MN P25 ARMER system on GRE vs Whistler scanners

[AAFC]

Hi guys,

I've had a GRE PSR500 and a RS Pro-197 for may years operating on the MN ARMER system. Luckily where I live (Hennepin - south metro) the scanners function okay on that system. However, certain areas of my city result in very bad digital distortion, or no audio at all (even with strong signal). Obviously the GRE (and RS) scanners have not had any firmware updates in many years so I am wondering if the Whistler scanners funtion any better these days on the P25 system?

My experience:
About two years ago I purchased and programmed a WS1040 for a friend of mine. For the short time I had that new scanner (WS1040) in my possession, having programmed it identically to my PSR500, the Whistler seemed to perform much better than the old GRE. Again, these were programmed identically to each other, and sitting side by side on my desk, and the Whistler had less digital distortion than the old GRE. Does anyone have any personal experience similar to this? Is it generally known that the newer Whistler scanners function better on P25? I don't keep up with all the day to day latest info in scanner tech so I'm wondering if anyone else has had experiences similar to mine.

I noticed the price for a new WS1040 on Amazon today is $206. The last one I purchased in April of 2015 on Amazon was $367.95.... For $206, I am very tempted to by another scanner for myself to replace my beat-up old GRE PSR500. (which still works but will be kept as a spare)

Thanks!

 

[ofd8001]

What you are describing is simulcast distortion. Your scanner is receiving two or more sites and is having trouble decoding them. It's sort of like the human ear dealing with a bad echo. That's why you see a strong signal indication too.

I'm assuming you are listening to Hennepin East and they have several sites around the Richfield/Bloomington area. As you get closer to one site where it's signal overwhelms the other site, you see the audio clear up.

I experience this same predicament on the Louisville simulcast system as well as the ARMER simulcast sites when I travel to Minneapolis.

Unfortunately I've only owned Uniden scanners, but what I've seen is that as new models have come out, the problem isn't as pronounced.

 

[AAFC]

What you are describing is simulcast distortion. Your scanner is receiving two or more sites and is having trouble decoding them. It's sort of like the human ear dealing with a bad echo. That's why you see a strong signal indication too.

I'm assuming you are listening to Hennepin East and they have several sites around the Richfield/Bloomington area. As you get closer to one site where it's signal overwhelms the other site, you see the audio clear up.

I experience this same predicament on the Louisville simulcast system as well as the ARMER simulcast sites when I travel to Minneapolis.

Unfortunately I've only owned Uniden scanners, but what I've seen is that as new models have come out, the problem isn't as pronounced.

ofd8001, thanks for your reply.

Yes, I fully understand WHY the scanner is having problems. You called it simulcast distortion, I called it digital distortion in my post.... I understand several towers are transmitting the same signal, yet reaching my scanner milliseconds apart from each other. I got it...

I should have done a better job asking my original question. Lets give it another shot.....

Does anyone know if the newer firmware in a Whistler WS1040 handles simulcast distortion any better than the older GRE PSR500 on Motorolla P25 systems, specifically the Minnesota ARMER system?

ofd8001, again thanks for your reply.