PSR500/PSR600: Whistler WS 1065

[WA1LMC]

I just received a WS 1065 scanner to put in a rack with my BCD996P2, BCD996T and BCF 780XLT. I admit I got a good deal on it new at 260.00 but I can see why. Like the original GRE's, it is poorly designed. First it is built in China but that isn't the problem. Whoever engineered the specs around which it was designed had no real experience with digital scanning in particular.

On most unencryped P25, the saner sounds good. Nt a 996P2 but it does sound good as does conventional channels. But the damn scanner does not mute encrypted audio. In Rhode Island most P25 transmissions are encrypted so listeners don't log all the trips the police make to the local coffee shops! The 996P2 does. Also there are single channel digital audio which the Uniden allows to assign an audio mode which is AUTO, ANALOG DIGITAL. It too is most likely P25 but it belongs in a conventional slot.

The WS 1065 allows only 1 conventional object where the trunked system allows multiple trunk systems. The scanner allows 1 talk group list and from there you have to assign a group of talkgroups to a particular trunk system.

The programming of this scanner compared to the BCD996T and BCD996P2 really sucks. It is only a remake of a horrible scanner which is a good entry level scanner but if you used a Uniden scanner, this thing will NEVER do.

What it needs is a redesign of the firmware to make programming more flexable and the hardware codecs need to be rewritten to allow for muting of encrypted audio.

My promary use is to monitor chanel activity for which it will do fine but the real P25 stuff will be a job of the BCD996T and 996P2.

 

[ScannerSK]

I just received a WS 1065 scanner to put in a rack with my BCD996P2, BCD996T and BCF 780XLT. I admit I got a good deal on it new at 260.00 but I can see why. Like the original GRE's, it is poorly designed. First it is built in China but that isn't the problem. Whoever engineered the specs around which it was designed had no real experience with digital scanning in particular.

On most unencryped P25, the saner sounds good. Nt a 996P2 but it does sound good as does conventional channels. But the damn scanner does not mute encrypted audio. In Rhode Island most P25 transmissions are encrypted so listeners don't log all the trips the police make to the local coffee shops! The 996P2 does. Also there are single channel digital audio which the Uniden allows to assign an audio mode which is AUTO, ANALOG DIGITAL. It too is most likely P25 but it belongs in a conventional slot.

The WS 1065 allows only 1 conventional object where the trunked system allows multiple trunk systems. The scanner allows 1 talk group list and from there you have to assign a group of talkgroups to a particular trunk system.

The programming of this scanner compared to the BCD996T and BCD996P2 really sucks. It is only a remake of a horrible scanner which is a good entry level scanner but if you used a Uniden scanner, this thing will NEVER do.

What it needs is a redesign of the firmware to make programming more flexable and the hardware codecs need to be rewritten to allow for muting of encrypted audio.

My promary use is to monitor chanel activity for which it will do fine but the real P25 stuff will be a job of the BCD996T and 996P2.

Correct, the WS 1065 will not mute encrypted audio. If a specific talkgroup has both encrypted and unencrypted audio then it is all or nothing.

The WS 1065 can be programmed with well over 1000 conventional objects depending upon the amount of remaining memory.

The WS 1065 has 22 talk group lists. Any conventional or trunked system talkgroups can be assigned to any, all or none of these 22 lists.

I have several talkgroup systems running with maybe 100 conventional channels grouped into one list of favorites, another list of local non-important channels and another list of non-local channels which works well on my end.

It is a very versatile scanner. The only problem I may encounter is running out of memory to store all the talkgroups on the statewide DTRS system.

Shawn