Railfan Technology > My first impressions review of the Uniden BC-125AT scanner

Regular readers of my posts know that I do not generally recommend scanners for railfanning. That opinion is essentially unchanged. However, some time back I did purchase a Uniden BC-125AT scanner for uses other than railfanning. Since the BC-125AT is mentioned frequently on this forum as a prospective choice for a railfanning radio, I decided to review it in that context. My "benchmark" portable radios that I've used for comparison are the Vertex VX-150 and VX-170 (essentially the same radios as the current Yaesu FT-250 and FT-270, respectively), the Wuoxun KG-UV6X (a commercial model), and the Icom IC-F3161DT NXDN (also, a commercial model). For my test, all radios, except the KG-UV6X were fitted with "gain" type portable antennas. The KG-UV6X's stock antenna actually performs as well as the gain antennas, so I left it "stock." Here is what I've found, so far:

PRICE: I got a smokin' deal on the BC-125AT, so it wins this category easily. The FT-250 and FT-270 (the replacements for the VX-150 and VX-170 that are still available for purchase new) come next, followed by the KG-UV6X. The Icom is, by far, the most expensive.

SELECTIVITY: This is, in my opinion, one of the most important specs in any railfanning radio. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the BC-125AT in an interference-rich environment to be able to conclusively test its selectivity. Based on what I've observed so far, however, I surmise that it is better than some scanners, but still trailing the rest of my pack of benchmark radios. As far as the rest, in selectivity, from best to worst, the list is the IC-F3161DT, VX-170, VX-150, KG-UV6X--the lower three were grouped pretty close in selectivity performance, the IC-F3161DT much better.

RECEIVE SENSITIVITY: All of the radios were grouped pretty close together here. I set them up with a very weak receive signal. My test was subjective, listening for both the ability of the radio to continuously receive the signal and for audio clarity of reception (lack of static, etc.). The rankings, from best to worst: IC-F3161DT, KG-UV6X, VX-150, VX-170 and BC-125AT (tie). The BC-125AT still trailed the pack, but the difference among it and the other radios was much less than I expected.

AUDIO OUTPUT: The audio loudness and clarity contest is won easily by the IC-F3161DT. Bunched pretty closely behind are the VX-170, VX-150, and KG-UV6X, with the BC-125AT trailing. That said, the BC125-AT audio is better than many scanners, but still at the margin for railfanning.

NARROW BANDING AND SPLITNER FREQUENCIES: The VX-150 and VX-170 (and their successors) will not tune to the splinter frequencies and I have removed them from my "recommended" list. The KG-UV6X, IC-F3161DT, and BC-125AT will tune the splinter analog frequencies. All will narrow band on the frequencies that they can tune to.

NXDN DIGITAL. Only the IC-F3161DT is NXDN-capable, none of the others are.

NUMBER OF CHANNELS: The BC-125AT and the IC-F3161DT are the winners, with 500 channels, followed by the KG-UV6X, VX-150, and VX-170 with 199. I consider 199-200 channels the minimum for analog railfanning, 500 a minimum for NXDN radios. Of the radios in my comparison test, the BC-125AT is the only one with pre-programmed bank scan of the railroad channels--including the analog splinter channels, a plus for it.

RADIO PROGRAMMING: I've excluded the Yaesu's from this part of my comparison test because I manually entered the frequencies into those radios years ago. My comparison here is based on using PC programming software and programming cable. The BC-125AT wins this category hands down. The only issue that I had with the software was getting the cable drivers to work correctly, fixed in 10 minutes of reading the Uniden support section on their website. The Uniden software is intuitive and easy to understand. It also can "understand" Windows cut and paste functions, so copying frequencies from my AAR frequency Excel spreadsheet made full programming of the radio about a 15 minute job. The KG-UV6X software is also fairly intuitive, but it is crippled somewhat because of lack of understandable and sufficient "Help" information, a common deficiency of Chinese radio software. As for the Icom, its programming software I consider "pro only." I've used it for years and I still find it poorly organized, "clunky", and counter-intuitive in many ways. On the positive side, the Icom software is hugely flexible in allowing programming the radio to exacting personal preferences, but it takes a lot of time, trial, and error to get the radio programmed "just right."

