UNIDEN UBCD536PT - A REVIEW

 Hello and Welcome Back... Probably The Most Enjoyable Scanner I Have Come Across..

 

 

The Uniden 536PT is one of those rare scanners that just about has everything. Big brother to the Uniden UBCD436PT (Handheld), the 536PT is a hybrid of Analog & Digital SDR (Software Defined Radio) Technology. What that means, is that analog frequencies like Airband, Marine, ect, ect is just as achievable as Digital P25 networks in a Desktop / Mobile Radio.

Connect a 536PT to an outdoor antenna and the sky's the limit. The sensitivity of this radio being a Base / Desktop unit is excellent. 

One thing i noted is how heavy this scanner is, its very solid. The main radio is housed in a metal housing for desktop use but unscrew the 4 screws at the back and it becomes a mobile scanner that will fit into a regular din sized car slot, just like a car radio. (The 536PT without its outer casing (below)

The 536pt in the nude (without its outer cover).. aka Scanner Porn (above) hahaha

Like the 436PT, its memory is provided by a 4-32gb memory card which slots into the front of the unit. I noticed that you have to angle the small card on a downward angle or the card will lodge into a small space that's just above where the slot and cover meet and over time, will damage your card. Once the card is in place, you have to push the card a little further until you hear a click as it will then lock it into place.

Also on the front of the radio is a 'Mini USB' socket. You can get the scanner to talk to the Sentinal software using this Mini USB but i find its easier to just take the card out, put it into a SD card adapter and use Sentinal that way, once finished, just slot the card back in its place.

The front of the Uniden UBCD536PT with Micro SD card in place (above)

On the back of the 536PT there is an Antenna (BNC) Connector , Extension Speaker socket, USB Connector, 9 Pin Remote / GPS Plug, and 2 Power plug connectors (House & Auto)

The back of the Uniden 536PT (below)

The USB plug is weird. Its suppose to drive a WI-FI dongle so it can connect to a wireless set-up but no idea how to do this, or what dongle you can use. (anybody know??) 

There was also a Mobile APP, that using this method, you could use your scanner while out and about as long as you have a WiFi connection. The scanner stays connected at home and using the App, you could be in your car, at work, ect, ect and be able to operate your scanner remotely.. allegedly.

The best part of this scanner is the 9 pin Remote / GPS plug. You can remotely connect this scanner to your computer and using ProScan software, operating the scanner remotely with a mock scanner face. (see pic below)

This setup took me a while to workout but is excellent once you have it up and running.

The first thing you will need is the ProScan Software Program up and running. Next, you will need some cables to connect the scanner to your computer. 

I use 2 cables. One is a Null Modem Cable (9 Pin Female to 9 pin Female).. It has to be a Null Modem cable or it wont work. 

I was using just a 9 pin cable adapter to USB and spent many hours of swearing and hair pulling to realize i was doing something wrong. Turns out there a difference between a Null Modem Cable and an ordinary adapter cable, who knew, who knew ???. Turns out the Null Modem Cable allows the path to return as well as send out which makes all the difference. (thanks to 'Michael James' for explaining it to me)

The other cable i use is the 9 pin (male) to USB. It has to have a Prolific chip in the lead for it to work which then means that you will need a driver for your computer so the lead (Prolific) can talk to the computer. 

You will find the driver here = Download and save to your computer

Here's where it can get tricky. 

Every time your computer does a windows update, it will rewrite over the driver for the Prolific lead and suddenly your lead no longer works and you will see a message like this (see below)

So what you need to do is tell the computer to allow the previous driver to work .. 

This is how =

Download the Driver HERE and save it somewhere where you will find it.

Double click the driver file that you just downloaded and let the program run, it will put the driver to where it has to go...

Next, go to windows control panel and click on 'Hardware & Sound' (you can also put in 'Device Manager' in the windows search bar, bottom left of windows)

Click on Device Manager

Click on 'Ports & LPT'

Right click and select 'Properties', click on 'Driver' then 'Update Driver' 

A new window will open 'How Do You Want To Search For Drivers'

Click on 'Browse My Computer'

The click on 'Let Me Pick From a List of Available Drivers'

Look for the driver dated 25/10/2008 

Double Click 25/10/2008

It will install the driver and click 'Close'

If you check the Device Manager 'Ports & LPT' it should have changed to (pic below)

 

Now that the lead is talking to the computer and is working, we now need to open Proscan.

Once open, go to 'Scanner Type' in the drop down link and select 'UBCD536PT', click 'OK'

Next, on the front of your scanner, go into the scanner menu by pressing the 'Menu' button on the front of your scanner. Scroll to 'Set Your Location', press 'E Yes', scroll to 'Set Up GPS', Press E Yes, scroll to 'Set Serial Port', press E Yes, scroll to '115200bps', press E Yes... Now just keep pressing 'Menu' button to exit.

Next, in Proscan, go to 'Comm Port' and a new window will open (see below)

Be sure that your 'Baud Rate' in ProScan is set to 115200 as it is above.

