Walk into any ham shack or scanning hobbyist's basement and you’re bound to see that familiar, boxy silver faceplate staring back at you. It’s the Radio Shack PRO-197. For a lot of us, this was the "big one"—the base station that finally brought digital trunking into a price range that didn't require a second mortgage. But there is a massive point of confusion that has plagued eBay listings and forum threads for over a decade. People constantly ask: is the Radio Shack PRO-197 Phase 1 or 2 compatible?
Honestly, the answer usually leads to a bit of heartbreak for people moving into modern metro areas.
The PRO-197 is a digital P25 Phase 1 scanner. Period. It cannot, and will never, receive P25 Phase 2 (TDMA) signals. If your local police department just upgraded to a Harris or Motorola Phase 2 system, this radio is basically going to sit there silent while the signal bars bounce, leaving you wondering why you aren't hearing a thing. It’s a hardware limitation, not a software one. You can't just "flash the firmware" to make it work. The vocoder inside just isn't built for it.
Why the Radio Shack PRO-197 Still Has a Cult Following
Despite being "stuck" in Phase 1, the PRO-197 is still one of the most beloved desktop scanners ever made. Why? Because it was built by GRE (General Research of Electronics) in Japan. GRE had a certain "magic" with their digital AGC (Automatic Gain Control) that arguably sounded better than the Uniden models of the same era, like the BCD996T.
When you listen to a digital P25 Phase 1 transmission on a PRO-197, it sounds full. It’s meaty. It doesn't have that thin, "R2-D2 having a stroke" digital warble that plagued earlier digital units. It feels like a real radio.
The build quality is another factor. It’s heavy. The buttons have a tactile click that modern touchscreen or plastic-heavy scanners just can't replicate. It’s a workhorse. You’ll find these units that have been powered on 24/7 for fifteen years, and they’re still scanning through the banks without a hiccup.
The Phase 1 vs. Phase 2 Technical Wall
To understand why the Radio Shack PRO-197 Phase 1 or 2 debate matters, you have to look at how the signals are actually sent through the air.
Phase 1 uses FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access). Think of it like a dedicated lane on a highway. One conversation, one frequency. Simple. The PRO-197 handles this beautifully.
Phase 2 uses TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). This is more like a carpool lane where two different cars (conversations) take turns using the same lane by switching back and forth really, really fast. To hear this, the scanner needs a specific chip to decode those timed pulses. The PRO-197 doesn't have that chip.
If you try to monitor a Phase 2 system with a PRO-197, the scanner will usually see the control channel. It might even show you the Talkgroup ID (TGID) on the screen. But when it tries to "jump" to the voice frequency, you get nothing but silence or a rhythmic "motorboating" sound. It's frustrating as heck.
What Can You Actually Listen to Right Now?
You might be thinking, "If everyone is moving to Phase 2, is this thing a boat anchor?" Not exactly.
The world of radio is slow to change. While big cities like New York, Chicago, or Phoenix have largely migrated to Phase 2 or encrypted systems, huge swaths of the United States—especially rural counties and smaller municipalities—are still running Phase 1 P25 or even old-school analog.
- State Police: Many statewide systems (like Ohio's MARCS or Michigan's MPSCS) started as Phase 1. While some are migrating, many towers still broadcast in Phase 1 for compatibility with older gear.
- Aviation: Both civilian and military aircraft still use AM mode. The PRO-197 is an absolute beast for monitoring "MilAir."
- Railroads: Trains are almost entirely analog FM (or NXDN, which this radio can't do, but most are still FM for now).
- Marine: Still analog.
- Mutual Aid: Those inter-agency frequencies used during fires or searches? Often Phase 1 for maximum interoperability.
If you live in a rural area, a used PRO-197 for $150 is often a much better deal than spending $600 on a new Uniden SDS200 that you don't actually need the features of.
The Simulcast Distortion Nightmare
Even if you are monitoring a Phase 1 system, the PRO-197 has a "glass jaw": Simulcast Distortion.
