Uniden UBC-125XLT Handheld Scanner

Solid build and surprisingly good reception for a handheld. Runs on standard or rechargeable AA batteries, so you can quickly swap in spares if you don’t have time to recharge, has a clear display, and the audio quality is excellent. The seller even pre-programmed some channels for me, which was a nice touch and made it easier to get started. It took a short while to learn how to use, but once I got the hang of it it’s straightforward and very reliable. Great value for money — highly recommended for anyone wanting a capable, portable receiver.

I cannot think of anything to dislike. Programming it is a doddle when you get used to using the freeware Scan125 and Scan125convert, and with the 125XLT connected to your PC most of the controls can be changed from the screen rather than finding where to do it via the radio buttons. I pay for RRUK so I get a csv file of the frequencies I want from RRUK, convert it using Scan125convert, then load it onto the radio using nScan125, you can say exactly where you want them to go in a particular bank or bank number, then check the banks on your PC screen. I use mine at home and do not go out much, so rather than the standard antenna I have a Broadsword (search on Facebook for his shop) dipole in the loft with the connector in the upstairs study, and if I am downstairs by the garden I put another Broadsword antenna, an airband slim jim, about 20ft up on an extending fishing pole (on a cane pushed into the top section, some poles are carbon fibre). I have also ordered a bluetooth transmitter to send the audio to a bluetooth speaker, apparently connecting a wired speaker to the radio does not work very well, the speaker needs to be powered, like my rechargeable speaker. Apart from civil and military airband the only other of the frequency banks I scan is ham, there are other banks but I set them to not be scanned, and when I did scan them not much was on, perhaps you need a dedicated antenna for them? I am in my mid 60's and if I can understand it and enjoy it then anyone can, an outside antenna like an airband slim jim is easy to put up in the loft, or on a pole, or just hung up as high as you can get, and IMO is much more effective than the standard rubber duck. A must is to download Scan125 and Scan125 convert, there is a bit of a learning curve but it is worth it for the convenience of running the radio via your PC. At this price you are not going to get a scanner with all the bells and whistles, others can cost many times what this does, in my opinion the 125XLT is brilliant, incredible value, and is great fun to use. Update - I got the bluetooth transmitter/receiver (from ebay!) plus a cheap pair of headphones and they all work great together. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07WT9GV2D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

brilliant product, very quick delivery, even got a free packet of sweets as well! 😜👍 and believe you me if i can use it more or less straight out of the box then anyone can! i am thicker than custard and i was using it within 5 mins of unboxing! 1 happy bunny!👍👍👍

The device seemed great, unfortunately I found that the battery did not match up to the device description and returned for a refund. The device was going off after only 1 -1 half hours using and to me this was not acceptable. Maybe I had bad batteries, who knows but the device does as it should

The radio was delivered a day early which was a nice surprise. The packing was excellent. The radio itself is very good and a nice touch is that there are many preprogramed frequencies already loaded. Build quality is very good. The free software allowing control of the radio from my computer is a game changer, wow amazing. My other scanner is an AR 8200 and it's not a patch on this fabulous machine.

Very good for me - I use it mainly for listening to ATC. I live in north London and have it hooked up to an external Swedish-made professional airband rx/tx antenna and have no problems receiving LHR, LGW, STN airports, including ground traffic. Being able to add tags to the frequencies is so useful but is a bit of a palaver doing it on the scanner - much better to use programming software on your pc - the scanner has the older USB mini type B socket for connection using an appropriate cable. There's not much of a choice of software to do this, and you'll probably come across BuTel software, which is fine, if a little expensive - around €30 last time I looked. Whatever you do, do NOT try and get the software for free by using TrialPay - IT'S A SCAM!! I know as I got caught! Apart from airband I've only taken the scanner out to my local shopping centre to try the Close Call feature to identify local transmissions. It worked well, and in addition to picking-up security etc, it also picked up the local buses! The scanner is solidly built and has so many customisable options that it will take you a while to learn what it can do. Uniden provide a (~70 pages) printed manual in English, which is nice, not to say unusual these days, but if you prefer you can also download it as a PDF. The antenna connector is a BNC and there are many third party antennae available for it. Sound quality is good and clear for my purposes and having just tried it at max is more than adequate, but distorts a little, but I guess that's to be expected with a small speaker. I had a Uniden Bearcat UBC 100XL in the 1980s for airband reception and loved it. I worked at an airport then and occasionally took it into work with me, especially when on nightshifts, so that when I was out on the apron I could track my inbounds. It was brilliant which is why I chose Uniden again. I'm not sure the batter life on this is that great - it comes with a set of 2300mAh Ni-MH rechargeable batteries which are charged via the USB socket, but there's no auto-sensor circuitry to stop when the batteries are charged. Instead you have to set a charging time via the options, which is a bit cr*p in my opinion. As I use the scanner at home I simply removed the batteries and have it connected via the USB cable to my pc, which works well. Squelch is via the menu system - there's no knob, and the single knob on top is multi-function. Turn it and it changes channel/frequency, push it down first and it controls the volume. It functions differently depending on the mode you are in, and it clicks as it turns, which is nice, although to be honest the click feels a little lightweight, plasticky…or cheap. The rubber buttons however have a nice action to them and a positive click when pressed. You can have a beep too when they are pressed, and this can be turned off in the options. Anyway, this wasn't meant to be an in-depth review as I haven't used it that much, but sometimes when I start typing I can't stop! But for my purposes it fits the bill very well indeed. I hope this has been of some use to someone :-)

Bought this so I could listen to pilot/airfield conversations and I am very pleased with the quality of the radio. The company who supplied it have been faultless in getting it to me. It came 4 days earlier than Amazon predicted so arrived before Christmas and was delivered 2 days after ordering.

I’ve recently got into aircraft, airfields and control tower chatter since having a flying lesson and considering more lessons, I feel the Uniden UBC-125XLT Handheld Scanner will help me immensely in picking out the information I need from the control tower and what information I need to give the control tower in future flights. The Uniden UBC-125XLT Handheld Scanner is a really well constructed piece of equipment and once I mastered the instructions from the manual and enormous help from a friend who owns the scanner, it was amazingly easy and simple to set up and use, however in other reviews it has been stated that the manual is extremely difficult to understand and on the initial reading I would agree however after reading the manual 2 to 3 times and help from my friend it does all become clear and easy to use. This is the very first time I have ordered from Tech Express (UK) Ltd and it won’t be the last from ordering on Thursday to it being delivered on the Monday morning very prompt delivery service, the Uniden UBC-125XLT Handheld Scanner was very well packed in it’s manufacturers packing and box and then Tech Express wrapped the box in cellophane and bubble to protect the contents from rain and wrapped it in thick brown paper. Tech Express left nothing to chance in the packaging and they offer a splendid after sales service if I had any questions or problems. As I said earlier this is the first time I’ve ordered from Tech Express and I’ve had a fantastic customer experience from them well done guy’s and a very big thank you and you’ll be my first port of call for tech in the future.