GRE US Personnel Attempt Restart of GRE Business

[texasemt13]

I have heard of it Emmett. Why did that question need my quotation?

[egulley612]

Originally Posted by KE4RWS

Everything I've read over the past decade or so has stated Radio Shack scanner models Pro-2004, 2005, 2006, 2035 and 2042 were ALL made by GRE. It may have been GRE of Japan but GRE nonetheless. There were many other Pro-models they made as well, but I only stated the top models of their time.

If these scanners weren't made by GRE of Japan then *who* did make them for RS? It's clear that Uniden made various scanner models for the shack as did GRE. So who made the models I specified above if it wasn't GRE?

The past decade are the key words here. back in the late 80's, early 90's. there was a radio shack desktop scanner that was 800 MHZ capable and that scanner went on to be modified by optoelectronics with a small Board installation so as to help with 800 mhz transmissions.

I still see those modified scanners in pawn shops today. Blue optoelectronics stickers on the top.

[egulley612]

Originally Posted by texasemt13

I have heard of it Emmett. Why did that question need my quotation?

It means I am no dumb cookie or a johnny come lately to the hobby.

[blantonl]

This is going to be fun.

HUH? I have never known that Radio Shack sold GRE scanners before GRE America. In fact, The pro-2000 series of scanners wasn't GRE

Factually incorrect. The entire PRO-2000 series line of scanners was designed and manufactured by GRE. Many consider GRE's PRO-2006 scanner the best scanner that was ever produced. I think so anyway

A company this big would without a doubt POST a press release ON the web site.

When a business goes Tango Uniform, there are many different ways in which a business handles the process. Many times, it is not as smooth as outsiders believe things should have been handled.

secondly, I think there is more to this than what wayne has said. a company doesn't just close up shop like that without a major reason behind it.

Well, there is definitely a major reason behind it - but you'll have to await the official GRE press/news release (I've been told it is on the way)

AND, if PRODUCTION is shut down, doesn't that give anybody a clue that getting production started here is going to be impossible, considering all the police agencies Crying about scanner apps and scanners themselves???

That statement is a whole lotta WTF there. You might as well proclaim that Uniden should shutter their scanner business.

It's going to take, IMHO, at least 8.2 to 10.5 million dollars to restart Japan here in america. and with the economy the way it is, I do not believe PERIOD that there will be private donors.

Key statement: "IMHO"

anyways, I have a question about BC, when is the mobile apps going to be released?

Broadcastify has no plans to release a mobile "app" at this time. You can access all broadcastify streams via your mobile devices per the below Wiki article:

Direct Connect Mobile Device Support - The RadioReference Wiki

Enjoy egulley612!

PS: Just stop it, really? Do you honestly think I don't know what's up? Sigh...

[windigofer]

Originally Posted by texasemt13

You crack me up egulley, I've had fun being an occasional reader of this thread over the past two days. I'll tell you what, I own 7 scanners made by GRE and only one has their name on it, all the others are Radio Shack scanners. Ever hear of the Pro-2096 (Radio Shack first P25 mobile- yep, made by GRE themselves)?

And before the Pro-96 and Pro-2096, there was the Pro-92 and Pro-2067 (some of the first trunktracker scanners sold in the US by GRE under the Radio Shack brand--still have a Pro-2067 long since relegated to trunking-system-mapping duty that I picked up around late 2001-ish); in addition to this was the Pro-95, and in fact almost all of Radio Shack's branded scanners that have seen production since 2001 and which aren't "racing scanners" are GRE kit.

The first scanner GRE came out with under their own brand name was, if I recall, the PSR-500 I actually remember people going "GRE who?" when it was pointed out they made most of Radio Shack's scanner kit way back when

So if he wasn't aware that GRE made most Radio Shack branded scanners in the past decade or so, he's not been really paying much attention.

[texasemt13]

Originally Posted by egulley612

There is more to getting this up and running than you expect and it's not just from the FCC.

... and I take it you've started an electronics manufacturing company before, legally of course?

