my new pro-164 comes on on friday

[kingmyydis]

my new pro-164 comes on on friday, well its not new, i won it on ebay

whats the first thing i should do, update firmware? or should i reset it to clear out all the locals that was it
programed for?

and is win97 the correct software to use with it

 

[detroit780]

Pro-164

my new pro-164 comes on on friday, well its not new, i won it on ebay

whats the first thing i should do, update firmware? or should i reset it to clear out all the locals that was it
programed for?

and is win97 the correct software to use with it

The current firmware released is 1.06 so check that first. 1.07 should be released in a couple of weeks if the latest reply from Radio Shack is correct.

You might want to do a rest to clear all the memory channels. Then you know exactly what you have programmed. You might even consider backing up what is in there and then you can always import something back into the scanner.

Win 97 will work fine as will PSRedit300 or ARC300. All have a 30 day demo plan so you can decide which one you like. Try them all and see what makes the most sense to you. Features, layout and ease of use for you are what's important. You are the one using it so you decide. What one person likes about a software package may not be important to another. They all do the same job.

Les

 

[kingmyydis]

wow great respose detroit, i cant wait for it to arrive, ill let you know when i have it in hand ready to program

 

[detroit780]

Pro-164

Ok let me know if you have any questions. I have the 164 and had the Pro-97 before which is pretty much the same radio. The 164 can handle rebanding and they increased the LCD display a bit and improved the volume squelch knobs over the 97.

You can ask here or send me a private e-mail.

w8msp@w8msp.com

Enjoy

Les

 

[GregFromOregon]

Yes, Win97 @ Software for RadioShack PRO-series (PRO-92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 99, 163, 164, 106, 197) and GRE PSR-series (PSR-500, 600, 300, 400) scanners is the best programing software for this scanner in my opinion, don't forget to get a programing cable (Radio Shack 20-047)or the software won't do you any good. congrats on the new purchase and enjoy.

 

[gmclam]

You are going to need that programming cable to upgrade the firmware. Make sure the cable and drivers are working before attempting a firmware upgrade.

1. Get the cable and the latest version of WIN97.
2. Back up what is in the scanner now.
3. Re-initialize the scanner (power on key codes)
4. Program the scanner with what you want.

When you power the scanner while holding down the PGM key it goes into firmware update mode. But it also shows you the boot loader version and current firmware version. You'll need to know the boot loader version in order to do the firmware upgrade. If you are already using at least v1.06 I would run that for a bit before doing an upgrade. That way if something does not work correctly, you'll know it is the scanner and not an upgrade gone bad. Once you know how it is working and the new version has been out, then do the upgrade.

Good luck

 

[kingmyydis]

thanks for all the support, im loving this,
ok now on radioshack webpage i see two different firmware, which one would i need, the
PRO-163 and PRO-164 Trunking Scanners (Firmware Upgrade 1.06 for Boot Version 1.01 (420KB)) or the
PRO-163 and PRO-164 Trunking Scanners (Firmware Upgrade 1.06 for Boot Version 1.00 (420KB))

its two different boot versions for firmware upgrade

 

[rchalupajr]

That will depend on the boot version of the scanner you are getting, 1.00 or 1.01. as gmclam posted turn on power while holding the pgm key and it will display that info.

 

[kingmyydis]

ahhhh ok thanks rchalupajr

 

[kingmyydis]

ok i just got my scanner in the mail, the boot ver: is F1.00
appl ver: is 1.03

so i would say that i should do the firmware upgrade right?

 

[kingmyydis]

how do i Re-initialize the scanner after i do this firmware upgrade?

 

[gmclam]

ok i just got my scanner in the mail, the boot ver: is F1.00
appl ver: is 1.03

so i would say that i should do the firmware upgrade right?

Yes. The latest version for that model I believe is still only 1.06. So get the firmaware update that matches boot code 1.00 and you should be all set.

how do i Re-initialize the scanner after i do this firmware upgrade?

I can't imagine the scanner not being all clear and initialized after a firmware update. Just download frequencies/etc and you should be up and running.

 

[kingmyydis]

all channels locked out, did i do it wrong?

 

[gmclam]

all channels locked out, did i do it wrong?

That means that either nothing is programmed OR you do not have a bank turned on which has a programmed frequency which is not locked out.

Go to MAN mode and step through the channels which should be programmed. Is anything there? Is the channel locked out? Is the associated bank turned on?

 

[kingmyydis]

ok i got it now, its working good while trunking is going on, now when i use win97 to put some conventional freq. on bank 2 the pro-164 wont go to trunking, or do i have to make it manually go from conventional scanning to trunking?

 

[N1BHH]

ok i got it now, its working good while trunking is going on, now when i use win97 to put some conventional freq. on bank 2 the pro-164 wont go to trunking, or do i have to make it manually go from conventional scanning to trunking?

You need to set the proper mode for the frequency after you enter it. The next frequency, if you are entering a MO system frequency, will automatically retain the mode, as well as all the rest that you put in, until you need to put in a different mode. Once the first frequency is set to MO, the bank is set to MO. Just change the mode for the frequency when it is other than a MO frequency.

 

[gmclam]

ok i got it now, its working good while trunking is going on, now when i use win97 to put some conventional freq. on bank 2 the pro-164 wont go to trunking, or do i have to make it manually go from conventional scanning to trunking?

I can't make any sense of what you are trying to ask. It sounds like you have your trunked system in one bank (bank 1?) and some conventional channels in bank 2.... and when you are scanning it does not scan all banks. To toggle a bank on/off while scanning just press its number. To set the defaults for which banks are on, click on the SETTINGS tab in WIN97... and check the appropriate banks. To scan everything you must be in SCAN mode.

 

[kingmyydis]

everything is all good now, when using win97 i was only doing one thing at a time instead of doing it all at once, like i was programming the trunks on bank1, then i would bring up win97 again and then program bank2 with some conventional freq, in reality all i had to do is not exit out of win97, but just keep adding what i need and then upload

thanks for all the support guys