Keep old scanner or get something new?

I have a Radio Shack Pro96 scanner, along with a programming cable. I bought it new about 10 years ago and used it only briefly before putting it in a box and leaving it alone. It was just too complicated to program channels. I don't know if it was a poorly written manual, poorly designed menus or what, but the manual programming process was so complicated that I would have to refer to the manual every time.

I recently got back into radio and I want to be able to monitor many frequencies at once. But this particular scanner seems daunting. To compare, the little Baofeng uv5r radios have a reputation for being difficult to program manually but I have no trouble with those at all.

I don't have any programming software for the scanner. I couldn't find any for free from radio shack or anywhere else. I want to be able to program this radio via computer, but I don't want to spend more money on a 10 year old scanner.

Should I just look into a new digital trunk tracking scanner altogether? Do new ones come with programming software and cables? Are they easy to program manually?

K7XRL said:

I have a Radio Shack Pro96 scanner, along with a programming cable...
Should I just look into a new digital trunk tracking scanner altogether? Do new ones come with programming software and cables? Are they easy to program manually?

Click to expand...

Go digital? -- It depends on which community you wish to monitor.
New scanners include software and cables? -- It depends on which model and manufacturer and reseller.
Digital scanners easy to program manually? -- Usually not. Software is recommended in most cases.

Hope this helps,

QDP2012 said:

Go digital? -- It depends on which community you wish to monitor.
New scanners include software and cables? -- It depends on which model and manufacturer and reseller.
Digital scanners easy to program manually? -- Usually not. Software is recommended in most cases.

Hope this helps,

Click to expand...

+1 on all. I don't own a Pro-96 but I know some who do and they are still great scanners. Depending on where you live, it might do everything you need. And the cost of the programming cable and software will be money well spent, and definitely a lot cheaper than any new top-shelf scanner. And computer programming is the way to go, IMHO...I can, if I have to, program my scanners manually. I much prefer to do it with the computer and the RRDB, because it's just so much easier, 1000X to me, though others would argue. But I like to monitor, not fiddle with entering endless stuff, so I use the software/cable method. I don't know of any newer scanners that are actually easier to program manually than via software/cable. Just my $0.02.

Ok, thanks for the input. This scanner does do digital. But I think there is probably a firmware update that hasn't been applied. I haven't looked at it in a long time. I hope none of the components have degraded or changed values over time.

K7XRL said:

Should I just look into a new digital trunk tracking scanner altogether? Do new ones come with programming software and cables? Are they easy to program manually?

Click to expand...

Simply put, YES. The latest generation of scanners is much easier to program than those available 10 years ago. They come with software and a USB cable. As long as you are willing to pay for it, the package will have everything you need.

The Pro-96 is discontinued and was manufactured for Radio Shack by GRE America Inc.

The Radio Shack is a Digital Trunk Tracking scanner which boasts the ability to track APCO 25 digital trunking systems, in addition to following Motorola type I/II systems and EDACS trunking systems.

Looks like it does p25.

If you want easy to program you can't beat a Whistler 1080 or Uniden HB-1 or 2. A lot of money but all you will have to do is put in your zip code and check off what category you want to hear.

Keep old scanner?

I have both the Pro96 since 2004 and the new WS1080. If you were confused by the Pro96, I doubt you'll be happy with ANY of the new scanners, especially the Unidens that seem to have endless menus, that turned me off on them. The Pro96 can easily be programmed with Win96 software, they even give you a 15 day free trial where you could set it up and decide later. The new Whistler WS1080 and other scanners need a computer and update with the USB cords they give you. Like the others said, it depends on whether your area has P25 Phase 1 and has plans to change to Phase II only in the future. The Pro96 doesn't cover that. It's why I upgraded to the WS1080. We have Phase II Trunked systems here and can hear those talkgroups on the WS1080 but not on the Pro96. Another reason why the WS1080 is superior to the older scanners is they are Object oriented scanners. They don't use Banks/Channels and limit you to only a certain number of talkgroups for a trunked system. YOU upload what you WANT to hear and don't have to Lockout 90% of the talkgroups only to see this message "Memory FULL!!" no need for OPEN/Closed banks to filter out the Locked out talkgroups. This alone is worth getting a newer scanner you can manipulate with the software to any way you like instead of being limited to what old scanners allow you to hear. I still use my Pro96, but the WS1080 is used 99% of the time now. And the WS1080 is ready for the future and new systems as everything is ON the MicroSD card and upgrades easily. BTW....the zip code method on new scanners will give you ulcers. It gives you EVERYTHING far away to the furthest point of your county and zip code. There have been endless complaints in Radio Ref forums of those who used that method to program. It's best to select by getting only those things YOU want to hear near you instead of County or "Type" of category like "Police dispatch" "Medical" etc. Making your own lists is better

