VHF Performance report.

[timjude]

Just got one of them psr 600's.At first i was a bit skeerd after reading some posts on the yahoo group's about the VHF range being deaf,because i still have a lot of analog comms i listen to in that range.Well to my surprise it's one of the most sensitive scanner's (mine anyway)That i have ever used in this range so i suspect whomever has one that is deaf in this area may have a dud scanner.I live in eastern ky and i can hear stations in charleston W.VA over 100 miles to the north east of me and stations in virginia 100 miles to the southeast and i know for a fact i could not hear some of these on my previous scanners including the 996 and the 2096 rs scanners.I understand that some say it's easy to overload the front end and i imagine so with a receiver as hot as this one but i can't comment on that as i live away from any tower's etc..But like i said i monitor very many frequency's between 150.mhz and 160.mhz and this scanner is hot!And the digital decode is great i monitor ky state police on 450mhz and no problems at all plenty of volume nice and equal between analog and digital no noticeable difference so i am not always playing with it to keep it from blasting me out of the room and scaring the kids when an analog station comes online..Not much to listen to here on 800mhz just a couple edacs systems on the power company,Tracks that with no issues.I know there will be problems with the unit on some systems just as with all the other scanners that we have seen and used in the past but i have never been more pleased upfront with any of my other scanners and as far as the psr 600 being deaf in the vhf range not happening here it's exellent with my scantenna up at only 30 feet.So if you have one thats deaf in this range send it back because there is something wrong with it..Not just blowing smoke..Just trying to clear the air on these posts about the scanner not performing in this frequency range..Mine is great..

[billybob123]

I have a PSR-500 and our local PD is on VHF high and this scanner has very good ears , has a edge on my PRO-96 and my 97 which was my most sensitive VHF scanner. I am very pleased with the performance of the new GRE handheld.



Billybob

[naSTI]

--- BEGIN SERIOUS RANT ----

Just got mine yesterday (2-11-08) with the latest firmware on it.

I live in a suburb, really close to Trenton, NJ. And it is by far the most awful receiver I have *EVER* com across. I've owned a Pro-43, Pro-2006, Pro-92, Pro-96 and this is (did I mention by FAR AND LARGE?) the worst receiver in the VHF and particularly VHF-Hi range.

On ANY given VHF-Hi channel the front-end is so overloaded that ALL 5 SIGNAL bars are lit up constantly when there's absolutely no signal whatsoever. I was really hoping to use this scanner in this range more so than others, but this is absolutely obsurd.

I tried it on three different antennas, and a Side-by-Side-by-Side-by-Side-by-Side simultaneous test with my Icom R2500&PCR100, my BCD-396T&996T as well as a Pro-92 and Yaesu VX7R and all of them can receive weak, simplex signals from the TSA (162-172 Mhz) at the Philadelphia airport roughly 25 miles away and the GRE is totally deaf. But still sits there, mocking me, with the signal bars to the "hilt".

I've tried with and with attenuation, playing the squelch, trying to mess with Zeromatic to see if that was a reason and no matter what, it just won't hear anything that doesn't come blasting through all of the other receivers.

This receiver is just TOO, TOO HOT. I would imagine if I lived deep in the Pocono Mountains or some other far away place like seven miles off-shore this would pull in weak signals nicely.

** BIASED? I will admit I'm biased ever since I bought my 396, then went out and bought the 996 just because it was such a pleasure to use. I'm not a "Set it and Forget it" type of listener. I always on the move, capturing new signals and decoding tones and codes, always using CloseCall/SignalStalker/SpectrumSweeper (or whatever each manufacturer wants to call it). The Unidens both have their intermod issues, but no-way no-how near the level of incompetence the 600 does. I wouldn't mind having to the ATTentuator full-time if it actually helped the radio hear better.

--- /END SERIOUS RANT ---

There were only two reasons why I cared to fork-over 500 clams for this receiver, NAC decoding and the curiosity why everyone says the audio was much better. I agree the P25 audio is silky smooth with the GRE. Only my EF Johnson radio sounds richer, bassier and louder. I will totally miss that crisp, silky sound.