[KE4RWS]

Originally Posted by egulley612

The past decade are the key words here. back in the late 80's, early 90's. there was a radio shack desktop scanner that was 800 MHZ capable and that scanner went on to be modified by optoelectronics with a small Board installation so as to help with 800 mhz transmissions.

I still see those modified scanners in pawn shops today. Blue optoelectronics stickers on the top.

Yes, you couldn't mistake the scanners modified by Optoelectronics. That little blue dashed decal across the top of the case meant this scanner had some serious features added to it - not to mention a much higher price!

However, the scanners themselves were manufactured by GRE of Japan at the time, which is what I was getting at. They were indeed surgically enhanced by Optoelectronics after the fact, but GRE made them. That's what I thought was somehow in question here, that someone other than GRE made the Pro-2004,5,6 and other various Radio Shack scanner models.

[mule1075]

See Post #184 that pretty much says it all.

[texasemt13]

Originally Posted by windigofer

So if he wasn't aware that GRE made most Radio Shack branded scanners in the past decade or so, he's not been really paying much attention.

... but he's not a

Originally Posted by egulley

dumb cookie or a johnny come lately.

[windigofer]

Originally Posted by egulley612

comment noted and archived.

Now then, I am using some REAL scenarios here people that none of you are thinking about. If you want to say that i talk crap, that is not true. I have presented some REAL issues here and you think it's immaterial to the main topic but it's not.

Does anyone remember when optoelectronics got chewed out for modifying the pro 2000 series of scanners???

The pro 2000 series were the first 800 MHZ scanners on the Radio shack list, even though there was that annoying GE jingle after key down

I remember that--and the biggie was that they were intercepting cell-phone communications, which has been illegal since 1996. (Specifically what got them into trouble was that they were selling these kits specifically for monitoring frequencies in the cell bands AFTER this had been made illegal...not by some edict by a Three Letter Agency, but as an expansion of EXISTING laws prohibiting wiretapping and recording by a third party without consent.)

Specifically, a big part of the "Optoelectronics Mod" to install the OptoScan 456 was to "fully open" the 800MHz bands on the Pro-2006--which happened to open it up to cell frequencies; it also didn't help that the OptoScan 456 included a DTMF decoder (which could be used to record telephone numbers) and an RS-232 out was included that could be used to read DTMF decoding with an appropriate program.

(It should also be noted that GRE kit generally does NOT include the ability to decode DTMF tones. About the only scanner that DOES include the ability to decode "tone codes" other than the usual CTCSS/DCS/NAC is the HomePatrol-1, which (as I understand it) can decode some paging codes used by fire departments.)

This is also why no GRE kit (not any of its trunk-trackers, not any of the Radio Shack branded GRE kit) will monitor ENCRYPTED transmissions (which is a separate issue from trunk-tracking) and why no radio sold in the US for non-law-enforcement use will cover 823-848MHz and 870-896MHz (both of which have had historical use with Nextel and analogue cell systems, though arguably the blocks are redundant as few if any systems still use these frequencies even with digital modulation).

In fact, with the newer GRE kit (pretty much everything from the PSR-500 and after) the default for encrypted transmissions is to give...a busy signal noise! (And you can walk right into any Radio Shack in Louisville metro or anywhere else where a P25 trunking system with encrypted talkgroups exists, and see this in action on those GRE-built Radio Shack-branded PSR-600 twins you claim don't exist. )

And as has been noted, repeatedly...Phase II P25 has not a thing to do with decryption of encrypted signals (which generally use methods that are completely separate from the trunking mechanism, and which are VERY MUCH export restricted ). It uses an open standard, one which would NOT BE PUBLISHED were there a legitimate concern that encrypted groups could be intercepted.

[fxdscon]

Originally Posted by egulley612

HUH? I have never known that Radio Shack sold GRE scanners before GRE America. In fact, The pro-2000 series of scanners wasn't GRE

Do you understand that what little credibility you had left just went up in smoke with a statement like that.

Have a look at this list here. Do you notice any of the Radio Shack pro-2000 series scanners on this list where it says "Radio Shack Models Manufactured By GRE"?

Radio Shack Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki

Where are you getting your information, from comic books or something?


.

