GRE/Whistler Employees

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pratzert

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So... How does Whistler plan to re-start the GRE operation?

Did they hire some former GRE employees for their experience and knowledge ?

How about software programs like Starrsoft or BUTEL? Has Whistler talked to those companies about programming software for the resurrection of the GRE units and new ones as well ?

I don't know if anyone has the answers to these questions... but maybe someone does.

Maybe if Don Starr is lurking, he will shed some light on the subject...

How about it Don ?
 

NWI_Scanner_Guy

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No one knows---------------or if the do they haven't bothered to let the secret out

Who knows...what secrets...lurk in the minds of Whistler. The Shadow knows....Bwaahahahahahaha.


Okay, that's what happens when you love scanners and old time radio and are very, very tired. Your brain goes off on a tangent. LOL!!

:D
 

INDY72

Monitoring since 1982, using radios since 1991.
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So... How does Whistler plan to re-start the GRE operation?

Did they hire some former GRE employees for their experience and knowledge ?

How about software programs like Starrsoft or BUTEL? Has Whistler talked to those companies about programming software for the resurrection of the GRE units and new ones as well ?

I don't know if anyone has the answers to these questions... but maybe someone does.

Maybe if Don Starr is lurking, he will shed some light on the subject...

How about it Don ?

A: Bought lock stock and barrel the tech, and any equipment they could.
B: Yes they hired GRE techies.
C: You'll have to ask Don Starr once the models are actually in production and the specs are known, as well as Gommert with Butel.
D: It would be wise to assume that they will also have a software for the gear since 99% of scanners made now pretty much have to be programmed via PC by some kind of interface, and if they have the same basic operating systems that mot GRE's have, you can bet Don and Gommert will both have an GUI of some kind rolling out within 3 to 6 months of the scanners hitting the market.

And I am willing to bet that they will also be in touch with LB3 and get the API etc and have a way to link with the RRDB since at least one model will be able to hold the entire USA/Canada RRDB same as Uniden's new ones.
 
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n5ims

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Assuming that Whistler does indeed release the PSR-800 under their brand as expected (and generally confirmed based on their announcements, although no specific products were stated), Don Starr would most definitely be someone that Whistler would want as part of their company, at least in the same capacity as he was under GRE. As far as why, this post from Don (http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/269551-has-gre-closed-4.html#post2004761) pretty much sums up his recent resume with GRE.

If you'd read the recent posts on the PSR-800 Yahoo group, as well as some in this forum over the last several years, you'd know that:
1. Don wrote the firmware for the PSR-500, PSR-700, and PSR-800 families of scanners
2. Don wrote (and currently runs) the database update software for the "EZ-Scan" scanners
3. Don was paid by GRE to perform those database updates for a finite period of time into the future.
4. The weekly database process is:
a. retrieve USA and Canada database info from RR
b. convert database to GRE scanner format
c. upload converted database to server
The "server" in (4c) is an FTP server originally created and paid for by GRE America. It is the server contacted by the PSR-700 and PSR-800 families' PC software for CPU, DSP, and database updates. Hopefully, that server will remain available for the <finite period of time into the future> referenced in (3) above.

Also this post (http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/269551-has-gre-closed-4.html#post2004890) where Don admits
Once per week (generally starting on Friday and finishing on Saturday), a program runs on my PC (yes, my personal PC - the one on which I'm typing this message and which is located RIGHT HERE). That program uses the Radio Reference "Web Service" to retrieve all conventional channel and trunked system data for the United States and Canada. The data is converted to the format needed by the GRE scanners - that is, the various RRDB_vvv.nnn files in the "DB" directories you see on the scanners' SD cards.

The conversion program (still running on my home PC) then uploads a ZIP file containing those RRDB_vvv.nnn files to an FTP server. That server (more specifically, its domain name) was originally purchased by GRE America; the domain name and the server are "paid up" for some finite time into the future.

When a user runs, for example, the PSR-800's "EZ-Scan Digital" program and selects "Check for library update" from the "Updates" menu, the EZ-Scan program connects to the GRE-created server and discovers the currently-released library version. The version number and date info is the presented to the user.

