In the Editor’s Shack: The Whistler TRX-1 Digital Scanner

I recently had the pleasure of hosting a Whistler TRX-1 digital trunking scanner for a short while. I was looking for an easy-to-use all-round scanner with the latest specifications and with digital capabilities, especially DMR. Chris Taylor from Moonraker suggested that I give the TRX-1 a go. The base station version of this radio, the Whistler TRX-2 had been reviewed in RadioUser, June 2019: 12 and August 2019: 41).  What I had in mind was using a radio that was ready ‘out-of-the-box’, without having to program anything, and the TRX-1 fitted the bill, on account of the microSD card inside, containing databases of frequencies relevant to the UK. I found the scanner a breeze to use and soon found a wealth of new DMR, Airband and Marine frequencies to explore, while the scanner ran in the background. The majority of the pre-loaded channels (1271, of 1650) are Airband, so, if you de-select that range, you will soon see a marked acceleration of the radio in finding other transmissions. Our columnist Tim Kirby suggested sub-dividing the Airband to reduce start-up time, and this worked well. I also enjoyed the recording facility, which I had become used to with my old scanner.

Thanks to Tim Kirby, for additional; advice, and to Chris Taylor at Moonraker, for the loan of the Whistler TRX-1.

https://www.moonraker.eu/whistler-trx-1-digital-scanner-radio-handheld