GRE PSR-500 User manual

PSR-500
Ownerʼs Manual
ADVANCED DIGITAL HANDHELD SCANNING RECEIVER
WITH OBJECT ORIENTED USER INTERFACE
GRE America, Inc., 425 Harbor Blvd., Belmont, CA 94002
A Guide to Getting The Most From Your
PSR-500 Advanced Digital Scanner

PSR-500 ADVANCED DIGITAL SCANNER
WITH OBJECT ORIENTED USER INTERFACE
FCC ID ADV0715
This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
Motorola, Smartnet, Smartzone, Omnilink, ASTRO and Privacy Plus are registered trademarks of Motorola Inc. EDACS and ProVoice are
registered trademarks of MA-COM Inc. LTR is a registered trademark of E.F. Johnson, Inc. The IMBE™ voice coding Technology
embodied in this product is protected by intellectual property rights including patent rights, copyrights and trade secrets of Digital Voice
Systems, Inc. This voice coding Technology is licensed solely for use within this Communications Equipment. The user of this Technology
is explicitly prohibited from attempting to decompile, reverse engineer, or disassemble the Object Code, or in any other way convert the
Object Code into a human readable form. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,870,405 and 5,517,511.
© 2007 General Research of Electronics
All Rights Reserved
OWNERʼS MANUAL - Please read before using this equipment.
IMPORTANT:
This manual uses the following symbols to emphasize Warnings, Notes and Usage Hints
WARNING A WARNING symbol is used to indicate
possible risk of personal injury or damage
to equipment
NOTE A NOTE symbol is used to indicate an operational note that
relates to the current paragraph of the manual
A HINT symbol is used to indicate a usage hint that relates to the
current paragraph of the manual
HINT
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
The PSR-500 Advanced Digital Scanner will not receive encrypted radio
communications, or radio transmissions that utilize ProVoice digital modulation.
Please take the time to read this manual completely
before using your new scanner.

Table of Contents
..........................................................................................................Introduction"7
...........................................................................................................Features"8
........................................Overview of the Object Oriented User Interface"10
.............................................................................................Background"10
......................................................What is Object Oriented Scanning?"14
..........A Few Things To Remember about Object Oriented Scanning"15
........................................................................................About this manual"16
.......................................Object abbreviations used in this document"16
..................................................................................................TGRP"16
...................................................................................................TSYS"16
..................................................................................................CONV"17
....................................................................................................LMIT"17
..................................................................................................SRVC"17
..................................................................................................SWPR"17
......................................................................The FCC Wants You To Know"17
..........................................................................................Scanning Legally"18
................................................................Getting Familiar With Your PSR-500"20
......................................................................................PSR-500 Front View"20
.......................................................................................PSR-500 Rear View"21
...................................................................PSR-500 Included Accessories"22
...............................................................Understanding the Display Icons"23
..........................................................................Understanding the Keypad"24
...................................................................................................Softkeys"24
......................................................................Five Way Pushbutton Pad"24
......................................................................................Numeric Keypad"24
.......................................................................................Operation Keys"25
...................................................................................................Getting Started"26
.........................................................................................First Time Startup"26
.....................................................................................Unpack the radio"26
..................................................................................Insert the batteries"26
..................................................................................Attach the antenna"27
.....................................................................................Turn the radio on"28
..........................................................Set the battery type, if necessary"28
.........................................................................Low Battery Warning"28
...................................................................Battery Charge Indicator"29
......................................................................................Listening Safely"29
...........................................................................................Traffic Safety"29
...........................................Connecting an Optional External Antenna"30
.................................................Connecting an Earphone/Headphones"31
...........................................................Connecting an External Speaker"31
..................................................................................Using the Belt Clip"31
......................................................................................Using AC Power"32

