If Relm scanners are that good....

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midwestsw

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Why is there so little information regarding them on the web ? I will soon be acquiring an HS-200 and
in searching there is little to be found. But what I've found sounds like it is held in high regard, primarily
due to the sensitivity. Hopefully programming wil be straight forward like all my old Radio Shack models...
I remember the brand, but back in the day I paid little attention as they were clear out of my purchase league !
 

bryan_herbert

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Relm was never really in the scanner business, they're well known for their two-way radio equipment. Their HS-200 and MS-200 scanners were manufactured in the mid to late 90s and considered mid-level gear due to their ability to decode CTCSS and DCS tones, a feature most scanners didn't have until early 2000.
 

harryshute

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RELM HS 200

Why is there so little information regarding them on the web ? I will soon be acquiring an HS-200 and
in searching there is little to be found. But what I've found sounds like it is held in high regard, primarily
due to the sensitivity. Hopefully programming wil be straight forward like all my old Radio Shack models...
I remember the brand, but back in the day I paid little attention as they were clear out of my purchase league !

My HS 200 bought new is still working very well and is very sensitive. I believe it did have computer programming but I never got the cable or software. It is very easy to program manually but I wish now I'd gone ahead and set it up for computer programming.
 

midwestsw

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Cool. Will be interesting to see if it does better than my 'ol workhorse RS Pro 60. I scored the 200 off that
auction site for very little. The poor 'ol guy looks like he's had a rough life, missing the battery holder, cover,
antenna and belt clip. Seller states it works well with 12v adapter. I've got some battery holder ideas in mind,
might have to get creative with my soldering iron...Hopefully whatever surgery is performed willl allow the
patient to survive a few more scanning sessions !
 

cru1242

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Relm HS200

I have owned a Relm HS200 for a long time. It's an excellent analog scanner. I use it for railroad monitoring and it is excellent. Picks out weak signals, yet impervious to interference that plagues my other scanners. According to the Bob Parnass review in Monitoring Times from April 1997, The HS200 was made for Relm by Yupiteru. That might be one reason it's held in high regard.

You will need the manual. The PL/DCS tones are not entered normally, but as three digit numbers, and you will need the conversion chart in the manual to enter them. The manual is still available for download from the Relm website. (Main page-Factory Service/Publications/Manuals-on the manuals page look for "discontinued manuals".)

Also, a website called ,"racescanners.com" has the battery holder for $19.99.
 

midwestsw

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Well, hope I can love mine. It arrived yesterday, the pictures didn't lie, it has had a rough life...found
a suitable 12v adapter, was initially concerned, as it required a very small female to plug in, but had
one on an old 4 way. Plugged in and yep, it powers up and has static with squelch break, all buttons function. So, entered in some freq's... (Oh, by the way, an owners manual was sent along with the radio...bonus...!) Unfortunately, it's not catching anything that my other scanners are. Nothing.
I even left it on "manual" on our Iowa Highway Patrol channel that was active. So tonight I opened it
up. Wow, have to admire the build quality, the pc boards are in a metal encased shielding box. It
is a snap on type lid around a frame. Got as far as taking the lid off, to expose the board. Then
the Mrs. got here with supper. Plan tomorrow p.m. is removing the board to make sure the bnc antenna
connector wire is still connected. Beyond that I'm not sure what is next but gotta rule that out first.
Was hopin' all would be good with some reception, but for the 14 bucks I paid for it, can't expect
a lot. Will have to see.
 

yaesu_dave

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Ogden UT
I have two (bought an extra in case one broke!) Relm HS 200 scanners and wouldn't part with either one. They are the BEST handheld scanner for VHF low band reception, much better than any Radio Shack or Uniden handhelds I've used. Although we're at a low spot in the current solar cycle, eventually 10 meters and the VHF low band will open up again and I'll be using my HS 200's for DX'ing. The MS 200 is another story--not nearly as good a scanner as the HS 200. Read some of the reviews on the net and you'll see what I mean. It's easily overloaded and prone to images and intermod if you live in an area with lots of strong signals. I also own two MS 200 scanners, but I bought them mostly because I got a great deal on both. I think I paid around $40.00 for each with shipping.
 

sefrischling

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The MS 200 is another story--not nearly as good a scanner as the HS 200. Read some of the reviews on the net and you'll see what I mean. It's easily overloaded and prone to images and intermod if you live in an area with lots of strong signals. I also own two MS 200 scanners, but I bought them mostly because I got a great deal on both. I think I paid around $40.00 for each with shipping.

I honestly found my MS200 to excellent with low band. I wish I still them.
 

garys

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There were pretty good scanners as I recall. Racing Electronics sold a version that was computer programmable, but the HS200 was not as I recall. I think they would have done better in terms of sales, but Uniden introduced the 235XLT about the same time and that had trunking capability.

I had both the HS200 and then the RE2000 and enjoyed them tremendously.
 

OceanNora

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Not to bump this thread with spam, but would any of this scanner's previous owners or anyone else in the know happen to have a PDF of the manual? It appears that every site (including Relm's customer service site) that did have it at one point no longer does so.
 

OceanNora

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I did see that, but when I click it I get a "the page cannot be found" error. If anyone has luck with that link, please let me know.
 
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