Just Bought a PRO-164

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scupking

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Just bought a PRO-164 today on sale for $179 at RS. It will replace my ICON IC R2. Is there any accessories I should get like a better antenna, PC cable, software updates (how do I tell what software version I have)? I love how clear the sound is on it but one thing I notice is a very soft hiss while just scanning. Is this normal with most radios?
 
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kilowa22

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Take it back. You can buy a NEW one on amazon with free shipping for $114.99 .

Well the co. selling them only has two in stock. However I believe they are selling refurbished units that RS sold to a whole saler. You can tell if you are buying a refurbished 164 by opening up the manual to page 62 and if the one year warranty has a sticker over it or that page is missing it is a refurbished unit. YMMV. Cavet Emptor
 

scupking

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I just checked and the Amazon one is refurbished for $114. Do these come pre programed? Mine has local police and fire already on it. Also what would be the best software to buy to program it?
 

kilowa22

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They only come preprogrammed if they offer it which most dealers don't You can use Win97 from Starrsoft to program it with the RS 20-047 orange USB cable.
 

N8IAA

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They only come preprogrammed if they offer it which most dealers don't You can use Win97 from Starrsoft to program it with the RS 20-047 orange USB cable.
The scanner comes preprogrammed from the manufacturer, GRE. Don't know if the refurbs come with the preprogrammed frequencies. They are just common PD, FD, and other conventional public safety frequencies in use around the country. But, there is Win97 and PSRedit300 for programming the scanner. You do need the USB cable, RS part# 20-047 to connect between the pc and scanner. Oh, and why take back a brand new radio for a refurb??
HTH,
Larry
 

scupking

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Checked the version and its the 1.07 so that's good. I downloaded win97 and it looks like it will be a good program. I will pick up the usb cable tomorrow. I think this scanner will be perfect seeing as there is no digital around my area and to me $180 for basically the best analog scanner on the market is a good deal to me.
 

intrepid97

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I think you made a fine purchase as I myself own one of these scanner :)

I really like the UHF Air Band and the audio is nice and crisp.
 

enigma-2

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Just bought a PRO-164 today on sale for $179 at RS. It will replace my ICON IC R2. Is there any accessories I should get like a better antenna, PC cable, software updates (how do I tell what software version I have)? I love how clear the sound is on it but one thing I notice is a very soft hiss while just scanning. Is this normal with most radios?

Great scanner, congrats.

As far as accessories, I bought RS accessory cable (20-047) to program the unit (and upgrade os when needed) and a software programming program. When I bought mine I compared ARC300 and WIN97. ARC300 was much easier to use and I went with that one. (Both work fine however). Also bought the power supply as it operates on the desk most of the time.

Haven't purchased a better antenna yet, leaning towards the RS Center-Loaded Telescoping Whip Antenna (Model: 20-006) for $16. Read a couple of reports that like the gain from this antenna. Pros are great signal strength, cons are heavy, bulky and unattractive design. I'll probably pick one up next time I'm at RS.

To check which software version you have, turn off the unit, hold the PGM key down and turn the unit on. Current Boot Version is F1.01, current Appl Version is 1.07. (Appl ver is one you can update).

Soft hiss in background is normal.
 

maalox

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definetly need software for this scanner. had no problem programming conv freqs by hand until i got into the trunking section..... lol...
 

scupking

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definetly need software for this scanner. had no problem programming conv freqs by hand until i got into the trunking section..... lol...

I have ARC300. I do like the program and put probably 200 channles on the scanner in just a half hour time.
 

enigma-2

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I bought the programing cable and used ARC300 to program most of the freqs I want right now. It was not hard at all. Now my question is how do I program trunking? I want to trunk the following in bank 4 East Windsor Trunking System, East Windsor, Connecticut - Scanner Frequencies

This is all done from within ARC300; IE is not used.
Start ARC300.
Click on the Internet tab.
In the new window that pops up, enter your RadioReference user name and password.
(If you don't currently subscribe, you can get a three-month subscription for $7.50, six-months for $15 or a year for $30. You will need to subscribe to use this feature.)
When it logs onto RadioRefernce, enter Connecticut in the state box.
When it loads the Connecticut database, enter Hartford in the county box.
Click on trunk Systems (it's the yellow tab) then choose the truck system you want under the "Trunk Systems > > > Select < < < box.
(Let's choose the East Windsor / LTR trunk.)
In the left-hand column under Data, you will see Sites 1, click select all.
In the right-hand column you will see the talkgroups, click click select all.
At the bottom of the left-hand column, select Bank 4.
Click the Import button and ACR300 programs data bank 4 with the 4 frequencies and the 25 talkgroups.
The entire process will take less than a minute.

To program the scanner:

Plug in the cable to the USB port and scanner. The scanner goes into the CLONE mode.
While in ARC300, press the F6 key and the computer programs the scanner.
This process takes a couple of minutes.

If you wish to do this manually into ARC300:
Open web page to http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4372
Click on the Bank 4 tab in ARC300
Under Settings enter EastWindsor/LTR in the box "Bank Name"
Check the box "Bank Enabled"
Bank type is LTR

Go to Frequencies tab, enter following frequencies in this exact order:
#401 453.3375
#402 453.425
#403 453.5875
#404 460.275
(All of these are LTR under mode column)

In the Talkgroups tab, under slot number 0-00 enter: 104081 (in the RadioReference database it is shown as 1-04-081).
In the Alpha Tag column enter FireDispatch (or whatever seems easy for you to understand)
In the next Talkgroups tab, slot number 0-01 enter the next entry 104082, it's alpha tag and so forth until you have all 26 Talkgroups entered.
 
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scupking

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I was listening to my the 164 today and it froze on one channel. I couldn't do anything but turn it off. When I turned it back on it worked fore a few seconds then froze again. I turned it off a second time and when I turned it back on its now working again. Has this happened to anyone else with this scanner?
 

enigma-2

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I was listening to my the 164 today and it froze on one channel. I couldn't do anything but turn it off. When I turned it back on it worked fore a few seconds then froze again. I turned it off a second time and when I turned it back on its now working again. Has this happened to anyone else with this scanner?
I would try locking out that channel and see what happens.
 

scupking

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I would try locking out that channel and see what happens.

The thing is it wouldn't let me do anything, I couldn't press up to go to the next channel I couldn't even turn the light on. Everything just locked up.
 

captncarp

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did you press the scan or man key instead of the arrow up key ? If the radio is stuck on a silent carrier the arrow usually will not move it. I find that happens to some of the preprogrammed channels in the first banks.
the GRE PSR-300 is the same radio in a different case....Scannermaster sells it for $149.95 and a AC adapter ($20 value) is included. I feel this is a better value.
 

KC5EIB

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The thing is it wouldn't let me do anything, I couldn't press up to go to the next channel I couldn't even turn the light on. Everything just locked up.

What frequency do you have programed into the channel that locks up?

What agency is it for ? (State, County, Department)

Try going into the program mode on the scanner and manualy entering the same frequency into the same channel. (Software will let the user input frequencies that are not valid in the scanner)
 
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