Whistler Update

[yaesumofo]

And I thought the android vs apple thing was stupid!!!
I have both of the new uniden radios and they work well.
Issues have NOT been ignored. They are new radios and will continue to improve.

There is an old saying.
A Bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.
You guys are betting on the two birds in the bush.

You have NO IDEA what kind of QC or manufacturing quality whistler is going to come up with.

Unfortunately GRE couldn't make enough on Scanners to stay afloat. Their patients are not enough to survive on.
Basically the (very small) market spoke and GRE lost.
Whistler will face the same challenges as GRE and UNIDEN faces. The biggest issue is the FACT that the market is SMALL. AND most people are now carrying smart phones.... Those same phones have the ability to hear 1000's of radio systems that in the past required a scanner, via an app.
This has had a HUGE impact on the marketplace. No real innovation will come from Whistler. Innovation requires research and development. R and D costs $$$. There is NO MONEY in the business of designing building and selling scanners. You think UNIDEN makes money on scanners? How does a scanner company make any money selling say UNDER 5K units of anything? Uniden sold well under 5K 536 radios in the first month of sales. UNIDEN is a MICH larger company which can afford some R and D and can also afford to hold on for long term sales to catch up with short term development costs.
Even still look at the new unidens and you will learn that they are based on previously successful designs , The RF front end design (heart of the radio) on the 536 is almost exactly the same as the 996. what has changed is the radio handling of digital signals and frequency databases.

Anyway guy go ahead and wait for the GRE/Whistler radios for the next few months hoping the whole time that the VAPOR clears. In the mean time many of us will enjoy the uniden radios we have RIGHT NOW despite the fact that they are not perfect.... So far I have not found a perfect radio. In many ways for me the perfect radio was/is the AOR-8000. Great pure analog wide banded wide open radio.

I sure miss my old Pro-43 though.

Have at ya!!

Yaesumofo

 

[whsbuss]

Even still look at the new unidens and you will learn that they are based on previously successful designs , The RF front end design (heart of the radio) on the 536 is almost exactly the same as the 996. what has changed is the radio handling of digital signals and frequency databases.


Yaesumofo

And there's a sore point for me..... digital signal decoding, missed digital transmissions on either new Uniden is subpar for the system I need to monitor. Whistler may well fail but I will give them a try.

 

[Dafe1er]

And there's a sore point for me..... digital signal decoding, missed digital transmissions on either new Uniden is subpar for the system I need to monitor. Whistler may well fail but I will give them a try.

I agree with you.

GRE might have went belly up BUUUUUUT the PSR 800 is still alive and kicking.......also had the Phase 2 BEFORE Uniden. While I own only Uniden products for NOW, they were the one who played catchup and did not do much of anything else with these newer units. IMO


As for apps/ phones being used for scanners, I will never use them. Why? I like to hear what is happening now NOT minutes later. There is always a time delay on these things......we shall see how the new "app" for the 536 works sometime in the future and maybe I will sing a different tune....highly doubt it though.

Also, if you really think Uniden or any manufacturer is not making money off these new scanners you are wrong. They are made out of country for pennies on the dollar and get even cheaper when bought/ made in bulk. again IMO.

Bring it on Whistler!

 

[N8DRC]

3-4 months for the WS-1095 (PSR-900) base!

Looking forward to this release....

 

[LIScanner101]

Like I've been saying:

I have ZERO allegiance to either Uniden or GRE.

I will wait and see what GRE comes out with and watch the early adopters reports.

After careful review, I will either a) buy a new Uniden b) buy a new GRE or c) buy an older digital model of either.

For now I'm saving my hard-earned cash and refuse to be a manufacturer's guinea pig.

 

[tmfok7]

By removable face plate do we mean remote control head for the mobile radio?

Yep! .Google "Whistler WS1095 images" and you will find it. There are some pics under the old moniker "GRE PSR900" also. As for the re-emergence of these scanners... all I can say is prayers answered!! I'll be standing in line for the WS1095 also. There are some YouTube videos of the PSR900 at one of the electronic shows too.

 

[LIScanner101]

To all the early adopters who bought x36HP's and are naysaying GRE because "all they did was bring the old GRE's back", I bet most of you would sell your firstborn to get your hands on a PSR-800 or PSR-900...LOL! Just LOOK at all the posts of how much better the PSR-800 was at decoding P25 compared to the new Unidens. Now, of course Uniden could get it's act together and give GRE a run for its money on this but I'll wait and see on that

 

[AK9R]

To all the early adopters who bought x36HP's and are naysaying GRE because "all they did was bring the old GRE's back", I bet most of you would sell your firstborn to get your hands on a PSR-800 or PSR-900.

I'll take that bet.

Back in the day, I owned two RadioShack Pro-2006 scanners. Probably the finest analog non-trunk tracking scanner ever made and it was made by GRE. I eventually sold them because I needed trunk tracking capability which Uniden brought to the market before GRE.

