Radio Shack PRO-95 Scanner
I picked up a PRO-95 scanner from my friend Gary (thank you!)
at the last Mt. Tom ARA hamfest. GRE-made handheld released by
Radio Shack in 2002 or 2003. 1000 channels in 10 banks of 100,
covers the usual bands: 25-54, 108-174, 216-225, 406-512,
806-960, and 1240-1300MHz.
There are a few features I like about this model. The VHF-low
band coverage extends down to 25 and up to 54 MHz. It receives
11m, 10m, and 6m. The reception mode (AM/FM) is user
selectable. Scan speed is a decent 60 channels per second. A
Tune function lets you enter in a frequency and search up or
the down the bands. Audio output is pretty good for a portable.
It uses AA batteries for power instead of a proprietary battery
pack. The antenna connector is BNC. Finally, it is computer
programmable.
There is a free programming software package available for this
model at
http://www.starrsoft.com/freeware/Win95/default.asp.
It uses the standard Whistler/Radio Shack cable thats also
works with the WS1040, PRO-96, and similar models. Both USB and
RS-232 cables are available if you have an older PC. Win95
works OK under Windows 11 and previous versions. The software
package is a big help when dealing with 1000 memories.
While the trunktracking feature is a moot point unless you have
an old EDACS system you want to monitor, the PRO-95 works great
for analog conventional systems. I think it has better
practical sensitivity than my WS1040 since the WS1040s DSP
tends to mute the audio on marginal analog signals. You wont
find that problem with an analog scanner. The Win95 page has an
Excel spreadsheet to make copying frequency data from other
sources to Win95 easier.
The Tune function works well for band cruising. Start at 25
MHz. (AM mode) to pick up WWV in Colorado when the skip is
coming in, and search your way up from there. Besides using the
Tune function, with 1000 channels you can program in a large
number of common frequencies such as every low-band public
safety or business/industrial allocation, or every 25 KHz.
spaced frequency in the common military sub-bands (30-31,
32-33, 34-35, 36-37, 38-39, 40-42, 46.60-47, & 49.60-50.00
MHz.) The old Consolidated Frequency List shows the original
service allocations before the common pools, so you can narrow
your scanning down to frequencies originally allocated to Power
& Water Utilities (IW) if you want.
If you have conventional analog systems you want to monitor,
the PRO-95 will do a good job. I use mine for local analog
pubic safety systems, VHF-low band skip, VHF aeronautical, and
VHF ham band monitoring. 1000 channels enables me to program in
all the VHF and UHF analog conventional public safety (mostly
FD and EMS) channels in a 10 mile radius, common VHF/UHF ham
simplex frequencies (AM and FM), local VHF aeronautical
frequencies, all the common military low-band allocations, and
a bunch of frequencies I use for skip-indicators.
A PRO-95 sells anywhere from $20-$50 on Ebay, and averages
about $40 at local hamfests. Thats a good price considering
youll pay about three times that for a brand new analog
conventional scanner with similar capabilities from one of the
online dealers.
If you're going to monitor VHF-low band you'll need a decent
external antenna. The rubber duck that comes with the receiver
isnt going to work well, and the usual telescoping whip
antennas arent much better. (A quarter-wavelength at 40 MHz. is
around 70 inches.) I use a vertical dipole cut for the FM
portion of 10 meters (~29 MHz.), and it does pretty well for
receive across the whole 25-50 MHz. range. If I were more
interested in the high end the the band, I'd cut it for 6
meters. I tossed the center conductor leg across a tree limb up
about 20 feet or so. The end of the bottom (ground) leg is
about 4 feet off the ground. Under normal band conditions I can
hear low-band FD and EMS dispatch channels out to about 50
miles. CHP at 39 MHz. is a consistent skip catch, as is WWV on
25 MHz.
