GRE PSR-500 - Likes / Dislikes?

[Volt]

So I'm looking to purchase a portable / handheld scanner that can do all the trunking functions, that is durable, and reliable. I've done my fair share of research and come to find myself keep coming back to the GRE PSR-500. I was originally going to purchase the Uniden BC346XT, but it hasn't had very good reviews.

With that said, I'm looking for your input on the GRE PSR-500. Do you own one? Do you like it, love it, hate it? What features do you like, what is it lacking, is it a good size for portability?

Basically, want you guys to give me the real review of this scanner vs everything else I have read on other sites. Not that I don't trust the reviews on other sites, but it seems that people here have no problem stating exactly how they feel about a product.

Thanks!

 

[gewecke]

So I'm looking to purchase a portable / handheld scanner that can do all the trunking functions, that is durable, and reliable. I've done my fair share of research and come to find myself keep coming back to the GRE PSR-500. I was originally going to purchase the Uniden BC346XT, but it hasn't had very good reviews.

With that said, I'm looking for your input on the GRE PSR-500. Do you own one? Do you like it, love it, hate it? What features do you like, what is it lacking, is it a good size for portability?

Basically, want you guys to give me the real review of this scanner vs everything else I have read on other sites. Not that I don't trust the reviews on other sites, but it seems that people here have no problem stating exactly how they feel about a product.

Thanks!

I have a PRO-106 which is basically the same as a PSR 500.
I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Pro's
Excellent audio, programming ease, display, battery life all +10

Con's

Size, somewhat fragile - DO NOT drop! Use care when changing antennas, BNC connector on top can become loose. Belt clip is not heavy duty and will break. Volume control can be touchy.

All in all 8.5 out of 10 just my opinion.

73,
n9zas

 

[RoninJoliet]

How does it decode any simulcast Starcom towers down your way....I had a GRE500 up here in suburb of Chicago and it was real BAD decoding the 700mgz simulcast system of Starcom so i sold it....I use the Uniden396XT which does very good on multipath towers here on Starcom but miss some features of GRE/RS...I have (2) RS197 bases and they do just OK using outside antennas and LMR400.........

 

[gewecke]

How does it decode any simulcast Starcom towers down your way....I had a GRE500 up here in suburb of Chicago and it was real BAD decoding the 700mgz simulcast system of Starcom so i sold it....I use the Uniden396XT which does very good on multipath towers here on Starcom but miss some features of GRE/RS...I have (2) RS197 bases and they do just OK using outside antennas and LMR400.........

Ya know ronin, after reading different users observations of their GRE's ability to decode P25 I'm thinking this comes down to how well the site(s) in their area work, as well as their distance to those sites and if they are mobile or stationary when they listen.
I hear the Mclean tower here on the ISU watterson bulding perfectly! It's almost as if it was analog audio, except frequently the mobiles in this area become "digital" and are rightly told so by dispatch. I use different indoor antennas as well as outside and the inside antennas seem to yield stronger signal and less multipath, as I'm less than 2 miles from the site.

73,
n9zas

 

[GTO_04]

Pros:

Excellent audio.
Very high sensitivity.
Easier to get to the last TG used and to hold on it.
Excellent digital decoding.
Very good audio gain control (AGC)
My PSR-500 seems to work very well on Starcomm 21, even in the Chicago area!

Cons:

Prone to interference in urban areas.
Fragile. If you drop it you will need to send it in for service.
Amber backlight.

GTO_04

 

[NYG]

I've always liked GRE scanners. When GRE wasn't selling under their own label I used to search to find out what model scanners were GRE at Radio Shack.

The PSR-500 is terrific for me on Long Island. Only a few of the trunked talk groups are digital but it sounds terrific.

The thing that I don't like is that GRE makes some incredibly ugly gear. Why can't they make it more like some of the later model amateur HTs. A bit more compact, heavy duty plastics and some style to the product. It's always a brick shaped cheap piece of plastic.

 

[gewecke]

I've always liked GRE scanners. When GRE wasn't selling under their own label I used to search to find out what model scanners were GRE at Radio Shack.

The PSR-500 is terrific for me on Long Island. Only a few of the trunked talk groups are digital but it sounds terrific.

The thing that I don't like is that GRE makes some incredibly ugly gear. Why can't they make it more like some of the later model amateur HTs. A bit more compact, heavy duty plastics and some style to the product. It's always a brick shaped cheap piece of plastic.

They could make em' pretty for us, but then we'd have to pay more! :wink:

73,
n9zas

 

[tglendye]

I don't have any real Uniden experience since I bought my 780xlt, so I realize that I can't compare the two. That being said, I really like my 500. I also have a Pro197 (mobile version of 500 under RS name) and I just bought a PSR410.

I would agree with the above posts with the likes and dislikes. The only other thing I would add is I wish the 500 had the ability to alpha tag the CC's and even lock out a specific CC when I would like to (both would be useful for multi site TRS's).

I tend to agree with the previous posts about the durability and cosmetics. All in all though, it's a pretty good scanner.

 

[KE5TLF]

So I'm looking to purchase a portable / handheld scanner that can do all the trunking functions, that is durable......<snip> Thanks!

