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ICOM Receiver PCR-1000 |
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| Review by Warren NØWF | ||
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| I haven't been this excited about scanning
since 1993 when I got my Realistic PRO-2006 which still is perhaps the
best stand-alone scanner ever sold. Get on the Internet and do a net
search on the ICOM PCR-1000. You won't believe what this unit will do.
How about receiving from 0.1 MHz to 1300 MHz (less cellular, restorable
on older units) in AM, FM, FM Wide, SSB, and CW? How about a band
scope/spectrum analyzer that has selectable bandwidth, 200 kHz with ICOM
software, or half a Meg with other software? How about unlimited memory
channels? AFC? Voice Scan feature skips unmodulated signals and data.
S-Meter squelch. Band tracking RF filters for bands above 50MHz. Several
different scan types too cool to describe! User selectable scan resume.
Multiple tuning steps. Can you believe it has a 20dB attenuator, IF
shift, Noise Blanker, AGC, Tone Squelch, selectable IF filters (230k,
50k, 15k, 6k, and 2.8k), DTMF Decoder, and 9600 bps packet receive with
TNC?
How did ICOM do this in a package that is 5 x 2 by eight inches long weighing 2.2lb (all metal construction)? Part of the answer is software. This receiver requires you to have a Pentium 100 or faster computer with 16 Megs of RAM, running Windows 3.1 or better. Out of the box it is not perfect. The supplied whip antenna is not very efficient and the ICOM software is not as good as TalkPCR, a shareware program downloadable for demonstration purposes (registration fee $45 worth it). The TalkPCR program restores the deleted frequency segments of the older PCR-1000 units below s/n 3500. There is an excellent e-mail reflector on the internet if you get stuck or have problems, some smart campers on there. It takes a while to get used to a virtual scanner, since controls on the computer screen are adjusted with your mouse. The ICOM software loads easily and I had the unit up and running in less than 2 hours. ICOM's web site has a link to the Percon Frequency database and you can import memory channels without the hassle of long programming sequences. TalkPCR software can do the same trick and a lot of other tricks that the ICOM software cannot do. Graphics on the ICOM software are superior to TalkPCR but in operation, TalkPCR smokes the supplied ICOM software. It took several hours of fooling around with TalkPCR and I'm not fully familiar with all of the functions but it is the better product. Add a Radio Shack 20-044 multiband scanner antenna (made by Antennacraft) and you are good to go. The ICOM PCR-1000 is the coolest piece of scanning equipment I have ever seen at any price. |
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