I'm normally a pretty easy going and forgiving person when it comes to these "details", but I seriously can't use this receiver with this condition. It's going back ASAP.


naSTI

[NDRADIONUT]

I Just Made One That Took The Hash Right Out Of My PSR-500 !!
Started At 35" Of Cable TV Coax For The Stub And Cut Off An Inch At A Time Until I Was Hashless... Ended Up 27" From The Edge Of The F Connector.
Taking The Length And Velocity Factor Into Acct. Id Say Its Tv Ch 4 That Was Doing It........

[naSTI]

Originally Posted by NDRADIONUT

I Just Made One That Took The Hash Right Out Of My PSR-500 !!
Started At 35" Of Cable TV Coax For The Stub And Cut Off An Inch At A Time Until I Was Hashless... Ended Up 27" From The Edge Of The F Connector.
Taking The Length And Velocity Factor Into Acct. Id Say Its Tv Ch 4 That Was Doing It........

Well I could go and try and figure out which signal is afflicting the 600, but now I gotta go out and buy a Ramsey, MFJ or other filter/attenuator. Plus there's no guarantee any *one* source is my problem. :-(

[timjude]

Myself i have no problems but i can understand your frustration if it's that bad i would send it back..Would like more feedback to see if others are having the same problem's...Mine is not overloaded at all makes me wonder if there may be a few defective units being shipped..

[Curfew]

I have the PSR-500 now and all i can say it's about time someone concentrated on reception capability instead of having attenuated circuitry. Really sensitive depending on enviroment, but if it gets too sensitive it can be controlled.

Better to have one sensitive than not have one not sensitive enough- even after doing a zillion things to try and pull in signals. Curfew.

[wnjl]

Originally Posted by naSTI

--- BEGIN SERIOUS RANT ----

Just got mine yesterday (2-11-08) with the latest firmware on it.

I live in a suburb, really close to Trenton, NJ. And it is by far the most awful receiver I have *EVER* com across. I've owned a Pro-43, Pro-2006, Pro-92, Pro-96 and this is (did I mention by FAR AND LARGE?) the worst receiver in the VHF and particularly VHF-Hi range.

naSTI

I live 8 miles south of Trenton and a little over 20 miles NE of Philly and occasionally use the 500 hooked up to an outdoor 2m/440 antenna and I really have been satisfied with the results. A couple strong local VHF pagers (who on earth still uses those things?!!? LOL) occasionally interfere with very weak VHF signals, but other than that a general 40-50 mile radius on VHF can be heard with good results. Could it have possibly been a defective unit?

[Grog]

The "problem" is that many GRE scanners from the last ten years (and more) are very sensitive on VHF-Hi band, so certain things have to be adjusted. I used to use a 2053 (base) on the dash of my car with a 800mhz RS whip sticking straight out of the back of it, and that worked well for VHF in my county and those around me.

[n4jri]

Originally Posted by Curfew

I have the PSR-500 now and all i can say it's about time someone concentrated on reception capability instead of having attenuated circuitry. Really sensitive depending on enviroment, but if it gets too sensitive it can be controlled.

Better to have one sensitive than not have one not sensitive enough- even after doing a zillion things to try and pull in signals. Curfew.

I'm with you on that. I could listen to trunking with a radio that's deaf as a post, but airband isn't going to tolerate that. I'd rather have the sensitivity and deal with its woes.

The radio has selective attenuation for all conventional channels, searches, and trunked systems, and global is available with a couple of keystrokes. (not to mention how quiet the NAC decoding makes it compared to most other radios) The sensitivity can be managed. Maybe in a future model there could be varying steps of attenuation or preamplification programmable with the channels.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

[Grog]

Originally Posted by n4jri

Maybe in a future model there could be varying steps of attenuation or preamplification programmable with the channels.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

Good suggestion. I love all the GREs, would hate if they were only as sensitive as a uniden.