scannersnstuff
Active Member
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- Mar 31, 2006
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you think you like the uniden and radio shack ?. get a gre psr-500.
Why I Will Never Buy A GRE Again!
- Thread starter N1SQB
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The one you sold to me? LMAO
mlconnell
Member
Bct15-gre-400
Well owning both I like the BCT15 better. The GRE buttons stick at times and the radio seems not as well built. Audio on the GRE is not bad though however the front end is super sensitive. I think the main thing I don't like about the GRE is Bank channel storing. I love the Dynamic memory allocation in the BCT-15. I think I got used to this in the BCD996T. Also I love the way the BCD15 programs. Very user friendly without software. I like the extra features that are in the Uniden BCT15 and not on the BCD996T. Wish they would have included those on the 996T as well. Just my 2 cents.
Well owning both I like the BCT15 better. The GRE buttons stick at times and the radio seems not as well built. Audio on the GRE is not bad though however the front end is super sensitive. I think the main thing I don't like about the GRE is Bank channel storing. I love the Dynamic memory allocation in the BCT-15. I think I got used to this in the BCD996T. Also I love the way the BCD15 programs. Very user friendly without software. I like the extra features that are in the Uniden BCT15 and not on the BCD996T. Wish they would have included those on the 996T as well. Just my 2 cents.
SquierStrat
Member
ha, that one made me laugh out loud
BenFranske
Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2005
- Messages
- 37
Umm, I don't really want to get involved in this religious war but the new PSR-500 and PSR-600 GRE radios use object programming and scan lists instead of banks. It's not quite the same as Uniden's dynamic memory but it's very similar in terms of what it means for flexibility. I agree this is a great feature and a major reason I love my PSR-600.
SquierStrat
Member
i too love my psr500 but 1 thing to keep in mind is its limited to 20 "banks" where as with unidens dynamic memory you can have 100 "banks"
FCVPI99
Member
most of the radios i have had where GRE but i have had a 785 or 795 it was the uniden base Digital with out the card, and i was not happy at all. like all radios uniden and gre radios dont program the same. so i had a hell of a time programing, once i did program a town in there it worked ok. kept failing to pick up the signal. it would pic up the signal about a full sec after my pro 96/97/2055 did then i tried to play around with the radio stations (101.1) i can get it on my Pro 96 not good but i can understand whats coming out of the radio what did i get on the uniden nothing close to 101.1 i kept getting spanish station i had it all of a week and i trashed it
as of right now il stick with my GRE wich has the upgradable DSP and CPU
as of right now il stick with my GRE wich has the upgradable DSP and CPU
bwinking
Member
a good mount for handhelds is http://store.unical-estore.com/wallbracket.html
for $5. I bought two of their phones and both had that mount in the box. works just right for my sc-180 and psr-500
the phone model number is 35807-4, they ask that when ordering.
for $5. I bought two of their phones and both had that mount in the box. works just right for my sc-180 and psr-500
the phone model number is 35807-4, they ask that when ordering.
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Not this tired argument again. You need to think outside the bank.
Yes, it's true, the PSR-500 provides one-button access to only 22 lists. And, yes, for some people with unusual needs, this may not be sufficient. But for the vast majority of people, particularly those willing to open up to non-bank ways of thinking about things, the 22 lists on the PSR-500 will be more than sufficient.
Combining the ability to easily lock out entire trunking systems with the 22 lists will give you essentially the same functionality of the "100 banks".
The one place where this does run into trouble is if you scan a lot of conventional frequencies. The lack of ability to form a "system" of a collection of conventional frequencies does throw a wrench in the works.
This approach has been posted about in great detail. Search for "orthogonal scanning" and you should find it.
yeah but the lmit on talkgroups is the downside on the 996/296. That is why I got rid of my 396
Pro2096 - GRE....
Hello All,
I have a Pro2096 from RS that is also deaf on VHF Hi band.
Not sure "why" it is that way. The 800 Mhz works just fine. I can hear several towers on the factory supplied pull-up antenna. Add the Scantenna to it & I can get the Ohio MARCS tower sites from three counties....
But, even on the Scantenna, VHF Hi is deaf. I have an ancient Uniden BC760XLT that hears low band & VHF Hi band fine on the pull-up antenna. On the outside antenna, it never shuts up....On UHF, it isn't horrible, but the Unident beats it there too....
