Specifications

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Special Report

The GRE PSR310 Handheld Analog Scanner

Features, Operation and Competition

A Scanner Master Ultimate Review

Introduction

GRE has had three lines of scanners for several years, recently expanded to a fourth. These lines had been pretty well

defined, a very basic set with a desktop and handheld (PSR100, 200), a moderate level set of analog scanners (PSR300 and

400) and an advanced set of digital scanners (PSR500 and 600). GRE recently added a pair of scanners meant for the user

that didn’t want to worry about where to find and how to program frequencies (PSR700 and 800).

The PSR300 and 400 were programmed with the same Channels and Banks method that had been in place for many years.

You went to a channel number and entered a frequency. Newer generation scanners by GRE and others have a system that

did away with rigid channel numbers and banks and, in GRE’s case, allowed you to enter in frequencies, searches, talkgroups

and the like into a single pool of “Objects” that the scanner can draw upon. You then assigned each Object to a Scan List and

turned on and off the Scan Lists instead of using Banks and Channels.

GRE introduced this “Object Oriented User Interface” (OOUI) on the PSR500 and 600 digital scanners, but left analog

scanners with the older Channels and Banks arrangement. Uniden however introduced both digital and analog versions of

their competing DMA (Digital Memory Architecture) scanners. GRE has since fired back and introduced the PSR310

handheld OOUI style analog scanner. As with most GRE scanners there is a handheld and matching desktop/mobile unit, the

PSR410 is the matching desktop/mobile to the PSR310 handheld.

There are two ways to describe the PSR310: as an analog version of the PSR500 or as an OOUI version of the PSR300.

Either way is pretty accurate, but it appears that the PSR310 shares more in common with the PSR500 that the PSR300. If

you are already familiar with the PSR500 then you can jump right in and use the PSR310. The programming interface is

almost identical and the button layout is the same. Just don’t program any digital channels and you can pretty much do

everything else the 500 can. You can even use files and programs for the PSR500/600 scanners in the PSR310/410 radios as

well.

The main differences between the PSR310 and PSR500 is the lack of digital on the 310 and no V-Scanners on the 310. (V-

Scanners is a method of saving complete files of the radio, including channels, trunked systems, search setting etc. and being

able to restore them in the field. In effect it was like having twenty sets of complete radio profiles that you could save and

restore.) Since the PSR310 does not have this feature you could do a similar task by using ARC310 software.

Specifications

The PSR310 handheld scanner allows up to 1800 Scannable Objects that can be added to up to 20 regular Scanlists. There are

a couple of special Scanlists that we will discuss later. While the radio does not feature the same “V-Scanner” system as the

digital GRE OOUI scanners as mentioned above, you should still be able to monitor all the local action without much trouble.

The PSR310 comes with several accessories, including GRE’s standard set of two separate battery holders, a black one for

alkaline batteries and a yellow one for rechargeable Ni-Cad or Li-Ion cells. The PSR310 comes with an AC adaptor and belt

clip. Not included with the PSR310 is a USB programming cable. This can be obtained online from Scanner Master. Once

obtained, the cable can be used with several different programming applications, such as Butel’s ARC-310. Also included is

the Owner’s Manual. You can even download updated versions of the manual from GRE’s website

(http://www.greamerica.com/support/).

We also strongly recommend the new, incredibly detailed and user-friendly manual written by a scanner hobbyist and power

user which you can check out here: http://www.scannermaster.com/Easier_to_Read_Scanner_Manual_p/47-511689.htm

The PSR310 is in a case very similar to the PSR500, same size, layout etc, but with a darker case color. Where the PSR500

and the older PSR300 were a sort of silvery tan color, the PSR310 is a darker black color. The PSR310 display is all new,

slightly larger than prior GRE scanners with more dots and an easier to read (due to better contrast) white backlight.

Summary of content (16 pages)

