If you are using 1080 firmware on your 668, post your results here

[EricCottrell]

So "Scanner Type" is the actual model (PRO-668, etc.) you are connecting to the computer?

And Firmware will always be WS 1080?

Hello,

Yes, the Scanner Type is the actual hardware.

Select WS-1080 for Firmware if you want to load WS-1080 firmware or the same as the Scanner Type to load the original firmware.

73 Eric

 

[scannerjunkie]

Ok I updated my 668 and now I see a flashing S where the T is and the signal comes and goes. I don't know why it's doing that. I wonder if this will affect the performance of the scanner. Anyone else notice this?

 

[Wackyracer]

Ok I updated my 668 and now I see a flashing S where the T is and the signal comes and goes. I don't know why it's doing that. I wonder if this will affect the performance of the scanner. Anyone else notice this?

T is for trunking, S indicates squelch is open. not sure when the S comes into play and what systems trigger it.

If you haven't upgraded the stock antenna to the Radio Shack RS800, this will improve the reception considerably. An outside antenna and possibly a signal amp may help even more.

 

[kibler]

Ok I updated my 668 and now I see a flashing S where the T is and the signal comes and goes. I don't know why it's doing that. I wonder if this will affect the performance of the scanner. Anyone else notice this?

I did the Update Firmware on my Pro-668 a couple days ago and screwed something up???...My result after Update was the same as yours with the 'S'! I checked to see what I did and discovered that somehow I did the Version 4.4 Upgrade?

Now the Scanner is hung in some kind of Mode that will not allow it to load any COM port so I can redo my mistake? In Device Manager it shows the Scanner as "Whistler WS1080 Scanner" and is listed as "OTHER DEVICES"! I have tried everthing that I know of to solve the issue but no luck so far! I tried another computer but it would not assign the Scanner a Port either?

Anyone have any idea how I can get the Scanner back to the original state? I don't know what else to try! Thanks for any help

 

[kibler]

I wish I could describe my problem a little better????...bottom line is, "I can't get my computer to assign the Scanner a Port number???"....it insists on putting it "OTHER DEVICES".....

 

[EricCottrell]

I wish I could describe my problem a little better????...bottom line is, "I can't get my computer to assign the Scanner a Port number???"....it insists on putting it "OTHER DEVICES".....

Hello,

Have you installed the WS1080/WS1088 PC Driver on the computer? The Scanner now identifies as a WS1080 so the Pro-668 PC driver might not work.
https://whistlergroup.com/collections/scanner-downloads/products/ws1080-ws1088-pc-driver

You might as well get the WS1080 Ez-Scan program as well. You will need it.
https://whistlergroup.com/collections/scanner-downloads/products/ez-scan-for-ws1080-ws1088

73 Eric

 

[kibler]

Eric.....Thanks! I will give this a try!

 

[Wackyracer]

I did the Update Firmware on my Pro-668 a couple days ago and screwed something up???...My result after Update was the same as yours with the 'S'! I checked to see what I did and discovered that somehow I did the Version 4.4 Upgrade?

Now the Scanner is hung in some kind of Mode that will not allow it to load any COM port so I can redo my mistake? In Device Manager it shows the Scanner as "Whistler WS1080 Scanner" and is listed as "OTHER DEVICES"! I have tried everything that I know of to solve the issue but no luck so far! I tried another computer but it would not assign the Scanner a Port either?

Anyone have any idea how I can get the Scanner back to the original state? I don't know what else to try! Thanks for any help

disconnect the usb cable,(leave one end plugged into the computer) pull the batteries, press and hold the power button for 30 seconds.

Press the menu button and hold it while plugging in the USB cable, release the menu button wait for the beep on the computer...this could take 30 seconds, more or less depending on the speed of your computer.

Start the firmware update process via the grefwtool and continue following the process to upgrade. the process is the same to downgrade, The difference is the firmware you select, the procedure is the same.

 

[Nasby]

Hello,

Have you installed the WS1080/WS1088 PC Driver on the computer? The Scanner now identifies as a WS1080 so the Pro-668 PC driver might not work.
https://whistlergroup.com/collections/scanner-downloads/products/ws1080-ws1088-pc-driver

You might as well get the WS1080 Ez-Scan program as well. You will need it.
https://whistlergroup.com/collections/scanner-downloads/products/ez-scan-for-ws1080-ws1088

73 Eric

Eric, You really are a super nice guy!

