Official PRO-97 Discussion Thread

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ROD

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I still am playing with my new pro 97(still own pro95) I have noticed I can lock out TGs on the fly in OPEN mode !! So when i go into open mode I will not hear the talf groups I have locked out ? That does not make sense to me. Will be glad when the software comes out but its good practice to know the radio without it . Good upgrade from the pro95, love the BRIGHT easy to read display
 

KC1UA

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I broke down and used some tax $ to buy a PRO-97, primarily for the Signal Stalker II feature, but also just to have another portable around, especially one with MilAir capability.

One thing you need to understand with nearfield reception (Signal Stalker, Close Call, Signal Stalker II, Opto Scout, Opto Explorer, etc) is that the signal you're capturing normally has to be significantly stronger than all other signals in the area. For example, if you're near an "antenna farm" where several strong paging transmitters are located, it's not likely you're going to hear much. This is very simply put but is simply the case. Sometimes less is more. You speak of using an external antenna to try to capture unknowns, but sometimes this can backfire on you, again depending on where you are in relation to strong transmitters.

You are also sacrificing reception distance for speed. These devices blow through the spectrum at a very high rate of speed, and as a result are only hearing the strongest of signals. It's a matter of location and timing.

I have a 246T also, and while I have not done a side by side comparison yet between it and the PRO-97, I can tell you that Signal Stalker II has at least for me worked better than the Close Call feature of the 246T. I have run both while mobile, on the same trip to/from work 5 days a week. The 97 has already found a great deal more than the 246T did. I have also owned a Scout and an Xplorer. The Scout was by far the fastest of them all, but without a second receiver capable of being reaction tuned you can't hear the audio. The Xplorer at $700 was a nice device but it was large and the audio quality left a lot to be desired. Both Uniden and GRE have really done a nice job with their early offerings of this feature IMHO. Scannists getting involved in this type of reception for the first time simply need to understand that it is a far cry from the normal scanning they're used to doing. In this case a lot of times less can produce a lot more. Your mileage may vary.
 

cipher66

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As far as Signal Stalker goes, in my area I live pretty close to an NWS transmitter on 162.55 that seems to pump out mega-wattage of energy. So, at home, close call/signal stalking is pretty much a no-go because there is nothing that's going to break in 10db or so above the NWS transmitter (unless it's literally right outside my door). But during drives to work and back I seem to be getting many more hits with the GRE implemented signal stalker then with Uniden's close call technology. I am interested to know if Uniden's close call is pretty much the same as GRE's??? I guess because of the frequencies not being visible on the 246T I assumed that it was just "waiting" for a signal to arrive, where as the GRE/SS seems to be a fast scan that can narrow down very quickly. Insteresting technology though, and should be fantastic at airshows and special events.

Paul
 

grem467

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yeah, if the signal stalker worked atleast similar to the unidens, i would keep the pro-97. Alas, it was returned today...

Signal Stalk is a misnomer, it should be called "rapid search".
 

fireant

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In comparing the 246 close call and the 97's signal stalker both work great. I like the 97 in the rapid signal search called the signal stalker. Both are great radio's uniden did a great job as did Gre on these two radio's alot has been said about them not being sensitive enough on picking up frequencies in the close call and signal stalker modes. I have found both to do great at what they were made to do pick up frequencies in a close proximity to the area I am in.

just my thoughts on the signal stalker features in these two great radio's
 

KC1UA

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A separate thread should probably be started for "Signal Stalker II vs Close Call", but I will add this.

NONE of these devices are sitting there looking at over 1 GHz of radio spectrum all at once, so they are all using a "rapid search", sacrificing distance for speed. The fact that you see this happening with the PRO-97 vs not seeing it with the 246T, Opto Scout, Xplorer etc., is maybe causing some confusion. They're all most definitely doing a form of the same thing.
 

grem467

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there is a keypad combo on the unidens that allows display of what its doing.. the best way to describe how the unidens work is a "frequency counter with demodulation capability" whereas i would describe GREs as a rapid search of 1mhz steps, then when it senses something, it scans closer, like it has a wideband filter, then switches to the normal filters and just starts a search mode from within that 1mhz window.

Unidens system takes me at most 2 seconds to lock on a freq (and the 246 shows the PL/dpl to boot, on the GRE system, i have missed entire conversations (my tests seemed to require a 5-8 second keyup to find the freq)

the problem i have with radioshacks marketing is that they call both systems the same name (pro-83 vs. Pro-97) when they are not even close in operation.

I will say that it does seem like the method GRE uses would be more sensitive and can find transmitters from farther away. So i guess its a distance vs time thing.
 

ROD

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Could someone please verify if your 97 is doing what mine is.

On a Motorola system, I lock out a TG(Garbage Trucks) In open mode I should hear this TG and any/all Tgs on system.In closed mode I should only hear TGs I have programmed in and have not locked out.(This is the way my pro 95 works. On my 97 when I lock out a TG ,I dont hear it in open or closed mode.


Thanks
 

DonS

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ROD said:
Could someone please verify if your 97 is doing what mine is.

On a Motorola system, I lock out a TG(Garbage Trucks) In open mode I should hear this TG and any/all Tgs on system.In closed mode I should only hear TGs I have programmed in and have not locked out.(This is the way my pro 95 works. On my 97 when I lock out a TG ,I dont hear it in open or closed mode.

That behavior is by design (and yes, it differs from the PRO-95).

The whole point is to be able to lock out talk groups in open mode, so that you can continue to search for new ones.
 

ROD

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O.K. , I guess I can get used to that. I will stop re-reading the section of that section of the manuel. Thanks for the reply Sir.

Really enjoy your software, Thanks for all that you do.For me you have truely changed this hobby for the better.

Rod
 

safetyobc

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Thanks jetcrafter for the awsome pictures.

I had almost made up my mind to save up for the 96 but looking at those pics......I just don't know. I really, really like that 97!

It is a shame that we have to choose between such great scanners. :cry: :(

thanks again for the pics.
 

grem467

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yes, it displays PL or DCS during a search, it does NOT however display PL/DCS during signal stalk operations.
 

ROD

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Did I read somewhere that you could change the power on text ? If so how ?..............Thanks
 
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