A lot of the answer is where are you located and have they gone digital yet. Programming a conventional scanner can be time consuming if there are a hundred channels to be entered. On the other hand if your area has gone digital be prepared to shell out $500 and hope for the best. On the plus side most of the new digital scanners only need your zip code and a minute to program. The down side... research before you buy, and don't be the first on your block with the new digital $500 toy that does not work well with others and is still waiting for a manufacturer fix.

I thought My Pro96 was dead until I purchased ARC96 program and Radioreference.Works great.I have purchased a HP496 and my Pro96 does the same as of right know.Keep it and enjoy.

OK, I went ahead and looked at both the Win96 and Arc96 software trials and decided to buy the Arc96. It looks more like an excel spreadsheet so the layout makes more sense, particularly with the channel banks on tabs you can just click.

It is going to take some getting used to but I think I can figure it out.

My county is a sparsely populated rural county and the county police dispatch is still analog. I can listen to the police all day long on my little Baofeng UV5R V2+. but I wanted a way to be able to monitor my own amateur radio transmissions and it looks like the scanner will probably be the better choice. Plus the scan feature in the Baofeng is painfully slow and doesn't give access to nearly as many frequencies.

So I guess the next step is to get a subscription here so I can download some frequency files.

OK, got the subscription and I think I've managed to save the frequencies into one of the "V scanner" folders on the scanner. Just now the county dispatch came on both the scanner AND my manually programmed Baofeng so I think I have it working!

This was WAY easier than trying to learn how to manually program frequencies.

And I have turned what was essentially a $500 brick into a useful gadget again, for the cost of a subscription and some inexpensive software.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Cable for programming

I bought a Unden BCT115x in December and it came with acable that can be plugged into non of my four computers. A month later I bought a Whistler 1065 for digital systems and it came with a cable for progtamming that plugged into a usb port. I guess you have to check.

pr4367 said:

I bought a Unden BCT115x in December and it came with acable that can be plugged into non of my four computers. A month later I bought a Whistler 1065 for digital systems and it came with a cable for progtamming that plugged into a usb port. I guess you have to check.

Click to expand...

For your Uniden BCT15X, see Connecting scanners via USB - The RadioReference Wiki.
If you get a USB to Serial converter cable (there are a number listed on that page; I've seen a number of good comments about this one, but there are others), you can then use the cable that came with the scanner. For programming, FreeSCAN is free, and handles the job very well. It's user guide is available in the Wiki.

Uniden

Thanks for that info. I am going to do that. Sounds easier than I thought it would be to program this scanner.

pr4367 said:

Thanks for that info. I am going to do that. Sounds easier than I thought it would be to program this scanner.

Click to expand...

And even if you were not planning to use software for programming, the cable and converter (since your pc's don't have a serial port) would be needed if you wanted to install a firmware update if and when one was released.

Manually programming the PRO-96 is like a lot of things. You slowly learn how to do it and then, depending on how much you do it this way, gets easier and more efficient. I don't do much manual programming on my PRO-96 and GRE PSR-500/600's, but carry a copy of the manuals for them in my two cars. Eventually I picked up enough that I often don't have to use the manual as much.

The PRO-96 is not at all as difficult to program manually as the GRE models. Pull up a channel, put the radio in program mode, enter the frequency and hit enter. Trunked systems are a little more complex, but fairly easy. I find most ham radios, especially Yaesu radios very difficult to manually program and use. Just try to lock out a channel from scan on a Yaesu. It isn't straight forward at all. Kenwood radios are easier, but not as easy as a scanner.