WS1088 feature requests

[cherubim]

What is that?

MultiSite - Stationary

A trunking mode where all the control channels are checked on every programmed site. I use it often to gather additional traffic when monitoring a P25 TRS from a base station. This is with my GRE PSR-600 as the later GRE/Whistler scanners don't have this feature.

 

[Machria]

The TRX-1 is covered by the WS1088 version of the "Easier to Read" manual.
Easier to Read Whistler WS1080/1088 Handheld Scanner and Software Manual

Oh, didn't notice it in there. Thanks!! Makes sense since it's the same basic operational firmware....

On my Whistler WS1088, the display is almost impossible to read even at maximum contrast without using the back light. With the light, it is crystal clear.

I saw someone else complaining about that too. That seems odd for a black and white LCD.
http://forums.radioreference.com/whistler-scanners/347513-poor-screen-contrast.html#post2710133

I also saw that previous complaint/post about the display. Hope you guys sent that in to them, at least for a new scanner. Well, the entire displays on ALL of these scanners is a bit ridiculous in my opinion. I wonder why in the world they are still using these horrendous little LCD's?? Give us a nice BIG display for heavens sake. Let us customize them (aka choose the size of font and color, heck, give us COLOR for gods sake!!). Why are they so small?? I can't read anything anymore without my glasses, drives me nuts to put my glasses on/off constantly when I'm scanning.

We should not even have a "backlight", it should just be daylight viewable like the rest of electronics devices ion the world today. My Garmin handheld GPS I use as an emergency backup on my boat is 1/2 the size of my scanner, has a color daylight viewable touchscreen, receives radio signals from 12 satellites simultaneously, calculates distances, and then pinpoints it's location on the built in maps of the entire world, including water depths, and 100's of thousands/millions of POI's along with all their info.... it can plot routes, and actually DRIVE my boats via the autopilot system. And it costs $200!!!!

Don't even get me started on this subject!! Common scanner companies, lets join the 21st century already.

Good move, especially if you want a "search" function. Or any other enhancements.

Yea, that was my real reason for going that direction. The extra ROM space on it gives it plenty of space for upgrades...

MultiSite - Stationary

A trunking mode where all the control channels are checked on every programmed site. I use it often to gather additional traffic when monitoring a P25 TRS from a base station. This is with my GRE PSR-600 as the later GRE/Whistler scanners don't have this feature.

hmmmm... not quite grasping what you mean by this? All control channels are always checked, for all sites.... no? Or do you mean without it actually going to the actual freq the com's are sent to?

 

[DonS]

We should not even have a "backlight", it should just be daylight viewable like the rest of electronics devices ion the world today.

The scanners are "daylight viewable". The backlight is there so you can read the display in something less than daylight. Like in a dim room, or in the dark.

I have several Garmin handheld GPS units. On all of them, I have to turn on the backlight (or, if they're not so equipped, use a flashlight) to see the display in the dark.

 

[Machria]

The scanners are "daylight viewable". The backlight is there so you can read the display in something less than daylight. Like in a dim room, or in the dark.

I repeat, we should NOT need a backlight on a scanner. I am being a bit facetious. I know very well what backlights on cheap LCD displays do. My point is, if they used a GOOD display like a high contrast daylight viewable TFT COLOR display (aka any smartphone today), you do not require a "backlight". It's always "backlit".

I have several Garmin handheld GPS units. On all of them, I have to turn on the backlight (or, if they're not so equipped, use a flashlight) to see the display in the dark.

I'm not sure what GPS unit your using, but I have 3 (all marine units) and they are all color displays, all easily viewable in direct sunlight and in the dead of night with no problem. And with poloraized sunglasses I might add. They smartly turn their polarization angle on the glass to a 45 degree angle as to not be affected by polarized sunglasses.

 

[DonS]

you do not require a "backlight". It's always "backlit".

I guess I don't understand. We shouldn't need a backlight because a good display is always backlit?

How about when I'm viewing the scanner in daylight and would rather not burn the mAh? Should I just suck it up and admit that unnecessarily shortening battery life is a benefit of 21st century technology?

No thanks. If my device doesn't need a backlight to be viewed in direct sunlight, I'll stick with "LEDs not drawing any power."