This happens when a radio system has multiple towers all broadcasting the same signal on the same frequency at the exact same time. Your scanner receives signals from two different towers, but because of the distance, one arrives a fraction of a millisecond later than the other.
The PRO-197's brain gets confused. It can't decide which signal to lock onto, and the audio breaks up. It sounds like the dispatcher is underwater. If you live in a "Simulcast" area, the Radio Shack PRO-197 Phase 1 or 2 status won't even matter because the distortion will drive you crazy anyway.
People have tried all sorts of "voodoo" to fix this. They'll use a directional Yagi antenna pointed at just one tower, or they'll even put a paperclip in the antenna jack to reduce the signal so the scanner only "sees" the closest tower. It’s a hack, but sometimes it works.
Programming: The "Object-Oriented" Learning Curve
Radio Shack (and GRE) did something weird with the PRO-197. They moved away from "Banks and Channels" and moved to "Object-Oriented Scanning."
In an old scanner, you’d put a frequency in Channel 1, Bank 1. Done.
In the PRO-197, every frequency or Talkgroup is an "Object." You create the object, then you assign it to a "Scan List."
It’s actually much more powerful once you get it. You can have one frequency belong to five different lists without taking up five memory slots. But man, trying to program this thing by hand using the front keypad is a special kind of torture.
If you get one of these, do yourself a favor and get the USB programming cable (the 20-047 or a reputable FTDI clone). Then, grab a copy of PSREdit500 or Win500 software. It will save you hours of thumb-blistering work and probably save your marriage because you won't be swearing at a radio in the living room all night.
Hardware Cousins: The Whistler WS1065
Since Radio Shack didn't actually build their own radios, the PRO-197 has some identical twins. When GRE went out of business and Whistler bought their designs, they re-released this exact radio as the Whistler WS1065.
If you're looking for parts, or if you find a manual for a WS1065, it’s the same thing. Same guts. Same Phase 1 limitation. Even the GRE PSR-600 is the same radio in a slightly different skin.
Is It Worth Buying in 2026?
Here is the honest truth about the Radio Shack PRO-197 Phase 1 or 2 dilemma in the current year: it depends entirely on your zip code.
Before you drop money on one of these at a garage sale or on Craigslist, you have to go to RadioReference.com. Look up your county.
- Look at the "Mode" column.
- If you see "D" or "M" for digital/mixed, it’s probably Phase 1.
- If you see "T" or "PT2," that's Phase 2 TDMA.
- If you see "E," it's encrypted. No scanner on Earth—Phase 1, 2, or 100—will hear encrypted traffic. It's just noise.
If your local police are "PT2," don't buy the PRO-197. You'll be disappointed. But if they are still on a legacy Phase 1 system, the PRO-197 is a fantastic, sensitive, and loud radio that will likely outlast the modern stuff.
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It’s a piece of radio history that still works. Just don't expect it to do things its hardware wasn't designed for.
Actionable Steps for Owners
If you already own a PRO-197 or just picked one up, here is what you should do to get the most out of it:
- Check the Firmware: Press "3" during the welcome screen. The latest version is typically 2.1. If you're on an older version, find the Whistler WS1065 firmware updates; they are often compatible and can fix minor bugs in how the radio handles certain trunking tables.
- Invest in a Better Antenna: The stock telescopic antenna is okay, but this radio shines with a dedicated outdoor discone or a tuned 700/800 MHz rubber ducky like the Remtronix '800'.
- Use the "Tune" Function: This is the most underrated feature. If you see a news helicopter or a mysterious van with antennas, hit "Tune" and let it search. The PRO-197 is incredibly fast at finding "near-field" transmissions.
- Check Your Power Supply: These units are sensitive to "dirty" power. If you hear a hum in the audio, your wall wart transformer is probably dying. Swap it for a high-quality 13.8V DC regulated supply, and the noise floor will drop significantly.
The PRO-197 is a classic. It’s the radio equivalent of a 90s Jeep—it’s not the most modern thing on the road, it can’t do some of the things new SUVs can, but it’s tough as nails and does its specific job better than almost anything else. Just make sure the "job" you have for it isn't a Phase 2 one.