what's wrong with pro160

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kel415

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Reading around in most forums I see most scanners made are talked about but never see anything on a pro160. (unless I missed it) I picked up one from RS for 99.00 and was wondering if I should have. Seems to be working fine, was just wondering
 

mrkelso

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I have one, owned it for a while now and it works just fine for me.
 

kcoleman

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I have one too... never had any issues with it. I like the radio, I use mine at work for milcom.

Regards,
Keith
 

j86u

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I have a Pro-162, same as Pro-160 except handheld and like it. Maybe it isn't talked about as much because it doesn't have many problems.
 

marcotor

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I would agree in that I have both 160's and 162's and all have been flawless performers. The software available leaves a little to be desired in comparison to some other RS scanners, but they have been problem free for me. Also I like the larger display, and at the closeout prices I bought them - can't beat the value
 

raisindot

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I had a Pro 160 for about a week and returned it. Features and reception were fine, but the audio was muddy and unlistenable. So I ended up getting a slightly used 162 instead, which, in spite of its smaller size, has excellent audio. Agree that the lack of good programming software (i.e., having to use the lousy Arc160 when one would prefer a Don Starr product) is a deficiency but not enough to keep anyone from getting one of these.

Jeff in Boston
 

bgkoe

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I like my RS 160, especially the stalker/storage feature, it stores freq. while I sleep, I leave it on all night and once a week I harvest the freq. that were caught. I don't use the on-off switch, as I've had to replace RS switches more than once, I just unplug the 12 cord to turn it off, or kill the 110 juice at the source. I do think that an external speaker is easier to understand with it.
 

gmclam

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Pro-160

Reading around in most forums I see most scanners made are talked about but never see anything on a pro160. (unless I missed it)
Does that mean you missed this?

I personally don't like it because of several reasons. The most obvious is the lack of alpha tags.
 

riccom

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Does that mean you missed this?

I personally don't like it because of several reasons. The most obvious is the lack of alpha tags.
I like the 162 (hand held Version of the 160) Its a really nice readio, solid and a uniden made radio for the "shack".
I Carry this around and was my replacement for my pro 97, and got it on a deal for 80 bucks, and i am very happy to own one, now with that i find 2 minor problems with it

one is a wish, that it could be p25 ready or it would kick Butt!

#2 is that its not 7.2 khz steps, but hey better then nothing i guess!

But this radio with a really good 800 mhz antenna will blow the socks off of any other radio in my mind!
 

GTR8000

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Does that mean you missed this?

I personally don't like it because of several reasons. The most obvious is the lack of alpha tags.

I'm not sure if you're getting your models confused, but the Pro-160 (and handheld sister Pro-162) absolutely do feature alpha tags, both per bank and per channel. In fact, it's listed right on the Wiki page you linked, second feature on the list.


The 160 is a great scanner, especially considering they were available for quite some time at just $99 clearance. Originally priced at $200+, so that's quite a bargain for a triple trunk tracker. The reception is fantastic, and the display is big and bright, but more importantly, it's not cluttered with a ton of junk. The characters are big and easy to read from clear across the room. The 20 banks of 50 channels is nice, I prefer that to 10 banks of 100 channels, it seems easier to organize as far as non-DMA scanners go. It's also 800MHz reband capable for Moto systems, which is important. PL/DPL capable, something else you don't find in $99 scanners.

That being said, there could be a few cons to the model, depending on your outlook. The built in speaker is muddy, but plug in an external speaker and the audio becomes instantly better, problem solved. The unit is unable to be controlled with a computer, which might be an issue for some. The programming software choices are limited to basically ARC160, and there is also a firmware flaw whereby some of the global settings are sometimes wiped out when uploading programming. Of course, the scanner was discontinued so RS no longer supports it as far as firmware updates (they will still repair them, however), and since it was a Uniden Japan manufactured model, Uniden USA doesn't support them either. The frequency steps are fixed, so no 7.5 kHz in the VHF band and no 8.33 kHz in the VHF air band. FM/AM mode is also fixed, which may affect some listeners of the air or military bands.

I find almost all of the cons to be minor for a scanner that was available for over a year at just $99 brand new. If any of those things are critical to anyone, then they're better off looking at a BCT15X or PSR-400, which would be roughly comparable to the feature range and original pricing of the Pro-160.
 
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N1SQB

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Just a thought!