 

[Machria]

Sorry, I'm not being clear. What I'm trying to say sarcastically is, when was the last time you fiddled with "the backlight" on your iPhone or other smartphones? Never, right? So why are we required to fiddle with it on a scanner? I can always see the display on my phone, day or night and I have never touched, or even looked at the backlight settings. Why is this? Because they installed a 25 cent light sensor and wrote a few lines of code to monitor the sensor and set the backlighting appropriately.

Just another thing to the long list of things the scanner companies have left us with. We are working with 70's and 80's equipment in the scanning world.

 

[Jimru]

It's time we start making some progress on the usability side of scanners!

I completely agree with this sentiment!!

 

[pb_lonny]

Sorry, I'm not being clear. What I'm trying to say sarcastically is, when was the last time you fiddled with "the backlight" on your iPhone or other smartphones? Never, right? So why are we required to fiddle with it on a scanner? I can always see the display on my phone, day or night and I have never touched, or even looked at the backlight settings. Why is this? Because they installed a 25 cent light sensor and wrote a few lines of code to monitor the sensor and set the backlighting appropriately.

Just another thing to the long list of things the scanner companies have left us with. We are working with 70's and 80's equipment in the scanning world.

You seem to have a REAL issue with the user interface of scanners and want them to be more like smart phones.

I actually adjust the back light on my smart phone multiple times a day, I have it set to the lowest possible setting that I can read and only turn it up when I need to, I do this manually to save battery life. I would HATE for my scanner to have a screen like this which would draw more power and reduce battery life.

 

[Machria]

You seem to have a REAL issue with the user interface of scanners and want them to be more like smart phones.

Yes I do. And you don't??? I'm not sure how that is possible. Take a deep breath, go outside the shack once in a while and have a look around. The gas pump at my local gas station is more high tech then my scanner is for gods sake.

It's not possible to think the current scanner user interfaces are "ok" and up to todays technology standards. I won't even argue that point. It's just a clear fact, and is not up to interpretation or opinion.

I actually adjust the back light on my smart phone multiple times a day, I have it set to the lowest possible setting that I can read and only turn it up when I need to, I do this manually to save battery life. I would HATE for my scanner to have a screen like this which would draw more power and reduce battery life.

My smartphone has the backlight setting at "AUTO", and I just looked and it is set to 100%. I've never bothered with it before. My phone is used all day long, texts, emails (and ALOT of them!), and lots of phone calls in and out, lastly browsing the internet and TEXT searches (err um! imagine being able to do a text search?? LOL! ). Anyway, the phone is on and working hard 24x7 doing two way digital encrypted two way transceiver type communications, NOT just receiving. And amazingly, it lasts 48 hours or so without a charge. And, when I charge it (without removing the LiOn battery pack!), it goes from dead to 100% charge in about 1 or 2 hours via a USB 5v charger.

So why does our scanner last only about 8 hours at best, and take 14 hours or more to charge?? OR worse, require us to open up the guts, remove the battery pack, and charge it externally.... That sounds "ok" to you?

"COMMON MAN"!!

 

[Wackyracer]

A Touch screen scanner would be neat. But that would take a total redesign and possibly having to deal with rf noise created by the power circuit for the screen.

It is obvious that Whistler wants to keep the over all current design as long as possible to maximize profit as R&D is expensive and time consuming.

I would not want a proprietary battery pack. But maybe they can use 2-18650 LiPo batteries. They are a bit bigger then AA and 3.7v each. They are readily available across the internet . The down side is it would take redesigning the battery box area and the charging circuit so this would have to be in a future model scanner.

 

[pb_lonny]

Yes I do. And you don't??? I'm not sure how that is possible. Take a deep breath, go outside the shack once in a while and have a look around. The gas pump at my local gas station is more high tech then my scanner is for gods sake.

It's not possible to think the current scanner user interfaces are "ok" and up to todays technology standards. I won't even argue that point. It's just a clear fact, and is not up to interpretation or opinion.

Different types of devices have different interfaces. The interface on my alarm is very different to the interface of the A/C in my office which is different again to the interface of my photocopier which is different again to the interface on a radio scanner.