I owned a PSR-600 for a while. Didn't care for the limitations of the memory structure. Didn't care for the way the front end washed out in the presence of strong signals. I traded it straight up for a Uniden BCD996T and was much happier.

I owned a PSR-800 for a while. Sold it. Couldn't stand the user interface. Didn't care for the memory structure. On the other hand, the Uniden HP-1 that I bought at about the same time is still in my possession and in regular use.

Lest you think I'm a Uniden fan boy who just came by this thread to crash your party, I'll leave now and let you GRE fan boys drool over the repackaged old designs that Whistler is bringing to market. No matter what Whistler does with future designs, it will be good for both camps to have competition.

 

[LIScanner101]

I got used to PSREdit. When I got my BCT15X I hated FreeSCAN at first but like anything else got used to it. I can always adapt to user interfaces. What I CAN'T adapt to is poor receiver performance and clunky trunking decoding. From what I've seen there are a ton of "my PSR-800 was never this bad on this system!" or "my PRO-197 had NO trouble decoding this system" threads. It looks like GRE's "old" technology is superior to Uniden's new "cutting edge" technology.

I'll wait for now.

 

[sjgostovich]

Any idea on prices for these units yet?

 

[tomtefe]

Trido....

Any idea when you will start taking presell orders or a waiting list?

Thanks

 

[GrumpyGuard]

AND most people are now carrying smart phones.... Those same phones have the ability to hear 1000's of radio systems that in the past required a scanner, via an app.
This has had a HUGE impact on the marketplace. No real innovation will come from Whistler.
Yaesumofo

The thing about the smart phone is the app will only play if someone with a scanner is providing the feed. If Uniden and Whistler stop scanner production eventually the scanner apps for the smart phones will cease to exist, and the hobby will be no more.

 

[AK9R]

When I got my BCT15X I hated FreeSCAN at first but like anything else got used to it.

FreeScan is not a Uniden product. Uniden cannot be held responsible for the quality of a third-party software product.

I can always adapt to user interfaces.

Just to be clear, when I speak of user interfaces, I'm talking about the user interface of the scanner, not the programming software.

 

[trido]

WS1095
This model is now on our website keep an eye on it when we get prices we will start pre orders.

Trido....

Any idea when you will start taking presell orders or a waiting list?

Thanks

 

[LIScanner101]

FreeScan is not a Uniden product. Uniden cannot be held responsible for the quality of a third-party software product.


Just to be clear, when I speak of user interfaces, I'm talking about the user interface of the scanner, not the programming software.

One may not like certain user interfaces but one can eventually adapt to them.

No matter how much you learn about a scanner with poor performance, you can't make it more sensitive or selective.

 

[Dafe1er]

WS1095
This model is now on our website keep an eye on it when we get prices we will start pre orders.

I appreciate you giving us information on these scanners but, why would you post this on your site and have this in the description: " This device has not been approved by the F.C.C. This device may not be offered for sale or lease or be sold or leased until approval of the F.C.C. has been obtained". I know because it is not approved but why post about the unit at all?

This is a slight turn off for me as you are promoting a product that just might not make it out. Almost like trying to have an upper hand before the next big thing comes out or trying to draw attention to your site.

Not being mean or trying to bang you, it just seems like a not good business practice. IMO.

 

[lep]

Thanks to Ham Station for keeping us up-to-date on the Whistler products status. There seems to be a lot of interest especially by those who were die-hard GRE fans including the 'vaporware' model 900. I have a 436 but have been delaying purchase of a 536 until UPMAN has the various problems sorted out and at least some new firmware published. It is only 90 days until Dayton so perhaps that would be the time for a Deal.

 

[4436time]

The benefits to having a 536 with wifi is that you have the freedom of using a tablet or smartphone to monitor from anywhere around the house while potentially taking advantage of the better reception of an attic or externally mounted antenna, which you may not necessarily have with a portable. So it's like having a base and mobile in one, with the best reception.

I will wait to see how the 900 fairs, after release, and may pick one up. But I will definitely be getting at least one 536 (after the unit/Siren issues are resolved).

 

[whsbuss]

The benefits to having a 536 with wifi is that you have the freedom of using a tablet or smartphone to monitor from anywhere around the house while potentially taking advantage of the better reception of an attic or externally mounted antenna, which you may not necessarily have with a portable. So it's like having a base and mobile in one, with the best reception.

I will wait to see how the 900 fairs, after release, and may pick one up. But I will definitely be getting at least one 536 (after the unit/Siren issues are resolved).

Good point but I want to see what functions the siren app has before I dive in.

 

[AZScanner]

Would love to see a side by side with the new Unidens and the new GRE's when they come out. I have the 436 and it works like a champ out here in Phoenix, even in areas where the GRE digitals struggle. I can tell you that a simple rebadge job on the existing digitals isn't going to cut it out here. There will need to be some improvements made if these radios are going to compete with the new Unidens.

-AZ