I'm guessing they are "tuning" or building these GRE's (Radio Shack models) to be geard more toward the 800 frequencies than the older hi & low band stuff.
I just plug them both in, leave them on the same shelf and listen to 800 Meg on the 2096 & everything else on the Uniden....
Steve/KB8FAR
Hello All,
I have a Pro2096 from RS that is also deaf on VHF Hi band.
Not sure "why" it is that way. The 800 Mhz works just fine. I can hear several towers on the factory supplied pull-up antenna. Add the Scantenna to it & I can get the Ohio MARCS tower sites from three counties....
But, even on the Scantenna, VHF Hi is deaf. I have an ancient Uniden BC760XLT that hears low band & VHF Hi band fine on the pull-up antenna. On the outside antenna, it never shuts up....On UHF, it isn't horrible, but the Unident beats it there too....
I'm guessing they are "tuning" or building these GRE's (Radio Shack models) to be geard more toward the 800 frequencies than the older hi & low band stuff.
I just plug them both in, leave them on the same shelf and listen to 800 Meg on the 2096 & everything else on the Uniden....
Steve/KB8FAR
HDMechanic
Member
Well im going to have to jump on the band wagon for not liking the GRE anymore. Their repair service is crap. I have sent my unit in twice now and still not working properly. First time I sent the unit in it was dead and I mean really dead like in wouldn't even turn on. So I sent the unit back for warranty and they sent me a new unit back. Programed the unit and turned it on. Worked fine for about five minutes and then the unit quit receiving any signal on VHF and UHF and very weak on the 800 side of things. So again sent the unit back for repairs and of coarse paid more money in shipping. Well this part is the topping on the cake. After waiting 4 weeks for my unit to return back to me I get it back. I was so excited. Turned the unit on and it works good. Did errands and had to turn the unit off. Went and turned the unit back on and again nothing. Would not receive a thing. Unit almost went a flying but I contained myself. So for giggles and instead of throwing the unit out the window i gave it a light tap on the side and all of a sudden it started to pickup 800 side of things but very weak. They told me that they had replace the RF module in it but im thinking that they have missed something bigger than that and when they test unit they have repaired they turn them on and see if they work and send them out. Maybe they should try shaking their units and testing them a little better so that they don't send junk back to their customers. Well I have washed my hands of this. Im out about 800 buck and have a new book end. Lucky me.
PHOENIX_SCANNER
Member
For those of you with GRE VHF-Hi issues, are you turning the "ATT" function on/off as you test it? When I used to use GRE-built scanners for mobile use, I had to turn the ATT on to hear the locals and off to hear further away counties as it was too sensitive on that part of the band.
Now I use motorola to scan VHF
This deserved a bump. I doubt that the people saying the 400 is "deaf" on vhf hi ever hit the ATT button. Why? Because I KNOW for a fact that in a high RF area without attenuation the front end will be overloaded completely in such a situation. You MUST use ATT. All of my GRE radios require it to get good reception in this band. GRE scanners are almost always more sensitive than Unidens, you just need to know when to attenuate. The reason the GRE was neck and neck in UHF was because you usually don't need attenuation there. No surprise. I never heard one of the people with the problem mention that they tried attenuation, and I know I would have tried it and mentioned it if I was trying to solve a problem then post about it.
I think you hit the nail on the head GROG.
ind224
Member
Crap. I have a 600 that can't handle a similcast system and will probably
have to go into the shop. It coming back and still not working will make my day. So far, I'm not impressed either. While "most" should not have to lock out a CC, I do, and the fact I can't is beyond unacceptable.
HDMechanic, try using a 160m antenna for 800. That almost gets me the 800 system I want.
have to go into the shop. It coming back and still not working will make my day. So far, I'm not impressed either. While "most" should not have to lock out a CC, I do, and the fact I can't is beyond unacceptable.
HDMechanic, try using a 160m antenna for 800. That almost gets me the 800 system I want.
zzdiesel
Member
I know where you're coming from. I have a RS Pro-2055 which seems to be cloned from the GRE 400. I bought a new Uniden BCT15 and it hears things that didn't break the sqeulch on the 2055. I've been debating which digital radio I plan on buying in January. I think it will likely be the Uniden 996T and then the BCT15 will go in my truck instead of the 2055 since it has much better reception.
