[Scan-DC] Radio Shack Programming Cable

Mon Oct 4 08:36:33 EDT 2010

When you go to Device Manager and select Ports (COM & LPT), do you 
see "USB Serial Port"?
If so, what info do you see for the driver?
I had to install the latest driver for the old RS cable when I 
switched to Win7 and Win500 ver 1.94, and my driver info is now:
Driver Provider FTDI
Driver Date 7/12/2010
Driver Version  2.8.2.0

>Message: 8
>Date: Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:39:21 -0400
>From: Steve Thompson <steve at n4tx.com>
>Subject: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Programming Cable
>To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
>Message-ID: <3edd54$1pofqk at out02.roch.ny.frontiernet.net>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed
>
>After some delay, Radio Shack now has a new USB programming cable for
>the Pro-106 and a dozen or so other scanners on its Web site, for
>sale for about $35.  The RS part number is 20-546.
>
>The driver for this device does not seem to be the same as the one
>for the previous version and must be installed from an included
>CD.  The procedure was simple and also installs some proprietary
>Radio Shack scanner programming software.  Since I was already using
>Win500, I loaded but did not use the new software.  There seems to be
>no way to load the new driver without loading the new software,
>however.  Just load it and ignore it.
>
>After loading it, Windows XP's Device Manager found the new cable's
>electronics on COM 7.  I told Win500 to use COM7 and uploading and
>downloading from the scanner worked fine.
>
>Steve, N4TX
>
>
>
>
>------------------------------

>Message: 9
>Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2010 22:46:59 -0400
>From: Doug Kitchener <oldsdoug at hotmail.com>
>Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Programming Cable
>To: <scan-dc at mailman.qth.net>
>Message-ID: <COL122-W52D18E458DF56B25FDA4BAC26B0 at phx.gbl>
>Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>Thanks for the info, Steve... d'you have any idea if the driver / 
>software is compatible with Windows 7 and / or Windows Vista?? Thx!
>
>Regards,
>
>Doug
>
>----------------------------------------
> > Date: Sat, 2 Oct 2010 16:39:21 -0400
> > To: scan-dc at mailman.qth.net
> > From: steve at n4tx.com
> > Subject: [Scan-DC] Radio Shack Programming Cable
> >
> > After some delay, Radio Shack now has a new USB programming cable for
> > the Pro-106 and a dozen or so other scanners on its Web site, for
> > sale for about $35. The RS part number is 20-546.
> >
> > The driver for this device does not seem to be the same as the one
> > for the previous version and must be installed from an included
> > CD. The procedure was simple and also installs some proprietary
> > Radio Shack scanner programming software. Since I was already using
> > Win500, I loaded but did not use the new software. There seems to be
> > no way to load the new driver without loading the new software,
> > however. Just load it and ignore it.
> >
> > After loading it, Windows XP's Device Manager found the new cable's
> > electronics on COM 7. I told Win500 to use COM7 and uploading and
> > downloading from the scanner worked fine.
> >
> > Steve, N4TX
> >
> >
> > ______________________________________________________________
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> >
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>
>------------------------------
>
>Message: 10
>Date: Mon, 4 Oct 2010 01:16:03 -0400
>From: "Alan Henney" <alan at henney.com>
>Subject: [Scan-DC] ARINC Calls for Faster Ratification, Adoption of
>         P25 Radio Technology by Public Safety Agencies
>To: "Scan DC" <Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net>
>Message-ID: <02E056BCF001453F89C9204F01D226B7 at OptiplexGX520>
>Content-Type: text/plain;       charset="iso-8859-1"
>
>
>http://newsblaze.com/story/2010092806501700002.bw/topstory.html
>
>ARINC Calls for Faster Ratification, Adoption of P25 Radio 
>Technology by Public Safety Agencies
>
>ANNAPOLIS, Md. - (BUSINESS WIRE) - ARINC Incorporated has told a 
>congressional subcommittee that the nation's 50,000 police, fire, 
>and emergency medical agencies are making very slow progress in 
>adopting "interoperable" radio systems that would provide 
>inter-agency communications in an emergency.
>
>In prepared testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives 
>Committee on Science and Technology September 23, ARINC Senior 
>Director of Public Safety Marvin Ingram urged Congress to fund and 
>accelerate the ratification of the industry's Project 25 (P25) radio 
>standard, which has been under development for 20 years.
>
>"Some elements of P25 are already ratified," Ingram said. "But this 
>is still an industry initiative that lacks government funding. It 
>needs a schedule and a push from Congress."
>
>Ingram said radio manufacturers have been slow to build 
>P25-compatible products with no final standard in place, and public 
>safety agencies have been slow to buy as a result. "There is a real 
>need for national leadership and direction to speed up the P25 
>standards," he added. "Lives are at stake when agencies cannot communicate."
>
>Maryland-based ARINC is a neutral entity that assists the Federal 
>Communications Commission in radio spectrum management, and plays a 
>central role in setting the radio standards for airline 
>communications. ARINC tests and integrates P25 technology from 
>several manufacturers at its testing lab in Annapolis, MD. The 
>company estimates less than 30% of U.S. public safety agencies have 
>P25 compatible radios, even though 9 years have passed since the 
>9/11 tragedy focused national attention on lack of interoperability.
>
>Ingram also warned that P25 delays have left the market open for 
>proprietary features that make interoperability more difficult to 
>achieve-something that is already happening in the market. Ingram 
>was one of four invited speakers at the hearing "Progress on P25: 
>Furthering Interoperability and Competition for Public Safety Radio Equipment."
>
>Project 25 (P25) is a set of industry standards being developed 
>jointly by the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials 
>(APCO), other national communications associations, and federal 
>agencies. It applies to Land Mobile Radio (LMR) systems, which are 
>widely used by local, state, and national public safety agencies. 
>The cost of switching to new P25 technology is generally recognized 
>as a factor delaying adoption, even though the U.S. Department of 
>Homeland Security provides funding incentives for states, counties, 
>and towns that upgrade their systems to P25.
>
>Wednesday's hearing was the second by the Science and Technology 
>Subcommittee focused on P25. In a previous hearing May 27, Committee 
>Chair David Wu noted, "Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for police 
>officers and firefighters from a single region, or even a single 
>city, to be using incompatible communication systems. This lack of 
>interoperability has contributed to the deaths of first responders 
>and hindered the ability to rescue people in harm's way."
>
>ARINC Incorporated, a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group, 
>provides communications, engineering and integration solutions for 
>commercial, defense and government customers worldwide. 
>Headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland with regional headquarters in 
>London and Singapore, ARINC is ISO 9001:2008 certified. For more 
>information, visit the web site at www.arinc.com.
>
>ARINC Incorporated
>Brand Management & Communications
>Linda Hartwig, +1 410-266-4652
>corpcomm at arinc.com
>
>------------------------------
>
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