Whistler Update on TRX100 & 200

[kc5igh]

I am very curious about what 'inovation' you are suggesting. What does a consumer scanner need today that it does not already have? Uniden has almost licked LSM, they cover all (legal) bands and modulation formats, there is more than enough channel capacity to program, PC interface, etc. What's left? Just cosmetic changes? Thanks.

Bluetooth comes to mind . . . I was kind of excited about Whistler's announcement that Bluetooth would be available in the TRX-100/200 radios. It would have been nice to run your scanner audio through your car/home/portable sound system.

Other possibilities might include "location-tailored" software settings for software-defined radios like the SDS100/200. What I mean by that is a wide range of available software settings that were optimized for specific locations such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles (urban, strong-signal environments with lots of signal overload/intermod issues) or Velarde, NM, (rural, mountainous, weak-signal environment where sensitivity trumps almost everything else) . . . and places in between. I wouldn't expect Paul Opitz and his Uniden troops to start roaming the country in search of optimal software settings, but civilians like us could share location settings files the way other folks are presently sharing frequency files.

How about tunable flexible antennas for handheld scanners? One reasonable-length (short) antenna that could be tuned by means of radio settings would make my heart pump faster.

Even better filtering and signal-processing, akin to the super-expensive Motorola and Harris radios, might be achievable at a consumer-grade price in the not-too-distant future. I'm not an SDR expert by any means, but it seems that technology path could continue to lead to some really interesting possibilities we're not even thinking of at the moment.

Cosmetic changes? I think the SDS100 is a thing of beauty (despite the color display being hard to read for 69-year-old eyes, especially in "detail" mode), but I'd love to see even smaller, more rugged scanners available with crystal-clear, window-rattling audio and ultra-powerful batteries that could go for weeks between charges.

And finally, AGC in the SDS100 wouldn't be particularly innovative at this point, but I think a lot of us would be happy to have it.

I'll think of more innovations tonight around 2 am . . .

-Johnnie

 

[CommLt]

"Bluetooth comes to mind . . . I was kind of excited about Whistler's announcement that Bluetooth would be available in the TRX-100/200 radios. It would have been nice to run your scanner audio through your car/home/portable sound system."

Yeah, how cool would Airplay2 be? able to send scanner audio to multiple speakers throughout the house. Or "Alexa scan bank 1"

 

[radio3353]

Bluetooth comes to mind . . . I was kind of excited about Whistler's announcement that Bluetooth would be available in the TRX-100/200 radios. It would have been nice to run your scanner audio through your car/home/portable sound system.

Other possibilities might include "location-tailored" software settings for software-defined radios like the SDS100/200. What I mean by that is a wide range of available software settings that were optimized for specific locations such as Phoenix, Las Vegas, or Los Angeles (urban, strong-signal environments with lots of signal overload/intermod issues) or Velarde, NM, (rural, mountainous, weak-signal environment where sensitivity trumps almost everything else) . . . and places in between. I wouldn't expect Paul Opitz and his Uniden troops to start roaming the country in search of optimal software settings, but civilians like us could share location settings files the way other folks are presently sharing frequency files.

How about tunable flexible antennas for handheld scanners? One reasonable-length (short) antenna that could be tuned by means of radio settings would make my heart pump faster.

Even better filtering and signal-processing, akin to the super-expensive Motorola and Harris radios, might be achievable at a consumer-grade price in the not-too-distant future. I'm not an SDR expert by any means, but it seems that technology path could continue to lead to some really interesting possibilities we're not even thinking of at the moment.

Cosmetic changes? I think the SDS100 is a thing of beauty (despite the color display being hard to read for 69-year-old eyes, especially in "detail" mode), but I'd love to see even smaller, more rugged scanners available with crystal-clear, window-rattling audio and ultra-powerful batteries that could go for weeks between charges.

And finally, AGC in the SDS100 wouldn't be particularly innovative at this point, but I think a lot of us would be happy to have it.

I'll think of more innovations tonight around 2 am . . .

-Johnnie

Nice list. Thanks for responding to my post.

 

[kc5igh]

Nice list. Thanks for responding to my post.

You're very welcome!

 

[hardsuit]

Here is a list of Features I want my NEXT Whistler Scanner.
#1 - True Wideband capability from 100 khz - 3000 Mhz continuous coverage (cell blocked ).
#2 - All band All Mode operation, this Includes CW, SSB and All DIGITAL HAM modes as well, I want Digital Trunking in all modes as well including TETRA.
#3 - needs to be compatable with 12.5 khz and 6.25 khz for proper Digital mode Reception.
#4 - Radio needs a proper RF gain knob as well as a Channel Select.
#5 - must have Built in GPS -WAAS reception with Location based Scanning and Channel Memory for GPS Location.
#6 - Bluetooth audio and a Bundled APP for Smartphones.
#7 - Built in NB and Passband filters for better Reception.
#8 - A Loud 700mw speaker with built in DSP Audio Filtering.
#9 - Handheld needs a Proper color waterfall Spectrum Display OPTION.
#10 - needs to have Multiple ways to Power from DC Battery, to USB Direct charge.
## needs a Cool Lapel speaker with Built in AMP.
## needs a High Gain factory Scanner Antenna.