If there is an updated version of the library data available, the user can choose to download it. If he does so, the program will retrieve the above ZIP file from the GRE-created server and extract it to the user's hard drive.

This process will be valid until at least December 2014. That's as far as I've been paid to run the weekly update process on my home PC. After that, the process will only work if one of two things happen: a) someone buys the GRE IP and continues the update process or b) I, out of the goodness of my heart, choose to continue the update process without compensation. Note that (b) likely requires that I buy the necessary domain name (used by the EZ-Scan PC software) and maintain a dedicated server. I'm not sure I want to do this.
 
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pratzert

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A: Bought lock stock and barrel the tech, and any equipment they could.
B: Yes they hired GRE techies.
C: You'll have to ask Don Starr once the models are actually in production and the specs are known, as well as Gommert with Butel.
D: It would be wise to assume that they will also have a software for the gear since 99% of scanners made now pretty much have to be programmed via PC by some kind of interface, and if they have the same basic operating systems that mot GRE's have, you can bet Don and Gommert will both have an GUI of some kind rolling out within 3 to 6 months of the scanners hitting the market.

And I am willing to bet that they will also be in touch with LB3 and get the API etc and have a way to link with the RRDB since at least one model will be able to hold the entire USA/Canada RRDB same as Uniden's new ones.

MILF... That's all great news. Thanks for the info, I appreciate it.

I should not have left out Mike from PSREdit, which is the third program I own to program my Pro-106. (I own all three programs)

All are good programs with wonderfully great support from each.

Now that I know that the people who used to be at GRE, are now at Whistler, I really look forward to see what they will offer.

I suspect that they will start with baby steps by "re-introducing" their recent former scanner line, such as the 500, 600 and 800. And THEN... I hope they start working on some new stuff.

I have pretty much stowed my scanners in the drawer until someone fixes the simulcast distortion problem on the scanners. The distortion has ruined the hobby for me in Baltimore. I think Uniden may be homing in on a fix, but their newest scanners are not on the street yet to be tested by the masses.
 
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dgmaley

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Whistler Scanner

If Mr. Star is now part of Whistler Group Engineering, they are in for a battle. He did not like the limitations imposed on him by management in GRE Japan. I suspect, Don would only go so far, he wanted to design a true software defined receiver. The chips are available. Japan had him use the same basic analog design used in their past scanners.
The PSR-800 has the same analog receiver as the PSR-700 but with a more powerful DSP audio decoder chip to decode P25.
True software defined radios are still very expensive. What shows up on the consumer market are hybrids that use analog front ends and the rest digital. A good example of this is the Grundig Traveler II receiver. Most of the currently available Ham HF transceivers are designed this way.
Dave...
 

INDY72

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OK firstly, Whistler is NOT GRE at the top levels of management, they are Whistler Group based in the USA. They bought the GRE intellectual property rights, and everything that goes with that. They hired as much of the GRE design staff as they could. The administration of Whistler Group is NOT the same guys that ran GRE. We do know that Whistler will be producing scanners based on the GRE technologies/designs. We have no data as to the rest of the awesome gear GRE made, such as the antennas, signal amplifiers etc... We would hope they kept these coming as they rocked!

So any issues Don may have had with the GRE administration, you can not make the assumption that this is the same situation. For the best answers to that, just go to the horses mouth, ask Don Starr and maybe he will be willing to fill in blanks on that end. Anything else dealing with the actual administration of Whistler's scanner division is pure speculation. Don's Starrsoft software for the scanners (Win92 thru Win500 etc) Is his personal development, and is not controlled by GRE, or Whistler, or anyone but Mr. Starr, and as such development of an Win???? GUI for any Whistler Scanner product is soley dependent on his wanting to do so.
 

3MTA344

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I still love my GRE PSR 600. Hopefully they will come with an upgraded version when Whistler takes over. Its been a good radio so far. But having flavors of all different brands keeps everything real. Maybe some high end equipment too for giggles.
 