PHYSICAL RUGGEDNESS: The IC-F3161DT is the clear winner here. The VX-150, VX-170, and KG-UV6X are basically tied for second, with the BC-125AT trailing the pack. Of all of the radios here, the IC-F3161DT and the Yaesu's are the only radios that I would carry without a protective case. The KG-UV6X and--especially--the BC-125AT need a protective case. Fortunately, for both radios, there are very good factory-source cases available for either.

ANTENNAS: As noted earlier, all radios except the KG-UV6X were fitted with "gain" type antennas. Note: Gain type antennas are longer than stock, usually around 12"-14" in length. By contrast the KG-UV6X's antenna is only 4" long, yet receives as well as the gain antennas. I traded back and forth among Smiley Slim Duck, Laird EXH-160, and Expert Power 14" antennas when testing the radios. The reception differences among the three brands were nearly insignificant. The Expert Power antennas cost about half what the Smiley or Lairds do, but are not mechanically as tough, so the Expert Powers might have to be replaced more often. Also, the Laird EXH-160's are not typically available with the BNC connector that the BC-125AT uses.

MY CONCLUSIONS: While I still have concerns over the about the selectivity of the BC-125AT, I hesitantly put it on my "recommended" list of railfanning radios, based on its low price (if you can buy it for under $85-$100 like I did), programming and operational simplicity, and pretty decent sensitivity. Its audio output at least reaches the "almost acceptable" range. While the BC-125AT is not as physically robust as most amateur or commercial radios, it should do OK IF it is protected in a case. The BC-125AT WILL NOT perform adequately with its stock antenna--an aftermarket gain antenna is a must. The protective case and gain antenna will add about $30-$60 to the cost of the radio. Remember, too, that none of the radios listed here, with the exception of the IC-F-3161DT, will decode NXDN digital, so I consider all of the non-NXDN radios as "interim" radios that are only suitable for railfanning until the railroads go digital, whenever that is. One big reservation that I do have about the BC-125AT is reliability. I have, over the years, had several other Uniden radios and I had reliability and longevity issues with all of them. Hopefully, Uniden has resolved those past issues.

AND, HOW ABOUT THE OTHER RADIOS IN THE TEST?: As noted, the lack of splinter channel tuning has knocked the VX-150 and VX-170 off of my list for railfanning. I no longer use them for that purpose. The KG-UV6X is my choice when I need to carry a compact radio for railfanning--for example, when traveling on Amtrak. The radio itself is compact, and it receives as well with its 4" standard antenna as it does with a gain antenna. Its plug configuration allows it to use most Kenwood accessories (speaker mike, earbud, etc.). It has good audio output. Selectivity is not as good as I would like, but not bad. A few keyboard functions are "quirky" and not well-suited for railfan use. The KG-UV6X has also been reported to have some reliability issues, but mine has worked fine for several years now. My "go-to" portable radio for railfanning is still the IC-F3161DT. It is just the best all-around performer and, for the price, it should be. Its biggest limitation is size--it's a fair sized radio and the gain antenna adds to the size.

So there you have it. I'll try to answer any questions.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/24/17 10:23 by WW.

Was able to find some Specs off of Amazon:

VHF High 1 Band
(NFM)138.150 MHz 0.3 uV
(FM) 157.100 MHz 0.2 uV
(NFM)161.985 MHz 0.2 uV
(NFM)173.225 MHz 0.2 uV

Audio Output Power:
Internal Speaker - 360mW nominal
(24ohm)

The USB rechargable batteries would be useful.

Curious how the Close-Call thing works out. My only experience with it was to have the radio lock up on the offending channel.

Thanks for your thoughtful write up for the BC-125AT... I've had one for years and I also like it a lot for the aircraft bands, both civil and military bands. I've had very good luck with an inexpensive radio that is fairly easy to carry given it's small size.

