Many Icom commercial radios have speech, limited but how much do you need in
a commercial radio? Kentwood still has the edge though, channel 1 has a beep
on Kentwood commercial radios, if you have multiple zones setup like I do in
my Kentwood, zone 1 has the long beet, a single beep means you turned a
function on, double beep means you turned it off. Icom's right there with
them, in general I find motorola lacking though I use them with no problem,
I don't think motorola is as good quality wise anyway.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colin McDonald" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 11:46 PM
Subject: Re: commercial radio as a scanner
> that is very cool.
> So, even motorola can put speech into their handhelds now...limited, but
> the
> circutry is obviously there and could do allot more...yet ham companies
> don't seem to be able to figure it out...and this is another piece of
> evidence that whistler can look at...more commercial radios are offering
> speech, so make it an option in the scanner too because most scanner
> listeners are wanna be cops, or fire fighters or EMS guys anyway lol.
>
> 73
> Colin, V A6BKX
> --------------------------------------------------
> From: "Ron Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 8:20 PM
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Re: commercial radio as a scanner
>
>> Hi Colin,
>> That sounds very cool. I have wonderd, for a long time, why scanner
>> manufacturers don't market 700-800 MHz scanners for the very reason you
>> mention.
>>
>> Pinellas county EMS is using a Motorola handheld which has built-in
>> speech
>> output. When one changes talkgroups, the new talkgroup is announced. Ery
>> cool, and I want one.
>>
>> Ron Miller
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: For blind ham radio operators
>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>> On Behalf Of Colin McDonald
>> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 3:04 PM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: commercial radio as a scanner
>>
>> Well, there isn't really much to it.
>> Our local city services, IE police, fire, EMS, city works, transit and
>> various other agencies all use an EDACS trunking system. The police use
>> provoice digital with and without incription.
>> All dispatch and general communications are in conventional analogue
>> trunking, but allot of the jucier stuff is done with provoice...and the
>> best
>> stuff is incripted.
>> No scanner yet will decode provoice digital. So, in order to hear the
>> unincripted communications using provoice with my local police
>> department,
>> I
>> have to use a commercial radio with the provoice option...then I have to
>> program it with the correct data which comes to me from a ham friend. I
>> cannot listen to incripted comms due to the incription codes and no one
>> really having any external access to that info. Anything super sensative
>> is
>> done over cell phones anyway.
>> Either way, I have an M/A com ericson jaguar 700P commercial hand held to
>> listen to both conventional and provoice comms...it's a heavy duty mill
>> spec
>> water proof, impact resistent HT which is also used by our local Fire
>> department. Transmit is disabled of course...a few grand brand new, but
>> I
>> got it for just over 200 on ebay.
>> There is also the LPE-200 which is a much smaller compact HT with
>> provoice
>> capability...though the provoice option has to be installed for it to
>> work.
>> Anyway, these commercial HT's make good scanners because they are so
>> durable...their scan rate is a bit slower than an actual scanner, but
>> they
>> also have amazing receivers because they are built specifically for the
>> frequencies they work on.
>> A scanner tends to be a bit deaf because it has such a wide receive
>> capability.
>> My 700P will receive digital 6 floors below ground where my scanner can't
>> even hear the conventional comms.
>>
>> 73
>> Colin, V A6BKX
>> --------------------------------------------------
>> From: "Ron Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2014 10:03 PM
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: PSR Edit
>>
>>> I'd like to know more about that, when you have time to write me.
>>>
>>> Tnx,
>>>
>>> Ron Miller
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: For blind ham radio operators
>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>>> On Behalf Of Colin McDonald
>>> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 12:01 AM
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: PSR Edit
>>>
>>> maybe some day these guys will be able to implement provoice into a
>>> scanner...until then I'm stuck with commercial portibles off
>>> ebay...not so bad since they make one hell of a good scanner lol.
>>>
>>> 73
>>> Colin, V A6BKX
>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>> From: "Jim Gammon" <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2014 9:23 PM
>>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>>> Subject: Re: PSR Edit
>>>
>>>> Sounds good Ron, I mainly use WindowEyes, but have JAWS 11,or is it
>>>> 12, not sure. Should be around this weekend. 73 and thanks, Jim
>>>> WA6EKS
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Ron Miller
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2014 8:09 PM
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: PSR Edit
>>>>
>>>> Hi Jim,
>>>> Though I have addressed some of this in my post to the list, maybe we
>>>> can get together on SKYPE, since I don't yet have antennas up.
