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write your own review of the GRE PSR-600.
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K7NG
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Rating: 5/5
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Aug 18, 2011 15:26
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Great choice!
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Time owned: more than 12 months
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First I got a PSR-500 handheld scanner. I decided that as good and useful as the PSR-500 is, I wanted better audio output and thought that I should probably have a permanently mounted scanner in the mobile. So the natural choice was the PSR-600, since I like the '500 so well, and they are essentially identical in operation and programming. With a Kenwood external speaker I had already, I can't complain about how well I hear it while driving, and when mounted at the right angle, the display isn't hard to see at a glance, even when wearing polarized sunglasses. I still like the variable color LED, as I have the scanner programmed for different colors depending on what service is being received. I keep the PSR-500 handheld for when I travel by air, else it sits in a 'go box' for emergency use. I bought a 2nd PSR-600 for the ham shack!
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KG4ODX
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 14, 2011 16:39
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Vary Good
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I purchased my PSR-600 from R&L electronics, it arrived in 2 days in a well packed box via UPS.
The PSR has a heavy well built quality. The attractive face is well thought out.
One thing that really needs to be changed the lack of manual. GRE provides one on the CD that comes with the rig but you have to print it out.
The manual was confusing to me but I finally worked my way threw it. After becoming familiar with the programing I moved on to the ARC500PRO I purchased separately it made programing the PSR-600 a breeze.
The PSR-600 works great and I am pleased with my purchase.
BTW: the GRE support via email is very responsive and helpful
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WI9NDY
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Rating: 5/5
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Jan 30, 2011 10:32
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Great Scanning Radio
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I received my GRE PSR-600 as a birthday/Christmas gift from my wife (even though I ordered it).
First impressions
I really did not know what to expect other then what I had read in reviews. The factory packing and carton is more than adequate and my scanner arrived in perfect condition. I was surprised at how heavy and sold the receiver was. I was afraid the front panel and key board would be flimsy but the keys have a firm feel to them.
Power Up
Upon initial power up the display welcomes you to digital scanning and immediately goes into the programming mode. The manual give step by step instructions on setting up your first object and I had no problem programming one of the local Amateur Radio repeaters. My next object was the local digital trunked public safety system. I was able to program the control frequency (I verified that it was the control channel with another analog scanner) and entered the talkgroup for the police department. Nothing happened. So what did I do wrong? I checked the system control channel and the talkgroup object. They were correct. Then it occurred to me, nobody was transmitting.
Pro
The receiver does a great job on all modes. The sensitivity is good and since I live away from an area with a lot of transmitters I don’t get the overloading. I am able to receive the P25 public safety in the next county with just a back of the set antenna. The audio is quite sufficient and has good tonal quality.
The keyboard is laid out nicely with adequate room between keys, and the display is clear and bright. The backlight is even across the display and keyboard and adjusts to two levels of brightness and off.
I had no problem manually programming the receiver (although I come from a engineering/technical background) but I do recommend one of the computer configuration programs. It is nice to be able to see the objects and the parameters.
The supplied DC cable is a nice accessory for those who want to mount the receiver in a vehicle.
Cons
The supplied telescoping antenna while useable did not fit on the back of set BNC connector well. I went with a cellular phone (800Mhz) rubber antenna and got better results than with the supplied one.
The power supply has a very flimsy wire and does not look like it will last long especially if you move the receiver around a lot like I do.
The computer interface uses the same type of plug as headphones and is physically located immediately above the headphone jack. I am just waiting to absent mindedly plug my headphones into the wrong jack.
The LED is a nice feature and even though it dims when you dim the backlight, when you cycle the backlight off the LED goes to full brightness. This can be a bit annoying if you are using the receiver in a dark room or you like to listen while you sleep.
Conclusion
Overall I am very pleased with my PSR-600. It would be nice to have a printed manual but the manual on CD seems to be the way everyone is going. I do wish GRE would change the firmware to turn off the LED when you cycle the backlight with the DIM button.
73 de K9WG (ex WI9NDY)
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K9CRT
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Rating: 5/5
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Mar 18, 2010 12:10
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Great Unit So Far
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After sitting on the side lines of the digital scanner world for about a year after our state,county,& city went digital I bought this GRE 600 unit after much research. Living here in this area I couldn't even find a dealer or retail store out side of RS that had these so I was very pleased when I open the box of my new scanner WOW what a quality piece of gear IMHO. The receive audio is wonderful and just tons of it even with the speaker in the unit. I only have the vol control set at 9 O-clock or less. The P25 audio is super and again tons of it. Normal analog audio is good and the unit seems to hear good with no inter mod that I have heard. I have only had the unit less than 24 hours but it is much better than I expected after reading some other reviews maybe the software has been upgraded in the last couple of years to get these results.
The owners manual is only on CD and is not very well organized to me. It is around 140 pages long and I just hate trying to piece all this information together on a computer screen it is like trying to get a picture of the world on a 15" monitor !! Why these companies think for a $500 it is OK not to give us a printed manual is OK I don't understand. Sure you can print your own manual but such a deal 150 pages of loose 8x10 computer paper to deal with and punch and bind etc just not a good thing.
I find the unit easy enough to program manually after everything I read about the problems programing these digital scanners I had this one up and scanning our state Star Com system in less than 15 min with no computer software program only hand entry. I don't find these digital scanners any harder to program than the older trunk tracker units. Actually even easier because once you enter the control freq the unit finds the voice freq"s and enters them for you and you are off and running.
I can't compare the digital P25 Unden/Bearcat to this unit because I have never seen or heard those units but I can say this GRE is a nice unit and compares favorable or is nicer than the older analog Bearcats I have owned.
