PSR-500 Opinions

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737mech

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I know there are lots of Opinions about the 500 but I have a few questions for the current owners before I buy one.
1. In Your opinion after using it for as long as you have would you still pay $500.00 for it?
2. Do you think GRE would grant a rebate offer to current owners if the price were to drop?
3. How long do you think this scanner will hold it's value given the current economic conditions?
4. Does the scanner hold value based on the quick response and support of GRE? (Firmware update)
5. Will this be the last scanner I will ever buy, in other words will this scanner adapt to the changes we will require as new systems come out?
6. Are there any really wrenching limitations or querks with this scanner?
 

mtindor

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1. In Your opinion after using it for as long as you have would you still pay $500.00 for it?

I'd still pay $500 for a new one with a warranty, yes.

2. Do you think GRE would grant a rebate offer to current owners if the price were to drop?

No. Don't count on any manufacturer doing that. It just won't happen.

3. How long do you think this scanner will hold it's value given the current economic conditions?

Economic conditions do not dictate the value of the scanner. This scanner handles everything that any other scanner on the market handles and more. It'll work after rebanding. Any scanner in this league will hold its value until the next generation of scanners comes out.

Just look at the prices uses BCD396/996 go for and they have been around for a few years now. They hold their value because they still do everything.

4. Does the scanner hold value based on the quick response and support of GRE? (Firmware update)

It does in my book. We haven't seen Uniden's update for the 396/996 yet. But it's on the way. Although it often appears that nobody is home at Uniden, they are. Definitely if it looks like the manufacturer is listening to the customers wants/needs and is releasing new firmware updates, it makes a difference.

5. Will this be the last scanner I will ever buy, in other words will this scanner adapt to the changes we will require as new systems come out?

It'll be the last scanner you buy for maybe the next few years. It is always possible that some scanner manufacturer licenses the needed technologies to offer the ability to scan new, previously unscannable systems in the future. When that happens, and if you have those types of systems in your area that were previously unmonitor, you'll be buying again.

6. Are there any really wrenching limitations or querks with this scanner?

Frontend overload from strong signals on VHF. The scanner is extremely sensitive accross the board. If you live close to any amateur radio repeaters, high power paging transmitters (most are high power), VHF television stations (7-10 maybe), then you could run into problems with the strong signals from those systems swamping the receiver frontend of the scanner, making it difficult to monitor what otherwise shoudl be perfectly received signals on VHF.

With that said, if you are going to do any 800 mhz listening of systems with marginal signal strength, or a lot of different digital systems, this scanner works beautifully. You can't go wrong with it.

Mike
 

thewenk

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737mech said:
I know there are lots of Opinions about the 500 but I have a few questions for the current owners before I buy one.
1. In Your opinion after using it for as long as you have would you still pay $500.00 for it?
2. Do you think GRE would grant a rebate offer to current owners if the price were to drop?
3. How long do you think this scanner will hold it's value given the current economic conditions?
4. Does the scanner hold value based on the quick response and support of GRE? (Firmware update)
5. Will this be the last scanner I will ever buy, in other words will this scanner adapt to the changes we will require as new systems come out?
6. Are there any really wrenching limitations or querks with this scanner?
1- Yes
2- I doubt it.
3- I don't think the economic conditions will have much to do with it. More likely it will depend on what the competition (Uniden) is selling for. I would be surprised if you see any discounting for at least 6 mo.
4- That is part of it, but once again it depends on what the competition is selling for.
5- No, there will always be changes. I am hoping for a good 2-3 years, but it depends on the systems you're monitoring and wheher they change.
6- NO.
Just my opinions and not necessarily based on facts.;)

Dave
 

mtindor

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737mech said:
Front end overload of TV VHF should go away if the analog TV channels go away next year correct?

That's not necessarily correct. It all depends on where those current analog stations move their digital signals too.

Mike
 

k4njk

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737mech said:
I know there are lots of Opinions about the 500 but I have a few questions for the current owners before I buy one.

1. In Your opinion after using it for as long as you have would you still pay $500.00 for it?

My PSR500 was in one of the first batches shipped. It is worth the $500 I paid for it. I can listen to digital 800 Mhz systems with an 800Mhz rubber duck that I couldn't copy on my other base and portable digital scanners with an external 800Mhz beam. If I wanted a digital handheld today I would spend $500 again for it.

2. Do you think GRE would grant a rebate offer to current owners if the price were to drop?

No. You pay the current price. It is highly unlikely there will ever be a rebate for existing owners.

3. How long do you think this scanner will hold it's value given the current economic conditions?

Economic conditions are not a factor. It will be based on competition and GRE price reductions.

4. Does the scanner hold value based on the quick response and support of GRE? (Firmware update)

The scanner holds its value because the alternative is the Uniden 396t selling for a comparable price. The regular firmware updates are a factor and I have been very impressed with the enhancements.

5. Will this be the last scanner I will ever buy, in other words will this scanner adapt to the changes we will require as new systems come out?

I doubt this will be the later scanner you purchase. Even if it is upgraded via firmware to support new systems there will be new scanner models released which may have features you feel valuable enough to warrant a new purchase.

6. Are there any really wrenching limitations or querks with this scanner?

The scanner is subject to overload, especially with an external antenna. I prefer the size and memory configuration of the 396t. There should be more than 22 scanlists.
 

737mech

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Worth the 500

I got one yesterday and this thing ROCKS! Yes, anyone reading this thread listen up, It is a very cool easy to learn scanner. The difference from Uniden isn't that far off IMHO. Everything works as described in many posts. Thanks to AES they loaded the firmware for me before I left the store. I'm using the ARC500 without a problem. Yes I'm feeling satisfied the $ was worth it.
 

raisindot

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737mech said:
I got one yesterday and this thing ROCKS! Yes, anyone reading this thread listen up, It is a very cool easy to learn scanner. The difference from Uniden isn't that far off IMHO. Everything works as described in many posts. Thanks to AES they loaded the firmware for me before I left the store. I'm using the ARC500 without a problem. Yes I'm feeling satisfied the $ was worth it.

Don't know if it's all that easy to learn manually. I would be totally lost from a programming POV if I didn't have the software to run it. But, with any of the three packages, the whole thing is amazingly simple.

Suzie
 

KB1KBD

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I have found the PSR500 to be the easiest highend scanner to manually program. I have and use programming software because manually programming tags is tedious. The software is also a great back up tool should something bad happen.
 

mtindor

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737mech said:
I got one yesterday and this thing ROCKS! Yes, anyone reading this thread listen up, It is a very cool easy to learn scanner. The difference from Uniden isn't that far off IMHO. Everything works as described in many posts. Thanks to AES they loaded the firmware for me before I left the store. I'm using the ARC500 without a problem. Yes I'm feeling satisfied the $ was worth it.

That's awesome news. It definitely has been worth every penny I spent for it. I'm glad it's working out for ya!

Mike
 
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