The Whistler TRX-1 is an OK scanner, hobbled by bad software and some questionable design decisions. The bottom line is that if you just want an easy-to-use, works-out-of-the-box scanner you probably should avoid this one. If you are experienced with tweaking scanner settings and computer software, need the advanced digital trunking features, and have some time and patience, this might be for you. Read reviews and especially the RadioReference.com Whistler forum, to help you decide if you want this scanner. One of the commenters on the RadioReference.com Whistler forum asked why scanners seem locked into 1970s technology. I'd place the tech level at the mid-80s, e.g. DOS command lines, serial ports, and primitive software. Consider that for about the same $500 price we can buy a state-of-the-art phone/computer with fast processor, lots of memory, great screen, advanced battery, and reliable software, and the phone transmits as well as receives on similar frequencies. Whistler, a company best known for cheap radar detectors, bought the GRE scanner business. But apparently they're having some struggles with modern technology, especially reliable, user-friendly software. I have a GRE-PSR500 and it's been great. But most of my county's police, fire, EMS, and other government recently moved to a P25 Type II system which the GRE-PSR500 doesn't track. I'm retired now after 30+ years in software development, so I figured I could handle the quirks and tweaks of the TRX-1. Having written both good and bad software myself, I think I can tell the difference. But I was not prepared for what was involved. Here's the quick overview. The good: - Uses downloaded RadioReference database. - Receives modern digital trunking systems - P25 Type I and II, LTR, DMR, NXDN, etc. - Good sensitivity and sound quality. - Records reception to SD card and plays it back. - Can store multiple "virtual" scanners, i.e. different configurations The bad: - Buggy, unreliable, unsigned USB driver. - Manual onboard programming of scanner is for masochists only. - Undocumented Function-key combinations. - Entering alphabetic characters via keypad uses bizarre, non-standard method. - In-scanner battery charging is via a time setting and not via voltage/current monitoring. The ugly: - Tiny, low contrast, black and white display, with lots of cryptic symbols. - Protective rubber case with aesthetics of a brick. - Useless ugly plastic inserts to rubber case. The merely annoying: - EZ-Scan program does not scale to screen resolution above 1080. - Have to remove protective rubber case to access batteries and SD card. - Volume change is by up/down key press. Let me give some further detail: When you open the box and insert batteries, you can turn it on and use the pre-installed software and database. I suggest you only do this to be sure the scanner powers up. You can also manually change things using the tiny screen and minimal keypad. But manual onboard programming of the scanner is for masochists only, and you really need to use the EZ-Scan program. The on-board menus are inconsistent as are the key presses. Sometimes "back" takes you back one step, sometimes back to a menu to start over. DO NOT connect the scanner to your computer until you have read the instructions for downloading and installing the latest software. Installing/updating in the wrong sequence will cause major problems. I also suggest you spend time on the RadioReference.com Whistler forum to see what others have found out the hard way. Almost every USB device - MP3 player, printer, thumb drive, portable hard drive - is just plug-and-play. You connect it, the device is recognized, a driver is installed, and off you go. But not this device. For some reason you must hold down the "menu" key while inserting the USB cable. The USB driver is unsigned and requires a multi-step workaround to get it to install on Windows 10. I have not been able to get it working on my Windows 7 Pro 64 bit desktop. But that's just as well, since the EZ-Scan program does not scale to my 2560x1440 monitor and garbles the display image. The USB driver emulates a serial port, so the scanner shows up in Device Manager under "Ports (COM & LPT)" as a serial device, e.g. COM1 or COM3. Really? In 2017 they are still using this ancient protocol instead of a modern USB interface? It also transfers data at a very slow speed. Even though I managed to get the unsigned driver installed in Windows 10, the connection is unreliable. Too many times the scanner screen shows a "waiting for USB" message and seems to be locked up. Pressing keys does nothing - even the power off key is unresponsive. You have to remove the batteries, and the screen goes blank. But when you put the batteries back in, you're right back at the same message, still locked up. It looks like you've bricked the scanner. Apparently this has happened and continues to happen enough that Whistler provides a "fix-it" program on their web site to reload the scanner CPU software, which is apparently getting hosed by the buggy USB interface. Really? They can take the time to write a patching program, but can't take the time to fix the bug? I found that the best way to avoid the USB driver hell is to remove the SD card from the scanner and connect it directly to my laptop. The EZ-Scan program can then read/write the SD card as drive G: using native USB at a reasonable speed. However repeated removal/insertion may lead to reduced life of the SD card, so you need to have a backup. I tried to use the EZ-Scan program to format a Samsung 16gb class 10 card as backup. The program said it formatted and copied all the data files over, but the scanner refused to boot from it. Comparing to the original SD card showed that some folders and files were missing, and I still haven't got it to work. Another example of bad software. Although you can charge NIMH batteries in the scanner, you should not do this in order to reduce the possibility of damage to the radio. The charging option uses a charging hours setting rather than voltage/current monitoring, and given the other buggy software, I would not trust it. Use some eneloop batteries and a good standalone external charger. Between needing to swap batteries and pulling the SD card, you'll come to hate and avoid the rubber protective case. It looks like a brick, but it's not as ugly as the useless plastic inserts, particularly the puke green one. It's too bad Whistler could not spend the money to do the software right instead of wasting it on junk. They also saved a few cents by removing the volume knob and requiring use of the up/down arrows on the keypad. The old GRE-PSR scanners had a more convenient way with concentric volume and squelch knobs. I really want to like this scanner, but I'm disappointed and now just tolerating it. I've managed to work around the problems and get it set up to my liking. But I'm wary of the software, so I won't be changing much until Whistler provides a fix for the USB problems.