PAGE 1
Special Report The GRE PSR310 Handheld Analog Scanner Features, Operation and Competition A Scanner Master Ultimate Review Copyright 2011, Richard Carlson/Scanner Master Corporation Introduction GRE has had three lines of scanners for several years, recently expanded to a fourth. These lines had been pretty well defined, a very basic set with a desktop and handheld (PSR100, 200), a moderate level set of analog scanners (PSR300 and 400) and an advanced set of digital scanners (PSR500 and 600).
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The PSR310 has the speaker at the top of the front panel, above the display, with the keypad below the display like the other GRE handhelds. The top of the radio has a pair of concentric rotary controls, the inner knob for volume and the outer for squelch. This is more conventional and user-friendly than some of the scanners from Uniden which combine multiple functions in one knob. Also on the top of the radio you’ll find the headphone jack and antenna jack.
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Using the OOUI On older scanners with defined banks the user entered channels into the banks. If your radio has 10 banks of 100 channels each (for a total of 1000 channels) and you only used 10 channels in a specific bank the extra 90 channels would be wasted. You could lose use of a great deal of the available memories this way. In addition, most older radios were limited to 10 banks.
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The entire keyboard is well backlit and the same light illuminates the display. Press and hold the light key and the dial light will stay on until you turn it off. While this would run down the batteries faster, when the radio is connected to outside power this might be desirable. You can set the backlight to illuminate the keyboard, the display or both when it is on. Display The PSR310’s all-new LCD Dot-Matrix display is roughly 1 inch tall by 1 7/8’s inches wide.
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Some wide area statewide and regional systems are coming online that use variants of the analog Motorola trunking format. Called SmartZone or OmniLink, these systems have several to dozens of cells (called “Sites”) that are all interconnected and share the same Talkgroup and user lists. While on Uniden radios you would program each Site separately as part of a larger System, the GRE takes a different tack.
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and error. Things such as CTCSS, DCS and the modulation mode make programming even conventional channels a challenge sometimes. If you just want to listen to these basic analog channels then high-end models such as the PSR500 are not for you. It’s like buying a Ferrari to drive two streets to pick up milk. It’s far too complicated and costly when a simple low-cost model will work equally as well for basic channels.
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CTCSS served the industry well, and eventually scanner users wanted this feature on their scanners. Eventually it became a standard feature on higher end scanners. As the radio bands became more crowded the few dozen CTCSS tones became inadequate and a new method of achieving the same results was developed. Motorola called it Digital PL (DPL) and the industry name was called DCS for Digital Coded Squelch. These are continuous digital words transmitted in a similar fashion to CTCSS.
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concentrate your search on the bands commonly assigned to police, fire etc. These bands are parts of the Low and High VHF bands, part of the UHF band and part of the 800 band. The ZeroMatic option allows you to set the radio to look for the actual frequency used by the transmitter instead of stopping on the first valid hit it finds. Let’s say there is a strong transmitter on 155.4750 in your area. A strong signal might cause a hit on 155.470 and the radio would stop there with the hit.
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The PSR310 uses 4 AA cells, the Uniden uses three. I have found that battery life is pretty similar between them; the PSR apparently uses a bit more power for the improved audio circuits. The PSR310 also has a battery strength indicator. While this provides a pretty good relative indication of the amount of power left in the cells, there is a setting (in the “GLOB” menu) needed to be made in order to make it more accurate when using rechargeable cells. While alkaline cells produce about 1.
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willing to take the time. There is a learning curve with these radios. If you’re not up for spending some quality time with the manual or if you’re not an experienced radio hobbyist or professional, also prepare yourself for some quality time with web sites and forums which explain and provide information on trunking and other types of radio systems.
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Similar methods are used to program Trunked Talkgroups. First however you need to program the actual Trunked System unless you already have it programmed and stored in the radio. When you select TGRP (Talkgroup) the next menu allows you to select an existing Trunked System or create a new one. Select New and you will be able to scroll thru the various trunked types until you come across the type you want. Scroll down once more and you can label the system with a descriptive name.
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you want to search, such as by locked out status or the text tag. Select the method you want. If finding Locked Out channels then you can scroll thru them and unlock any of them you wish. There are many different features that you may or may not be interested in. Some of them include: Object Lockout: Locks out a channel or the like no matter what scan list it is a member of.
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programmed into the Slave radio in a matter of a minute or two. The Radio Shack model 42-2387A or any similar stereo cable can be used. Cloning between a PSR500/600 (as well as the related RadioShack PRO106/197) and a PSR 310 or 410 does not work directly, but you can read one radio type with software and program the contents to another. The same PC-IF jack is used for the CC-Dump feature mentioned elsewhere. Object Numbers: When you enter a Scannable object into memory it gets assigned a sequential number.
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To turn on or off the various Scan Lists go to the Scan Mode by pressing the Scan button then press one of the number keys (for Lists 1 thru 10, the Zero activates Scan List 10) or Func then a digit for Lists 11 thru 20 (Func-2 for List 12, Func-0 for List 20…). When scanning the radio will display the Scan List number on the third and fourth lines of the display, the third line displays Lists 1 thru 10 and the fourth line displays Lists 11 thru 20.
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The real question will likely be the feature set and comfort level you develop with the radio. If you have a chance to play with both for a while do so. Download the manuals for both and see how well you understand them. The BC-346XT is markedly smaller and uses a lot less buttons than the PSR310. On the Uniden one uses modifier keys on the side of the radio and a multi-function knob on the top for programming while the GRE uses the keypad much more intensely.
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* You need or want the GPS features * You will use the radio in a high interference area * You want to have a lot of channels available all the time * When fire tone-out capability is important * You monitor a large networked system with multiple sites * You wish to use a remote control head with the radio Recommended Accessories When people invest good money for a scanner, they probably want to protect it, get some accessories to go with it or otherwise add to the experience. Scanner Master (http://www.