Next, set Port to 'None' and press 'Refresh'.. This will clear the port

Next, press 'Auto Detect' and it should show whats available like the pic below

Click on the '5 (or what ever port is available on your computer) Available UBCD536-PT 115200' line and it will highlight Blue, then click on 'Set Selected Available Port' and then press 'Close'

The window in ProScan should now be active. If not, go to Device Manger in your computer and make sure your lead is active. Also try plugging the lead in and out, sometimes, it takes a few goes. Also try shutting down the computer and re-starting as the drive for the prolific lead may not work until you do this.

The Uniden UBCD536PT decoding P25 Digital (above)

MY OPINION

I Love this scanner. 

I have owned in the past, a Uniden 396XT, a Uniden 325P2, Uniden 436PT (still got it) & Uniden SDS100. 

Although, the Uniden 536PT is quiet heavy and is used as a desktop scanner, Its become my favorite radio. 

I have it hooked up to an outdoor antenna, nothing special, just a Pactel Scanner Antenna on a Z mount on my patio roof. The metal roof acts as a ground-plane which helps. I have had this antenna plugged into my 436PT and while I get good results, I was blown away by the reception on the 536PT. 

The sensitivity on Airband (analog) and P25 (digital) PSN (Public Safety Network) decoding goes hand in hand. I am very pleased with this radio. I highly Recommend using an outdoor antenna to really get the best from this radio.

The UBCD536PT also decodes DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) and NXDN using unlock keys from Uniden website.

Bad Points?..  None Really. If i had to be picky, i would like the buttons on the front of the radio to be bigger but that's about it.. 

Its an excellent radio 10/10

The Uniden UBCD536PT in the Wild (above)

Hope this helps

Michael @ NSW Radio & Communications

P.S If you do happen to buy one of these excellent radios, i can program it for you so you can get the best from your most excellent radio

Programming Links Here = https://scanradionsw.blogspot.com/2021/11/radio-programming-services-available.html

 

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SEARCH FUNCTION ON YOUR SCANNER (Whats In My Scanner)

 Hello and Welcome Back... The search function on your radio scanner is a great way to find new frequencies.

Sometimes, scanners like Uniden have their own pre-programmed search banks (called 'Service Search') like Airband, Marine, UHF CB , etc, etc, but its more fun to do it yourself

You will find the 'Custom Search' in the menu system of your scanner

This is how mine is set out..

BANK

1 = VHF LOW (30-55mhz) Searching through the 30-50mhz band (use NFM or FM) has military users as well as older baby monitors which can make your house bugged as they are often very sensitive. I had a neighbor once who was using a older style baby monitor and being that the house was open plan, you could hear everything. Frequency was around 48mhz

2 = VHF LOW 2 (55-87.5mhz) Continuing bank 1, 55-87mhz (NFM) range covers NPWS (77.700mhz) which is an old frequency but i sometimes hear it from time to time, also some military use this band as well as kids toys/walky talky's (around the 55mhz) range.

3 = AIR BAND (108-137mhz) (AM / 8.33mhz steps) Chat channels are fun to find, usually 123.450 but i have found some around 126mhz as well. I once found a chat frequency , to what sounded like a Flying School teaching the fine basics of flying with some choice words spoken when things went wrong. (from the students)

4 = MARINE (156-162.050mhz) (NFM / 5Khz steps) Ships to Shore, Shore to Ships and ... Pirates

5 = MILITARY UHF1 (225-300mhz) (AM) (5Khz steps) I find its better to break up the military satellite band, that way you can concentrate on a small portion at a time. Sunrise & sunset is a good time to go searching. I have picked up many Russian users who are using this band (and Bank 6) chatting away (in Russian) from my place in Blue Mountains (NSW) coming in strong for around 30 mins before fading. Interesting Listening

6 = MILITARY UHF2 (300-380mhz) (AM) (5khz steps) Continuing on from Bank 5... Lots of interesting listening, its just getting the timing right, Sunrise / Sunset is the best time. Outdoor antenna works wonders.

7 = MILITARY UHF3 (380-400mhz) (NFM) (5Khz steps) Following on from banks 5 & 6. Sometimes hear p25 links on this band from Military Traffic

8 = FM RADIO (88-107.9MHZ) (FMB = FM Broadcast Band) Excellent for testing for range if your using an outdoor antenna. From my place in Blue Mountains, i can get radio station 2ST (Bowral) in the Southern Highlands on a good day.

9 = UHF (450-500mhz) (FMN) (6.25khz steps) great for finding hidden frequencies / users and once you find something interesting, use the ACMA page search to narrow down the frequency. I have found various Bus company's / Taxis who go under a different name (usually just someones name, Eg John Smith = West Sydney Taxi's). In the ACMA page, under 'Find', change to 'Registrations' enter the frequency found and in the 'Where' box, change to 'Mhz' and it will give you all the users for that frequency.

10 (0) = UHF CB (476.425 - 477.4125) (NFM) (6.25Khz) Only if your really bored, you can listen to the idiots arguing who has the best antenna and how they have more power and everyone else is just ...Mud

And that's it. That's how i set out my 'Custom Search' in my Uniden 436PT (Handheld) & MY 536PT (Desktop)

Always use an Outdoor Antenna if you can, it opens the door to a whole new world..

Enjoy

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