These units can do so much and have so many options again with the poor manual and the way it is organized on the CD it is going to be a steep learning curve to master this unit.
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KB4YHO
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Rating: 3/5
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Dec 2, 2008 15:45
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P25 Problems
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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OK so the PSR-600 works great on non P25 trunking systems with the usual intermod these consumer grade widebanded recievers suffer from. Wait a minute, the new Motorola systems are P25 CQPSK LSM simulcast systems. Right, and the PSR-600 is very poor in performance on these types of systems. Everyone should be aware that these new APCO 25 systems with CQPSK/9600 baud control channel and simulcasted is what is coming to a city, county or state near you. Having spent time speaking at length with the brain trust at GRE as to why their PSR-500/600 is so bad on these systems, the only thing they could tell me was its very difficult to decode CQPSK LSM and they have tried everything with the firmware to correct this issue but still it remains. If your in doubt do a web search on the issues the GRE PSR-500/600 had with cities with the P25 systems like Petersburg, VA and Arlington, VA.
My advice to any considering this scanner and your city, county is going to a Motorola P25 7.X CQPSK LSM simulcast system you will be very unhappy with the performance of this scanner. Oh as a side note the Uniden scanners suffer from the same issue. How do I know this?? I own several P25 scanners, Pro-2096, Pro-96, Uniden 396, GRE PSR-600. They all are poor in the true P25 type systems. It would take very careful alignment and much better internals to really make these perform like they do on non P25 systems. Lucky for GRE, Uniden there are not that many P25 systems today, but its the only thing Motorola sells in the trunking world. Sooner or later your cities old Analog or Type II or 3.X/4.X system will be replaced with you quessed it a P25. If GRE or Uniden was to build a scanner that properly decodes CQPSK LSM simulcast systems it would cost at least twice maybe 3 times what your paying now.
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K9IUQ
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Rating: 5/5
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Oct 3, 2008 06:45
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Packed with Features
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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Right Now (2008) this is the best digital trunking scanner on the market. The most bells and whistles of ANY scanner. You must have software and a computer to fully realize the potential of this radio. Audio is better than any Uniden I have owned. GRE listens to owners and is constantly adding new features thru a internet firmware download. This scanner is a must have if you need digital trunking in a scanner.
Stan K9IUQ
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KPAX2
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 14, 2008 03:31
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UNIDEN is loosing the Game with this one!
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Time owned: 6 to 12 months
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The Best Damned Scanner on the Market, all the lastest technology.
Horrible "tiny" little screen, but the SPEED, sensitivity, Digital Audio, and NAC Digital Tone decoding features beat all of the UNIDENS!
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WQGA468
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Rating: 5/5
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Jun 13, 2008 12:22
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Great Scanner -
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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After several months I have to say this is overall the best base scanner to date.
Pro: Sensitivity is great, and for distant signals this unit kicks butt. I appreciate the ability to handle NAC codes, something I haven't seen on other radios. The LED and various alarms are useful for warning you when that channel you've been looking for activity on comes alive. Audio boost is a great feature for quieter channels. Digital sound quality is the best of any scanner yet, no "under water" sound. The most features / options of any scanner yet. More likely to "latch onto" a transmission than other scanners I have tried. Awesome support from GRE with regular updates to cpu and dsp.
Con: Finding an "object" can be a bit odd, and the display is not nearly as nice as the BCD996T. Search steps not selectable as far as I can tell, though you can enter a frequency in as an object with whatever spacing you like. More sensitive to overload than the Uniden competitors.
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W0NXN
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Rating: 4/5
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Apr 14, 2008 13:26
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Good performer -- bad overload.
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Time owned: 3 to 6 months
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I have had the PSR600 and also a Uniden BCD996T for several months now. (See my review of the Uniden in the appropriate section of e-ham reviews). The PSR600 has better sensitivity on 138-174 MHz. The Uniden is more sensitive on 380-400 MHz. and the two are comparable on the other bands. I find P-25 modulation decoding a little better on the PSR, but software upgrades may equalize the two. The Uniden display is nicer. My primary difficulty with the PSR600 is overload from f.m. broadcast and TV transmitters on high-band. Even with the attenuator engaged overload is a factor. Without the attenuator engaged I experience full deflection of the S-meter even on frequencies with no in-band signal present. Even strong local signals have trouble overriding the overload from broadcast transmitters many miles away. If you use an outside antenna, you will certainly benefit from an outboard filter for f.m. and TV channels 2-6. It is indeed lamentable that neither GRE nor Uniden have kept the quality of their earlier radios! The newer radios have all the bells and whistles but are lacking in the r.f. department, especially between 138-174 MHz.
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KG4IZO
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Rating: 5/5
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Feb 25, 2008 19:01
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The best made to date
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Time owned: 0 to 3 months
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I have owned my psr 600 for over a month now and it's a very impressive unit.I have owned all of the latest digital scanners including the 996t from uniden.Let me first say nothing on the market today can compare with this scanner..Okay now as for performance 25-50 mhz this scanner is very sensitive although it's not used much anymore the scanner perform's very well.On vhf from 108-174 mhz probably the most sensitive scanner i have ever seen and i have seen my share,This does have it's drawback's as it does overload easy but the attenuator works great and solves this without a hitch even with it activated it still out perform's all others that i have seen.And on uhf air it does very well..406-512 exellent same as vhf just can't be beat the digital decode is the best never heard the machine gunning that all others suffer from, it decodes fast and great audio .There is nothing out there that will beat this unit at 800mhz if you can't hear it it's not there plain and simple.GRE customer support is by far the best..This thing trunk's like a bloodhound with the newest firmware installed it really gets with the program.If your looking to buy a digital scanner the buck stop's here..I have compared all the new digital's side by side and this one blow's the other's out of the water..
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