 

[maxtracs]

I'm sad to know the trx200 is not coming out I was waiting for it.
But I hope they spend more time to make the trx2 a better radio
I own 2 trx 2 I love the radio I hope they fix the nxdn trunking issue
I am willing to pay for the control channel trunking
I think the trx2 is a better looking radio then the sds 200
WE LOVE YOU WHISTLER

 

[kc5igh]

Here is a list of Features I want my NEXT Whistler Scanner.
#1 - True Wideband capability from 100 khz - 3000 Mhz continuous coverage (cell blocked ).
#2 - All band All Mode operation, this Includes CW, SSB and All DIGITAL HAM modes as well, I want Digital Trunking in all modes as well including TETRA.
#3 - needs to be compatable with 12.5 khz and 6.25 khz for proper Digital mode Reception.
#4 - Radio needs a proper RF gain knob as well as a Channel Select.
#5 - must have Built in GPS -WAAS reception with Location based Scanning and Channel Memory for GPS Location.
#6 - Bluetooth audio and a Bundled APP for Smartphones.
#7 - Built in NB and Passband filters for better Reception.
#8 - A Loud 700mw speaker with built in DSP Audio Filtering.
#9 - Handheld needs a Proper color waterfall Spectrum Display OPTION.
#10 - needs to have Multiple ways to Power from DC Battery, to USB Direct charge.
## needs a Cool Lapel speaker with Built in AMP.
## needs a High Gain factory Scanner Antenna.

Now that's a nice wish list!

Let's see if Paul and his Uniden team can squeeze all those features into a handheld radio . . .

Thanks for sharing!

-Johnnie

 

[mule1075]

Now that's a nice wish list!

Let's see if Paul and his Uniden team can squeeze all those features into a handheld radio . . .

Thanks for sharing!

-Johnnie

Never will happen that is what communications receivers are for. With the exception of trunking they pretty much already have those things. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

 

[racin06]

I will wait it out and will certainly purchase Whistler's next hand-held scanner to place along side my Uniden SDS-100. This news by Whistler is troubling, but we shall see. I've always wondered by other receiver manufacturers like Icom haven't jumped into the scanner market. I own the Icom R30 and it's an excellent receiver! There is no doubt that Icom has the technological and $ capabilities to bring a scanner to the market.

 

[bpittman]

Here is a list of Features I want my NEXT Whistler Scanner.
#1 - True Wideband capability from 100 khz - 3000 Mhz continuous coverage (cell blocked ).
#2 - All band All Mode operation, this Includes CW, SSB and All DIGITAL HAM modes as well, I want Digital Trunking in all modes as well including TETRA.
#3 - needs to be compatable with 12.5 khz and 6.25 khz for proper Digital mode Reception.
#4 - Radio needs a proper RF gain knob as well as a Channel Select.
#5 - must have Built in GPS -WAAS reception with Location based Scanning and Channel Memory for GPS Location.
#6 - Bluetooth audio and a Bundled APP for Smartphones.
#7 - Built in NB and Passband filters for better Reception.
#8 - A Loud 700mw speaker with built in DSP Audio Filtering.
#9 - Handheld needs a Proper color waterfall Spectrum Display OPTION.
#10 - needs to have Multiple ways to Power from DC Battery, to USB Direct charge.
## needs a Cool Lapel speaker with Built in AMP.
## needs a High Gain factory Scanner Antenna.

Sounds like a high end ham radio already on the market! This would undoubtly price it out for of the market for novice users. May I add to the list: a display showing frequency and mode when it detects a signal and pauses. Manual up/down arrows to "go back" or advance channels (now called objects).

Bill

 

[DJ11DLN]

I haven't been around much lately so this news came as a bit of an unpleasant surprise. I'll just say that I hope Whistler simply hit a wall with further development of the GRE800/900 platform, and that there is a "Plan B." I sure hope they aren't planning to quit the scanner business completely, or even just stop development. Competition between companies is always a good thing for the consumer; I wish there were four or five corporations making digital trunking scanners instead of just two. And, of course, the user base to support such...but then I think that's called "wish with one hand and spit in the other."

Either way, time will tell. And I think it might be time for me to go ahead and pull the trigger on a G4.

 

[mitbr]

I haven't been around much lately so this news came as a bit of an unpleasant surprise. I'll just say that I hope Whistler simply hit a wall with further development of the GRE800/900 platform, and that there is a "Plan B." I sure hope they aren't planning to quit the scanner business completely, or even just stop development. Competition between companies is always a good thing for the consumer; I wish there were four or five corporations making digital trunking scanners instead of just two. And, of course, the user base to support such...but then I think that's called "wish with one hand and spit in the other."

Either way, time will tell. And I think it might be time for me to go ahead and pull the trigger on a G4.