I purchased a Whistler TRX-2 radio a couple of months ago. For the last 20 years I've used the software produced by Butel. It's not available to use in the new Whistler radios; mobile/base - TRX-2; handheld TRX-1. Getting used to the Whistler supplied 'E-Z Scan' has been a steep learning curve. With updates downloaded, both of these radios will decode NXDN modulation. The only place I've tried it is on the radio system used at the Transportation Test Center east of Pueblo. It did decode NXDN ok but I discovered they use a radio system that is a trunked NXDN system. I have not been down to see how the software works since I reprogrammed the radio with NXDN as a trunked system.

The TRX-2 has a detachable control head to make it easier to mount in a car and I'm very impressed with the memory in this radio, too. It is not a cheap radio but it also allows me to listen to aircraft (aircraft monitoring is very frequency intensive) and loaded a number of trunked public system for road trips...

Not as involved as your test but hopefully some will take a look at these radios, both are excellent radios.

Questions... PM me!

James Nelson
Thornton, CO
www.flickr.com/mojaveflyer

Interesting report. But my understanding is that the Yaesu F-250 is no longer in production. I have one and its volume control potentiometer has failed. I wanted to replace it and could not find a source for a new FT-250. I had to purchase an FT-270 instead. Yaesu has a new model the FT-25 announced on this forum last week. I presume it replaces the FT-250.

KG

The FT-25 continues Yaesu's unfortunate pattern of not allowing the 2.5 kHz tuning steps that allow tuning of the narrow-band analog splinter channels. Other public service and commercial agencies and businesses can use splinter channels since narrowbanding, not just the railroads. Why Yaesu and other Japanese radio manufacturers have not clued in on the idea that people using amateur radios for monitoring outside the amateur band (when the radios are sold with extended receive for that purpose) should be able to tune the splinter channels is beyond me. It's ironic, since Kenwood has been building the TM-281A amateur mobile radio and its predecessor models for way over a decade with splinter tuning capability.

A bit off topic in this thread, but, for those looking for a very good mobile radio for railfanning and who do not want to spend the $$ for a commercial model, the Kenwood TM-281A is the absolute best choice in an analog amateur mobile radio, in my opinion. It and its predecessor, the TM-271A, are essentially built on a commercial chassis with amateur features, so their performance is exemplary. The only "downer" for the TM-281A is that, if memory channel names are entered, the number of available memory channels is only 100, not 200. I circumvent that problem by programming the AAR channel into the same numeric channel no. in the radio (e.g., AAR channel 097 is programmed into memory channel 97). By doing so, I don't need to program a channel name, as the displayed memory channel no. tells me what AAR channel I'm on. Railfans used to using scanners will be stunned by the excellent performance of the TM-281A if it is properly connected to a good quality gain mobile antenna tuned to the railroad band.

So are any of the railroads using a narrow band splinter channel anywhere? If so I'd like to know where and what for.

That I can't verify, as I don't live and railfan in an area where they would likely be used first. They're most likely to be first used in large metro areas where channel congestion is an issue. That said, there is high likelihood that they are going to be used because, if for no other reason, frequencies that are not eventually used by their intended industry (in this instance, the railroads), the FCC then tends to authorize some other industry to use that group of frequencies. If one wishes to spend the time, one can peruse the FCC license database to see what railroads have modified their licensure to be able to use the splinter frequencies, as well as NXDN (very narrow band) digital.

I know Logistics Park Kansas City does use NXDN on the splinter frequencies

I do know the railroads are on narrowband but I didnt think they would be using the splinter channels. I thought when they went to NXDN they would use the splinter channels. Iam a wrong on this? I have a Pro-528 scanner and tried installing the channels and it didn't take them. Then I heard the the sound and modulation would be less loud but it still would use only 97 channels on narrowband so I didnt worry to much about narrowbanding. I do plan on purchasing a Icom F3161DT sometime in the future for digital as long as they don't encyrpt. I kinda doubt they will encypt though because the railroads use trackage rights and that would just complicate matters using encryption. Lets hope they dont.

From,

Kurt