 

[kibler]

Eric.........Thank you very much! I never could find the correct drivers that would work, but the Link you offered me was the one that corrected my problem! My radio now can see the Com Ports and I now have 3.8 on my scanner! Thank you and have a Merry Christmas

 

[trp2525]

Ok I updated my 668 and now I see a flashing S where the T is and the signal comes and goes. I don't know why it's doing that. I wonder if this will affect the performance of the scanner. Anyone else notice this?

T is for trunking, S indicates squelch is open. not sure when the S comes into play and what systems trigger it...

I am currently scanning a 900 MHz MotoTRBO trunked system with multiple sites and hundreds of talkgroups. I only have a handful of talkgroups activated and I have 5 sites programmed in for the system. That being said the scanner is performing flawlessly on this system but I am also seeing the same T with a black background box and an S with a black background box alternating while the unit is scanning this system.

I looked up both screen icons in the Whistler WS1080 owner's manual (pages 19-20) and in the Easier To Read WS1080 manual. Both references agree that the T with the black background box indicates that the scanner is currently receiving trunking control channel data. Neither reference shows the S with the black background box in the icon list. They do, however, show a plain S icon (without the black background box) which indicates an open squelch but that is definitely not the same icon that we are seeing while scanning is in progress.

I have to assume that what we are seeing is perfectly normal behavior for the version 3.8 CPU firmware from Whistler. I'm guessing that this newer S icon with the black background was added at some point when DMR was added to the firmware but has not yet made its way into a newer revised version of the Whistler WS1080 owner's manual or the Easier To Read WS1080 manual.

Lastly I have one interesting observation that I have made regarding these 2 icons. When the scanner stops on one of my activated talkgroups (regarding the same MotoTRBO trunked system referenced above) the T stays on solid the entire time actual voice traffic is present. As soon as the user unkeys the radio the T changes immediately to the S with the black background while the scanner is in scan delay mode waiting for a reply. If a reply is heard before scanning resumes the S changes immediately back to the T but only while the replying radio is keyed.

 

[trp2525]

Ok I updated my 668 and now I see a flashing S where the T is and the signal comes and goes. I don't know why it's doing that. I wonder if this will affect the performance of the scanner. Anyone else notice this?

There is further discussion of those S and T screen icons in this RR thread starting with post # 5: http://forums.radioreference.com/whistler-scanners/334415-whistler-dmr.html

 

[Haley]

Hey guys, pretty sure the S is for a data signal. And the T is the usual Trunking signal. At least it appears that way to me with what I have been monitoring. Mike

 

[K2KOH]

Well, happy to report my Pro 668 is listening to Putnam County, NY Highway on the NYCOMCO Trbo system. Sounds damned good, too. Thanks to Eric, and to everyone for their hard work!

 

[InlandAZ]

Finally my 668 is receiving as well, if not better, than my 106/197's on P25. I'm not sure what the DSP corrected, but it sure sounds good. And oh yeah, DMR Is coming in loud and clear.

Super work Eric -

It's too bad Whistler didn't push this out, my next purchase would be a no-brainer if that were the case. While I'm still leaning in their direction, I sure wasn't happy with their decision not to provide support for the 668. Oh well, I'll get over it

 

[Septa3371CSX1]

Took a little while but I got my Pro 668 to do DMR with the trick. Now I won't have to save up for a UHF XPR in the near future.

 

[scannerjunkie]

Just an update on my 668. all works well. just wanted to ask whats the best way to keep the T more consistant? i have read that a flashing T will result in poor reception.i just want to try and adjust whatever i can to get the most out of p25 transmissions. any info would be great. thanks

 

[Wackyracer]

Just an update on my 668. all works well. just wanted to ask whats the best way to keep the T more consistant? i have read that a flashing T will result in poor reception.i just want to try and adjust whatever i can to get the most out of p25 transmissions. any info would be great. thanks

The "T" stands for Trunking. A better antenna helps and or a signal amp.

 

[N2SCV]

I'm happy to report that the update to my 668 is receiving DMR and it seems that it's receiving Phase II better than before here in NYC.

 

[Kaijudo]

First off Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

I just did the trick, everything seems to be working fine.

Just in case anyone has the same issue I've had with my Pro 668, I have a tip for you. For some reason (this was before I ever installed the 3.8 firmware) when ever I would do an update on my Pro 668 through the iscan software; clicking rescan would cause the software to stop reading my scanner, but if I don't click rescan at all, it seems to work fine. I'm using windows 7 by the way.

Thank you EricCottrell and everyone else responsible for getting this out to us.

One quick question. Now that my Pro 668 is running Whistler. Is it safe to update my scanner's library and cpu with the EZ Scan software? I have 2 updates pending in those sections.