New GRECOM PSR-500 Radio

I would love too learn how to use this radio and find the right software everyone uses to program. Been out of the scanner life for the last 2 years after my county went digital. The buisness i bought this from is very secret about getting any info on programming it. He said he will give me 30 days of free programming then it's 75.00. I'm not a newbie just new to digital.
Joe

In case you haven't discovered it yet, the GRE 500/600, RS 106/197/651/652, Whistler 1040/1065 all behave the same, as they are based on the same designs. (Other threads explain the history of Whistler buying GRE's designs and again producing the units for Radio Shack.)

Here are some links that might help get you started:

• Manuals: (these links leave RR)
  Easier to Read Manual
  Radio Shack Pro 106 Manual (.pdf file) -- the RS 106 and GRE 500 are functionally the same unit. I don't have a link to the GRE-produced manual.
  
  
• General Information:
  RR Wiki: GRE 500
  RR Wiki: Trunking Basics
  RR Wiki: Scanner Programming FAQ
  
  
• Software:
  RR Wiki: Getting Started with your GRE/RS Object Oriented Scanner
  RR Wiki: Programming Your GRE Scanner -- mentions software for the GRE 500 and others.
  RR Wiki: Object Oriented Scanner Software -- More details about software for the GRE 500 and others, including ARC500, Win500 as kruser mentions below.

If you bump into any specific problems, or have questions about how to program frequencies for a specific town or county or trunked radio system, please give a detailed description here. Many people on the forums are familiar with this scanner model and can help you over any hurdles.

Hope this helps,

slacker668 said:

I would love too learn how to use this radio and find the right software everyone uses to program. Been out of the scanner life for the last 2 years after my county went digital. The buisness i bought this from is very secret about getting any info on programming it. He said he will give me 30 days of free programming then it's 75.00. I'm not a newbie just new to digital.
Joe

Click to expand...

Win500 from starrsoft.com and ARC500 from Butel.nl is the common software many users use. I'm not aware of any free programming software for the GRE models though.

You will also need the scanner programming cable if they did not supply that to you. It plugs into the PC/IF jack on the side of the radio and a USB port on your computer where it will create a com or serial port in device manager.
Win500 can usually run and find the programming cable and radio just fine without knowing any port numbers but just in case, Win500 can also be ran as win500com which does require you to know the serial port number.
If this is a new in the box radio, the programming cable and power adapter should both be included.
There is also nothing secretive about programming these radios. It is all explained in the manuals and the links that QDP2012 supplied.
Perhaps the seller simply does not know how to explain it or is hoping you will come back and give them 75 bucks each time you want it programmed!

You should read the PSR500 manual as well as the easier to read manual from marksscanners.com and figure out how to see the CPU and DSP software versions in your radio and then upgrade them if they are not current.

You also may get better technical help to get you started with the basics if you ask that your post be moved into the GRE forum as that is the place where people will help you with firmware procedures and programming or operating questions etc.
The 500 is so common though that I'm sure many right here in this forum will help you.
Once you know the basics, post here in the New York forum for systems specific to your interests in your area or if you are having troubles with a certain system.

I'm pretty sure Win500 and ARC500 both have a free trial period but make sure you have the needed programming interface cable before installing them.

Programming cables that are the same as the one that shipped with the PSR500 can be bought from radio shack stores. They work with most of the scanners they sold or are selling. The RadioShack equivalent of the PSR500 is the Pro-106 so a programming cable that works with the PSR500, PSR600, Pro-196 and Pro-197 will work. That same cable also works with several other models that GRE made for RadioShack.

edit: QDP2012 gave you some good links that should help.

Thank you both for your information. i had to buy a cable online. i went back to the dealer and asked where the cable is since the box content says it's supposed to come with the radio. He said his supplier shipped them without the cables. who knows. I will get this figure out. i'm also thinking about getting the amp for this also that i read on this site.
Joe

slacker668 said:

Thank you both for your information. i had to buy a cable online. i went back to the dealer and asked where the cable is since the box content says it's supposed to come with the radio. He said his supplier shipped them without the cables. who knows. I will get this figure out. i'm also thinking about getting the amp for this also that i read on this site.
Joe

Click to expand...

That scanner was supposed to come with the programming cable, the A/C wall wart, and 2 battery holders.

Show your dealer the owner's manual..... on page 22 it shows what is shipped / included with the scanner. Here is a copy of the manual in case that was missing also:

http://www.greamerica.com/download/manuals/PSR-500_Manual.pdf

.

Sounds like you're being scammed. Return the scanner and buy from a reputable dealer.

I live in bville and will be glad to help you out,