When the Pro-160 finaly came out, it's portable little brother, the Pro-162, was already out for at least a year. People expected the radio to perform exactly like the older 162. For some stupid reason, which to this day still baffles me, RatShack did not properly advertize it. People knew it was out because they saw it on store shelves. The RS website did not even make a mention of it until it was out for a little while.
I still dont get that. Anywho, the radio does not exactly match the performance of the 162. The audio as has already been said, is muddy, unlike the nice audio from the 162. Even at high volume, there is a "punch" lacking. Second, the display light is nowhere near as bright as it should be for a radio that is made to also go in a vehicle. I bought it and tried it in my truck. At its brightest setting, in a mobile environment, you have to squint to see everything. This will not suffice especialy while you are driving. It's like radioshack didnt want the radio to sell or something. Another thing that bothers me even with the Pro-162, why go through the trouble of adding the 6.25 Khz. steps but leave out the 7.5 Khz. steps? Well, I guess for $99 though, its worth getting. I returned mine and moved up to the BCT-15 which is a superior scanner and is computer controllable. The 15 has much better sensitivity,selectivity,audio, and the tunning steps and modes are not fixed. The display light is also great on the 15 whether at home or in a vehicle. Most importantly, the 15 does away with the archaic bank system of arranging channels. If you want a scanner as a back up,secondary radio, then the 160 is ok. I would not make it my main work horse though. Just my 2 cents worth.

Manny
 
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GTR8000

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When the Pro-160 finaly came out, it's portable little brother, the Pro-162, was already out for at least a year.

Your timeline is way off, it was nowhere near a year's separation between the two models being introduced. The Pro-162 was type accepted in Sep 2007, the Pro-160 in Dec 2007. Both models were available for nearly all of 2008 and were discontinued by Jan 2009.


Anywho, the radio does not exactly match the performance of the 162.

Reception wise, the Pro-160 actually has slightly better specs and real-world performance than the Pro-162. This is normally the case, the base/mobile will be a tad bit more selective and sensitive than its portable counterpart, all other things being exactly equal. The heavy metal case adds to the shielding, which usually accounts for that.


Another thing that bothers me even with the Pro-162, why go through the trouble of adding the 6.25 Khz. steps but leave out the 7.5 Khz. steps?

While I agree and the lack of 7.5 kHz stepping in VHF is a pet peeve of mine, it's not as simple as that. The 6.25 kHz stepping the Pro-160/162 feature in UHF is very easy to accomplish, they just halved the standard 12.5 kHz stepping for the entire spectrum. The 7.5 kHz stepping in VHF does not apply to the entire band, only certain blocks of frequencies are affected by that, the rest remain at 5 kHz. Apples and oranges.


The 15 has much better sensitivity,selectivity,audio, and the tunning steps and modes are not fixed.

You might be surprised to know that the Pro-160 and BCT15/15X have nearly identical specs as far as sensitivity and selectivity are concerned. For the most part, they use the same Uniden components.



If you want a scanner as a back up,secondary radio, then the 160 is ok. I would not make it my main work horse though. Just my 2 cents worth.

I have the opposite opinion. The Pro-160 is a very solid workhorse that is not bogged down with a ton of features that tend to confuse the average user who is listening to conventional frequencies, and maybe one fairly basic Motorola Type II system. The interface is very intuitive and easy to program by hand, which is important for "old school" users who have trouble with the DMA scanners and overwhelming amount of bells and whistles they'll never use. For advanced or sophisticated users, or those listening to a myriad of different types of systems, then the Pro-160 is probably not for them. For everyone else, it's a rock solid, dependable, easy to operate scanner.
 

N1SQB

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Maybe I was off on the release time differences but a few facts still remain. First of all, the BCT15 does not have a ton of features that tend to confuse the average owner. Some people just cannot handle change. They would rather stay with the archaic "old school" way of doing things. The fact is that change takes place every single day in the communications realm. If one only embraces change and educates themselves with the newer technology, then there is no room for confusion. The old ways of doing business in this hobby (channnel, bank systems for example) will no longer do for the most part. Even if you are listening to basic conventional frequencies, the newer object oriented scanning system beats channels and banks any day. Under the "old school" way of thinking, you waste channels in banks that are not completely full. Furthermore, if a new channel pops up in a system you are monitoring, and you have a 40 channel bank that is full, you have to re-program everything after the last channel which contains your system, just to squeeze this new channel in. Under the "new school" way of doing things, you simply just add it to the group. No problem. The Pro-160, while an OK scanner for those who just want a scanner, CANNOT compare to the modern BCT15/BCT15X scanners. The ability to change modes,steps, use close call to find out someone TX nearby, adjusting audio AGC and things of that nature are not useless things that people would never use. They are tools that give the scannist more user control which older scanners did not. As I said, the 160 is an ok scanner, I'm not knocking it altogether, but it is limitted in what it allows a user to control. The newer scanners are far more flexible and that is what makes them more desireable.

Manny
 
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