is the one to meet your needs. The great thing about this scanner is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. Apart from all the standard features, it has a 4 Gb memory space to record radio frequencies.

The build quality is excellent and all you have to do is enter your area code and it will automatically scan and save all the stations in your area. It also comes with great product support and the firmware is constantly being revised. Updating the unit is also a breeze and it can scan for frequencies in a 20-mile radius which is incredible for such a compact device. Read the reviews from customers who purchase it.

Price: See the updated price here
Durability: 4.5/5
Battery life: 3.5/5
Reception: 5/5
Features: 5/5
Ease of use: 4.5/5

Uniden HomePatrol-2 Phase-2 Digital Scanner with Pre-Programmed Database:

If you want the simplest scanner which is also the most feature packed then this is the one for you. It is so feature packed that many of its users have gone months without even knowing the full capabilities of this device.

It can even listen in to encrypted signals using digital trunking. The build quality is reasonable and the reception and battery life are excellent. If you want to make a one-time investment in a scanner then this is your best bet especially if you want to get going right away. To top it all off, it is easy to mount inside your vehicle and the touchscreen just makes it a joy to use. Read the reviews from customers who purchase it.

Price:  See the updated price here
Durability: 3/5
Battery life: 4/5
Reception: 5/5
Features: 5/5
Ease of use: 5/5

Whatever the purpose security detail, being nosy or just plain curiosu a police scanner can be a great resource and a way to learn a lot of new things. Just ensure that you have all the necessary permissions and licenses and that you are compliant with all the local laws.