>>>> Perhaps on a weekend?
>>>>
>>>> Ron Miller
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: For blind ham radio operators
>>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>>>> On Behalf Of Jim Gammon
>>>> Sent: Thursday, August 14, 2014 2:34 PM
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: PSR Edit
>>>>
>>>> Ron, I would also like to know how you are using PSR Edit. I have
>>>> only poked around a bit with it but mainly use it to upload files
>>>> sent from a friend. Jim WA6EKS
>>>>
>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>From: Ron Miller <[log in to unmask]
>>>>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>>Date sent: Thu, 14 Aug 2014 11:27:13 -0400
>>>>>Subject: Re: accessible scanners
>>>>
>>>>>Hi ,
>>>>>Yes it does decode P25.
>>>>
>>>>>Also, Jim, I am most definitely not saying that we should
>>>> discourage Whistle=
>>>>>r from designing accessibility features into their scanner
>>>> receivers. Quite t=
>>>>>he contrary, I am all for it. In fact, I had begun a dialog with
>>>> the folks a=
>>>>>t GRE America on this very subject.
>>>>
>>>>>The intent of my post was simply to respond to a previous message
>>>> about Whis=
>>>>>tler's current scanner line and to say that I'm successfully
>>>> using the PSR-5=
>>>>>00 along with PSREdit and the Whistler version of this scanner
>>>> should be equ=
>>>>>ally usable.
>>>>
>>>>>BTW, Russ, if we can work out a time, I would be glad to chat
>>>> with you about=
>>>>> how I use PSREdit.
>>>>
>>>>>73,
>>>>
>>>>>Ron Miller
>>>>>N6MSA
>>>>
>>>>>Ron Miller
>>>>
>>>>>> On Aug 14, 2014, at 10:11 AM, Russ Kiehne <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>> Does the psr500 do p25?
>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>> On 8/13/2014 8:42 PM, Jim Gammon wrote:
>>>>>>> Ron, how do you deal with the scanner when the display says
>>>>>>> nothing enabled? I really think they could do a better job, even
>>>>>>> with the beeps. I have owned a PSR500 scanner since 2010, and,
>>>>>>> while I can work it, I have never figured out how to use PSR
>>>> Edit
>>>>>>> to program it, even when a friend sends me files of frequencies
>>>> I
>>>>>>> want. I can upload that file which works great, and can set the
>>>>>>>scanner on a given talk group, but there is much that I wish I
>>>>>>>could do. Given that Whistler is developing new scanners, why
>>>>>>>should we discourage them from making them more accessible then
>>>>>>>they are which is not much at all in my opinion. Jim WA6EKS
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>>>>>>> From: Ron Miller <[log in to unmask]
>>>>>>>> To: [log in to unmask] Date sent: Wed, 13 Aug 2014
>>>>>>>> 22:34:26 -0400
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: accessible scanners
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> Hello,
>>>>>>>> Check out the Whistler models available. I own and very
>>>>>>> successfully use the
>>>>>>>> GRE PSR-500, the original version of the current Whistler
>>>>>>> handheld. I use
>>>>>>>> the PSR500 Edit software and the scanner's included USB cable.
>>>> I
>>>>>>> can program
>>>>>>>> the scanner and configure it exactly the way I want it to be. I
>>>>>>> can then use
>>>>>>>> it very well in the field. I find it very accessible, even
>>>>>>> though it does
>>>>>>>> not have speech output. Speech is not the only way to
>>>>>>> successfully use a
>>>>>>>> piece of comm. gear, so don't let the lack of speech detour
>>>> you.
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> 73
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> Ron Miller
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>> From: For blind ham radio operators
>>>>>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>>>>>>>> On Behalf Of Matthew Chao
>>>>>>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 10:29 AM
>>>>>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: accessible scanners
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> Hi, Martin. I'm looking for an accessible scanner; any current
>>>>>>> ideas? And
>>>>>>>> what about using USB interfaces instead of serial ones, as many
>>>>>>> systems no
>>>>>>>> longer come with serial ports, and the USB-TO-serial adapters
>>>> can
>>>>>>> be a
>>>>>>>> little sketcy.--Matt, N1IBB.
