Pro-2018 (20-424) Programming Software

[W8HDU]

I'm looking for programming software and the programming cable for the Radio Shack Pro-2018.

Many of the older posts have non-working links and downloads which don't exist.

Was the Radio Shack Pro-2018 (20-424) manufactured by another company, such as Whistler, where I could use their software and programming cable for my scanners.

Anyone have any leads to software and cable?

 

[pro92b]

The PRO-2018 was manufactured by GRE for Radio Shack. GRE is no longer in the scanner business.

The link below will direct you to a program that should work with the PRO-2018 even though it does not specifically state that the PRO-2018 is supported. There is also a link to a cable diagram which is easy enough to build yourself.
glyff.net - ProLink

Another possibility for programming software is load83, available in the files tab of the group at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/PRO-83/info

Radio Shack did publish programming software back in 2001 that would probably work with the PRO-2018, their catalog number 20-048. If nothing else works for you I can probably dig it out of my archives.

All of the software listed above is ten years old or older. The programs may not run on operating systems newer than Windows XP.

 

[W8HDU]

Thanks. I'll try the ProLink, which I could download. The other one is apparently locked only to members of the Yahoogroup so I can't get to that one.

As I recall, there is a way under Win7 to specify a software launch emulating WinXP or Win2000.

BTW, what sort of programming cable do you use? Could the USB cable I use to program the Pro106 or 652 be used?

 

[pro92b]

I tried ProLink in Windows 7 and it ran without needing to use WinXP emulation or running as an administrator. I don't have a PRO-2018 but did test ProLink through a GRE USB cable fed into an oscilloscope and it did send data as expected on both the tip and ring contacts of the 1/8" phone plug. Everything I saw suggests that it should work to program the PRO-2018.

 

[W8HDU]

I messed around with ProLink for a hour and a half, and I could never get it to sync with the radio. I'm guessing it has something to do with how the software communicates with the GRECOM USB cable as I get a communications error. I'm thinking as tedious as it might be, I should probably just enter the information in by the scanner's buttons.

 

[pro92b]

Did you set the correct comport number in ProLink? Do the lights on the USB cable flash as you try to send data?

 

[W8HDU]

Did you set the correct comport number in ProLink? Do the lights on the USB cable flash as you try to send data?

Yes. As far as I can tell it's set to the right com port, but the USB cord does not flash. I'm assuming this is on the PC end and has nothing to do with the scanner at the moment. Albeit, the cord is plugged into the scanner and the radio is in the "Wired" mode.

 

[pro92b]

It seems that ProLink is not communicating with the USB cable. Open Device Manager in the Control Panel and then select Ports to see what port number is assigned to the USB cable. Then in ProLink in the top toolbar select Transfer and then RadioLink Modules. The first entry should be highlighted and then select Properties. Select scanner model PRO-2017 and enter the comport number from Device Manager. Click OK to close both windows and try to upload to the scanner. The lights on the USB cable should turn on during data transmission. They didn't blink when I just tried it with ProLink.

 

[W8HDU]

Just to make sure I've got the right thing; which version are you using from the web site? There appears to be three.

- ProLink 0.26 Alpha with Setup Program and Windows Installer (4.44MB EXE) - 08/14/03
- ProLink 0.26 Alpha with Setup Program (1.14MB EXE) - 08/14/03
- ProLink 0.26 Alpha Only (40.9KB ZIP) - 08/14/03

I just want to make sure we're talking about the same executable. Or are these all the same but in different install modes?

 

[pro92b]

The ProLink program is the same in all the options you listed.

 

[W8HDU]

Success... sort of.

ProLink is working, on COM-7 but it's "iffy" on the upload. I had to do it three times before it completed.

I also used a different cable. The one that worked is from the GRE 100-016 "USB Scanner Programming Cable" package which I got with another scanner.

ProLink has a few bugs which I'll report to the author. I notice the program is rather dated, so the author might not care. But at least I did my civic duty.

Thanks for your help.