GRE PSR-900 Pre-Release Thread

[n4jri]

Agreed...I love my PSR 500 & 600 as there are an infinite number of customizations I can make. These newer models are for point and click type people. Nobody can touch GRE on digital audio quality but GRE must innovate with a breakthrough in digital audio performance in high RF environments and those digital simulcast systems that are hard to receive pro-quality audio with. Still love my PSR 500 and 600 though, just have to be patient.

I agree also. The 800 is a decent radio but it's not very valuable to a hardcore hobbyist. The next innovations are probably the Phase II TDMA, but also IDAS, NXDN, MoroTRBO another other technologies that require licensing. The next version of the PSR500/600 will probably cost some bucks.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

 

[rwier]

Mister M. Howard opines:

"GRE is really blowing away Uniden year after year GRE anounces new products Uniden hasn't announced any advancement in over 2 years".

Mister C. Howard counters with:

"GRE anounces new products which are a backwards step from its previous products, like the inflexible 800 which can be operated by a chimp rather than the excellent 500 with all its bells and whistles. Hardly what I would call blowing away the competition. The 900 looks like the same cripled, designed for a chimp to operate, base/mobile version of the 800 which will be near impossible to operate mobile."

and we await the the determinental opinion of Mister L. Fine.

Happy Saturday night, gentlemen, lol.

 

[BeerNutz]

This hardcore hobbyist, chimp has been scanning for decades. The 800 has become my go-to radio and can't wait for the 900. Hey looky here. With the Mp3 player control, I can program and peel a banana at the same time.

Thank you GRE. The days of owning a paperweight from the other company till you figure things out are over.

 

[davidzimmerman]

i love my GRE-800 just wish it would NOT eat batteries like it does.my old pro-96 would last for days on re-chargeable batteries.i only bought the GRE-800 because i was hopeing it would trunk the phase-2 systems i hate to spend money if its not going to monitor the systems in my area.so were still not sure if the GRE-800 will trunk a phase-2 yet so i'm not going to buy one yet and see what happens.

 

[firephotographer50]

I agree also. The 800 is a decent radio but it's not very valuable to a hardcore hobbyist. The next innovations are probably the Phase II TDMA, but also IDAS, NXDN, MoroTRBO another other technologies that require licensing. The next version of the PSR500/600 will probably cost some bucks.

73/Allen (N4JRI)

I agree as well. I love my 500 and 600 for all the configurations that I can make. I also agree that an updated version of the 500/600 will probably cost some big bucks, but if it can scan all the above listed technologies (and dare say it....OpenSky) I would be willing to save up the extra bucks to purchase the updated 500/600.

I keep doing the research on the 800's and 900, but I just can't get enthused about them enough to make a purchase. For the time being I'll start saving my money for an updated 500/600.

 

[69stiles]

I've been a "hardcore hobbyist" for 20 years & I've noticed lately that we program a scanner in 3 ways these days. Sophisticated software, old school data entry, & pre-loaded databases.
I love the HP-1 & my PSR-800. I find them very customizable without having to do all that been there done that data entry. A couple hours before I left from Canada for a drive to Florida I did a bit of research on the systems & had my 800 fully loaded for some great listening. I've had them all & the 800 lacks nothing. Just need to use some imagination

 

[DaveIN]

Sophisticated software, old school data entry, & pre-loaded databases.

The only thing that is missing is the keypad entry to go with the database (microSD) and software. This (along with Phase II decoding) is what we need in a PSR-510 model.

 

[Swipesy]

I love the HP-1 & my PSR-800. I find them very customizable without having to do all that been there done that data entry. A couple hours before I left from Canada for a drive to Florida I did a bit of research on the systems & had my 800 fully loaded for some great listening. I've had them all & the 800 lacks nothing. Just need to use some imagination

I cannot see how you can be driving down the road with a 800 trying to navigate through a menu to find a particular ScanList. It is worse than texting while driving. The only solution is to have a keypad like the 500/600 where you can quickly enter a ScanList by pushing numbers on a keypad. I have been into listening to public safety for 58 years and have grownup with radios. The 800 is not a good mobile solution without a keypad.

 

[RadioDaze]

I cannot see how you can be driving down the road with a 800 trying to navigate through a menu to find a particular ScanList... The only solution is to have a keypad like the 500/600 where you can quickly enter a ScanList by pushing numbers on a keypad.. The 800 is not a good mobile solution without a keypad.

My thoughts exactly.

If the next generation of the PSR-600 has a remote head, all will be forgiven.

The 900 has a remote head, so clearly our wishes have been notices. It would be a shame not to follow up on the next-gen 600. Although of course it means re-tooling the whole thing.

 

[mharris]

While new features and form factors are nice I would really like to see GRE and Uniden make new products that can decode simulcast P25 systems well. Neither brand decodes this well, especially in a mobile environment. Neat new features mean nothing if you can't hear transmissions.
BG..