My smartphone has the backlight setting at "AUTO", and I just looked and it is set to 100%. I've never bothered with it before. My phone is used all day long, texts, emails (and ALOT of them!), and lots of phone calls in and out, lastly browsing the internet and TEXT searches (err um! imagine being able to do a text search?? LOL! ). Anyway, the phone is on and working hard 24x7 doing two way digital encrypted two way transceiver type communications, NOT just receiving. And amazingly, it lasts 48 hours or so without a charge. And, when I charge it (without removing the LiOn battery pack!), it goes from dead to 100% charge in about 1 or 2 hours via a USB 5v charger.

So why does our scanner last only about 8 hours at best, and take 14 hours or more to charge?? OR worse, require us to open up the guts, remove the battery pack, and charge it externally.... That sounds "ok" to you?

"COMMON MAN"!!

How simple is this... "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAYS SCANNERS WORK, THEN DON'T BLOODY USE THEM" Go and play with your smart phone if that is SO GREAT. I like my scanners interface because it is NOT like a smart phone...

 

[Machria]

Different types of devices have different interfaces. The interface on my alarm is very different to the interface of the A/C in my office which is different again to the interface of my photocopier which is different again to the interface on a radio scanner.

Not really. My Canon copier has a touchscreen, and works almost identical to a smartphone. My thermostat which runs my AC and heat, has a touchscreen, and has a very similar interface to my smartphone. The soda vending machine in the café, has a touchscreen and has almost the same interface as my smartphone. ... I can go on and on. The menu options are different, they do different tasks. But the USER INTERFACES are intuitive, and easy to use.

Why is is such a problem to ask for that, on a scanner? Are scanner user interfaces protected by some historical Native American bylaws or something?

How simple is this... "IF YOU DON'T LIKE THE WAYS SCANNERS WORK, THEN DON'T BLOODY USE THEM" Go and play with your smart phone if that is SO GREAT. I like my scanners interface because it is NOT like a smart phone...

LOL! Easy pal, cut back on the coffee or switch to decaf.

There is nothing wrong with consumers pushing the manufacturers to use leading edge technologies, and advance their products. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. If you look at the sticky thread directly from Whistler themselves at the top of this forum, they are ASKING US for our suggestions. They would like some direction from us, the consumer.

But I guess you feel we should just lay down and shut up. Who are we to ask for a better product?? Heck, we should just be happy they allow us to spend out money on their product, right?

For the life of me, I do not understand why soooooo many of you "scanner consumers" on here try defending the companies that make them. They are making millions of $$ on us. It's time we push them along a bit. After all it's 2017, not 1982.

 

[Wackyracer]

I think a touch screen would open the hobby up to many. But it would have to have a simple interface.

 

[QDP2012]

...Are scanner user interfaces protected by some historical Native American bylaws or something?

Bad attempt at a joke -- timeline is wrong, cultural reference is wrong in several ways.

One opinion,

 

[Machria]

A Touch screen scanner would be neat. But that would take a total redesign and possibly having to deal with rf noise created by the power circuit for the screen.

It is obvious that Whistler wants to keep the over all current design as long as possible to maximize profit as R&D is expensive and time consuming.

The touchscreen request would be for the next gen scanner obviously, not the TRX-1.

As far as R&D goes, it does not look to me that Uniden or Whistler (or other...) has spent much on R&D toward their scanners. They likely transfer the receiver knowledge from other divisions (making transceivers and repeaters...), and then put together a cost effective product that simply works. It does not look to me like very much effort is put forth towards the user interface. After all, it still looks the same as it did 30 years ago for the most part.

I would not want a proprietary battery pack. But maybe they can use 2-18650 LiPo batteries. They are a bit bigger then AA and 3.7v each. They are readily available across the internet . The down side is it would take redesigning the battery box area and the charging circuit so this would have to be in a future model scanner.

Sorry, I mixed that info in from another thread regarding charging the 1088/trx-1. But since we are on the subject. I disagree, it would be EASY as pie to do on the TRX what they did on the 1088 with the yellow alkaline battery tray. All they need to do is put charging leads on the bottom or backside of the scanner that line up with a docking station for charging. If you install the yellow alkaline battery adapter, that adapter just would not have the leads on it, so if you dropped the unit into the charging dock with the alkaline batteries installed, nothing would happen. This would let you use and charge 4 AA high capacity Lion rechargeable batt's, or just put in 4 regular AA's as you prefer. And the dock would fully charge the unit in 2 hours! Not 14 hours via a usb....