..................................................................Using Vehicle Battery Power"32
.................................................................Creating Your First New Objects"34
..................................................Conventional Channel Object (CONV)"34
.................................Essential Conventional Channel parameters"34
.......................................................................Talkgroup Object (TGRP)"38
......................................Essential Trunking Talkgroup parameters"38
...............Setting up and using a Trunking System (TSYS) object"38
..................................................Using DUPE to speed up object entry"43
.....................................................................Basic Scanning Operation"44
...................................................................................Browsing Objects"46
............................................................................Advanced Startup Topics"46
.......................................................................About Object Numbering"47
...........................Using the Object ID to directly access an object"47
.............................................................More About Wildcard Scanning"47
.....................................................................Displaying Memory Usage"48
...............................................................................Search Object Types"48
...............................................................Limit Search Object (LMIT)"49
............................................Essential Limit Search parameters"49
..................................................Spectrum Sweeper Object (SWPR)"50
..................................Essential Spectrum Sweeper parameters"51
.........................................................Service Search Object (SRVC)"53
........................................Essential Service Search parameters"53
........................................................Grouping Objects with Scan Lists"55
...................................................................................Geographically"55
...........................................................................By trunking system"56
....................................................................................By object type"56
....................................................................................By application"56
.......................................................................................By Favorites"56
........................................................Mapping Objects to Scan Lists"57
...................................Naming, enabling and disabling Scan Lists"58
............................................................Other Advanced Startup Topics"60
..........................................................Finding Stored Objects Easily"60
............................................Searching For Objects Using FIND"60
..............................................................Filtering By Object Type"61
..................................................................................Object Lockout"61
......................................................................Temporary Lockout"61
.....................................................................Permanent Lockout"63
............................................................................Search Lockout"63
.......................................................................Talkgroup Lockout"64
...........................................................Setting the Default Scan List"65
................................................................................Deleting Objects"66
..............................Using Multi-Site Mode On Networked Systems"66
........................................................LTR Home Repeater AutoMove"68
......................................................................................Priority Scan"68
...............................................Turning Object Priority On or Off"69
........................................Turning Priority Scan Mode On or Off"69

......................................................................CONV Priority Scan"69
......................................................................TGRP Priority Scan"69
.......................................................................................Hit Counters"70
...............................................Audible Alarms and the ALERT LED"70
...................................Audible Alarm and ALERT LED Settings"71
................................ALERT LED with Audible Alarm Examples"71
..................................................................Dedicated search modes"72
.................Using Dedicated Spectrum Sweeper (SWPR) Mode"72
......................................................Using dedicated TUNE mode"74
...................Using dedicated Limit and Service search modes"76
.......................................................................LMIT Search Mode"76
......................................................Using dedicated SRVC mode"77
.......................................................................Using Weather Modes"79
....................................................................Weather Radio Mode"80
.................................................................Weather Priority Mode"80
...................................................................SAME Standby Mode"81
.................................................................SAME Entry Examples"82
...............................Entering SAME Location and Event Codes"83
.................................................Activating SAME Standby Mode"86
.................................................................Using V-Scanner Storage"86
.............................Saving Main Memory To A V-Scanner Folder"88
..............Loading A Stored V-Scanner Folder To Main Memory"88
.........................................................Erasing V-Scanner Folders"89
................Cloning Your Radio to Another PSR-500 or PSR-600 Scanner"89
..............................................Standard Text Entry Method and QuickText"89
.................................Entering and Editing Alphanumeric Information"90
......................................................................................Using QuickText"91
..........................................................................Customizing QuickText"92
..................................................Power-On Configuration Key Sequences"93
.......................................................................................Birdie Frequencies"94
...............................................................................................................Care"95
............................................................................................In Case of Fault"95
...........................................................................................Troubleshooting"96
...........................................................................Troubleshooting Chart"96
..............................Initializing Global Parameters to Factory Defaults"96
.........................................Initializing the Scanner to Factory Defaults"97
..................................................................................Detailed Menu Reference"99
..............................................................................GLOB Menu Reference"100
..............................................................................CONV Menu Reference"103
...............................................................................TGRP Menu Reference"105
...............................................................................TSYS Menu Reference"107
................................................................................LMIT Menu Reference"109
...............................................................................SRVC Menu Reference"111
..............................................................................SWPR Menu Reference"113
.........................................................Appendix A - Remote Control Protocol"115
..............................................................................................Get Status"116