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>> At 10:14 AM 8/13/2014, you wrote:
>>>>>>>>> Another useful feature is when one can communicate with
>>>>>>> a
>>>>>>>>> scanner or transceiver via serial interface. I have two Uniden
>>>>>>>>> scanners. One is now eleven years old and has a rather turse
>>>>>>> command
>>>>>>>>> set that one can access via a terminal program much the way you
>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>>>> access one of the old telephone dial-up modems. All the
>>>>>>> characters must
>>>>>>>>> be upper case and all the replies are also in upper case but you
>>>>>>> can
>>>>>>>>> read the display, setup trunking systems, etc. The only problem
>>>>>>> is that
>>>>>>>>> the Motorola SmartZone trunking is now unusable since the new
>>>>>>> rebanded
>>>>>>>>> frequency plans can not be fed in to the scanner as a flash
>>>>>>> upgrade
>>>>>>>>> since the
>>>>>>>>> bc780 does not have that capability.
>>>>>>>>> It is, however, accessible since the command set and
>>>>>>> responses
>>>>>>>>> are all plain ASCII text.
>>>>>>>>> That sort of access is much appreciated. I also have
>>>>>>> another
>>>>>>>>> Uniden which was made around 2008. It does P25 and the new
>>>>>>> rebanded
>>>>>>>>> Motorola trunking just fine.
>>>>>>>>> It also has an ASCII command set and is potentially
>>>>>>> totally
>>>>>>>>> accessible but one needs to either be running one of the Windows
>>>>>>>>> programs that talk to your scanner or you must be willing to
>>>>>>> write your
>>>>>>>>> own communications program in C or perl. I am a Linux user so
>>>>>>> that is
>>>>>>>>> kind of par for the course.
>>>>>>>>> For the BCD996 and the BCD396, the commands and
>>>>>>> responses are
>>>>>>>>> still ASCII but they use CSV or Comma-Separated Variable
>>>> strings.
>>>>>>> These
>>>>>>>>> are sometimes hugely long lines of text in which each field is
>>>>>>>>> separated from it's neighbors by a , so a string for input or
>>>>>>> output
>>>>>>>>> might look like 1,01453500,1,,,3,2,7,K5SRC Stillwater
>>>>>>> Repeater,14,0,9
>>>>>>>>> That is not a valid entry anywhere, but it is an example
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>> what a CSV string looks like. You see them all the time in
>>>>>>> business
>>>>>>>>> applications that may be used with spread sheets and tables.
>>>>>>>>> One of my next home projects is to take the C program I
>>>>>>> wrote
>>>>>>>>> for the BCD996 and try to re-do it in perl as I may get it to do
>>>>>>> more
>>>>>>>>> than it presently does.
>>>>>>>>> I would sure like to see more radios that have some sort
>>>>>>> of
>>>>>>>>> electronic input and output like the Kenwoods and several
>>>> others.
>>>>>>> To
>>>>>>>>> me, that is almost as good as having speech boards in the radio
>>>>>>> which,
>>>>>>>>> of course, is the holy grail but may not have as much mass
>>>> appeal
>>>>>>> as
>>>>>>>>> being able to interface with a serial port on a computer or
>>>> maybe
>>>>>>> a web
>>>>>>>>> interface.
>>>>>>>>> Let's hope that this period of totally inaccessible
>>>>>>> technology
>>>>>>>>> is ending and we just might be able to really use some of this
>>>>>>> stuff
>>>>>>>>> again.
>>>>>>>>> I remember the first truly inaccessible piece of amateur
>>>>>>> radio
>>>>>>>>> gear I encountered. It was in the mid seventies and was a
>>>>>>> two-meter
>>>>>>>>> transceiver that had an Up and Down button pair for frequency,
>>>> no
>>>>>>>>> direct entry and no way to get to a known state except for that
>>>>>>> stupid
>>>>>>>>> little LED display. If you could even get it to start at
>>>> 144.000
>>>>>>> MHZ,
>>>>>>>>> do you really want to count in 5 KHZ steps up to say, 147.925
>>>> and
>>>>>>> hope
>>>>>>>>> there were no key bounces or missed presses?
>>>>>>>>> The guy in the store said, I don't think there is any
>>>>>>> way you
>>>>>>>>> can use that and he was absolutely right. Don't you just hate
>>>>>>> that?
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>>> 73 Martin McCormick WB5AGZ
>>>>>>>=20
>>>>>>>>> Jim Gammon writes:
>>>>>>>>>> John, I have been corresponding with the Whistler group
>>>>>>>>>> regarding there trunked scanners. Thought you would like to
>>>>>>> read
>>>>>>>>>> the latest. Jim
>>>>>>> .
>>>>>>>=20
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