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Milcom Receiving Equipment

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Receivers/Scanners

Mini Handhelds

Care should be used when connecting any large antenna to these handhelds. Receivers in this range will likely overload, as their front ends simply can't handle the amount of RF such antennas may deliver. They are most useful in airshows, or if a base is geographically close to the user. A good set of earphones is strongly recommended.

Handhelds (full size)

Notes
  1. Programming UHF military air frequencies in the PRO-96 is only possible using Win96. In addition, sensitivity may not be optimum because the receiver was not designed for it. It's operation is otherwise normal in all other respects.
  2. In the November 2004 edition of Monitoring Times magazine, in the 'Scanner Equipment' column, author Bob Parnass AJ9S noted a pronounced loss of sensitivity in the 280-295 Mhz range.
  3. Icom receivers typically have a slow scan rate. Scanning large lists of frequencies effectively may not be possible. Software such as Radiomax may increase the available scan rate.
  4. Computer control and other logging functions using these RS radios is not possible. Only up/download operations are supported.
  5. These scanners are capable of decoding the new 380 Mhz unencrypted P25 trunk systems being implemented at federal and military facilities

Base/Mobile


Notes
  1. Programming UHF military air frequencies in the PRO-2096 is only possible using Win96. In addition, sensitivity may not be optimum because the receiver was not designed for it. It's operation is otherwise normal in all other respects.
  2. The BC895XLT cannot receive the 138-144 mhz range in AM mode. The BC898T is capable of this operation
  3. Icom receivers typically have a slow scan rate. Scanning large lists of frequencies effectively may not be possible. Software such as Radiomax may increase the available scan rate.
  4. Computer control and other logging functions using RS radios is not possible on RS models prior to the Pro-106 / 197 (with the single exception of the Pro-2052, which see). Only up/download operations are supported.
  5. The PRO-2052 can be forced into AM mode in the VHF land mobile band (138-144 Mhz); a circuit modification is required. Unlike the other older RS models, this radio can be computer controlled and use logging functions with the right software.
  6. These scanners are capable of decoding the new 380 Mhz unencrypted P25 trunk systems being implemented at federal and military facilities


GRE / Whistler / Radio Shack Cross Reference

  • Nota Bene: For years, GRE made scanners for Radio Shack with the Realistic or Radio Shack or Patrolman names on them. Only occasionally would RS stray and get a model from Uniden (e.g., Pro-2050). In 2013, GRE stopped producing scanners under their own brand or for Radio Shack. In 2014, Whistler purchased and started production on scanners using GRE's intellectual property. For now, they are the same as the previous GRE models, just with Whistler labels.
    • To add to the confusion, RS re-issued some of their scanners with new model numbers. You can use this table to cross reference the various model numbers and distributors
GRE Model Old RS Model New RS Model Whistler Model Notes
PSR-3001 Pro-164 Also applies to the Pro-97
PSR-4001 Pro-163 Also applies to the Pro-2055
PSR-5002 Pro-106 Pro-651 WS1040
PSR-6002 Pro-197 Pro-652 WS1065
PSR-8003 N/A Pro-668 WS1080
Notes
  1. - These models cannot decode the P25 military trunk systems found in the 380-400 Mhz range. In addition, computer control and logging operations are not possible - only up/downloads are supported.
  2. - These models can decode the P25 military trunk systems found in the 380-400 Mhz range. Computer control and logging is possible with these models
  3. - These models force the mode to FM when receiving in the 380-400 Mhz area. This may prevent reception of AM mode communications in this range. It is unknown whether EZ-Scan or IScan can override this default.

Computer Controlled Receivers

Other Sources of Reviews

Antennas

  • See our Scanner Antennas page for a large number of links.
  • Picking the right coax for your setup is very important. As you go higher in frequency, the loss from a cheap cable can be significant. Here's a good page on the subject.

Filters

For those living in urban areas, putting up a good antenna (with the proper coax) can cause overloading. Sometimes this overloading shows up as pagers and other unwanted signals showing up in places where you don't want to hear them. These links show a few manufacturers that make filters for specific problem areas of the spectrum;

Preamps/Splitters


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