..................................................................................................Get LCD"116
...............................................................................................Send Key"117
........................................................................................................Tune"118
....................................................................................Appendix B - CCDump"119
.............................Appendix C - Frequency, Step and Mode Specifications"122
.............................................................Appendix D - General Specifications"123
.......................................Appendix E - About Trunked Radio Technologies"126
...........................................Appendix F - About CTCSS, DCS and P25 NAC"129
..............................................................................................CTCSS"129
...................................................................................................DCS"130
...........................................................................................P25 NAC"130
........................................................Appendix G - Finding More Information"131
....................................Learning About Scanning and your PSR-500"131
....................Finding Frequencies and Trunked System Information"131
.................................................................................................................Index"133
...........................................................................................................Warranty"137

Introduction
Welcome to an exciting new world of radio scanning!
Recognizing that contemporary scanning receivers are too hard
to program and use, GREʼs engineers conducted extensive
research to determine the functional requirements for an entirely
new scanning receiver user interface. We call this new user
interface the Object Oriented User Interface (OOUI), and it is
based on the premise that, to a hobbyist, a scanner is easiest to
use if all of the things that can be scanned are handled using
common conventions for interaction between the user and the
radio, at least to the extent that this is possible given that the
“things” that can be scanned are different from one another in
either subtle or major ways.
In this new user interface design, we call “things” that can be
scanned Scannable Objects. Simply put, a Scannable Object is
defined as something that can be scanned or monitored.
Scannable Objects include the following:
•Conventional, non-trunked radio channels
•Trunked talkgroups used on a trunked radio system
•Service searches to search for a specific radio service
•Search ranges with upper and lower limits
•Spectrum Sweeper setups with band segments that can be
enabled or disabled by the user
One of the goals of the Object Oriented User Interface is to make
the scanner as easy to use as possible. The OOUI does this by
treating all Scannable Objects the same in terms of how they are
created, edited, manipulated and grouped. Once you have
learned how to create and store a conventional channel, you
know most of what you need to know to create a trunking
talkgroup, and so on.
While we have designed this radio to be the easiest scanning
receiver in its class to program and use, we encourage you to
read this manual in its entirety so that you will fully understand all
of the radioʼs capabilities. However, if you consider yourself to be
an experienced scanning hobbyist and are feeling adventurous,
we invite you to dive right in and get started programming your
favorite “objects” into the radio.
PSR-500 User Manual"Page 7

Features Upgradeable CPU and DSP Firmware - keep your radio current
with enhancements as they become available with free upgrades
from www.greamerica.com!
Intuitive "Object Oriented" User Interface Design is designed
for ease of use, yet powerful enough to satisfy the most
sophisticated experts. Common data entry, browsing and control
methods are used for non-trunked conventional channels,
trunking talkgroups, search configurations and Spectrum
Sweeper setups. The radio grows with you – you can start out
with a small, easy to manage configuration, then expand it
whenever you need to.
Menu Driven Programming With Context Sensitive Help -
Each menu item provides a few lines of help text that provide
assistance with programming and using the scanner.
Powerful and flexible Scan List functionality allows you to
arrange, group and scan objects according to your preference.
Flexible Free-Form Memory Organization - memory is
assigned as objects are created using a sophisticated internal file
management system. You are not constrained to traditional bank/
channel scanner memory layouts. No memory is wasted as a
result of bank/channel programming constraints. The scanner
has sufficient main memory capacity to store over 1,800
conventional channels, trunking talkgroups, search
configurations and Spectrum Sweeper objects in any
combination, providing ample capacity for more sophisticated
hobbyists and professionals while keeping the database size
manageable for beginners.
GRE's Exclusive V-Scanner Technology - Allows you to save
complete radio configurations within the radio, for recall into main
memory as needed in the field. This is similar to having a laptop
computer and programming software available anytime. You can
use V-Scanners to store configurations for different geographical
areas or usage styles. Twenty one V-Scanner Folders are
provided, each capable of storing over 1,800 objects. Total
memory capacity of main memory combined with V-Scanners is
over 37,800 objects!
SKYWARN Storm Spotter Functionality - Instant access to
frequencies used by storm spotter networks. You can monitor
storm conditions as they occur, and become aware of dangerous
PSR-500 User Manual"Page 8

