(NEW) Uniden BC355N 300-Channel Base/Mobile Scanner

I got this scanner to listen to the local emergency channels as well as the storm spotter stations. It is always nice to know what is going on in the area as I am a first responder. There are days I like to follow big fires as some times we are called in for mutual aid, so it gives me a good snap shot of what to expect if a MABAS is called. I do believe that the location for this is good to note as well. I live in a semi rural area surrounded by a lot of forestry land and bluffs, my scanner is by my desk in the basement with just the basic pull out antenna attached. So far it has had no issues getting very good signal, even in snow, rain, heavy winds, and summertime tree cover. Some days I actually hear the calls paging us for a fire on the scanner before my actual pager picks up the page and sounds off. The programming is not hard, I had absolutely no issues getting the local frequencies programmed into the private selection. The little instruction booklet that came with it was pretty fairly easy to comprehend when it came to setting frequencies into the private section, not really sure why this particular function had so many negative reviews about it being confusing. This is my first scanner and from unboxing to being up and running with all the local frequencies installed it took maybe an hour, this includes assembly, running the cord, attaching the antenna and looking up and saving the 15 or so local frequencies. It comes with the power and antenna capabilities to use in the house or while on the road. It is pretty nice using it on long road trips to hear about what is going on in front of you. The weather channels are nice too as you can follow the weather alerts from the NWS in real time. We get frequent tornadic weather, so this is nice to have in the basement to have a decent heads up in the event of natural disasters. Overall I am pleased, my kids love to listen in when we get a fire call, it gives me the alerts that I want. It is pretty easy to operate. If you are looking for a basic analog (not digital) scanner. It has ran daily since I got it and I have not had any issues at all. If I had to throw a negative in there, it would be a stretch with saying the sound gets a bit crackly for a few seconds, but then I have to remember where it is and it is pulling in analog. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a basic scanner.