Get the G4. I own the G5 and it is the smartest buy in this genre I have made yet. You turn it on it just works no matter where you are in the car on a boat out walking ,and the battery lasts more than 14 hours between charges!
Tim

 

[kc5igh]

Never will happen that is what communications receivers are for. With the exception of trunking they pretty much already have those things. No reason to reinvent the wheel.

You're probably right, but never say never!

It wasn't that long ago that monitoring trunked systems was described by scanner manufacturers and other experts as ""impossible"! I remember the grim wording in the preface of those "Police Call" frequency books that Radio Shack used to sell . . .

 

[Tramagod]

Get the G4. I own the G5 and it is the smartest buy in this genre I have made yet. You turn it on it just works no matter where you are in the car on a boat out walking ,and the battery lasts more than 14 hours between charges!
Tim

I’ve been in the scanner hobby so long (1973) I just can’t see paying that price for a “pager” that only receives one system at a time. I’m not bad mouthing the product, I just think it’s well overpriced for what it does, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from their owners, but at the price it’s just not for me.


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[DJ11DLN]

I’ve been in the scanner hobby so long (1973) I just can’t see paying that price for a “pager” that only receives one system at a time. I’m not bad mouthing the product, I just think it’s well overpriced for what it does, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from their owners, but at the price it’s just not for me.


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I hear you. I've run through this myself many times. I don't have LSM issues where I live, work, and commute. What I do have is a couple of scanners in daily use that aren't p.2 capable...and p.2 is coming to my area, soon I'm being told. I was actually thinking about a G4 or G5 until the TRX-X00 series was announced. I only have 1 P25 system here, though I would miss some of the other stuff it wouldn't be able to hear. I thought maybe a new-series TRX could replace at least one of those.

As far as the price, yes it is steep. When my VFD got their first Minitor pagers, they were north of $400 apiece...and that was in late 1990s money so probably at least 1.5X that now, maybe more. And compared to those the G4/5 is a new Escalade being compared to Grandpaw's Model T.

Can I justify one of these hot-rod pagers? Of course not. I couldn't justify the scanners I presently own...I wanted them. And I won't be going in hock for it or anything so I very likely will be purchasing a G4 or a G5 (depending on whether I stay involved in the VFD or not) in the near future.

 

[buddrousa]

I’ve been in the scanner hobby so long (1973) I just can’t see paying that price for a “pager” that only receives one system at a time. I’m not bad mouthing the product, I just think it’s well overpriced for what it does, I’ve heard nothing but good things about them from their owners, but at the price it’s just not for me.


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It is priced at a market that noone else is addressing that is p25 700 800 Trunking for Fire Departments and is priced like a Motorola Minitor 6

 

[Tramagod]

It is priced at a market that noone else is addressing that is p25 700 800 Trunking for Fire Departments and is priced like a Motorola Minitor 6

I’m sure it is, but in my opinion still too pricey for a one trick pony.


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[wa8pyr]

Also it's not just the big "E". Here in Phoenix, the official reason why hot channels went encrypted is the media. They kept beating tac teams to scenes. The final straw was when they showed up to a hostage situation before SWAT was able move into position. This is per Phoenix PD. Our media contains some real winners as I'm sure most have noticed. Let's not let them off the hook.

Can't completely blame the media for that; if PPD's perimeter control of a tactical scene (especially one requiring SWAT response) was bad enough that the media was able to slip through, I'd say there needs to be some training in perimeter and scene control at PPD.

I can't disagree that the media does a lot of really stupid things, though; they of course claim "First Amendment and the public's right to know" but they have an annoying tendency to divert attention from their bad manners by falling back on that argument when they do something wrong and know it.

 

[wa8pyr]

Is there anybody here who honestly thinks they weren't trying to make this radio that failed from a TRX 1 and 2? They've never designed their own radio and only have been improving on the PSR 800 and 900.

I've noticed some comments in the other thread in the Uniden Tavern also that seemed to imply that this cryptic statement from ww indicates that they are developing a whole new radio with a whole new design that's independent of the GRE technology.

I agree in that they were probably trying to adapt the TRX1/2 platform to SDR and realized that it just wasn't going to happen without a major redesign, and that they're probably decided to clear the decks and start over.

However, I can't agree with the naysayers who are assuming Whistler is leaving the market. It may take awhile longer, but if they come up with a superior product (one which works without all the bugs and issues), it will be worth the wait.

 

[Tramagod]

I agree in that they were probably trying to adapt the TRX1/2 platform to SDR and realized that it just wasn't going to happen without a major redesign, and that they're probably decided to clear the decks and start over.

However, I can't agree with the naysayers who are assuming Whistler is leaving the market. It may take awhile longer, but if they come up with a superior product (one which works without all the bugs and issues), it will be worth the wait.

I’m not a “naysayer”, but “if” is a tiny two letter word to hang the hopes and prayers of Whistlers future on. I’ve heard it said “If your aunt had testicles she’d be your uncle.”


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