GRE PSR-300 - Unsatisfied

[smurphy]

I've been lookng for a scanner to carry around the house and use in the car. I'm a firefighter and need something to monitor other agencies as I respond.

I have a 10 year old maxon 2 way radio in my car and a 15 year old yaesu portable at home for monitoring.

I did quite a bit of research and choose a PSR-300. If I liked it I was probably going to order the mobile version for my car.

I received the PSR-300 last week and have been unsatisfied!

The audio always has a hiss similar to white noise and the range is quite a bit less than expected.

At home my old yaesu portable has better range.

In the car I tried connecting to an external two-way antennae, which helped quite a bit, but again still not up to the maxon in the car. My primary freq range is 154.43

So... Did I get a low performing scanner or is this standard performance for the PSR-300.

This is a great site!
Thanks for your help.

Steve

 

[mtindor]

Steve,

One thing to keep in mind, a dedicated business band radio _usually_ has better sensitivity and selectivity. To compare a scanner to any commercial radio probfably is not realistic.

Also, depending on the frequencies you are listening to, the default antenna may not be up to snuff. I routinely purchase antennas that are specific for the band I will monitor the most.

I don't own a PSR-300/400 so I can't vouch for its sensitivity, but if it's anything like it's big brother it should have great sensitivity across the board (at least when compared to other scanners).

If I were you I'd make sure you don't have the ATT (attenuator) turned on, either globally or on individual frequencies (if the radio has an ATT - and i imagine it does).

If I were you, I'd also consider swapping out the antenna with an antenna for the band you are mostly wanting to listen to (although that would mean a sacrifice in performance on other bands).

I think it's too early in the game for you to be objective enough regarding the scanner - You have to take into consideration what you are comparing it with as well as use an antenna that is specific for the bands you want to listen to.

I rarely ever use the stock antenna on any scanner.

Mike

 

[Nasby]

Mike summed it up pretty well. A scanner will never outperform a commercial radio. However, with a scanner you have the flexibility of changing antennas, power supply, easy programming etc. The GRE scanners are great performers.

 

[CStarr59]

Steve, I have a Pro-164 and it's the identical radio as the PSR-300 only with a RS logo. I was excited at first with this radio but the hiss and static was just too much for me to deal with. I tried a diamond RH77CA antenna and the scanner just overloads and makes weird sounds. I used it for about a week and it's been sitting in the drawer ever since. I went back to my old Uniden BC92XLT with the diamond antenna and it works fantastic. The audio is much better and it picks up great with the upgraded antenna without overloading.
I own 4 GRE scanners and 3 of them have more hiss and static than I care to listen to. I'm sticking with uniden. I spent a lot of $$$ to learn a simple lesson, stick with what works and makes you happy.

 

[captncarp]

Psr 300

No Hiss on mine on VHF, UHF, LTR or EDACS Trunked. Sound about 4.0. more base than treble which I like. Switch between Stock, RS 800 and Diamond77......all good. Only time I get pager modulation a little is when I'm at the base of a mountain with the pager tower on top, and only on a couple of UHF freq's.

 

[Statevillian]

I got my PSR300 a couple weeks ago from Scannermaster. I did the quick firmware upgrade at home to 1.2. Programmed it and it is AWESOME. I have the GRE PSR 500 and a couple Unidens. Each has their pluses and minuses. But, the range I get is incredible on VHF and UHF fire with rubber duck antennas. Sorry to hear you are not satisfied.

 

[tbharper]

mine sounds great and does great also no hiss or anything like it picks up great. i even got the 400 yestersday for the truck and im loving it

 

[Zaratsu]

Is there a bad batch of 300s out there?

The general consensus and my own experience is that the PSR 300 is VERY sensitive. Some even think more sensitive than the 500 on analog.

I have heard a few people talk about too much hiss and static on the speaker. I dont have this problem at all. The speaker sound is very "loud" and very flat. Its not as dynamic as a uniden speaker, so there is a little bit of white noise that is normally muted on a uniden. But it seems that some people are getting static and noise on the speaker that is not normal at all.

Someone mentioned to make sure you do not have the global attenuator on, and also, the Squelch turns the OPPOSITE direction of the volume. Not with it.

The serial number on mine is below 1200, so it looks to be a fairly early build.