Move over BC200XLT..... there's a new kid in town and it's packin....some punch !

What You Get

• BC2500XLT

• Antenna

• AC adapter

• Rechargeable battery pack

• Case

• Belt clip

• Instruction manual

• Earphone

• Box

Vintage: 1993 Type: Handheld Range: 25-550 & 760-1300 MHz Channels: 400 Banks: 20 Modes: AM, FM Priority: 10 channel, lowest channel of each bank Conversion: Double

Scan: 20 or 100 channels/second Audio: max 0.4 W Power: internal battery pack (6vdc) 12V DC power pack Size: 2-3/4"(W) x 7-1/2"(H) x 1-1/2"(D) Weight: 0.85 lb. Interfaces: BNC, speaker, earphone, DC Accessories: Antenna, belt-clip, case, AC adapter, battery pack Features: VFO,  auto-store, auto-sort, turbo scan, count

 

 

Chapter 1 (About Your new BC2500XLT) Starts out with a description of scanning, types of communications, where to obtain more information, unpacking and optional accessories..

Chapter 2 (Feature Highlights)  

Chapter 3 (CONTROLS and INDICATORS) Top view, front view, and LCD display.

Chapter 4 (SETUP) Installing the battery pack, charging the battery pack, mounting the flexible antenna, and installing the belt clip.

Chapter 5 (SCANNING OVERVIEW)

Chapter 6 (PROGRAMMING CHANNELS)  Programming by manual entry, rotary tuner, search, auto store, transferring a programmed frequency to another channel, deleting a stored frequency.

Chapter 7 (SCANNING)

Chapter 8 (CUSTOMIZING SCANNER OPERATION)  Setting the scanning speed, the delay mode, the step size, the LCD display light, preventing accidental programming, locking the rotary tuner, channel lockout, setting up priority channels, using COUNT to monitor channel activity.

Chapter 9 (CARE and MAINTENANCE)

Chapter 10 (TROUBLESHOOTING)

Chapter 11 (TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS)

Construction and Physical
The radios construction is very nice.  The numerous buttons on the radio are just big enough to work very easily.  The text which describes each function is printed right on the button.  The LCD display is located on the face at the top with the 28 buttons in the middle and the speaker located on the face bottom.  On the top of the unit are the antenna connector (of course), the SQL/VOL, VFO tuning dial (3 function-CHANNEL, FREQUENCY and LOCK), external speaker and earphone jacks.  The black plastic case is just strong enough to resist slight bangs and bumps and seems a bit less sturdy than the BC200XLT (but not by much). The radios size and weight are not bad at all but with the push for smaller scanners in the future, the BC2500XLT will soon find itself a giant among dwarfs .  The LCD display provides a good bit of information and is ok to view for its size.  A larger display would have been nice but this one is livable and you soon learn where everything is located so a quick glance is all that is needed.

Features/Performance
Having enjoyed the features (basic) and performance of my BC200XLT, the BC2500XLT is a big upgrade for me.  This unit has more features, better performance and more bells and whistles. 

• The TURBO SCAN (at 100 channels per sec) flies compared to others.

• The AUTO SEARCH & STORE is GREAT !  You enter a search range and banks you want the active frequencies to be stored in and let it go.  When it finds and active frequency within the range you set, it automatically places that frequency into one of the open channels. When it has filled up all the channels in the banks you selected it lets you know by stopping and displaying "FULL".

• The COUNT feature allows you to monitor how many "hits" each frequency had during a session.

• The number of channels and banks has doubled, even though I never used all 200 on the BC200XLT.

• The frequency increment step size in the "800 MHz" range are correct, while in the BC200XLT the default was a bit off.

• The SND feature allows you to transfer a displayed frequency to an open channel.

• The TUNING KNOB is new and provides two functions.  First it allows you to tune up/down through your channels when in the "C" position and in the "F" position you can increment or decrement the displayed frequency by the step size selected.  In the "L" position the knob is LOCKED and turning it produces no change.

• The volume from the radios speaker is just fine thank you very much.  Loud enough to hear even over small talk happening around you.
  

VHF/UHF Performance
I have found that my BC2500XLT receives all bands better than my BC200XLT did.

Using the supplied antenna I am able to receive all frequencies (in my local area) with equal clarity.  Even the "40-50" MHz range comes in with the supplied antenna... but by switching to a telescopic one, more signals appear.

The aircraft band comes in loud and clear along with all the rest.

The frequency ranges provided in the firmware are just right with most agencies being accessible and within range.

There has been some talk of intermod in the BC2500XLT, but living in the country I have not found that to be a problem.  This might change if I was in a city where more radio traffic was present.   

The Not So GOOD

The delay feature is across the board... which means when it is on, all channels get the delay and when off there is no delay.  Modes are not selectable so whatever is programmed into the firmware is it and all you get.

Overall
The BC2500XLT was a good upgrade choice for me.  I still get the ease of operation (BC200XLT and other Uniden products) while also getting some pretty cool new features.  The BC2500XLT is like a BC200XLT on steroids !