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I'd rather have an overly sensitive scanner than a deaf one. There are always ways to solve the problem if the radio is overly sensitive. It was an old rule in the hobby, if you lived in a location that was very dense with numerous strong RF signals, then you should buy a Uniden. If you lived out in the country, or suburbs where you were far away from RF signals, buy a GRE (or GRE manufactured Radio Shack).
Currently I have two PRO-197's sitting on my desk. One is using the stock antenna, and the other is using the RS-800. No outside antennas. I can receive everything I want loud and clear. I'm pretty certain if I hooked them up to an outdoor antenna I'd have problems.
This has been discussed on RR numerous times, and while the attenuator is sometimes a solution, it's not an ideal one. If you're trying to monitor a weak VHF signal, and you are encountering interference from a nearby strong FM broadcast station, or a powerful pager transmitter, enabling the attenuator might help, but at the same time you're making the scanner less sensitive to the signal you want to monitor.
An undesired strong signal can overload and desensitize your radio for the weaker signals you want to hear. What you need to do is determine what is causing this and add an antenna filter between your antenna and the scanner. These filters effectively reduce, or block the undesired signal, while letting the desired signals come though.
Scanner master sells a wide assortment of filters. A RR member recently posted his success story after adding a HPN-30118 Combined Notch Filter. He said the difference was unbelievable!
Scanner Master Filters
http://www.scannermaster.com/Filters_s/39.htm
Another source for filters is Grove Enterprises, who sells the PAR line of filters.
Grove Enterprises - PAR Filters
http://www.grove-ent.com/filters.html
Some of you might say why mess around with filters when I can just get a Uniden scanner that will work without the need of a filter. You can do that, but you'll end up with a scanner that is overall less sensitive and will not pull in the weaker more distant signals that you might otherwise receive with your GRE scanner.
For those of you that claim your Uniden scanner hears things your GRE does not, so therefor you think the Uniden is more sensitve...try a GRE scanner with the proper filter in-line and then compare them. Once you solve the desensitizing issue on a GRE scanner, it's a HOT receiver!
Currently I have two PRO-197's sitting on my desk. One is using the stock antenna, and the other is using the RS-800. No outside antennas. I can receive everything I want loud and clear. I'm pretty certain if I hooked them up to an outdoor antenna I'd have problems.
This has been discussed on RR numerous times, and while the attenuator is sometimes a solution, it's not an ideal one. If you're trying to monitor a weak VHF signal, and you are encountering interference from a nearby strong FM broadcast station, or a powerful pager transmitter, enabling the attenuator might help, but at the same time you're making the scanner less sensitive to the signal you want to monitor.
An undesired strong signal can overload and desensitize your radio for the weaker signals you want to hear. What you need to do is determine what is causing this and add an antenna filter between your antenna and the scanner. These filters effectively reduce, or block the undesired signal, while letting the desired signals come though.
Scanner master sells a wide assortment of filters. A RR member recently posted his success story after adding a HPN-30118 Combined Notch Filter. He said the difference was unbelievable!
Scanner Master Filters
http://www.scannermaster.com/Filters_s/39.htm
Another source for filters is Grove Enterprises, who sells the PAR line of filters.
Grove Enterprises - PAR Filters
http://www.grove-ent.com/filters.html
Some of you might say why mess around with filters when I can just get a Uniden scanner that will work without the need of a filter. You can do that, but you'll end up with a scanner that is overall less sensitive and will not pull in the weaker more distant signals that you might otherwise receive with your GRE scanner.
For those of you that claim your Uniden scanner hears things your GRE does not, so therefor you think the Uniden is more sensitve...try a GRE scanner with the proper filter in-line and then compare them. Once you solve the desensitizing issue on a GRE scanner, it's a HOT receiver!
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
What do you mean by "can't handle" the system?
1) Does it track it?
2) Does the audio sound terrible?
As to 1, you might not have the scanner configured correctly.
As to 2, simulcast generally sounds terrible on scanners unless you happen to be in the right location.
D
DaveNF2G
Guest
YMMV, but my 996 is fairly deaf compared to the GRE PSR-600, running on the same antenna.
K2QI
Member
Intermod is really only a problem for me in the airband or 2m frequencies. I use a notch and a bandpass filter in series; solved my problems right away without having to attenuate the signal in the receiver.
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