If durability is your prime concern then Uniden is your only choice. Their XT line are built like tanks. GRE's are pretty fragile, and their size makes them kinda cumbersome to carry if that's what you're looking for.

 

[Volt]

I appreciate everyone's feedback and it's very useful to help me make a decision.

If durability is your prime concern then Uniden is your only choice. Their XT line are built like tanks. GRE's are pretty fragile, and their size makes them kinda cumbersome to carry if that's what you're looking for.

Yeah, that's what I have been reading. I'm just bummed that they changed the style. I love the size and feel of my SC230. It feels durable, you know?

 

[aprswatcher]

Gre psr-500

I've had my 500 for several years now and really like it for digital trunked systems.
Colorado has a statewide one and it works well, 700 MHz and 800 Mhz.

I agree with what others have said about the scanner, one other nice features is the "soft lock out" this allows you to lock out an frequency (object) and then the next time you turn the radio "ON" that freq (object) is unlocked.

Not to overly impressed with the aviation band both civilian and military, I have other scanners that pick up alot better.

I have a Pro 96 and Pro 2096 and the PSR-500 is a nicer radio with alot more features.

my 2 cents worth.

73, Rex

 

[oregontreehugger]

Not to overly impressed with the aviation band both civilian and military, I have other scanners that pick up alot better.

Totally agree. I have the Pro-106 and while it's great at trunking, the air band reception isn't so great.

 

[nanZor]

Not to overly impressed with the aviation band both civilian and military, I have other scanners that pick up alot better.

I have to agree with you there. I wished that the 500 had a more even sensitivity distribution, tone down 800mhz a bit, and increase mil-air, but I think mil-air wasn't really the demographic in mind.

I have/had the 500 and the Uniden 396xt - I wish I could combine them into one.

 

[jimg]

So I'm looking to purchase a portable / handheld scanner that can do all the trunking functions, that is durable, and reliable. I've done my fair share of research and come to find myself keep coming back to the GRE PSR-500. I was originally going to purchase the Uniden BC346XT, but it hasn't had very good reviews.

With that said, I'm looking for your input on the GRE PSR-500. Do you own one? Do you like it, love it, hate it? What features do you like, what is it lacking, is it a good size for portability?

Basically, want you guys to give me the real review of this scanner vs everything else I have read on other sites. Not that I don't trust the reviews on other sites, but it seems that people here have no problem stating exactly how they feel about a product.

Thanks!

I have owned a PSR-500 for a few years and have found that is very good on 800 digital trunked systems and OK on analog, but it does have a tendency to overload and stick on some analog channels. I like the audio better than my Uniden 396 XT. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Ensnared]

Proud Owner

So I'm looking to purchase a portable / handheld scanner that can do all the trunking functions, that is durable, and reliable. I've done my fair share of research and come to find myself keep coming back to the GRE PSR-500. I was originally going to purchase the Uniden BC346XT, but it hasn't had very good reviews.

With that said, I'm looking for your input on the GRE PSR-500. Do you own one? Do you like it, love it, hate it? What features do you like, what is it lacking, is it a good size for portability?

Basically, want you guys to give me the real review of this scanner vs everything else I have read on other sites. Not that I don't trust the reviews on other sites, but it seems that people here have no problem stating exactly how they feel about a product.

Thanks!

Likes: Audio is crisp & loud, speaker position; ease of programming, after you master method; CC control operation; GRE support & service, outstanding; LED light; relatively low cost in comparison to Uniden. I can think of others, but these are the most important ones I can recall at present.

Con: BNC module

 

[oregontreehugger]

(Interestingly, the GRE PSR-310 I had previously was pretty good on the air bands. There must be more changes inside it vs. the PSR-500/Pro-106 besides just the digital stuff.)

 

[wwhitby]

Likes:

- V-Scanner feature is great for traveling.

- Upgradable firmware & DSP (although I suspect there won't be any more upgrades available)

- Very good display. It provides a lot of information.

- 20 scan lists, plus favorites.

- has a keypad.

- Uses AA batteries

- Wildcards for talkgroups and private calls

- Built in data output

- temporary lockout


Dislikes

- reception on VHF suffers from overload. Its pretty useless on the railroad frequencies in an urban area. It works good if your VHF frequency uses PL/DPL/NAC. I had to add the Radio Shack TV filter to use my '500 in the car, but I shouldn't have had to do that on a $500 scanner.

- limit on the number of trunked system frequencies.

- Can run into memory limitations when programming large area trunked systems (especially large area EDACS systems.) I had to break one county with 8 towers into two seperate .bin files.

- hard to tap for a true discriminator output. I've done two of them, and I won't do another one.

- Ignoring ProVoice talkgroups should be a user selectable feature, not blocked. I've been on my soap box on this since GRE patched the '500 to disable it. If you could select the '500 to stop on ProVoice talkgroups, you could use DSD to have a one scanner, one PC solution to monitor ProVoice.

- Weak belt clip. Get a case with a metal belt clip.

 

[FIREBOX2914]

I love the PSR 500, I have to agree it its fragile if dropped (had to get a new front $15), and the belt clip is junk. I just got the PSR800 which has a much nicer belt clip but it is being a ***** to program opposed to my 500.