conditions before the media or emergency management officials
are able to announce them to the general public.
SAME and All Hazards Weather Alerting - Your scanner can
operate in dedicated Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME)
weather alerting mode, and alert you to severe weather and
other hazards in the specific area(s) that you select, or, your
scanner can check your local NOAA weather frequency
periodically, even while scanning and alert you when an All
Hazards alert occurs.
Multi-System Trunking - Scans most common trunked radio
system signaling formats, including Motorola, EDACS, LTR and
P25 trunked radio networks. Both talkgroup and individual call
monitoring are supported.
GRE's Exclusive Automatic Adaptive Digital Tracking - When
monitoring P25 digital systems, instantly adapts the digital
decoder to the digital modulation format of the transmitted signal,
then analyzes the signal over 50 times each second and adapts
to any subtle changes caused by multipath or fading. No
cumbersome manual adjustments are required.
GRE's Exclusive Digital AGC - instantly compensates for low
user audio levels that are very common on digital systems. This
makes the radio easier to listen to, and provides you with a more
enjoyable scanning experience.
LTR Home Repeater AutoMove - Takes the guesswork out of
programming LTR trunking systems when the home repeater
order is not known. Enter the LTR system frequencies in any
order, and the PSR-500 will automatically move the frequencies
to the proper home repeater slots as transmissions are received
on the system.
The Best Subaudible Squelch Decoder in the Scanning
Industry - CTCSS and DCS subaudible squelch coding is
processed by the same powerful DSP chip that is used for P25
digital decoding. Provides fast and reliable decoding of
subaudible squelch signaling with squelch tail elimination.
Powerful Spectrum Sweeper - Quickly sweeps the scannerʼs
frequency ranges for transmissions from nearby sources. When
a nearby active frequency is found, the scanner automatically
tunes to that frequency and receives the traffic.
PSR-500 User Manual"Page 9

P25 NAC Functionality - Much like CTCSS and DCS with
analog signals, P25 Network Access Code (NAC) is used to
provide selective squelch operation on conventional digital
channels. Your PSR-500 will detect the NAC that is being used
on a P25 conventional digital channel, and allow you to program
NAC codes to block transmissions that do not have a matching
NAC, including analog traffic on the same frequency!
Exclusive ALERT LED - Programmable tri-color LED can be
configured to illuminate or flash when certain objects are active.
Eight user-defined colors and brightness levels can be specified
from thousands of possible combinations. Provides visual alerts
when certain channels are active, e.g., blue can be used to
signal activity on your primary police channel, red for fire, etc.
Audible alarms - Programmable audible alarms can be
configured to sound when certain Scannable Objects are active.
Can be used in conjunction with, or separately from, the ALERT
LED described above.
High Speed PC Interface - uses GREʼs 30-3290 USB cable in
full duplex mode at 6 times the speed of previous scanner
models for PC transfer and 8 times the speed of previous models
for radio to radio cloning.
Real-time Signal Strength Indicator – shows relative strength
of received signals.
Sleek, compact case design with large speaker is designed
for one-handed operation and ease of use.
Overview of the Object Oriented User Interface
Background Long time scanner enthusiasts probably remember the days
before microprocessors became common in everyday consumer
devices. Back then, scanners had very limited capabilities. A
typical scanner was able to scan between 2 and 10 frequencies,
and relied on plug-in crystal elements for each frequency that a
user wished to scan. Scanning activity was typically shown on a
row of incandescent or LED indicators. These indicators would
show scanning operation in progress as the scanner moved from
one channel to the next, looking for activity, and would indicate
the active channel when activity was found. Pushbuttons or
switches were used to skip or lock out undesired channels. The
scanning row of LEDs or incandescent indicators seemed to
PSR-500 User Manual"Page 10