DonS

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If Mr. Star is now part of Whistler Group Engineering, they are in for a battle. He did not like the limitations imposed on him by management in GRE Japan. I suspect, Don would only go so far, he wanted to design a true software defined receiver. The chips are available. Japan had him use the same basic analog design used in their past scanners.

I never had any such battles or problems with "limitations" placed on me by GRE-J. At most, there were features that I might have liked to include in various radios, but which were not approved due to time and/or cost constraints. Anything else (e.g. changing the fundamental design of the radios) was well above my pay grade, and I certainly did not have individual influence with GRE-J on such matters.
 

DonS

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as such development of an Win???? GUI for any Whistler Scanner product is soley dependent on his wanting to do so

Not necessarily.

There's a reason why there is no ARC800, PSREdit800, or Win800, and it has nothing to do with whether or not I wanted to develop Win800.
 

pratzert

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Hi Don.

Are you going to be doing something with Whistler when the time comes for "new" scanners ?

I'd assume if they re-package the GRE line as it was when they closed, that Win500 will work with them for now.

Regards.....
 

dgmaley

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OK firstly, Whistler is NOT GRE at the top levels of management, they are Whistler Group based in the USA. They bought the GRE intellectual property rights, and everything that goes with that. They hired as much of the GRE design staff as they could. The administration of Whistler Group is NOT the same guys that ran GRE. We do know that Whistler will be producing scanners based on the GRE technologies/designs. We have no data as to the rest of the awesome gear GRE made, such as the antennas, signal amplifiers etc... We would hope they kept these coming as they rocked!

So any issues Don may have had with the GRE administration, you can not make the assumption that this is the same situation. For the best answers to that, just go to the horses mouth, ask Don Starr and maybe he will be willing to fill in blanks on that end. Anything else dealing with the actual administration of Whistler's scanner division is pure speculation. Don's Starrsoft software for the scanners (Win92 thru Win500 etc) Is his personal development, and is not controlled by GRE, or Whistler, or anyone but Mr. Starr, and as such development of an Win???? GUI for any Whistler Scanner product is soley dependent on his wanting to do so.


I hope you are right.
This could get very interesting. Not sure why GRE Japan was reluctant to change. My only suspect is getting a new design through FCC type acceptance. The issue being cell phone frequencies. A scanner solely based on software may be hard to 'lock down'. A scanner based solely on software would have the advantage of great flexibility. It would be like building a scanner out of a computer controlled spectrum analyzer.
 

DonS

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Are you going to be doing something with Whistler when the time comes for "new" scanners ?
Hopefully.

I'd assume if they re-package the GRE line as it was when they closed, that Win500 will work with them for now.
If they re-package the PSR-500 family (i.e. PSR-500/600, PRO-106/197, PSR-310/410), then existing software would almost certainly work with them. I don't foresee them changing the data structures or communications protocol.
 

INDY72

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Glad to see you around again Don, TY for replies. Was there an copyright/intellectual property issue with the PSR800 software or does that even apply in these situations?
 

walter900

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WoW....... This is a prime opportunity for Whistler reps to introduce themselves to RR forum members.. The sooner they participate.... The sooner a "Whistler" scanner brand section can be added.. If I were Whistler, I would be surfing the forums, reading the post, and asking forum members what features they would like to see in their next scanner. Again, this is a great opportunity for Whistler to make themselves known to RR forum members. There is a host of features that other manufactures didn't choose to go with. Whistler could have the best scanner on the market if they include certain options that others have deemed not important. Such as these few "ideas"...

(1) A Multi-Colored backlight / Keypad option along with single LED.
(2) Include TRBO and other systems (besides having APCO Phase 2) that other brands cannot receive.
(3) Trunking Activity Indicators. The display would display Trunking activity that is currently going on with other talk groups while listening to an active channel. Uniden once had this option, but has seemed to abandoned it.
(4) It is time for built in mini-amp booster for increased reception. The attenuator kills the signal, but what if the signal is weak... So far nothing you can do besides change antennas. This would solve it. Global, Per Channel, or Trunk group.
(5) Improve Signal Stalker.. Uniden's Version is far superior in every way.
(6) Have a VFO knob for tuning.
(7) Expansion port for future digital system upgrades.
 
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