PSR 300 Newbie - Lost!

[scottier1]

Hello Experts!

Temporarily, I am partially home-bound and have bought a PSR 300 scanner not only to entertain me, but also to help me know what is going on around me. I live on the upper west side of Manhattan, in NY, so there are always sirens going in the neighborhood. Makes one curious, for sure!

I have gone through many web pages and must admit, I am completely lost! I have already purchased the USB Data Manager cable and now am looking for a simple way to program my scanner. I want to hear EMS, Fire, Police, and the other services that are part of the NY Metro Area. Being able to hear air traffic would be nice, but not terribly important.

I gather I will have to buy a software package, Win97, ARC300, PSREdit, etc., and purchase a premium subscription to this website. The less expense, the better, but I will buy what I need. Unfortunately, I don't know what to do next!

Can you experts please give a novice advice on which software to buy and guide me to step-by-step instructions on how to use the software, load the frequencies I want, and then how to use it all? I will not be traveling with it so once I get the frequencies I want loaded, all I will be doing is listening while I am in bed. Any help you can give me would be much appreciated!

Many thanks.

PSR Newbie

 

[qlajlu]

Welcome to RR.com.

First, let me offer you my condolences. I hope your current condition is only temporary.

Unfortunately, what you ask is very complex to answer. You do not let us know if you are aware of, or understand trunking, which most of today's public service departments use. Even though you mention you are in New York, you do not tell us which departments you would like to listen to. Are you familiar with the RR Database and how to use it to find the information you want?

You have done some investigation since you are aware of the different programming software available and that a Premium Subscription is handy to have while programming. The Premium Subscription can be purchased for 180 days which should get you the time you need to program your scanner. As for recommending the software, every user has his favorites and mine happens to be the WIN family. I do not have your scanner but I use WIN500 for my scanner which is a step above yours. ALL OF THE SOFTWARE offers a 30-day free "test drive" for you to chose the one that best suits your needs.

Be sure to go to the GRE Web site for the latest firmware updates for the PSR-300.

Another thing to consider is that your scanner is not digital capable. Again, I'm not familiar with your area, but I think you will find many agencies using digital communications in the New York area.

Now, I urge you to return to your User CP (the left side of the second blue bar from the top of any page if you are logged in) and edit your profile to include your location (city and state) as you were requested to do in the material e-mailed to you when you registered. Once you fill in your location it will automatically show in each of your posts. Many of the questions you will have, and their answers, are going to be location specific and without having your location showing you will be asked over and over again what it is. So fill it in now and be done with it.

Again, welcome to RR.

 

[scottier1]

RE: Help

Dear Q - thank you so much for your well-wishes and detailed response. As for my condition [lymphoma - NHL, caught very early] God-willing, it will be temporary!

To the other items - firmware and profile both updated.

I checked prior to buying this scanner and found most of the services I wanted were not digital, but I may have messed that up. I spent quite a lot of time on this site before buying and to my understanding, my scanner would do most of what I want. If I was wrong, please let me know. I will put the scanner on Craig'sList and buy the "correct" scanner when I get the money. I purposely kept the box, LOL.

To make things simpler for you or anyone else reading my post, I attached a list [from this site] of a sampling of frequencies/services that would be of interest to me.

If my scanner does receive the services I want, is my next step to subscribe here, get the WIN500 software and go from there? Are the instructions decent for the software?

Thanks again, Q, and I look forward to joining the world of scanning!

 

[qlajlu]

scottier1, you should not have any trouble listening to those conventional frequencies. The only things I can think of to interfere would be a bad location, too far away from the transmitter, and things along that line. As I said in my first post to you (above), I am not familiar with your area or your scanner.

I can tell you, however, that WIN500 is NOT the programming software you need for the PSR-300. According to the RR Wiki, the software available for the PSR-300 is:

1. WIN97
2. PSREdit300
3. ARC300 by Butel

Each one of the programming software offers a 30-day "test drive" so you can select the one that will do the best job for you.

You will also need a Premium Subscription in order to import from the RR Database.

I know for sure that there are trunked systems that should be available for you to listen to, but not being familiar with your area, and the fact that there are so many trunked systems in your area, I cannot advise you as to which one(s) would be best for you to import.

 

[Highpockets]

scottier1 To get the best advice, I would post in the NY Forum and see what the locals have to say about what scanner would be the best choice for that area. The NY Forum seems to be pretty active/friendly and I'm sure someone will guide you in the right direction.