[windigofer]

Originally Posted by texasemt13

... and I take it you've started an electronics manufacturing company before, legally of course?

The only other major complication with an open standard is getting licensing for the codec used--and quite obviously licensing for the codecs used for the vocoder in the P-25 standard is "open" enough that neither Uniden nor GRE have had issues (even for software-programmable DSP).

That said, the actual companies holding the codec seem to be willing to license to third-party scanner manufacturers, and I'd not see a real issue with licensing what would be the effective successor company to GRE America to use the relevant codecs.

(Interestingly, the same issue comes up re Mototrbo and NXDN, and recently NXDN became an open standard as well--I'm not sure why Uniden never has gone for a NXDN-capable radio other than the standard having only being technically open since July 2012. The main thing will be whether DVSI would be willing to license a non-encryption-enabled version of the codec to scanner manufacturers; DVSI also holds the patent for the codec used for P-25, so I don't see why not...it's not like this is controlled by Kenwood, ICOM, or Motorola.)

(For similar reasons, I'm really surprised that nobody has released a scanner capable of receiving D-STAR amateur radio repeaters; it's probably an issue of (yet again) not wanting to pay X amount of dollars per radio to DVSI for a license (yes, DVSI pretty much has ALLLLLLLLLL the codec patents used in non-cell-phone radio sewn up nicely and they earn a pretty penny for them) and because the only manufacturer of non-homebrew D-STAR equipment is ICOM.)

[fxdscon]

Originally Posted by blantonl

Many consider GRE's PRO-2006 scanner the best scanner that was ever produced. I think so anyway

I'll second that. I have 7 of them. 4 I bought brand new. Still used every day.

.

[Ronaldski]

GRE - Uniden who made what -
Radio Shack Scanners - The RadioReference Wiki

[Unitrunker]

Originally Posted by egulley612

a radio shack desktop scanner that was 800 MHZ capable and that scanner went on to be modified by optoelectronics with a small Board installation so as to help with 800 mhz transmissions.

You mean like these ...

Optoelectronics, Inc.
Optoelectronics OS-535 Computer Interface Board

As already mentioned, GRE made the PRO-2004, PRO-2005, PRO-2006 models and the PRO2035 and a few more.

I still see those modified scanners in pawn shops today. Blue optoelectronics stickers on the top.

GRE also made the radio board inside the Optocom.

Optocom

If you catch one at a pawn shop, buy it!

[com501]

Originally Posted by egulley612

HUH? I have never known that Radio Shack sold GRE scanners before GRE America. In fact, The pro-2000 series of scanners wasn't GRE

Um, sorry.

I own a Pro-2004, 2005 and 2006, and they all have parts and the processor is GRE.

I have even ordered replacement parts from GRE for these scanners.

[W9BU]

Originally Posted by texasemt13

... and I take it you've started an electronics manufacturing company before, legally of course?

But, that's the key. You don't have to start up a manufacturing company. GRE or any number of contract production houses in Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Korea, Indonesia, and who knows where else are ready to start building radios to your design. The effort on this side of the International Date Line is financing, design, licensing, government approvals, and marketing.

[com501]

If the equipment has already been liquidated, you can bet some smart guy in China, if he knew about it, bought it.

Expect that if they DID, a 'Swang Suie' model scanner may come out eventually. Otherwise, startup without owning the tooling is going to be VERY expensive, and isn't likely to happen in Japan OR the USA.

Also, the Japanese are not known for being very forthcoming in anything related to their business ventures until they have sorted out all the repercussions, so an announcement isn't likely immediately. To close a business for any reason in Japan, is embarrassing for the company involved.

[com501]

If anyone thinks my business acumen with the Japanese is deficient, I have been dealing with them since ComSat (otherwise known as AT&T) corporation built the Jamesburg Earth Station. You can look it up.

[Squad10]

I was a passenger in a "Electronic battery-only powered (street legal) Vehicle" design involved and driven by an Asian EE employed by GRE-Japan back in the (Smokey and the Bandit) late 70s.

Advanced consumer scanning receivers were in the minds of GRE then too.

Radio scanners and Electronic powered Vehicles. GRE and their amazing engineers.