My thoughts exactly. Thank you Butch!

 

[edkt4hr]

same old thing

all the local areas are going to nexedge and i have a pro 96 and a pro 106 looks like ill be buying a nexedge radio not a scanner . i was hoping they would come out with a scanner that will be dsp upgradable to what system you want to hear or do both at the same time like the dsd software . to bad they won't be getting my money. not this one till my scanners quit working,
well i have a pro, 2004, 2035 with optcs board,2 pro 43s,alinco dx10,pro 96,106 and two many ham radios
so nice try GRE nothing i can see for old timers.

 

[n2pqq]

Happened to do a search for gre 900 and came across this


GRE PSR-900 EZ Scan Digital P25 Mobile Scanner - ShopWiscomm

 

[Signal6]

Iwce shows psr-900psr-900

Just thought I would say I am at the Iwce expo and GRE has a Psr-900 remote head digital mobile on display I was told it would be released in September of 2012

 

[SCPD]

Thumbs up Signal6!

 

[Ensnared]

Post Reference About Phase II

i love my GRE-800 just wish it would NOT eat batteries like it does.my old pro-96 would last for days on re-chargeable batteries.i only bought the GRE-800 because i was hopeing it would trunk the phase-2 systems i hate to spend money if its not going to monitor the systems in my area.so were still not sure if the GRE-800 will trunk a phase-2 yet so i'm not going to buy one yet and see what happens.

As far as I know, Houston, Texas is getting ready to launch a Phase II system. Reportedly, the GRE PSR 800 won't work on this system. I also forwarded this information to GRE.

Houston Public Safety Trunking System, Houston, Texas - Scanner Frequencies

http://forums.radioreference.com/gre-scanners/231554-ez-scan-cant-import-p25-phase-2-a.html

Regarding you battery situation, I highly recommend these because of their ability to store charges for extended periods of time. They have a long shelf life. Amazon.com: eneloop: Electronics

I once made the mistake of buying hydrides at Battery Plus. Within a very short amount of time, without me installing them in the radio, they were dead.

On you PSR 800, there may be settings you can use to extend battery life. Since I don't own one, I can not give you specifics. On my PSR 500, I will use "stealth mode" to turn off the lights (LED, backlight and keyboard). I hope these posts will help clarify whether the 800 can monitor Phase II.

 

[mmckenna]

Snapped a picture of it at the GRE booth at IWCE yesterday. Not any different than you've already seen, but here it is anyway:

I'm not into scanners, but thought you all might like to see it.

I did ask the guy at the booth about future support of NXDN (aka IDAS or NexEdge) and his reply was what I expected. When there are more NXDN systems out there, and the demand for NXDN on a scanner goes up, it will likely be added.

Not a bad looking radio, but again, I'm not much of a scanner guy.

Back of the radio had the power input jack and a BNC antenna jack. I don't recall seeing anything else. I recall the speaker being on top of the radio deck, nothing on the display.

 

[WISCOMM]

My GRE rep is advising to expect an "October 2012 Release". This is an official source.

Craig
Wiscomm

 

[fnnm400]

I have old scanners since 1983, at least hey are introducing new products an the bonus is they actually work an when there s problems they are there to work with you. We stopped carrying Uniden five years ago n have only ordered one since then.
Uniden has been really non existent in looking to help customers with simulcast receive issues here in Michigan.
You can have all the bells you want, but hen it doesn't receive what you bought it for, it's really useless.
Uniden had the 796" the 996 then the new improved 996 still the same cutting out till the new firmware was released. Not bad took them 6 years to figure it out.. Still is didn't resolve all the issues.

Thank ou GRE for making it work the first time.

GRE anounces new products which are a backwards step from its previous products, like the inflexible 800 which can be operated by a chimp rather than the excellent 500 with all its bells and whistles. Hardly what I would call blowing away the competition. The 900 looks like the same cripled, designed for a chimp to operate, base/mobile version of the 800 which will be near impossible to operate mobile.

 

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

As for mobile use of the 800/900, research and program before a road trip. Make regular stops along the way to stretch your legs (for your and everyone else's safety), and that's when you change the scan lists/V-scanners. Safe and easy. (I only own a 500)

 

[blantonl]

As someone who travels often and owns multiple radios from both vendors, here is my personal opinion:

* when traveling direct to a destination city, I like the PSR-800 because to me, it is easier to "program" than other models. I can hunt-peck-and-choose what I want to listen to pretty easily.

* when on a road trip, the HomePatrol coupled with a GPS unit is fantastic. I don't have to do a thing when I am traveling in the car across multiple states.

In my humble opinion, both radios are fantastic and I use them interchangeably based on how I travel.

I am also a unique case because I only use these radios when I travel, since in my local area just about everything is ProVoice EDACS ESK Digital .