I was just wondering how the psr-500 stacked up against the bcd396t in terms of digital decoding, and sound quality. I had a 396 and got tired of the machine gunning, so it went up for sale. I went back to the 296d and guess what, hardly no machine gunning! Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated, because I am considering buying the GRE.
psr-500 performance
- Thread starter kvillered
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Did you notice the big PSR500 thread right next to this?
Well, if you don't feel like/want to go through that huge thread. This is practically how it goes: For most people, the PSR-500 is kicking the BC396Ts butt, but for some people on some specific systems, they are having issues, GRE is coming out with a firmware update on Nov. 11 that should fix this. To find out the different systems, read that thread. That's about all I can say because I don't own one, although I am thinking about buying one really soon.
troymail
Silent Key
I have one
great reception - seems to pull in distant systems that the 396 won't
excellent digital decoding and voice quality
some problems on some digital systems but the larger number of the systems are fine
hoping a firmware upgrade will fix what not working
great reception - seems to pull in distant systems that the 396 won't
excellent digital decoding and voice quality
some problems on some digital systems but the larger number of the systems are fine
hoping a firmware upgrade will fix what not working
troymail said:
That coming from a person who isn't a RS fan!! I know this is a GRE scanner, but pretty much the same thing.
troymail
Silent Key
scanfan03 said:
Well, I've always liked the PRO-96's capabilities (but not it's size or user interface). And after all - it's not a Radio Shack product - they just put their name on it.
I just don't like having to talk to the "sales people" at Radio Shack... basicly, it offends me when (a) people try to talk to you about something which they know nothing about or (b) you have to tell them how it works.
People who don't know something should simply say "I don't know" rather than making something up....:evil:
Have you ever stopped and asked for directions and the directions you got were just all wrong??? It's kinda like that....
rdballenger
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GRE -500 - Middling to poor performance on weather band and amateur freqs
My ICOM IC-T90A is strongly outperforming my PSR-500 on weather frequencies and hearing 2 meter amateur repeaters. Haven't done any other comparisions, but has anyone else experienced the radio being a little deaf in that part of the spectrum (144-165 MHz)
My ICOM IC-T90A is strongly outperforming my PSR-500 on weather frequencies and hearing 2 meter amateur repeaters. Haven't done any other comparisions, but has anyone else experienced the radio being a little deaf in that part of the spectrum (144-165 MHz)
I would expect an amateur transceiver to have better receive in that range. How does it compare to the T90A on 800MHz?
woody_46
Member
@RDB, try the test with the ATT on too. My 2096 receives better with it on, with an outdoor antenna.
It depends on your location too, of course. My Icom 8500 recieves better too. I expect that, it's less prone to overload.
Now if it only did trunking as nicely as the dedicated trunking scanners *sigh*.
It depends on your location too, of course. My Icom 8500 recieves better too. I expect that, it's less prone to overload.
Now if it only did trunking as nicely as the dedicated trunking scanners *sigh*.
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rdb3141 said:
How well does the Icom work on the digital trunking systems?
The Icom T90A only works with D-Star digital, not P25. However I would be interested how it compares to the PSR-500 on 800MHz receive.
rdballenger
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I'll do more scientific testing with regard to 800 meg tomorrow - didn't have a good consistent frequency to test it out on, and its hard to compare a signal when the audio is just buzzing. Today I was at the highest point in Arlington County VA and was barely able to get Loudon County decoded.
The weather frequencies were not performing well at all.
I'll keep testing, and maybe try with the attenuator (though its counterintuitive)!
In sum, for the money I expect the radio to be at least average at receiving every band - but for weather and amateur, it looks below average.
The weather frequencies were not performing well at all.
I'll keep testing, and maybe try with the attenuator (though its counterintuitive)!
In sum, for the money I expect the radio to be at least average at receiving every band - but for weather and amateur, it looks below average.
woody_46
Member
rdb3141 said:
Ah, okay I didn't know that.
I'm also interested in the radio. Thanks for the info!
Weired, my 500 is incredibly sensitive. I don't even bother using the RS 800 antenna anymore. I don't need it, which is nice since the stock one brings up Vhf/Uhf performance.
rdb3141 said:
That's really weird and I would like to hear more about it. I don't think I have ever come across any scanner in the past 15 years, no matter how crappy, that couldn't receive the WX channels fairly well....
troymail
Silent Key
kikito said:
I remember the WX freqs in my area being really strong in the past but recently the NWS seems to be doing a number cost-cutting of things including replacing people with computers to verbalize the weather. However, on occasion, the "local" frequency either runs under reduced power or is gone all together.
Are you able to hear the WX freqs on another radio of some type. Are there any CTCSS or other settings configured on your radio that might be blocking the WX freqs?
Being here in ILL about 30 miles south west of Chicago i have great sensativity on ham and weather....I agree with the above post that i can actually use the stock antenna and its close in reception to the RS800 duck on some trunksystems and also especially VHF-UHF....Im copying two ham repeaters that are P25 and about 30 miles away...I guess location differs.....
troymail said:
Just in case, "rdb3141" is the one having trouble with WX.
And I've also seen a few times a year NOAA transmitters having trouble or off the air for a while.
DonS
Member
I don't see (hear) any real difference between several radios (PRO-92/93/95/96/97/2096 and PSR-500) on weather. I get 162.400, 162.425, 162.450, and 162.550 MHz booming in.
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