I for the life of me don't understand whys this isn't done in the first place. Every HF transceiver on the planet is charged this way. I've always wondered why none of the scanners do this. Heck, a $24.99 set of 36 mile GMRS radios from Wallymart do this. It's kinda ridiculous we have to take the cover off, remove the batteries and charge them externally...

 

[pb_lonny]

Not really. My Canon copier has a touchscreen, and works almost identical to a smartphone. My thermostat which runs my AC and heat, has a touchscreen, and has a very similar interface to my smartphone. The soda vending machine in the café, has a touchscreen and has almost the same interface as my smartphone. ... I can go on and on. The menu options are different, they do different tasks. But the USER INTERFACES are intuitive, and easy to use.

Why is is such a problem to ask for that, on a scanner? Are scanner user interfaces protected by some historical Native American bylaws or something?



LOL! Easy pal, cut back on the coffee or switch to decaf.

There is nothing wrong with consumers pushing the manufacturers to use leading edge technologies, and advance their products. This is a good thing, not a bad thing. If you look at the sticky thread directly from Whistler themselves at the top of this forum, they are ASKING US for our suggestions. They would like some direction from us, the consumer.

But I guess you feel we should just lay down and shut up. Who are we to ask for a better product?? Heck, we should just be happy they allow us to spend out money on their product, right?

For the life of me, I do not understand why soooooo many of you "scanner consumers" on here try defending the companies that make them. They are making millions of $$ on us. It's time we push them along a bit. After all it's 2017, not 1982.

You just seem to be pushing what YOU think the interface should be. By all means make suggestions but to keep saying that the rest of us who are happy with the current interface are wrong is really pissing me off. I think your signature says it all...

 

[Machria]

Bad attempt at a joke -- timeline is wrong, cultural reference is wrong in several ways.

One opinion,

Agreed. A bad reference... BUT it is not a joke.

However, you would think the way people try defending these scanners, there is something magical with them.

 

[Machria]

You just seem to be pushing what YOU think the interface should be. By all means make suggestions but to keep saying that the rest of us who are happy with the current interface are wrong is really pissing me off. I think your signature says it all...

To the contrary. I AM looking for other input. I am not a scanner expert by any means. So I actually do not know the best interface, and what you "experts" that scan regularly need. And likewise, neither does Whistler or Uniden. They just make what they "think" will sell. Manufacturers often do not know what the consumers want, we need to tell them, and push them.

So what you SHOULD be doing, is adding your input as to what you would like to see, not telling me I'm nuts for asking for something I would like to see. And do not say you like it the way it is, that is just ridiculous. Your right, my signature says it all, and is a simple unarguable FACT. ALL of these scanners going back to 1980, work exactly the same for the most part from a user interface perspective. They need to be updated to a modern day interface, period.

Or, we can all go turn in our car and truck keys, and go back to horse and buggy if you wish??

 

[SteveSimpkin]

Machria,
What are your thoughts on the Uniden Home Patrol 1 and 2 scanners?
With an always backlit color touch screen and simplified user interface, it seems close to what you are looking for.

 

[Machria]

Machria,
What are your thoughts on the Uniden Home Patrol 1 and 2 scanners?
With an always backlit color touch screen and simplified user interface, it seems close to what you are looking for.

When I first herd about them years ago when they first started coming out, I was extremely excited. They were on the right track! But I think they fell short because they really just made dumbed down versions of scanners, with a nice interface. But honestly, I have not looked at them in a while. When I looked at them and read about them, they did not have much advanced functionality/control to them. They seemed great for the "basic home" user that wants to listen to the Weather, local FD, and local PD precinct. But fell short of all the rest from what I saw.

I would like to see a fully functional unit, like the TRX-1 or new Uniden HP's, but with a new easy to use user interface to them. Just because it has an easy to use user interface like a touchscreen, it does NOT mean it needs to be a dumbed down device from a technical aspect. Just make the menu's simple to follow, intuitive. When you want to go to a channel you click "Goto Channel", not press Func, hold down dot, then rotate a knob...! When you are looking for something, you type in some text in a search box and all the hits are listed and let you select from the list. The screen is customizable, you put what you want to see and where, with the size font you like. High contrast color display, LARGE!! Not 1" by 1.5" with 6 dot pitch fonts on it that I need a magnifying glass to read. Bluetooth audio output, so you can wear a wireless earpiece.

You know, the stuff on the rest of the worlds electronics devices today.