Pro96 is nothing but junk.

[Allan_Love_Jr]

It really hate this damn radio. I go and listen to the Police/Sheriff Dept and my POS Scanner and the Digital signals break up so damn bad that I just want to sell the damn thing. No wonder why I tend to stick with monitoring only Railroads. The pro96 sucks.

 

[Astrak]

Sell it! Get a 106, it'll do a little better job on ORION.

 

[ratboy]

A 106 will do a better job on digital signals, but a much poorer one on rail and VHF. I'm very disapointed in my PSR-500's VHF performance. Other than that, I'm very happy with it.

 

[hoser147]

Ive got 2 96s and never had a issue with either one. There are plenty of 96s and 2096s that have been used by members here for quite a while with only a few issues Ive known of.

 

[SCPD]

Have NO problems with mine

 

[dow35]

Had the same problem with mine then downloaded the latest dsp filmware now it works like a champ you cant beat it for the price

 

[kb8rvp]

I have the New Pro-106 and a Pro-96 and a Pro-2096 and they all work great. With the Pro-96 you have to have the correct DSP firmware version for the 800MHz digital P-25 system you are listening to. If you are listening to a simucast system DSP firmware 1.4 works the best and if its a single site system DSP 1.2 works the best and if you have a mix of both DSP 1.3 will work with some break-ups.

If you are in an area near a cell tower you may not find anything that fixes the issue. All the above scanners work great at my house my over at my friends house none of them work. He is almost right under a cell tower and he has found it to be such a problem on 800MHz that is in the process of moving.

Good luck,
Mike

 

[SCPD]

DSP updates, if anyone needs any of em PM me & will email you what version you want

 

[mciupa]

I listen to a VHF 3600 baud digi system with no failures and also a UHF 9600 baud digi system with the occasional 'miss' at the beginning of transmission.
This is with DSP 1.3

What DSP is in the radio that ....:roll:......:"sucks" ?

I'm sure a firmware upgrade will help.

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

When I first turn on the Scanner. I see the Boot F1.0 on the screen. Is there I can go to get the latest firmware upgrade?

 

[fmon]

When I first turn on the Scanner. I see the Boot F1.0 on the screen. Is there I can go to get the latest firmware upgrade?

Press 3 at bootup.

 

[Allan_Love_Jr]

Press 3 at bootup.

CPU : F1.4
DSP-App : F1.2
DSP-Voc : F1.0

 

[Astrak]

RadioShack.com

Never mind you already have the latest

 

[fmon]

CPU : F1.4
DSP-App : F1.2
DSP-Voc : F1.0

1.3 & 1.4 DSP-App available. RadioShack.com

 

[cm205]

If you are talking specifically about Blair, my Pro-106 is still cranky about signal reception even inside the city. Dispatch is constantly cutting in and out and I miss calls. But move a little further south and I can get Omaha TGs. It must be something with that area and/or ORION.

 

[Chris45]

You do not know Junk until......

It really hate this damn radio. I go and listen to the Police/Sheriff Dept and my POS Scanner and the Digital signals break up so damn bad that I just want to sell the damn thing. No wonder why I tend to stick with monitoring only Railroads. The pro96 sucks.

You do not know Junk until you spend super bucks on the PRS-500. You have to wonder about a radio that has so many updates, corrections, and tweaks, and still cannot track digital trunking as well as that junky Pro-96. Check out E-Bay sometime and see what that used junk is selling for. Someone will probably be glad to buy it.

 

[ind224]

I've had two 96's. One bought used and working and one bought with low audio.
The first one also ended up with low audio and was a combination loose ant connector plus a pinch or tweak on the board.
I could get it working fine for a week or two and then had to "bend" the volume knob.
Using a magnifying glass I went over the whole volume pot board and soldered possible cold joints and what looked like broken tracks.
The second one had the same issue and I ended up making both of them parts radios. Never did really isolate the issue but it was intermittent and would not show its face if the case was apart.

Very happy with my 106's and very careful not to drop them.

 

[KE4ZNR]

It really hate this damn radio. I go and listen to the Police/Sheriff Dept and my POS Scanner and the Digital signals break up so damn bad that I just want to sell the damn thing. No wonder why I tend to stick with monitoring only Railroads. The pro96 sucks.

Interesting...I have had my Pro96 since they first came out on the market (I was one of the first in NC to have one)...mine has done great all these years...and I put it through alot of abuse...I guess just like anything else electronic you have some good units and some bad units...
Sorry you are having issues but the Pro96 overall is a great radio.
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[KF0SKV]

Sell it! Get a 106, it'll do a little better job on ORION.

The Pro 96 doesn't digest CQPSK modulation very well, when you throw in a multi-zone system such as ORION, which simulcasts over 6 towers in the Omaha area, Pro 96 get rather "confused", and doesn't lock on the appropriate tower. It attempts to decode the digital signal from several towers.

However Pro 96 does well with C4FM modulation, such as what is used on the Colorado DTRS.

If you have a "real" radio such as the Motorola Astro line, it has the capability to "clean up" the simulcasted transmissions, producing audio that is intelligible, no matter where you are as long there is suitable signal strength that allows good decode rate and the radio is assigned to the respective tower.

I'm in Bellevue, and I don't have any real issues with ORION on my Pro96. I have tried all upgrades and V1.2 and works best for me. 1.4 seem to have made the reception worse.

 

[W0JJK]

What type of antenna are you using for the 800 system?

I found that stock antenna with the PSR-500 is not very good for 800, I use an old Motorola UHF APCOR antenna and find it works great for the Orion system other than the known dead areas.

If you live on the North side of Blair, you might be right between the Herman and Blair tower?