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Reviews For: Radio Shack PRO-93

Category: Receivers: Scanners

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Review Summary For : Radio Shack PRO-93
Reviews: 13MSRP: 250
Description:
300-channel dual-trunking scanner, covers 25-54, 108-174, 216-225, 406-512, 806-960 (excluding cellular) and 1240-1300MHz
Product is not in production
More Info: http://www.radioshack.com/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00134.2
KB7VNC Rating: 2002-03-24
good receiver Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
much better sensitivity than Uniden BC235 (my older trunktracking scanner).

bacically what others have said here, good all around if you live in an area where trunked and conventional are a must. (I too am in Western Wash. St). Text tagging, lock "on" backlight feature, control ch. only mode for Motorolla systems a plus. Audio is great even in car without ext. spkr.

Freeware for upload/download availible from the Pro-93 group at YahooGroups. It is called Win93 and makes programming a breeze. Can save multiple files for different areas and/or travel. AND for the hams, if you already have a programming cable for the Yaesu ADMS-1 it WILL WORK with the Pro93 (using a stereo to mono adapter at the scanner port end).

Good sale price for $169!
KD7HCW Rating: 2002-03-24
Performs well at a good price Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I bought mine this week on sale for $169. In the past I have owned an old Bearcat 20 channel (forget the model #), a Pro-2006, and a BCT-7.

We have trunked public safety where I live (Western Washington State), so a trunked scanner is a must. This was my first trunking scanner, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

The first thing I found is that TAGS ROCK! I would be hard pressed to buy a trunking radio without tags. The PS system out here (King County) serves a ton of different cities and each has different uses (fire, police, etc.) The tagging on this radio is great. You can tag the control frequency and the individual talk groups. If you only tag the talk groups you want to hear, you can mark the bank "closed" and it only stops for the talk groups that are tagged. Marking the bank "open" will make the scanner stop at all the talk groups. Plus, I just look at the display and at a glance it tells me what I am listening to.

I haven't tried EDACS, since we only use MotII in this area, but with MotII you only have to program the control frequency! It automatically goes to the appropriate frequency for the data (i.e., conversation). So, if you have 1 ctrl freq and 10 data freqs with it, you only use 1 location! This makes the 300 channels go a lot farther in trunking systems.

It has built-in weather frequencies which is handy, and a search function where you can scan specific bands: CB, Marine, Police/Fire, Aircraft, Ham, and Limit Search.

The backlite is good, and it can use regular AA's (4 cells). It also comes with a special charging carrier if you use NiCad/Nimh so if you use an AC adapter (separate purchse) it will charge the batteries (but it is trickle charge -- 15 hrs for Nimh!).

It also has a PC interface for downloading / uploading the programming to/from a PC via RS-232 (but RS doesn't sell a cable for it! You can get one from pro93.com). I haven't tried this yet, but have ordered the cable.

So, that is why it gets 4 stars. Now, let me explain the missing 5th star.

First, they should have the darn cable for purchase. It's ridiculous that I have to buy a 3rd party cable and download (albeit free) 3rd party software to program it.

Second, the programming interface is non-intuitive. To change some settings you have to use a mystical key sequence that you will not remember -- you need the manual in front of you. Programming via the PC interface should alleviate this problem.

Third, the signal amplification is weak. I locked it onto one of the data freqs and programmed my BCT-7 to the same freq. The BCT-7 had much better reception (less static and pops). Because of the hills and various other environmental factors, the local trunking system is noisy (850 mz range). I swapped antennas with the radios with the same result. HOWEVER, over the last week even though the RX is somewhat noisy, it never dropped a talk group. An antenna tuned to 850mhz should help.

On the state patrol freqs, which are stronger signals in 150mhz range, it receieved as well as the BCT-7. The same for the local 2m repeaters.

So, I definitely recommend this if you are looking for a trunking hand-held scanner, especially if you can pick it up on sale.
BB1134 Rating: 2002-03-15
I'm no expert - BUT... Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
my first impression is a 5 for Great! This is my first multi-trunking scanner and I found it a real breeze to enter EDACS and Motorolla trunking systems into the banks. Yesterday, I never heard of EDACS. I can now listen to the PD on their trunking system and catch every transmission. I do find the AC adapter plug a little flimsy, but I'll probably either exchange the unit or just solder it up tight. I also like that I can search by pre-programmed frequency ranges (marine, CB, PD, FD, Aircraft etc..) rather than manually entering a range. The display is nice and I'm looking forward to the PC interface. Cables and software are available on pro93.com.
From a beginner's standpoint, I think it's a great radio.