Utility · 2019-07-26
GREFwTool source code (GPL-3.0), 2019-07-26
Recommended version Community copy
Download zip (181 KB) Manufacturer's page ↗
Community GPL-3.0 tool that updates, downgrades and sets the clock on GRE-platform scanners (PSR-800, PRO-18, PRO-668, WS1080) over USB in CPU update mode. Source code only, as republished by philcovington from the vanished LinuxSheeple-E original; no prebuilt binary was found.
Read before installing. Unofficial; voids any manufacturer support. Its experimental 'transcode' (running WS1080 firmware on a PSR-800/PRO-18/PRO-668) is the unofficial DMR route; do not use it. Hosted at the commit before firmware images were added.
Contents
| File | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|
| GREFwTool-95154446f9ac3b7a5aea4ec0f6580dec9d572442.zip | 186 KB | 1218447766ceb886e39789cc075c14b678b9ecb7404c07db110d96cda916e694 |
| README.txt | These instructions | |
| SHA256SUMS | Checksums of the files above | |
Instructions
The complete README.txt included in the zip:
GREFwTool source code (GPL-3.0), 2019-07-26
===========================================
WHAT THIS IS
------------
GREFwTool, a Windows utility (Qt 5, C++) that talks to GRE-platform scanners
in CPU update mode: it downloads or loads CPU firmware images, flashes them
(including older versions), and sets the scanner's clock. It supports the GRE
PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18 and PRO-668, and Whistler WS1080 (the source also
lists the PRO-107 and PSR-700).
Licence: GNU GPL v3 (LICENSE and documentation/COPYING in the archive), which
permits redistribution. The original author's repository
(github.com/LinuxSheeple-E/GREFwTool) no longer exists; philcovington
republished the source in July 2019. His note: "This code has not been forked
to allow PSR-800 or Pro-688 scanners to be upgraded to the WS-1080 firmware
(although that was one of the original uses)."
This entry is the source at commit 9515444 (2019-07-26, "Update README.md"),
the last commit before firmware images were added to the repository on
2019-12-10. The images that matter for this archive are hosted as separate
entries (GRE PSR-800 CPU U2.0; WS1080 U3.8, U4.6, U4.7). No compiled Windows
build was found; the tool must be built.
The tool's built-in "Download Firmware" function fetched from GRE's update
server, which now requires authentication and is not usable.
APPLIES TO
----------
GRE PSR-800, RadioShack PRO-18, RadioShack PRO-668, Whistler WS1080 (as
selected in its Settings). Not the WS1095/WS1098 or the TRX series.
BEFORE STARTING
---------------
- Qt 5.7 with Qt Creator (the author's toolchain) and, for an installer, the
Qt Installer Framework. The project files assume shadow builds in
GREFwTool\build and installer\build.
- The scanner's USB driver (GRE's for a stock PSR-800, Whistler's for a
WS1080) so the radio appears as a COM port.
- The firmware image for the radio's own model. GREFwTool does not supply
firmware.
- Save the configuration, copy the card, and read the boot/CPU/DSP versions
first.
CONTENTS OF THIS ZIP
--------------------
The zip published on fubsypoly.com wraps the vendor file(s)
byte-for-byte, unmodified.
GREFwTool-95154446f9ac3b7a5aea4ec0f6580dec9d572442.zip
190,821 bytes
SHA-256 1218447766ceb886e39789cc075c14b678b9ecb7404c07db110d96cda916e694
GitHub source archive of philcovington/GREFwTool at commit 95154446f9
(2019-07-26), GPL-3.0: Qt 5 C++ sources, UI files, Qt Installer
Framework project, README and licence. Firmware images are not included
(they were added in a later commit and are hosted separately in this
archive).
README.txt
This file.
SHA256SUMS
SHA-256 checksums of the files above.
INSTALLATION
------------
Building: open GREFwTool.pro in Qt Creator, build; optionally build
GREFwToolInstaller.pro for a Windows installer.
Using it (from the README):
1. Settings (only while disconnected): Scanner Type = the radio; Firmware =
the same model (anything else is the experimental transcode); COM port.
2. Put the scanner in CPU Update Mode: power off, unplug, hold Menu and plug
the USB cable in; release after the PC detects the scanner.
3. Connect: the display shows firmware version information and CPU Update
Mode.
4. Firmware Update: select the firmware file; a progress dialog runs; the
tool disconnects when complete.
Set Time sets the scanner clock to the PC's (never on a radio with the
unofficial CPU 3.1/DSP 4.6 or late-June DSP 3.1 firmware: date lockout).
VERIFYING
---------
After the update, power on and read the CPU version from the welcome screen,
or reconnect the tool in CPU Update Mode, which displays the firmware version.
IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG
-----------------------
- "Failed updates will put the scanner into CPU Update Mode when powered on.
Retry the Firmware Update from step 3. The scanner can only be powered off
in CPU Update Mode by disconnecting the usb connection and removing one of
the battery cells in the scanner." (README)
- "Do not update the CPU by using CPU Update in the PC Application! This will
result in the CPU firmware being erased and the scanner will power up in CPU
Update Mode. The tool will have to be used to reload the firmware and fix
the problem." (README, about radios running cross-model firmware)
- Cross-model (transcoded) firmware: the PSR-800 and PRO-18 have a different
charging circuit from the WS1080, so in-radio charging must be turned off;
the PRO-18 also lacks the tri-colour LED. Whistler treats radios that ran
such firmware as a $99.99 upgrade case instead of $69.99 and warns DMR can
be disabled permanently. The date lockout in the 2016-17 unofficial builds
is described in the PSR-800 Upgrades & Firmware volume.
DOWNGRADING
-----------
Downgrading is the tool's main purpose: "This allows the user to go back to an
earlier firmware version by starting at step 2." The limit is the availability
of older images; see PROVENANCE.md for what survives.
PROVENANCE
----------
- File: GREFwTool-95154446f9ac3b7a5aea4ec0f6580dec9d572442.zip
- Retrieved from:
https://codeload.github.com/philcovington/GREFwTool/zip/95154446f9ac3b7a5aea4ec0f6580dec9d572442
- Date retrieved: 2026-09-18
- Official page: https://github.com/philcovington/GREFwTool
- Status: community (survives only as a user/community upload; see
PROVENANCE.md)
MORE INFORMATION
----------------
- https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/gre-psr800/vol-5/
- https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/whistler-ws1080/vol-4/
- Vendor downloads page (Goliad Products, 2026):
https://whistlergroup.com/pages/downloads
- Reference Library manual:
https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/library/gre-psr-800-owners-manual/
- Reference Library manual:
https://scanners.fubsypoly.com/library/whistler-ws1080-ws1088-ez-scan-digital-handheld-scanner-owners-manual-part-1/